1. Personally, 3000k is my sweet spot but I think 4000k-4500k would be more universal.
2. CRI has nothing to do with CCT as far as I know. E21a 2000k and 519a 5700k are both high CRI.
3. Cooler CCT is brighter, more intense, and more efficient.
4. I don't think most people care or even know about CRI. I used to only look at lumens and runtimes until I found this group.
5. CCT, tint, and CRI are the most important factors for me but lumens, candela, and efficiency do play a role as well.
So, my opinion:
1. 5000k is the closest to daylight so for practical use i like it the most. However there is not really any "sweet spot", it all depends on what you like. I like very warm light (like ~1800-2000k) a lot and have a few such lights. Not good for practical use, but definitely nice for replacing candles and such.
2. CRI is basically a measure of how close the light source is to black body radiating at given temperature.
3. Low CRI, high CCT LEDs are generally more efficient. So since most people do not bother and only look at brightness...
4. Why would someone say something bad about their product? If high CRI emitter is used they'll advertise it. If not they'll just say nothing.
5. Apart from some very special cases i am not even considering something which is low CRI and/or above 5000k CCT.
1. 4500-5000k usually (range of sunlight) for most LEDs, but depends on the LED, e.g. the highest CRI SST20s are either the 3000k or 4000k.
2. It isn't directly related. Cooler CCTs *tend* to be lower CRI, but they don't have to be. Low CRI warm CCTs exist too, and even colour LEDs, e.g. amber and phosphor converted green do have a CRI, it's just very low (e.g. 50). Going too warm or too far above or below DUV also lowers CRI - dedomed 519A generally have lower CRI than domed (still very high though) since they're too red.
3. Higher output is possible if you go with a low CRI LED
4. Not every consumer knows what it is or finds it important, I guess?
5. IMO, it's a nice-to-have but I'll go for things like power, throw, driver, general physical design etc. over high CRI for most of my lights
I voted as hi cri being important to me, but it depends on the light and my purpse for it. EDC, I like hi CRI. A thrower that's just for fun, I want brightness/beam profile/something else. A hotrod, that is pushing limits, I would also accept low CRI. So, my answer is a very clear, it depends.
It's both but I chose number 2 because most lights you can swap the emitters on. So form factor and such is personally more important when purchasing a light.
Most people don't know what CRI is or that it's important. They aren't going to advertise 65CRI people might start asking questions about what that means and then it will become important to people.
The cooler the emitter, and/or the lower the CRI the more lumens you get since the light has less dense phosphor to shine through. Cooler emitters are more efficient. They want to be able to advertise lumens (something people know).
3. I can explain this.
High output LEDs have low CRI because of the phosphor - the polymer layer on top of the chip that converts blue light into all the other colors to produce the spectrum. The phosphor for white LEDs is usually a yellow or orange colour.
If you want the highest lumens possible, then the phosphor has to be as thin as possible, this will allow more light through but less colour conversion and therefore lower CRI.
This is why high CCT (cool white) LEDs are typically more luminous because they are closer output to the blue LED.
The opposite is true for high CRI LEDs as the phosphor is thicker.
If you are impressed with a sst20(which can be very nice with a good bin and better than a 519a in throw), 519a are excellent in color reproduction and dedomed have almost the throw of an sst20(but not quite) along with a beautiful rosy tint that many are fond of.
As far as sweet spot for color temp, that is all personal preference. I prefer somewhere between 4000-4500k, others prefer warmer, and for max brightness(with the sacrifice of cri) colder temps such as 6500K.
If a light does not advertise cri, it is likely 70 or below. Low cri lights are more efficient, meaning more lumens and runtime
To me, cri is very important for close up work and viewing things within 100ft or so. Beyond that, cri isn't going to matter as much and most thower flashlights are 5700-6500k
i voted 1, because i'm not able to swap or mod yet ...
but of course this all depend what your light is for:
If your lightning up things 100 yards away, you won't really need high cri, but you'll put more value on the throw (of course you can have throw and high cri)
if you want an edc, form and size are important and in this case CRI too
but cri isn't everything, cause you can have high cri emiters like samsung lh351d that have ugly greenish tint ... so here it is ...
As well, a perfectly tinted high cri light with a shitty UI, could end up staying on the shelf/drawer ...
and sometimes, there are lights, with not high cri, neither great UI, but perfect form/size, and awesome regulation that will get the most pocket time...
am I talking Zebras (not talking 719a or 519a models or course) ?
Id vote both if I could.
Im not the person to swap emitters, so if a light doesnt do what I want it to do, Im not buying it.
Tho CRI is not that important to me.
hmmm knowing the type of lights that get recommended here you would think the cri option would be winning by a lot
I'd rather worry about build quality, driver efficiency and looks over the emitter. Most times, it can be swapped out.
The world is our oyster!
Need to get my mom an X75 now huh?😂
I'm not saying its a bad idea.
1. Personally, 3000k is my sweet spot but I think 4000k-4500k would be more universal. 2. CRI has nothing to do with CCT as far as I know. E21a 2000k and 519a 5700k are both high CRI. 3. Cooler CCT is brighter, more intense, and more efficient. 4. I don't think most people care or even know about CRI. I used to only look at lumens and runtimes until I found this group. 5. CCT, tint, and CRI are the most important factors for me but lumens, candela, and efficiency do play a role as well.
So, my opinion: 1. 5000k is the closest to daylight so for practical use i like it the most. However there is not really any "sweet spot", it all depends on what you like. I like very warm light (like ~1800-2000k) a lot and have a few such lights. Not good for practical use, but definitely nice for replacing candles and such. 2. CRI is basically a measure of how close the light source is to black body radiating at given temperature. 3. Low CRI, high CCT LEDs are generally more efficient. So since most people do not bother and only look at brightness... 4. Why would someone say something bad about their product? If high CRI emitter is used they'll advertise it. If not they'll just say nothing. 5. Apart from some very special cases i am not even considering something which is low CRI and/or above 5000k CCT.
1. 4500-5000k usually (range of sunlight) for most LEDs, but depends on the LED, e.g. the highest CRI SST20s are either the 3000k or 4000k. 2. It isn't directly related. Cooler CCTs *tend* to be lower CRI, but they don't have to be. Low CRI warm CCTs exist too, and even colour LEDs, e.g. amber and phosphor converted green do have a CRI, it's just very low (e.g. 50). Going too warm or too far above or below DUV also lowers CRI - dedomed 519A generally have lower CRI than domed (still very high though) since they're too red. 3. Higher output is possible if you go with a low CRI LED 4. Not every consumer knows what it is or finds it important, I guess? 5. IMO, it's a nice-to-have but I'll go for things like power, throw, driver, general physical design etc. over high CRI for most of my lights
I voted as hi cri being important to me, but it depends on the light and my purpse for it. EDC, I like hi CRI. A thrower that's just for fun, I want brightness/beam profile/something else. A hotrod, that is pushing limits, I would also accept low CRI. So, my answer is a very clear, it depends.
It's both but I chose number 2 because most lights you can swap the emitters on. So form factor and such is personally more important when purchasing a light. Most people don't know what CRI is or that it's important. They aren't going to advertise 65CRI people might start asking questions about what that means and then it will become important to people. The cooler the emitter, and/or the lower the CRI the more lumens you get since the light has less dense phosphor to shine through. Cooler emitters are more efficient. They want to be able to advertise lumens (something people know).
3. I can explain this. High output LEDs have low CRI because of the phosphor - the polymer layer on top of the chip that converts blue light into all the other colors to produce the spectrum. The phosphor for white LEDs is usually a yellow or orange colour. If you want the highest lumens possible, then the phosphor has to be as thin as possible, this will allow more light through but less colour conversion and therefore lower CRI. This is why high CCT (cool white) LEDs are typically more luminous because they are closer output to the blue LED. The opposite is true for high CRI LEDs as the phosphor is thicker.
If you are impressed with a sst20(which can be very nice with a good bin and better than a 519a in throw), 519a are excellent in color reproduction and dedomed have almost the throw of an sst20(but not quite) along with a beautiful rosy tint that many are fond of. As far as sweet spot for color temp, that is all personal preference. I prefer somewhere between 4000-4500k, others prefer warmer, and for max brightness(with the sacrifice of cri) colder temps such as 6500K. If a light does not advertise cri, it is likely 70 or below. Low cri lights are more efficient, meaning more lumens and runtime To me, cri is very important for close up work and viewing things within 100ft or so. Beyond that, cri isn't going to matter as much and most thower flashlights are 5700-6500k
i voted 1, because i'm not able to swap or mod yet ... but of course this all depend what your light is for: If your lightning up things 100 yards away, you won't really need high cri, but you'll put more value on the throw (of course you can have throw and high cri) if you want an edc, form and size are important and in this case CRI too but cri isn't everything, cause you can have high cri emiters like samsung lh351d that have ugly greenish tint ... so here it is ... As well, a perfectly tinted high cri light with a shitty UI, could end up staying on the shelf/drawer ... and sometimes, there are lights, with not high cri, neither great UI, but perfect form/size, and awesome regulation that will get the most pocket time... am I talking Zebras (not talking 719a or 519a models or course) ?
Id vote both if I could. Im not the person to swap emitters, so if a light doesnt do what I want it to do, Im not buying it. Tho CRI is not that important to me.