can anyone clarify for me what LED's are used for which colors?
are any of the colors actually brighter with FOC?
i see some people talking about FOC using different LEDs than the single colors, some people are saying that the FOC uses a 10W LED but that not all 10W get used?
I have one saber with FOC (srd with silver flash) and it does seem brighter than any of my other sabers but is that just because SRD is a brighter color? or is it because it has FOC and is therefore a higher watt LED?
im curious because if the colors are indeed brighter with the FOC then i would be more likely to get FOC on future sabers
I believe that BR, CG, and AS use 5W Seoul P4's; FO, GB, SRD, AB, and VA use Rebel Stars with the last three being a combination of 2 colors from an RGB model.
All colors are brighter but not significantly brighter with Flash on Clash models as they use a 10W LED Engin.
The non FOC sabers use the 5W LED's as they are either a single die or contain three dies on the RGB models. The Flash on Clash sabers have 4 dies with a combined rating of 10W. Since most of the sabers require 2-3 dies to make the primary color plus flash on clash, you will not be using the full 10W of power.
The brightness comes from two factors: the lumens a specific color produces and the number of dies used in the mixing of the colors. For your example of SRD with AS FOC: You have blue and green (the highest lumens of all colored LED's) mixed to produce the SRD. The you have AS that comes from a white. If you have 10W spread over 4 dies, that is 5W per side. So on the wattage, you have a primary color that is equal to a 5W RGB used for a non flash on clash. Most of what you are seeing is an optical illusion. People see certain colors better than others. You obviously are like most of the population in that the colors of Blue and Green are the brightest in your eyes.
I have both non FOC and FOC sabers. My Guardian Blue non vs my Guardian Blue FOC are no different in brightness. In the end though, it all amounts to what you personally see. One of the administrators, Deep, has a wonderful thread about blade types and what colors look best. He reminds everyone that those are his opinions as he is basing his decisions on what he personally sees best. Deep feel that Blazing Red should not be in UEHG blades while Zren Tobas has made a video with Blazing Red in an UEHG and he says it looks great to him.
I say do the following: if you have access to an FOC and non FOC saber of the same color, compare them. If you think the color looks brighter in the FOC configuration, then I would recommend purchasing future sabers with that option.
If you do not have access, then shoot me a PM. I'll do a video of my Guardian Blue with Silver Flash on Clash using a 10W LED Engin LED in Heavy Grade Blade against my Guardian Blue saber with the 5W Rebel Star LED so that you can decide based on the video.
I hope this long explanation gives you better information or helps move you toward a more informed decision.
Blue