I like HPS, MH and MV lamps because each type of the HID family have a unique lighting characteristic that can never be duplicated by LED. Clear MV are a deep bluish green approximately 5900K with very poor CRI of around 15 Deluxe MV glow a more red -pinkish at start-up then slowly transition to the proper 3500- 4000K depending on the phosphor blend used with a much better CRI of about 50. HPS lamps start-up with a bluish white before taking on the familiar golden orange glow we all know and love MH lamps start-up with that familiar bluish white mercury vapor color then gradually transition to the correct color temperature , which varies widely from 3000K to over 15,000K, or to specific colors like blue or green, to name a few, and the CRI can range from very poor in the 10s, to around 90+ , depending on the metals and chemical mixture in the arc tube, with the average clear MH being 4000K with a CRI of 65.
