Shopping for a new flashlight can often be confusing. But what about trying to make sense out of understanding what type of LED the light is equipped with? This is where the best CREE LED comparison can help.
Forget ‘Grease’ – CREE Is The Word!
CREE, Incorporated was founded in 1987 at North Carolina State University. The research that went into the development of cheaper and more efficient ways of producing light, have almost become a household word! For those interested in handheld flashlights, the CREE LED has become the dominant force responsible for bringing the devices into the 21st century!
When You’ve Seen One, Have You Seen Them All?
With regards to some things, yes. With regards to LED’s, no. Some will say that LED’s have become smaller over the years. Some will disagree by adding that it’s the “die size” that has increased. LED’s vary in size. These differences, when coupled with the size and shape of the reflector, are what give YOU the user, the beam that you prefer.
Read on to discover how to determine this when shopping for an LED flashlight.
Alphabet Soup
All this wonderful technology has created quite a challenge for consumers. It’s not enough for flashlight seekers that they must understand terminologies that relate to lumens, battery types, run times etc… but trying to make sense of the LED models themselves can be quite mind boggling!
This is a CREE XP-G R5 LED
Here a basic roll call of the XLamp LED models that CREE has introduced over the last decade or so.
Basically in order of consumer appearance, are XR-E, XP-E, XP-G, XM-L. These are the LED models, so to speak. Each model however has several luminous flux bins. Please don’t ask me to define that terminology, just know that it exists and it’s one of the components that you should have a basic understand of when looking at flashlight specifications.
Flux Bins Rule!
If you read the paragraph above, then you’re already familiar with what flux bins are. If you didn’t…scroll up and read it before continuing.
The flux bins are (more-or-less) brightness codes…in the form of a rating.
There’s no denying that flashlights have become brighter over the years. And although the reasoning behind the naming of the codes means nothing to consumers, just try to remember that with each sequence of codes, the lights have added more lumens!
An example of the flux bin codes that have accompanied the LED models (as noted earlier in the article) have had naming references such as Q2, Q5, R2, L2, U2, T6, etc. These codes always follow the model number. Over the period, there have been many combinations of bins assigned which have not become flashlight components. Below, are the combinations which you are more likely to see, or have seen.
Led Diody Vysokosvietive Top Klasa 2
Dissecting The Bins
- XR-E (R2)
A light with this LED (if there’s still one in the clearance closet) will be several years old. Its highest lumen count will be around 300, using lithium batteries. It WILL however have excellent throw! (enabling the beam to travel at a great distance)
- XP-E (R2)
Not much different than XR-E except for its size. Performance about equal.
- XP-C (Q4)
If you should see a flashlight with this LED…pass on it. The XP-C is a low-power LED which offers a much lower maximum drive current than others in the XP family. It’s also much cheaper to produce. It won’t offer a lot of lumens and is capable of over-heating itself to death (causing permanent failure) due to the cheaper mounting material used in the assembly. On the retail level, flashlights with this LED have been known to be sold at cost-conscious big-box stores. Check labeling carefully!
- XP-G (R5) and XP-G2
The ‘G’ and ‘G2’ line feature a boost in lumens. The ‘G2’ offers up to 20% more than the ‘G’. This line also offers throwing capability much closer to that of the older XR-E. Note that the size of the ‘G2’ is a tad smaller, producing a slightly smaller beam.
- XM-L (T6)/(U2)
Virtually all flashlights made today use an XM-L LED. This LED produces a full-flood beam, with less throw than the XP-G. Total lumen output for the original XM-L peaked at near 700. Differences in the T6 and U2 flux bins include higher brightness. The T6 cannot output more than 910-975 lumens. (*see note) Meanwhile the U2 bin is 7% brighter than the T6. Overall beam distance (throw) has increased since the XM-L. Both of the more recent bins have less flood overall.
Part of what makes the XM-L visually distinctive, is its slightly larger size and a six-line grid across the die.
- XM-L2 U2/U3
Similar in size (5mm x 5mm) to the XM-L, the L2 has increased brightness by about 20%. It has also omitted the “grid” found on the XM-L.
The T6 bin is present in both the XM-L & XM-L2 emitters. T6 output within the L2, peaks between 1044-1119 lumens.
The U3 bin has now appeared in many flashlights. Brightness has modestly increased again. Top output is 1193-1268.
- XP-L/HI
Continued advances in LED technology made the XP-L LED available in the spring of 2014.
CREE XP-L HI
The XP-L is the same size die as the XM-L2, but it’s placed onto the smaller size board of the older XP-G. Whereas the XP-G is king when it comes to “throwing” capabilities, the XP-L doesn’t throw quite as far, but it makes up for it in brightness and the fact that it can be driven at much higher currents.
About a year after its introduction, a “high intensity” version was released. This is now known as XP-L HI. In some new flashlights, including Manker’s T01, you’ll find the “HI” LED. Their are various versions of it, and the T01’s brother (U11) features a “HI” in V5, which puts its highest available output between 1176 and 1227. The T01 is 900 lumens, the U11 is 1050.
- XHP35/HI
With 50% higher performance than its nearest predecessor, the XHP35 LED can be found in various types of lighting and has a traditional “domed” shape to it. At 3.45 x 3.45 mm, it’s a tiny LED… BUT can output up to 1883 lumens! One of my favorite flashlights (to date) using an XHP35 is the Olight M2R.
Meanwhile, the “HI” (high intensity) version, although the same size, is FLAT (just like the XP-L HI) and is capable of producing up to 1483 lumens! It produces a very focused beam with a tight center-spot. A good example of this, is the Manker MK41. There’s also another variation to this LED, which is designated as “HD”.
If you downloaded games to the new PS4 before you started the transfer, you’ll have to download them again. Ps4 flash drive update. If you try to get around this limitation by transferring your save files from the new PS4 to the old with the idea of transferring them back, you’ll wipe the drive on the old PS4. If you started to play those games, your save files will be lost.
- XHP50/50.2
The XHP50 is part of CREE’s “Extreme High Power” class of LED’s. Once again, it’s shaped like a dome and at 5×5 mm, it’s a bit larger. It achieves DOUBLE the output of the popular XM-L2, at an impressive 2546 lumens. For an example of XHP50 power, see the Nitecore SRT9.
For the 50.2, lumen “density” was improved a bit, even though size and shape remained the same. Output also increased a small amount, to 2654 lumens.
- XHP70/70.2
With the XHP70, lumen density was increased…again. This is the largest of the group at 7×7 mm, and still retains the domed shape. Naturally, output was increased…again! This time, it reaches an astounding 4022 lumens!
For the 70.2, we have slight improvements once again. This includes higher lumen density, higher voltage characteristics, reliability and optical performance when compared to the XHP70. For lumens… a ‘small boost’ to 4292 was achieved.
When Tints Were King
LEFT: Neutral White — RIGHT: Cool White
Not so much with today’s XM-L technology, but varying tint bins were all the rage with XP LED’s. Many new variations of popular lights were released with neutral white and some warm white LED bins. Although a popular alternative to the standard cool white LED color, the warmer tint bins featured less lumens due to the thicker LED coatings.
* I always feel it’s useful to know that there are an abundance of cheaply made flashlights in today’s marketplace. The internet is full of them. Many of these lights feature a XM-L T6 LED. And many that do, routinely inflate their lumens to 1600 and above. As noted in the XM-L section, the T6 bin is limited to slightly less than 1000 lumens. The consumer should be aware of these blatant inaccuracies. For more information click this link.
Something else to keep in mind, are the output estimates from CREE. In many flashlights, “out the front” lumens are less that the given output which sometimes gets absorbed by the reflector. Some lights have better designed optics to alleviate lost output. The biggest offenders in “lost lumens” are the “focusing” flashlights, whereby the beam widens and narrows by pushing and pulling the head forward and backward. These are mainly low-cost, poorly-made, generic flashlights.
What did you think of the best CREE LED comparison? Was it helpful? Do you have any questions or comments relating to anything discussed here? If so, please fill out the fields below.
More from Lightsngear
The answer is simple, really. Those numbers refer to the surface area of the SMD (Surface Mount Diode). But of course there is much more to it. In this article you will find the following:
- Specifications for 3528, 5050 and 5630 LEDs including lumens, amp/wattage draw and diode size.
- Photos of the actual illumination characteristics of each diode type
- Conclusion that answers which diode type is suitable for different purposes and projects
Epistar LED Specifications (3528 vs 5050 vs 5630)
LED | Dimensions | Chip Surface Area | Lumen Flux | Power Consumption |
---|---|---|---|---|
3528 LED | 3.5 mm x 2.8 mm | 9.8 mm² | 6-8 lumens | 20-30 mA @ 2.8-3.4 Volts |
5050 LED | 5.0 mm x 5.0 mm | 25 mm² | 16-22 lumens | 60 mA @ 2.8-3.4 Volts |
5630 LED | 5.6 mm x 3.0 mm | 16.8 mm² | 45-50 lumens | 150 mA @ 2.8-3.4 Volts |
Notes
- Lumens: A unit equal to the amount of light emitted per second
- Power Consumption: This is per LED. Most LED strips such as the ones we offer group LEDs into 3’s, achieving an operating voltage of 12
- Diode & Chip: Used interchangeably to refer to a semiconductor device with two terminals. The term is somewhat arbitrary when speaking of electrical boards in general, but in this context we’re using them to refer specifically to LED chips designed for surface-mounting.
Are 5630 LEDs brighter than 5050 and 3528 LEDs? What is the brightest LED type?
Yes, as you can see by the table above, 5630 LEDs are by far the brightest, but it is not due simply to a larger lighting surface. There are other factors that go into the output of an LED diode (measured in luminous flux/lumens). The reasons are to do with the design of the chip and the amount of power that they draw.
We can talk specifications all day long, but in this case seeing is believing. To further demonstrate the lumen output differences between the three diodes, we setup a test in our facilities, and as you can see, there are huge differences between the three sizes.
Animated GIF comparison of 3528, 5050 and 5630 LED diodes
How was this test conducted?
3 LEDs were used for each diode size and mounted to a solid surface. Each was placed in front of a white panel. The same power supply was used for all three LED sizes. The camera and illumination panel were unmoved and unaltered during these tests which all took place within a 5 minute period. The only difference from one photo to the next was the diode set used. In short, every attempt was made to create a 100% consistent and controlled environment to accurately demonstrate the luminosity of the LEDs.
Camera | Mode | Shutter | Aperture | ISO |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nikon D5100 | Manual | 1' Second | F/22 | 100 |
** All settings were consistent and unchanged throughout tests
So what’s the conclusion? What should you use for your project?
The results of these tests are fairly straight forward. If you need the highest possible luminosity, 5630 is the way to go. One of the greatest advantages to the 5630 LEDs we carry is their adaptability. If you have a project that does not require the full output of the 5630’s, you could simply dim them down to the appropriate level using one of our inline dimmers. Even if this new level is near the output lumens of 5050 or 3528, you’ll be running your 5630 LEDs well below their maximum settings, prolonging their life significantly.
Need for speed most wanted 2005 pc. Jan 22, 2017 - This is retail full version, NOT A RIP – NOT A REPACK. Contains all video cut-scenes and music. Note it's 2.16 GB instead of 800 MB like most. Apr 17, 2016 - Need for Speed Most Wanted is a Racing and Arcade game for PC published by Electronic Arts in 2005. Experience street racing again!
When it comes to 5630 LEDs, we use genuine Epistar LED diodes exclusively. The quality, reliability, output and value are above and beyond other chip manufacturers, enough so that we confidently offer a two-year warranty on all our products. If you’re in the market for 5630 LEDs, take a look around our shop and drop us a line if you need any help, we’re happy to offer advice.