I'm done with Cool White!

[staticx57]

Luckily Neutral is so common these days you will rarely be in a situation where you will be without a light.

 

[Mark Anthony]

Agreed.

Humans spent hundreds of thousands of years looking at an amber camp fire at night before going to sleep. Blue light stops melatonin production and wakes you up, which can disrupt sleep cycles if exposed too late in the evening.

Warm or Neutral/Natural White also has better color rendition, so is more useful if color identification is important at night (wiring, first responders, fluids, etc.)

Blue is for working or searching IMHO. I avoid blue if possible unless it is called for.

Mark

 

[Grijon]

For me and my eyes, 4000k is a wonderful, pleasing tint with a bit of warmth; if I could only have one tint for the rest of my life 4000k would be it.

I enjoy the warmer tints, too, such as my M61Ws and Convoys S2+s with <4000k tints. They look like incandescents to me (my M61WLLs were purchased as incan simulators), which I very much enjoy.

5000k is absolutely "pure" light to my brain - I see no tint in it at all, making it rather "flavorless", if you take my meaning. It's still better for me than any cooler.

>5000k is blue to my eyes, period. I started this hobby with CW Fenix lights and don't know what changed or how, but now any hint of blue just irritates me immensely. I can still appreciate a light with such a tint, but I won't be buying any and would actually light to sell off the CW lights I already have.

I changed all the lightbulbs in my house from CW CFLs to warm LEDs; my wife and I absolutely love the change.

To each his own, but I'm done with Cool White, too!

 

[AZPops]

Those lights are installed primarily for security and insurance reasons. They run them at full brightness because bright light deters thieves and vandals. They don't particularly care how law-abiding people feel about it. Maybe if they get hundreds of complaints they'll adjust the brightness -- but if they do, they'll probably use low-frequency PWM that will be even worse, because low-frequency PWM circuits are inexpensive. It's unlikely they would get any complaints at all, though; the vast majority of people are not interesting in preserving their night vision, and would prefer bright light everywhere they go.

You could be right, re. discounting insurance rates, however IMO, it's about not changing light bulbs. One (slight) disadvantage the strip center has when they changed lighting is; I no longer look in their direction. It's just an, it is what it is type of situation.

I'm on contract, so I deal with the lighting. Regardless, I use cool white while working, on this property or another.

 

[bykfixer]

Not done with cool white.

My eyes can see better with less light using cool white. Sure, a neutral can be more pleasant at times.

 

[Modernflame]

I use and enjoy both. I find cool white contrasts better against ambient lighting. Indoors or in really dark environments I prefer a warmer tint.

What's the color temperature of moon light? That's been a source of night time lighting for longer than fire and candles. I know dark adapted vision doesn't see color very well.

Well put. This more or less summarizes my view point on this issue. The typical 6000K+ flashlight @ 70ish CRI is useful because of its contrast with most ambient lighting. When being run over by a car is a real danger, I reach for cool white. I keep a Malkoff M61 for this very purpose. It's less than beautiful, though.

I can't say I'm done with cool white entirely, but I have a strong preference for neutral and/or high cri lights.

 

[peter yetman]

I have made a vow to myself that I'm not buying anything but Nichia in the future.
This is a useful strategy, as it stops me from lusting after a lot of new lights that don't have that emitter. That last Cool White I purchased was an M61T, which I like, but the colour always disappoints me and I end up taking my Neutral Hound instead.
P

 

[usdiver]

Well put. This more or less summarizes my view point on this issue. The typical 6000K+ flashlight @ 70ish CRI is useful because of its contrast with most ambient lighting. When being run over by a car is a real danger, I reach for cool white. I keep a Malkoff M61 for this very purpose. It's less than beautiful, though.

I can't say I'm done with cool white entirely, but I have a strong preference for neutral and/or high cri lights.

I can actually relate to this and though I can't see as far with my cool white seal, it IS a bright little beast considering it's 250 lumens and has 1 battery. It actually throws as much as a similar light of 425 lumens sporting 2 batteries but the 425 has a tint closer to my high noon. As pleasing as the neutral to warmer tints are, there are still uses for the cool white as well as other uses for other tints 🤔

 

[AMD64Blondie]

Agreed.I just bought a Olight S1R,and decided on the neutral white option.(4800K color temp.)

 

[thermal guy]

After trying the N and W version of the M61 I agree with ya man

 

[bykfixer]

Construction sites use these because they're bright.

Cost, tint, CRI etc do not play a role when it's life or death involved.

Oh, and they're cool white.

When it absolutely, positively matters, brightness comes first and cool white appears brighter.

 

[idleprocess]

Construction sites use these because they're bright.

Cost, tint, CRI etc do not play a role when it's life or death involved.

Oh, and they're cool white.

When it absolutely, positively matters, brightness comes first and cool white appears brighter.

High pressure sodium is something like 20 CRI and up to 160 lumens per watt. Low pressure sodium is effectively monochromatic at 0 CRI but slightly more efficient than high pressure sodium. Metal halide peaks at closer to 100 lumens per watt but can hit 90 CRI with specialty bulbs; 65 looks to be closer to what standard bulbs hit.

I'm going to speculate that the awful color accuracy of sodium lamps plays a role in an otherwise more efficient light source not being the choice for worksite lighting. Yes, the near-monochromatic high pressure sodium popular with streetlights seems dim no matter how many watts are thrown at it, but like pretty much every low-CRI light source it seems to really screw with depth perception and basic object recognition. What's just sufficient not to collide with other vehicles, pedestrians, road obstacles might not be sufficient for operating heavy equipment around workers in its hazardous areas.

Honestly, I think we're basically saying the same thing. Similar lumens of high pressure sodium vs metal halide, the latter will seem brighter. High pressure sodium makes the brain work so much harder to build visual comprehension of the scene.

 

[bykfixer]

Worker to boss: "Hey bossman, the CRI sux from your light plants".
Boss: "Yeah? You're fired, walk home".

When I'm working near:

A machine that eats asphalt and drinks jet fuel, I'm not very concerned about the tint of lighting tools.

Neither is that fellow to the left.

Here is a scenario where cool white was a big help:

Having trouble with shadows hiding the concrete sliding down the flume.

Much better.

So yeah, when I'm on a leisurely stroll with Mrs. Fixer then tint can add to the relaxing experience. Yet when walking across an unlit area and I hear "give me your wallet" you can rest assured the cool white is a very effective retina zapper. Cool white has it's virtues.

 

[Grijon]

I drive a concrete mixer for a living, and I never thought I'd see one on CPF.

Thanks, bykfixer!

 

[ven]

Awesome pics mr fixer

 

[JohnnyBravo]

I concur. I believe I've purged my entire collection of cools. Either sold or gave them away. I like warm to neutrals with a slight lean towards the warms...

 

[MeMeMe]

Bluer tints will make you feel more awake though. More alert, but less capable of picking up on details and reacting to the environment. How much of this is practically measurable vs. theory? I don't know.

It is practically measurable (at least reaction speed to environment), and your theory ... is wrong. You react much faster to low level light that is cooler than warmer.

 

[MeMeMe]

Agreed.

Humans spent hundreds of thousands of years looking at an amber camp fire at night before going to sleep. Blue light stops melatonin production and wakes you up, which can disrupt sleep cycles if exposed too late in the evening.

Warm or Neutral/Natural White also has better color rendition, so is more useful if color identification is important at night (wiring, first responders, fluids, etc.)

Blue is for working or searching IMHO. I avoid blue if possible unless it is called for.

Mark

.... and animals have been functioning with 4000K (approx) moonlight for 100's of millions of years, and there is likely far more evolutionary pressure for being able to function in moonlight versus around the campfire.

Warm is not better for color rendition. That makes no sense. There is not enough blue to enable color discrimination across a fairly wide range of colors, especially for things like wire). Even for blood, there is little benefit for a warm light. A high CRI cool light will be just fine ... just like sunlight.

 

[fyrstormer]

Moonlight may be ~4,000K, but overall ambient light at night is closer to 20,000K.

 

[markr6]

I concur. I believe I've purged my entire collection of cools. Either sold or gave them away. I like warm to neutrals with a slight lean towards the warms...

Same here. I have one remaining cool white.