What is CRI and why does it matter for event lighting?

CRI (Color Rendering Index) is a scale from 0 to 100 that measures how accurately a light source reproduces the colors of objects compared to a reference light source like natural daylight. A CRI of 100 means colors appear exactly as they would under ideal natural light. A lower CRI means some colors will look washed out, shifted, or inaccurate.

CRI matters most when skin tones need to look natural (television, broadcast, keynotes, galas), when scenic paint or costumes need to read accurately (theatre), or when products need to look true to color (retail, exhibitions). For concerts and pure visual effects, CRI is less critical than raw output and color saturation. Most professional LED fixtures specify their CRI. The latest generation of moving lights, like the Elation Paragon S, include on-fixture CRI adjustments to tune in a balance of brightness and color fidelity.