Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - L.E.D. Headlights -- Color

For those who use L.E.D. headlights, do you like the color of the beam? The L.E.D. lights I've seen all are rather blue, whereas halogen lights tend to be yellow; this is one of the things that've kept me from the former.

Thanks.

There are many different colors of LED lights, from cold bluish to warm yellowish.

My LED (Magicshine) does not have a blue cast. I've posted pics here and people have commented that the beam looks white.

I put my halogen on for a comparison a few days ago, and it looks sickly yellow in comparison. LEDs may not be pure white, but they're closer to it than halogen is.

I would bet that whatever the "color" you would get used to it after one ride and not even notice the difference.

But FWIW, my Fenix LED has more of a yellow cast than my Magicshine LED. The MS is much brighter and the slightly bluish cast is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

White LEDs are made by using a blue LED and a phosphor to glow broadband in the green with very littler red. That's why they've had a cold, blueish color, but that's changing. Better phosphors are now being used, and some manufacturers of LEDs are mixing red, green and blue segments on the same die.

The Magicshine's P-7 emitter has lots of red in it compared to the previous white LEDs I've worked with. For example, a couple weeks ago I had a party for Bay Area holographers and was looking at holograms made with some of the new full color materials. Everyone was really surprised and happy to see them lit by my new bike headlight. The reds held up pretty good compared to halogen MR-11s.

LEDs are taking over the world of lighting. Forget about the marketing scam regarding compact fluorescents. Those are total garbage, the last push by the fluorescent industry who sees the writing on the wall. Lots of work is going into making LEDs warm and cozy for residential use, and packaging to make them fit into existing fixtures.

A big advantage of the LED lights is that the color stays essentially constant even when you reduce the current to dim the light. So you can run the lights in battery-saving lower levels when in situations that don't require as much light or when it would bother other cyclists and drivers.

I much prefer that to halogen lights that start out with too much of a yellow cast and get much worse as the battery voltage drops.

Halogen lights put the lion's share of their light out in the infrared, heat, which degrades the reflector's coatings changing the color. That's why they are so incredibly inefficient. Running halogen lamps with increased voltage makes them degrade much faster, and cuts their lifetime drastically. It also makes them susceptable to breaking because of shock. Running them at lower voltage (by about 10%) increases lifetime dramatically. Going lower in voltage makes them more reddish yellow as they stop putting out the little blue they have, and significantly decreases their lifetime as the halogen cycle cannot get started in them at too low a voltage (therefore temperature).

As noted LED lights vary in color temperature over a fair range from bluish to white to a mor yellowish warm white. Look for lights with a color temperature listed as 6500K or slightly lower if you object to the blue tinge.

Better get used to them as many powerful bike light and flashlight makers have dropped all production of both halogen and HID lights. LED lights are the future particularly for dynamo lights where they are the only current technology that can provide reasonable light output levels with the limited power available from bicycle dynamos.

Thanks, all, for the replies. Does anyone have an opinion as to the color predilection of the B + M Cyo or Cyo R?

Thanks again.

Thanks, all, for the replies. Does anyone have an opinion as to the color predilection of the B + M Cyo or Cyo R?

Thanks again.

Thanks, all, for the replies. Does anyone have an opinion as to the color predilection of the B + M Cyo or Cyo R?

Thanks again.

Mine seems to be pretty white in beam color. I imagine it might vary slightly from lot to lot of LEDs. Mine is an IQ Cyo bought about 1 year aqo. Per the B&M web site the only difference between the Cyo and Cyo R is the front lens used.

I like the idea of colored led lights but not for use as a headlamp. Drivers are already distracted by the fact that a single light wobbling around in the dark is getting closer. I keep the colored lights on the back.

I have a cree MC-E, I can't remember the bin, but it's light output is almost indistinguishable from a halogen (at least in my male opinion, my wife would probably correct me). I was actually a tad disappointed as I kinda like the bluish hue. The blue sets it apart from all the car headlights and makes it more noticeable.

I've used a halogen light for my first few weeks of commuting, I'm FAR happier with my CREE Q5 LED flashlights (2). I use the 4 Nimh that the halogen used, to put out WAY more light for a longer time. Each flashlight uses 2 AA. Everything is seen on the unlite MUP at the darkest hours.

The color keeps me more awake and alert, it cuts through crappy weather better too.

I agree with the blue tint being annoying. I actually compared a typical LED light (not a bike light just an LED flood light) to a typical tungsten halogen light using a spectrometer. There is obviously a lot of blue in the LED lights.

tungsten halogen light (40w light bulb)
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii141/Jynx0406/light.jpg

LED
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii141/Jynx0406/light2.jpg