I Like Cool White But Not Blue White

I've never owned an led flashlight with a CW (cool white) emitter, but I've seen screen shots and listened to lots of reviews where both CW and NW were discussed at length. I really like the bright white that CW presents better than the NW beam. The NW is okay but I'm planning to get another light soon and hope to avoid buyers regret over a blueish beam. Can you guys help me make the best decision? As you can tell I'm not a greatly experienced flashlight guy. I would appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks very much!

Are you looking for us to recommend you a light that has a cool white emitter, or because you are fearing you might regret the blue tint are you looking for more opinions on cool vs. neutral?

Do some cool white lights have an obvious bluish tint while others not so much?

It's tough. 5000K may be cool to some. But it really depends on the tint, not the CCT (4000K, 4500K, etc).

For example, I have a light with MT-G2 emitter at 5000K. Perfectly white tint (i.e. NO tint). Just white. I call it more cool than neutral.

On the other hand, I have the new Zebralight SC700d with a 5000K XHP 70.2 emitter. If you were to compare the two, you would probably say the SC700d is 4000K. Very yellow compared to the other even though both are "5000K". You can go neutral to avoid the "blue", but many times there's a good chance you'll just end up with yellow or green which is equally bad IMO.

I guess what I'm saying is, you almost have to try a bunch of lights before you get what you intended.

when you shop for an emitter make sure it is a high cri >90 version of the cool white or you will get blue looking light i also prefer a assemble it yourself so you can test the emitter first rather than buy it only to find out it is a poorly made emitter that bleeds too much blue.

lunas said:

when you shop for an emitter make sure it is a high cri version of the cool white or you will get blue looking light i also prefer a assemble it yourself so you can test the emitter first rather than buy it only to find out it is a poorly made emitter that bleeds too much blue.

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So lunas, by "high cri version" is that something that should appear in an ad or is it a specific number I should look for in the ad? I don't know much about this subject. but I do know that white and blue are two different colors. I just don't want bluish white light. Just bright white if that's possible. Thanks for chiming in.

You're looking for "true white" and the good news is that any light you use long enough will look true white, the bad news is that no light will look true white in all conditions. What you perceive as being true white is completely subjective and based on how warm or cool the lighting of your environment is; a 4500K light in a 2500K room will look a little blue, a 5500K light in a 7000K room will look a little orange. That said, most users find the 4500-5000K range is closest to true white with no blue or orange in many conditions. Look into Zebralight flashlights if you prefer to buy a light by tint and/or CRI.

lumas, I take it that 70 is not considered a high CRI version. Will a light with neutral white and a cri rating of 70 appear to have a bluish tint? Can you tell me anything about "neutral white" lights?

This ...

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?428958-The-Tint-Snob-Thread

... is the thread you want to review, in some detail

archimedes, thanks very much for sharing this thread. Looks like just what I need to read. Also, thanks to lumas and the other member for their answers and advice so far.

roymail said:

archimedes, thanks very much for sharing this thread. Looks like just what I need to read....

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You're welcome .... Tint (vs) CCT (vs) CRI are complex topic(s) that arise frequently on CPF.

This entry on Wikipedia ...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlated_color_temperature

... is also informative, particularly the color-space chart.

Bright white in the middle with a bluish ring around the outside. This is what I'm trying to avoid. The more blue the worse it gets.

Certain emitters tend to have more uneven color change in the beam.

archimedes said:

Certain emitters tend to have more uneven color change in the beam.

Click to expand...

This is why I've never liked xml emitters, 6500k is crazy blue and 5000k is still pretty blue.

One thing I've heard that helps is using filters to change the tint some.

actually it can appear green or red... the basics for how a white led is made is combine blue and yellow at just the right mix to widen the spectrum.

no anything above 90 is high cri and like the others have said this is really a complex topic. The cri should be listed in the selling points of the emitter often it is not listed at all unless it is above 90

I've always went with the neutral color if given the option.
If only cool white is available I'll avoid and continue my search.

I don't like squid **** green or alien abduction angry blue. Cool White if not those is ok IMHO though will tend to buy NW.

My experience is limited but the whitest light I have is a Klarus P20 at 5000K with Nichia 219C. I keep that light in my shirt pocket next to a couple of pens during the day. It's very handy, though it makes a little noise when walking sometimes. This is a good all-round pen light but I do prefer a little more warmth at night.

If we are just talking about color temperature, I feel like 4000K is pretty versatile. Otherwise, I like getting up around 5000K during the day and down around 3000K at night. My most recent acquisition was the tiny Sofirn C01 with high-CRI Yuji LED at 3200K. The tint is wonderfully rich and the output is the perfect balance of gentle and usable over an incredibly long battery life. If I could get that with a clicky instead of a twisty operation, I'd be all over it.

I have the TM26 4000lms and that shines pure white, no blue tint in it all. Without the blue tint it makes the light brighter then what it is I think, as Im loving the brightness and the nice wide beam of this light.