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Haesslich said:
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KLM said:
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Haesslich said:
Actually, for Surefire, the main requirement is that the light is bright and that the beam works - the color's less important in this case
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Okay. I understand this, but I guess that's my whole point. I would think that a company that produces the finest illumination tools in the world would put a little more emphasis on the consistency of the color of the light their products produce. It just seems a bit strange to me to purchase what many people believe to be one of the best flashlights in the world only to find out it's output is greenish or blueish instead of white. I could understand this if it was from a lesser maker, but this is Surefire. I suppose if this is the best they can offer, then LED technology still has a ways to go before it reaches maturity.
I'm not trying to ruffle anyone's feathers. Like I said, I would love to own one of these great lights. I would just expect to know that I am getting a consistent white beam for that kind of money. That's just me. I'm sure there are probably others who could care less about the color.
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Surefire's main line of products is incandescents - which turn either kinda yellow or kinda orange, or maybe a hint of blue for a HID. Color isn't so much an issue as brightness, as noted - for most of their clients (military, LEO, outdoorsmen), this is about as big an issue as what color an energy bar is to a runner. They don't guarantee the tint, nor do they really NEED to - they're looking at brightness first. If you want tint control, you go with someone who either can custom-make lights for you, or who offers a 'guaranteed tint' feature such as HDS Systems (for a higher price, of course).
They, as noted before, look mostly for bright binned LEDs - whether it's blue-tinted, green-tinted, or purple-tinted is immaterial to them. And, for that matter, to their customers; most of them aren't busy hunting white walls, but rather people with guns who don't care what color of light is shone in their faces; they're going to shoot at you no matter what. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Honestly, as I keep telling people - if you want a pure white beam, you go to a custom light maker, one who has the time and patience to test 50 parts to find the LED which meets your standards. Then you pay them the $300-400 for the work they've put into this light which is both well-deserved and which fulfills all the requirements you have of it - you don't go for the mass-produced light made for the lowest-common denominator, as it's not made to suit your exact needs or tastes, nor will the body of the light ever be the exact shade of mauve that you want.
For that sort of thing, talk to Don. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif
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Haesslich,
You make a pretty good point about Surefire's target customer. I guess if you're trying to blind someone from across a room the color of the light makes little difference. I do have a little bit of a hard time believing that anyone would choose an L4 for that task however. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great light. It's just that it seems to me that the L4 may have been designed for different purposes other than pointing at bad guys you are about to shoot. Don't you think that color rendition might be useful for some of those other purposes the light could be used for?
Thanks for the insightful discussion on a topic which I am only beginning to become familiar with. Didn't mean to drag this topic out the way it has been.
Ken
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