ToolGuyd

Tool Reviews, New Tool Previews, Best Tool Guides, Tool Deals, and More!

  • New Tools
  • Reviews
  • Guides
    • Best Cordless Power Tool Brand
    • Tool Brands: Who Owns What?
    • Best Cordless Drills (New for 2019!)
    • Dewalt UWO Explained
    • Best Multi-Bit Screwdrivers
    • Best Cordless Impact Drivers (2015)
    • Best Cordless Circular Saws
    • Best Tape Measure
    • Best Cordless Oscillating Tools
    • Best EDC Gear
    • Best Multimeter
    • Best Precision Screwdrivers
    • Best Modular Tool Boxes
    • Ultimate Tool Gift Guide
  • Hand Tools
    • Bit Holders & Drivers
    • EDC, Pocket, & Multitools
    • Electrical Tools
    • Flashlights & Worklights
    • Knives
    • Mechanics’ Tools
    • Pliers
    • Screwdrivers
    • Sockets & Drive Tools
    • Wrenches
    • All Hand Tools
  • Power Tools
    • Accessories
    • Cordless
    • Drills & Drivers
    • Oscillating Tools
    • Saws
    • Woodworking Tools
    • All Power Tools
  • Brands
    • Bosch
    • Craftsman
    • Dewalt
    • Makita
    • Milwaukee
    • Milwaukee NPS19 Tools
    • Ryobi
    • All Brands
  • USA-Made
  • Deals
ToolGuyd > Power Tools > Cordless > Milwaukee LED “TRUEVIEW” Technology Explained

Milwaukee LED “TRUEVIEW” Technology Explained

Oct 3, 2014 Stuart 8 Comments

If you buy something through our links, ToolGuyd might earn an affiliate commission.

Milwaukee M18 TrueView LED Lantern

As mentioned in our 2014 and 2015 new Milwaukee tool preview, the red team is coming out with some new LED lighting products that they boast has new TRUEVIEW technology.

According to Milwaukee, the TRUEVIEW technology offers things like “best-in-class” light quality, “High Definition,” and a “true representation of colors and details.

Advertisement

Milwaukee M18 TrueView LED Lantern Beam Pattern

So we asked…

What’s the color temperature of the light?

What’s the CRI rating of the light?

Color Temperature

Color temperature is a quantitative description of how “warm” or “cool” a light is. “Warm” is a yellow-orangey hue typically inherent to lower color temperatures, such as 3200K, while “cool” describes the blueish hue typically found closer to the 6000K color temperature range. These values are not exact, they’re just examples of what you would expect from warm and cool lights.

Milwaukee’s TRUEVIEW LED lighting products have a color temperature of 4000K, which is not quite what would be considered daylight (~5600K). 4000K is nearly right smack between warm and cool ends of the white light spectrum, and is quite pleasing.

My much-loved neutral white LED headlamp has a color temperature of 4400K. A 4000K source should be only slightly warmer.

A lot of LED lighting products have higher and cooler color temperatures. Personally, I find that cooler and bluer LED light is better suited for long-distance illumination, such as spotlight flashlights. For up-close work lighting, neutral or slightly warm LED color temperatures are easier on the eyes and more pleasing.

Milwaukee says that the 4000K color temperature of their TRUEVIEW LED products was specially chosen to closely match midday sunlight. Compared to other color temperatures, the 4000K light should provide best comfort and clarity to end users.

CRI, Color Rendering Index

The color rendering index (CRI) describes the color accuracy of a light. The highest value, 100, is possible with pure sunlight and incandescent light sources.

CRI is determined using as series of color swatches. These colors look truer in high CRI light sources, and muddied or off by a few shades in low CRI light sources.

LED emitters, and especially worklight products, have CRI values in the 60’s and 70’s range.

Low CRI values can change how colors look, which isn’t a problem most of the time – at least where factors beyond user comfort and convenience are concerned – but can be an issue at imes. Let’s say you’re working in an electrical panel with a lot of wiring. A poor CRI light can make it difficult to distinguish blue and purple wires.

Have you ever been in an office that looked and felt a little sterile? A bix box shop with fluorescent lights where everything looked a little dull and flat?

CRI isn’t as noticeable a light quality as color temperature, but it plays a big part in how objects and their colors look under illumination.

Milwaukee says that their TRUEVIEW LED products have a CRI of 85. 85 is not what would be considered “very high CRI,” but it’s somewhat of a high value. This means that colors should appear closer to their truer shades when illuminated with one of Milwaukee’s new LED worklights.

Some of the LED lamps I have also have CRI values of 85. I went down this path because CRI in the mid-80’s provides good color quality without too much of a sacrifice in intensity. Plus, there’s greater bang-for-the-buck compared to very high CRI lights.

Overall

In product descriptions, you’re going to see Milwaukee’s TRUEVIEW products described as mentioned above – with claims of exceptional light quality and better color rendering. I hope this rundown of color temperature and CRI gives you make better sense of why and how Milwaukee can make these claims.

Unless you see the light yourself firsthand, it can be difficult to understand what Milwaukee means when they talk about “better clarity, light quality, and color accuracy.” Once the LED products are available, I’ll put together a comparison so that you could see the difference a little more clearly.

Even so, the color temperature (4000K), and CRI (85), should give you a good idea of what you can expect from the TRUEVIEW LED lights. Light with CRI of 85 can be different depending on the LED emitter, but indicates rather good (at least for LED) color accuracy.

It’s hard to be impressed by a bunch of on-paper numbers, but I am very optimistic about the new TRUEVIEW LED products. The lights’ technical properties seem to back up Milwaukee’s claims about the benefits their TRUEVIEW technology can offer professional users.

Related posts:

No related posts.

Sections: Cordless, Flashlights & Worklights, New Tools, Tool Science 101 Tags: Milwaukee M12, Milwaukee M18More from: Milwaukee

« New Makita Brushless Circular Saw
New Ridgid Pro Tool Boxes »

8 Comments

  1. Farid says

    Oct 3, 2014 at 11:39 am

    Interesting that they claim 4000K is more like midday sunlight. Midday sunlight is 5500K (light from northern facing window with blue sky often reads closer to 6000k and overcast day can be 6500k and up). My calibrated white balance checker always measures 5500k mid day light.

    I would not match color swatches with a CRI in rating in the lower 80’s but it should be plenty sufficient to differentiate wire colors for example.

    Overall it looks like a nice unit though. If the run time is good, it’ll make a good camping or emergency light as well.

    Reply
  2. Winston Ng says

    Oct 3, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    Can it operate on 220 240VW50Hz State cost
    Winston Ng

    Reply
    • SteveR says

      Oct 4, 2014 at 10:38 am

      Winston–I believe this is a cordless (battery-powered) light, so no, it won’t operate on 220-240V. Check out the photo above, and you’ll notice there is no power cord attached. If you’re asking if the charger will, I’m assuming no again. Most items this size and capacity will charge strictly on 110-120V Stateside. If you’re outside the U.S., you should contact Milwaukee or a local distributor to determine if they offer a unit that will charge on the higher voltage (220-240V).

      If you’re looking for a light that operates on that kind of voltage, you may need to contact some industrial suppliers, like Grainger, MSC or McMaster-Carr. This one appears to be intended more for home-use, rather than an industrial setting.

      Reply
  3. Jimmie says

    Oct 4, 2014 at 12:32 pm

    LEDs with CRI as high as 97 are readily-available at supply houses like DigiKey.

    Earlier this year, I hacked a desk magnifier lamp (the kind that use a circular fluorescent bulb) to use three 97CRI Bridgelux LEDs. I’m driving them at 300ma so total lumens is somewhere around 1700. To my eyes, the light quality is indistinguishable from halogen while the efficiency is still about 30% better than compact fluorescent bulbs. Yes, please.

    In principle, the same sort of hack could be applied to a halogen floodlamp though to match a 500W halogen lamp’s lumens output, you’d need 100-120W worth of 97CRI LEDs. So you’d need a reasonable fan-cooled heatsink. It’d make an interesting weekend project (though personally I’d rather hack my kitchen track lights to use high-CRI LEDs instead).

    Reply
  4. KL says

    Oct 5, 2014 at 1:29 pm

    Alleged retail on these is cheaper than the stick lights but they seem more complicated. I don’t understand the pricing but I still want one.

    Reply
  5. adam says

    Nov 8, 2015 at 6:29 pm

    old thread I know, but while looking at add-on items for the M18 bundle at HD, I found out that the lantern has a USB port. quite handy in my opinion.

    Reply
    • Stuart says

      Nov 8, 2015 at 6:41 pm

      I don’t think I knew that, thanks!

      Reply
  6. Tcmsult says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    I got the lateen as part of a bundle. It has been quite nice. I’ve only used the USB to try, but it worked. I really only need this as a direction lamp, but the option to go 360 illumination is nice.

    I do wish the top had rubber bumpers as well. Most of my work is under a vehicle and usually lay it on its back. To keep it from getting scratched, I put some electrical on the edge of the top black plastic piece.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Newsletter

Sign up to receive the latest tool news.

ToolGuyd Forum

Recent Comments

  • CountyCork on Bosch PROFACTOR Cordless Power Tool Hype Continues to Build: “You can always make your own. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ6fglEDmFO/?igshid=yrgtq41dupty”
  • MoogleMan3 on Hart Stack – Another Modular Tool Box System?: “I do like the look of the small parts organizers in this set, though I am a certified organizational obsessor……”
  • Robm on Bosch PROFACTOR Cordless Power Tool Hype Continues to Build: “The 60v dewalt is unbeatable, the power detect or flexvolt advantage 20v saws are also extremely powerful.”
  • Dave the tool on Hart Stack – Another Modular Tool Box System?: “I was in Walmart today and they had two of them for sale. Don’t know if they had a full…”
  • Stephen on New Bosch Profactor Cordless Axial-Glide Miter Saw (Updated): “I got myself the 8.5” cordless miter saw around the new year. Amazon had it on sale for $350 (bare…”
  • Adam on Giveaway: Milwaukee Packout 3-Drawer Tool Box + Wall Shelving Rack!: “I have a lot of Milwaukee tools and have often wanted to buy their packout stuff but have resisted because…”

Recent Posts

  • Olight Valentine's Day Flashlight Sale 2021
  • Hart Stack - Another Modular Tool Box System?
  • New Bosch Profactor Cordless Axial-Glide Miter Saw (Updated)
  • Bosch PROFACTOR Cordless Power Tool Hype Continues to Build
  • Mora Carpentry Chisel Knife Dropped in Price
  • New KA-BAR USSF (United States Space Force) Tools and Knives
  • The New Ridgid Cordless Miter Saw Looks Very Familiar (R48607B)
  • ToolGuyd Misc Tool Talk and Social Media Summary (1/23/21)
ToolGuyd New Tool Reviews Image

New Tool Reviews

Buying Guides

  • Best Cordless Drills
  • Best Cordless Impact Drivers
  • Best Cordless Multi-Tools
  • Cordless Power Tool Brands
  • Modular Tool Storage Systems
  • Ultimate Tool Gift & Upgrade Guide
ToolGuyd Knife Reviews Image

Knife Reviews

ToolGuyd Multi-Tool Reviews Image

Multi-Tool Reviews

ToolGuyd LED Flashlight and Worklight Reviews Image

LED Light Reviews

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Stores
  • Videos
  • Gear
  • AMZN Deal Finder
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Disclosure