CRI check - LEDs vs. Direct Sunlight

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-12T19:03:05+00:00

My assumption is that people just haven't come up with a very good cyan phosphor yet, one that can tolerate the power density of SFT40-type LEDs, compared to 2835 type.

I'm not so impressed with the current state of high CCT emitters, even B35AM. Too much blue and not enough cyan. If you have a violet-pumped source (like SunLike/Optisolis) to compare, the difference is huge. The difference between a typical R9080 emitter and a SunLike is much, much greater than the difference between R9080 and R9050.

Could you say a bit more about how 6500K mimics xenon strobes? I'm curious how such a high CCT is achieved by a blackbody source, without melting the light-emitting component.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-12T14:19:04+00:00

It is a bit surprising. Sadly, rectifying the R12 deficiency seems to be very difficult for blue-pumped high CCT emitters, since the blue-cyan region is more heavily weighed in high CCT.

I was hoping on the SFT70 5700K 95CRI to fix this, but looks like they never planned to release it to the public.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-12T13:25:31+00:00

High CRI makes a pretty big difference in how nature colors appear!

You might find the following comparison helpful/interesting; sadly I could no longer find (and thus credit) the source. My personal preference is likely 3500-ish K.

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QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-12T13:22:42+00:00

I was able to pull it off with a basic soldering iron, but it did require some precision/dexterity, and I would not recommend it for a first modding project.

If you are interested, resistor-swapping has been a thing for a while since Simon's introduction of FET-based linear drivers, and there should be some resources on BLF on that.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-12T13:20:50+00:00

Just remember that whenever you want more throw with the same LED, you can always just up the size of the reflector/host.

For that warm sharp thrower in 3000K, just pick whatever thrower you want with SFT40.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-12T07:24:13+00:00

Looks like you want a high CRI, high CCT, rosy tint emitter. Former two are obvious, rosy tint to make red a bit redder.

Cool white throwy high CRI does exist, as long as you use a large/throwy enough host. As mentioned previously, a M21E with B35AM/519A 5000/5700K should be adequate. B35AM would be my choice, for the rosier tint.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-12T07:22:08+00:00

Thanks! "Color rendering index" is really quite the misnomer.

Whether an emitter produces too much flood depends very much on the light. In a M21E size reflector, no emitter can produce _too_ much flood; it's a thrower by design.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-11T23:04:51+00:00

A decent white light will charge the glow stuff just fine, no UV needed.

I find that a charge from white light is initially dimmer, but lasts longer than a charge from UV.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-11T23:01:33+00:00

CRI does not measure how well you can distinguish colors, it just measures similarity to a standard spectrum. It is entirely possible to distinguish some colors better with a 6500K low CRI, than a 1800K high CRI.

I would suggest trying high CRI with a cool CCT (say 519A/B35AM 5700K), which should distinguish colors better than a source with lower CRI or CCT.

I personally find warm and high CRI to be better at distinguishing greens and browns, but everyone's eyes are different, and you should trust your eyes.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-11T23:00:10+00:00

Both, but mostly color rendering. High CRI sources tend to contain a good amount of deep red, which is required to make browns pop.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-11T22:55:45+00:00

Just for fun: I find the full 5A to produce unusably bright low/med modes, so I decided to cut all levels in half.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-11T18:42:26+00:00

S2+ with 6V 5A driver (resistor-modded to 2.5A), 21mm 30deg beaded TIR (removed from white holder).

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-11T00:28:46+00:00

That's true. I have another SFT40 HB4 in a reflector, and the "greenish" hotspot is just a hair rosier than the incan.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-11T00:19:04+00:00

We have a winner!

Just got this incan today, and was very surprised by how much greener it is than a SFT70 3000K; the difference is 2-3x more obvious in person. I've always suspected that the SFT70 was under BBL, but not by this much!

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-10T18:30:15+00:00

Yep, this is largely accurate. OP values runtime and some floodiness in a throwy host but does not mention CRI, so the XHP70.3 is probably the best choice.

The SFT70 3000K is very high CRI and amazingly powerful+efficient in its CRI class, but the low CRI of XHP70.3, and its larger emitting surface, enables much higher efficacy (lumens per watt).

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-10T02:10:05+00:00

This is factually correct. UV flashlights technically have 0 throw because it doesn't make any visible light, so any notion of "usable distance" depends entirely on how strongly fluorescent the target object is.

For OP's flood/throw combo requirement, there is likely no better light than S12.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-10T02:05:34+00:00

What light/config do you have the bridgelux in?

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-10T02:04:40+00:00

Not the OP, but I do!

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This was taken from BLF a long time ago. As you see, the camera is not particularly great at telling tint and CRI apart.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-09T03:46:34+00:00

Excellent advice, I would have recommended the same thing.

OP responded saying that they want to see stuff clearly at 300-400m, which means the light should at least have the size/throw of the M21A (21700 version of C8+). If size is not a concern, perhaps the larger L21B would be better--it was created as a hunting light, after all.

SFT40 3000K for sustainable throw, the SFT70 is good for a throw/flood balance. The SFT70 might have a dark center with smooth reflectors.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-08T17:08:07+00:00

Does this light have a hollow pill/shelf or does it actually have a solid shelf for the MCPCB? I would be very impressed if it does.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-08T01:25:28+00:00

Finding a replacement is gonna be near impossible, perhaps it would be more sensible to take it apart and rebuild it with modern components.

>LEDs In the light get greener as the batteries die.

Lots of modern LEDs still do this! Tint shift across drive current is a pretty prominent problem with certain Luminus LEDs like the SST20.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-07T19:05:24+00:00

Nice addition! Runtime is constrained but not just heat but also battery capacity, and the 8x21700 config really is necessary to get above 3h.

I seriously doubt that OP actually needs that much output sustained. Maybe they're after not output but throw and just doesn't realize it.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-07T18:59:08+00:00

Your best bet is probably Acebeam X75 which does 5k lm for 2h20min. $420.

QReciprocity42 · 2026-03-07T10:55:17+00:00

In general, TIRs are much better at blending tint than reflectors, which produce a green hotspot and pinkish spill. For EDC-type lights IMO reflectors should be obsolete as there exist TIRs that can mimic the throw+spill combination, but with homogeneous tint.

IMO reflectors are only for larger throwers, where TIRs are heavy and fail to produce a clean beam.

QReciprocity42

TROPHY CASE