Philips LED bike light

[steverosburg]

@swhs: I see that you've posted run times on your site. Looks like the light is exactly as-advertised with the 2 hour run time. It must be drawing ~0.6A per LED, which would definitely seem to indicate more than 270 lumens total, since a single Luxeon Rebel at 0.6A should be close to 200 lumens.

On the other hand, the Supernova Airstream should be powering the XP-G at 1A (based on the 2.5 hour run time using a 2500mAh 18650). At 1A, an XP-G R5 should put out almost 350 lumens (data sheet indicates 347.5 at 1A, Supernova claims 370 lumens), so the values are mostly real and not too much fantasy.

Dollar for dollar, the Philips light definitely looks like the way to go. However, I think the Airstream has a bit more practical range of settings (1A, 750mA, 350mA), which should translate to 347.5, 280-ish and 139 lumens. You mention that the Philips light can be too bright in some cases, but on low (20 lux) it would be under 100 lumens total and a bit low for my liking (unless I were in an urban area which already had considerable ambient light and I just wanted to be seen). I definitely need more than 2 hours of runtime, as I usually do a 2.5 hour ride before work and leave my house about 1.5 hours before the earliest light of dawn (and it will only get worse as winter approaches). That's just cutting it way to close for a single set of batteries, and I'd prefer to not have to stop if it can be avoided. The big outstanding question for me is still whether the Philips light can be charged via the USB port while it's on, then I could hook up one of these and coax some additional run time out of it: http://www.batteryspace.com/battery...ndbeltcliponoffpowerswitch-rohscompliant.aspx.

 

[swhs]

@swhs: I see that you've posted run times on your site. Looks like the light is exactly as-advertised with the 2 hour run time. It must be drawing ~0.6A per LED, which would definitely seem to indicate more than 270 lumens total, since a single Luxeon Rebel at 0.6A should be close to 200 lumens.

Probably more like 0.7 or even 0.8A. From the datasheet, possibly 390 lumen minus optical losses which would give 320. But measuring is the only way to make sure.

On the other hand, the Supernova Airstream should be powering the XP-G at 1A (based on the 2.5 hour run time using a 2500mAh 18650). At 1A, an XP-G R5 should put out almost 350 lumens (data sheet indicates 347.5 at 1A, Supernova claims 370 lumens), so the values are mostly real and not too much fantasy.

The Supernova figures are 100% fantasy just as the Cree datasheet contain fantasy values. The XP-Gs have been measured at 270 lumen at 1A, as you should have seen from the I gave in the thread about battery powered dyno lights. And that was not just 1 LED (that may have been bad or whatever), and an R4 was also measured. They come nowhere near the datasheet values.

 

[steverosburg]

Probably more like 0.7 or even 0.8A. From the datasheet, possibly 390 lumen minus optical losses which would give 320. But measuring is the only way to make sure.

Unlikely, as your 2250mAh batteries would not have been able to last two hours at that rate. However, good enough is good enough. My only concern at this rate is with the low run time.

The Supernova figures are 100% fantasy just as the Cree datasheet contain fantasy values. The XP-Gs have been measured at 270 lumen at 1A, as you should have seen from the I gave in the thread about battery powered dyno lights. And that was not just 1 LED (that may have been bad or whatever), and an R4 was also measured. They come nowhere near the datasheet values.

Okay, whatever it is, it is. Nobody will know for sure until it is available and measured. As I mentioned above, the only issue I have with the Philips at this point is the run time. If I knew I could extend the run time without having to resort to running in eco-mode or getting off the bike and disassembling the light to put in a new set of batteries, I'd be a happy camper.

 

[swhs]

Unlikely, as your 2250mAh batteries would not have been able to last two hours at that rate. However, good enough is good enough. My only concern at this rate is with the low run time.

I think it would. Assuming 1.2V average at 2.25A, a driver efficiency of 90%,, forward voltage of ca. 3.25V which is what it is at around 0.7-0.8A (see Luxeon Rebel datasheet) then the result is that the LEDs get ca. 0.75 A. All in all my lowest estimate is 0.70A.

Efficiency in the driver could be higher I suppose, lower is possible but even general purpose drivers (taskled) that deal with a variety of input/output conditions get to about 90%..

Runtime: Make the battery pack external! One advantage of an internal battery pack is that the batteries are kept warm in winter. the low setting is good enough to see the road, not as bright as an Edelux, but much wider/longer. As to possible design improvements in the light: 3 settings would be good. Even better perhaps to have 3 buttons to directly switch to the given desired output level.

I may not get to do the USB test as I need to post back the light soon. I may buy the light myself as a reference light but not sure yet.

Reflecting poles: I tried a cool white and neutral white torch, and even though the neutral white one appears less bright when shining at a white wall, when shining at those polse with white retro-reflecting material, the neutral white one is actually brighter!

Sanyo NH-H27 dynohub: See my webpage for updates. I like it a little better than the DH-3N80 due to vibrations being gone at 25 km/h instead of ca. 27-28.

Btw., I had a agreement to buy an old heavy gitzo tripod (good for windy conditions, and also good as it could be set at even 2m and higher), but the seller sold it to someone else before I could come round. This is why I'm almost certainly not going to do any more beamshots any time soon. I've had enough of this sort of idiocy (one of the reasons to be honest to not buy second hand stuff in the Netherlands, it'll drive you crazy lots of times) and I couldn't find any affordable new tripods that aren't too light-weight and that get high enough. Perhaps there are, but there are so many types/brands it's hard to check them all.

So, result: No more updates on my light page the coming time, I'm not in the mood any more.

 

[pe2er]

Btw., I had a agreement to buy an old heavy gitzo tripod (good for windy conditions, and also good as it could be set at even 2m and higher), but the seller sold it to someone else before I could come round. This is why I'm almost certainly not going to do any more beamshots any time soon. I've had enough of this sort of idiocy (one of the reasons to be honest to not buy second hand stuff in the Netherlands, it'll drive you crazy lots of times) and I couldn't find any affordable new tripods that aren't too light-weight and that get high enough. Perhaps there are, but there are so many types/brands it's hard to check them all.

So, result: No more updates on my light page the coming time, I'm not in the mood any more.

Are you near Almere? I Have a heavy tripod you can use ;-)

 

[steverosburg]

I think it would. Assuming 1.2V average at 2.25A, a driver efficiency of 90%,, forward voltage of ca. 3.25V which is what it is at around 0.7-0.8A (see Luxeon Rebel datasheet) then the result is that the LEDs get ca. 0.75 A. All in all my lowest estimate is 0.70A.

My math is simpler: 0.7A * 2 * 2 hours = 2.8Ah, which is more capacity than your batteries have. Also, I managed to dig up some specs from their website which says 0.625A, which would fit perfectly in line with the 2450mAh batteries and claimed run time of 2 hours. Still, I don't really care all that much, bright enough is bright enough, and I'm not a flashaholic. I just want the best bike light possible that is both within my budget and will meet my needs.

As for making the battery pack external, yes I could do that if I have to, but why do it if I don't have to? I've sent in an e-mail to Philips to see if I can get information regarding whether I can use the USB charging socket while the light is running. If it's possible, that will give me longer run time with no modifications, and I don't have to use the external battery for shorter rides.

Anyway, thanks again for all the information you've posted thus far; it's been very helpful and informative.

 

[steverosburg]

Well, I ordered the Philips LED Bike Light from Bike24.com. (Darell adds link) I never heard back from Philips regarding whether the light can be charged while it's on, but I'll give it a shot, and if it doesn't work I can always modify the light to use an external battery pack. Including shipping to USA (and excluding VAT), it came out to 103.90€ (about $132.28 US at the time of purchase).

Basically, it came down to the fact that this light is going to end up costing me half what a Supernova Airstream would, and that's a pretty hefty chunk of change. I also like the semi-permanent mount on the Philips, versus the O-ring style on the Supernova Airstream. The weight (the Philips is about twice the weight of the Airstream) is not an issue for me, because I ride a 30lb recumbent, so the few extra ounces will not be noticed. The primary downside is the lower run time (as I only intend to run the light on high), but hopefully it will end up that the light will allow current from the charging socket while it's on, and that would satisfy all my needs. I will report back when I have received the light and had a chance to test such.

 

[JakeJakes1]

Hi All,

Nice to read that you also are discovering the Philips LED Bike Light.
I have a lamp and it completely blew my mind that this was possible.

My brother and I go biking in the local forests almost every week on monday. It really does not matter that the sun went down. I cannot bother anymore about the sun. I don't need it to have the fun.

Please enjoy these movies that have been taken by myself on my Nokia N82 handheld. You may recognize my brother in law having lots of fun.

This is the movie of the ride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lej8pbR5RDQ

This is how easy it is to mount the Bike light:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOmM0fmDTf4

Some guy even tried out the water-proof-ness of the light, you won't believe this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZUSlXqdpOU

 

[steverosburg]

I just received my Philips LED Bike Light via the postal carrier. I popped in some AA NiMH batteries I had which were recently charged, and turned it on. My initial impression (against the wall, in the middle of the day): bright, but not noticeably brighter than my dual X2000 P4 setup. I could easily believe that a single LED light (e.g. the Supernova Airstream) could be as bright as this, although I don't plan on buying one to find out. The true test will be Thursday morning, when I take it out at 4:15 AM in the pitch black for my next morning ride.

As for whether the light can be run while power is connected to the mini-USB charging jack, the answer is a most definite NO, and this really bums me out. As soon as you connect power to the USB jack the light shuts off and goes into charging mode. This means I'm going to have to mod the light if I want more than 2 hours burn time, which I almost always do except in the middle of summer when it gets light early. Therefore, I give a huge advantage to the Supernova Airstream in this regard, since (at least according to Supernova) you can supply current to the charging jack while the light is running.

This really was the easiest test in the world to perform, I wish I hadn't had to shell out $132US in order to get the answer.

 

[steverosburg]

I just received my Philips LED Bike Light via the postal carrier. I popped in some AA NiMH batteries I had which were recently charged, and turned it on. My initial impression (against the wall, in the middle of the day): bright, but not noticeably brighter than my dual X2000 P4 setup. I could easily believe that a single LED light (e.g. the Supernova Airstream) could be as bright as this, although I don't plan on buying one to find out. The true test will be Thursday morning, when I take it out at 4:15 AM in the pitch black for my next morning ride.

Okay, so the against-the-wall test is completely useless -- this thing throws down way more light than my P4's. It's a whiter light, and the beam pattern is both much wider and longer than my P4's can deliver at the same brightness. You can't really appreciate how the beam will project until you shine it down the street on a level surface; only then can you really see how much light it's putting out. While the light can certainly reach 80m, I wouldn't say the light at that distance is bright enough to really see by; however, I would certainly say that the usable light extends 40-50m, more than enough for all but really fast downhills. If I were to do a lot of fast downhills in the dark (I don't), I would want to add a helmet light which had a pretty tight spot, and just point that into the distance to see what was coming.

I did end up modding the light to use a supplemental external battery pack (actually, two 4 x AA packs wired in parallel, since AA are so cheap, available and easy to charge). I went on my ride super early this morning so I could spend the entire time in the absolute dark, and it worked like a an absolute dream. I noticed that the battery indicator dropped from 3 bars down to 2 bars after about 30-40 minutes, to 1 bar at ~75 minutes and to no bars at ~100 minutes. However, once it reached zero bars, it just kept running and running all the way until I got home, a little over 150 minutes total. Basically, wiring an external battery pack in parallel with the internal batteries renders the battery indicator pretty useless.

Thanks again to swhs for recommending this light -- it was a bit of a pain to mod it, but it was well worth it for me.

 

[swhs]

Okay, so the against-the-wall test is completely useless -- this thing throws down way more light than my P4's.

Thanks again to swhs for recommending this light -- it was a bit of a pain to mod it, but it was well worth it for me.

Steve, I concur with your impressions: If you shine it in a room, or against the wall it's not impressive. The Magicshine light is much more impressive in that respect as it puts out a lot more light (ca. double what the Philips light produces, and it really lights up a small room with 550 lumen).

You really have to see it in action to appreciate the excellent beam (esp. on a road that's completely unlit you see how good it really is), the homogenous light distribution etc. My throw estimate is how far I can see 'something'. At 70 m, which is my estimate, it's pretty difficult to spot small stuff anyway as it's such a long way away! I may go into this in more detail at a later date with some example images.

Philips has made a few more variations on this light btw., including a dynamo version. Yes it has been introduced, the version I asked them about early this year but I never got an answer. It is however smaller and produces less light. I hope it's better than the Edelux but I'll have to see. Someone I've been discussing lighting systems with (I'll tell more about that in the future) has talked with Philips on Eurobike and they were apparantly impressed with my website and are going to send me a dyno light so I can review it...

Cool, that makes me a bit more interested again in doing some beamshots but I still need a good tripod. Any suggestions? (height must go to 1.80 m or heigher and it should not be too light so it won't be affected by windy conditions) Peter, I'm not that far from Almere, but a loan is no good, I will need one for long term use...

Edit: And perhaps any suggestions for a digital camera that produces good video at night when just using the bike light? I think one needs a professional type camera to get really good results but perhaps not? I asked 'trout' (from http://troutie.com/) who made some pretty good videos in 2008/2009 when showing off his homemade lights, but that was with a bullet cam which needs a host, he told me.

Edit 2: Perhaps the new Panasonic DMC-FX700 will be good for nighttime video (I'm waiting for a review of this one). Apparantly most digital camera's are pretty weak in low light conditions, and CCD based ones (instead of MOS) can give vertical stripes in the pictures/video when encountering strong light sources. This (those stripes) is something I wondered about with the ST70...


Regards,

Wouter

 

[Darell]

I've contacted Phillips (no reply yet) about NA distribution.

Just checking in... anybody in North America have a line on purchasing these yet??

Thanks for all the great reviews and input, guys! Tons TONS of work many of you have put into this!

 

[panicmechanic]

Just checking in... anybody in North America have a line on purchasing these yet??

Check here and following.

 

[Darell]

Check here and following.

Gaa! Thanks. I knew I'd seen a purchase link in this thread and looked all over for a live link. I added it to Steve's post above, and I'll put it here for handy use: Phillips light on bike24.com

 

[steverosburg]

Bike24 is the definitely the way to go. The fact that you don't have to pay the VAT pretty much offsets the cost of shipping to the U.S.

Now that I've had a chance to use this light for several weeks, I will give an update on my impressions:

1. This is the best light I've ever seen for the road, it blows everything else I've used away in terms of usable light without offending oncoming motorists. I love it!

2. The built-in AA batteries never gave me the advertised two hours of runtime, because I ride before dawn when it is the coldest. NiMH batteries do not perform well when the temperature gets down into the low 40's F or colder.

3. My makeshift AA-powered external battery pack didn't end up extending the runtime as much as I had hoped, for the reason stated above. This light is power-hungry, and AA's can only deliver the necessary current over a wire when they're fresh off the charger. After a half hour or so the light shuts off.

Since it's been getting progressively colder (39F this morning) as we approach winter and is completely dark from the start of my ride until I get back, I decided to take the plunge and commit to a heavy-duty external battery pack solution. I removed the internal AA batteries, and bought an external Li-Ion pack (this one, based on price/performance). I also needed a voltage regulator to convert the voltage, so I got this one from PowerStream, in the weather-proof variety. Li-Ion batteries are much less affected by the cold and have no problems delivering the necessary current. This battery pack also stores enough energy to power the light for 6-8 hours, even with the efficiency loss of the converter. The nice thing about using a wide-range converter like this is that I can use all kinds of external battery packs without being tied to a particular manufacturer or model.

Keep in mind that I have a recumbent, so I'm not bothered by things like size and weight. I figure this is just about the most perfect setup you could possibly have, and it cost me about $300 total.

One final note: as I mentioned in the past, when using an external battery pack you can ignore the battery indicator. It will start out at 3 bars and then decrease to 2, 1, and then none, even if you are running an external power supply like me. I experimented with this on a long ride, where I had the light on for 3 hours straight. At the half-way mark I noted that the light was down to 1 bar and switched the light off and back on -- the indicator light still showed one bar. I then finished my ride, with the indicator showing no bars for the last hour or so. As soon as I got home, I switched the light off, and then back on -- it still showed no bars. I unplugged the battery pack and plugged it back in, and then turned the light on -- this time it showed three full bars again. I concluded that there's some kind of simple internal timer that is calibrated for AA rechargeables (since, after all, that's what the system was designed for) rather than basing it on voltage, and when you recharge the light the circuit is reset to show a full charge. I don't even pay attention to the indicator now, because I know that my battery pack will last at least 6 hours under the most severe conditions, and I'm rarely in the dark for more than 3 hours at a time.

 

[Darell]

Thanks for all the great input, Steve!

For my needs - I already have a super-bright light with external battery. What I really, really want is a self-contained battery light. Your comments about NiMH battery life are a bummer to hear - but I'm also glad you made them! Of course for lots of money you can purchase Li AA batteries that would likely work really well. But that's not a solution for every day riding!

If they were to refresh this unit with modern, more efficient emitters, the runtime could be increased significantly at the same output. Wouldn't that be dreamy? Truly, it is hard buying yesterday's emitters in a device that could be so much better. But I also totally understand how a design needs to be locked down to get it sold. Sometimes more knowledge just makes for more frustration!

 

[steverosburg]

Thanks for all the great input, Steve!

For my needs - I already have a super-bright light with external battery. What I really, really want is a self-contained battery light.

This should work really well for you, then, as long as you don't need it for more than 1.5-2 hours at a time. That is my only complaint; if I were taking shorter rides, I would have been a very happy camper with the light as-is.

Your comments about NiMH battery life are a bummer to hear - but I'm also glad you made them! Of course for lots of money you can purchase Li AA batteries that would likely work really well. But that's not a solution for every day riding!

I'm not sure how much voltage the internal buck converter can handle, so I didn't want to try anything that I thought might damage the circuitry or the emitters. Also, as you mention it would not be practical for every day riding, and certainly would not be a cost-effective solution in the long term.

If they were to refresh this unit with modern, more efficient emitters, the runtime could be increased significantly at the same output. Wouldn't that be dreamy? Truly, it is hard buying yesterday's emitters in a device that could be so much better. But I also totally understand how a design needs to be locked down to get it sold. Sometimes more knowledge just makes for more frustration!

While they could certainly make it better, they wanted to make it practical and affordable, and they certainly achieved those goals. My needs are probably a bit better suited to the boutique manufacturers, but none of them had a light that could compete with this one when you consider the combination of total light output, beam pattern and initial cost. Once I saw how great the beam was on the road, I had no qualms about modifying it for an external battery pack; after all, the light only cost me $132, and at that price you can afford to risk a little for the perfect setup.

 

[swhs]

Philips LBL vs. others

Repost of my post of ca. 17 Feb. due to candlepowerforums having lost most messages of the last few months:

-----

At this time, when the results of Philips' enquiries into the runtime problems are (still) not yet known, everyone who wants one will need to be prepared for this problem and live with it or consider the LBL as an excellent lamp for modification using e.g. maxflex/blfex.

There's not really an alternative. The Airstream that was mentioned on CPF since ca. August also isn't an alternative despite the results in the extremely flawed, if not to say incompetent or even bought-for review in Tour from Jan. 2011.

When I read the partial article as provided by Supernova on their website, I got extremely annoyed at the blatant incompetence (and that's the friendly interpretation) of Tour. So, also taking into account various statements a guy called Gregor (Supernova employee) posted in the IBC forums (mtb-news.de) I lambasted in particular that Gregor guy and Supernova (but Tour as well), showing with calculations how utterly ridiculous their claims of lightoutput are.

I stated then as I did early August here on cpf, that I believe the Airstream XP-G version puts out at most 240 lumen.

I concluded with a challenge to send me, Olaf Schultz and 'Siam' a lamp for testing. Of course I knew they weren't going to send me one as they would really get kicked in the teeth then with side by side beamshots with the Philips LBL etc. But they did send a StVZO and XP-G version to 'Siam'...

My criticism+challenge was a checkmate for Supernova (think about the questions/comments they would get if they didn't agree to my challenge, at least the measuring part) but Gregor didn't realise it yet, he continued with a silly comment that the Airstream-StVZO would be slightly better than the Philips LBL. Assuming he's seen both in action, he was talking BS (again!). And if he hadn't seen the LBL in action, then his earlier comment that the LBL's lightbeam was 'not bad at all, almost as good as that of the Airstream' was made up...

Then on 14 Feb., the results from 'Siam' were in. I was right, the Airstream XP-G doesn't produce anything close to 370 lumen, it produces 217 lm, far less than the LBL (of which there are 2 measurements of different examples: 270 lm and 291 lm). The Airstream also has a diverging beam which means there's lots of light wasted on the side of the road (their beam is only useful if you have much more light to play with, say 600 lm). And the Airstream-StVZO (using XP-E R3) produces only 175 lm, no better than an Edelux from 2008. As the Philips LBL completely blows away any dynamo lamp I've seen so far including of course the Edelux (180 lm at 30 km/h), there is no way in hell that the Airstream StVZO is even close to the Philips LBL in both lightoutput and usable illumination of the road. I was already sure of that of course, but these measurements are a confirmation.

So, what does it all mean: The test in Tour is proved once again (for those who don't listen to my arguments) as completely worthless as:
- the LBL is much brighter, both in total lightoutput and as the light density on a given piece of road that the beams light up.
- the LBL's beam is better as it is a much more homogenous beam (I'm not counting the bright loose bit near the front wheel, only the main beam).
- Throw of the Airstream is nowhere near that of the LBL.

This means Tour's ratings of the Airstream being brighter and having a better beam are complete and utter BS.

Their beamshot of the LBL is also nonsensical, and can only be made by running the lamp in low mode... Idiots!


For more information on Supernova's fairy tale lumen ratings but also beam quality etc., see my review pages of the E3 pro-StVZO

http://www.xs4all.nl/~swhs/fiets/tests/verlichting/Supernova_e3_pro_stvzo/index_en.html

the E3-triple

http://www.xs4all.nl/~swhs/fiets/tests/verlichting/Supernova_e3_triple/index_en.html

and my criticism page of the Tour article

http://www.xs4all.nl/~swhs/fiets/varia/tour-verlichting-2011-1_en.html

Those of you who want a set of scans of the complete Tour article (in German), send me an email...

Oh yes, and Supernova claims (on their website) to have got 1st and 2nd place in the Tour test. This is disingenuous, as the tests consists of 2 categories: Dynamo and battery powered. So they didn't get the first 2 places, they got 1st place in the dynamo section, 2nd place in the battery section. I can hardly contain my disgust for these people and I'm seriously considering going back to my old stance, and never again do another test of Supernova stuff...

When I get word from Philips about the results of their tests I will post another message. The batch after that should be fault free (Btw., I'm not sure what percentage of current LBLs have the runtime problems, perhaps it's all of them, perhaps just part, I just don't know).

 

[swhs]

Philips LBL vs. Trelock LS 950

The trelock LS950 could have been a competitor to the Philips LBL. From what I heard it has a Cree XP-G, if that was run at 1.5A it could have been, but it isn't...

I first got a message from someone in Japan who has a bunch of headlamps with cutoff, and he said the LBL is much brighter and has a much wider beam (proper beamshots to follow).

Then I read this review from a German guy who had it tested by a friend (I think that has to be Olaf Schultz, as I can't imagine anyone else doing such tests; his pages deserve a lot more recognition btw., but writing in 2 languages is a pain as I know from my own website. Google's translation I think sucks pretty badly so his pages unfortunately are only recognized for their quality by those who read German).

The link is : http://www.radforum.de/trelock-ls-950-stvzo-70-lux-120-a-187431.html

I will give a summary:
- Mounting bracket is crap.
- Bright beam, but narrower than Ixon IQ/Cyo etc. (also appears brighter because of cooler light colour)
- Nice to use (display, buttons etc.)
- Beam has more artefacts than the B&M lamps & of course the Philips (the Philips beam is the smoothest I've ever seen, the later B&M beams from their reflectors with 5 blades are also crap because of the hotspot in the middle)
- measured: 127 lm on the grid (this is not the total lightoutput, but the section on the wall, at least that's what I assume as O.Schultz does such measurements in his tables, and otherwise there shouldn't be a mention of "the grid").
- current through the LED: 0.65A
- LED apparantly XP-G

Well, at 0.65A the Xp-G could give 243 lm, but you all should know by now that the XP-G doesn't produce what the datahseets promise (see my other posts on the LBL vs. Airstream in August). I expect at 0.65A ca. 187 lm, deduct 10% optical losses and you get 168 lm. Perhaps round down a bit as not all light may be captured by the optic, so lets assume 160 lm. This is almost as much as the Airstream-StVZO (175 lm), and nowhere near the 270 or more of the LBL.

It's clear: The Philips LBL remains king in usable lightoutput and beam quality. Supernova Airstream & Trelock LS 950 are no match at all.

So, what about Dosun D1 & Big bang?
- Big bang is probably best except for light colour. I have no sample to test though.
- Dosun D1 has low lux rating which means little light at the top of the beam which means throw can't be that good.

I hope to get more information on the D1 vs. Big Bang vs LBL from Japan in the not too distant future...

Oh, btw., on my Supernova E3 pro-StVZO review page I made some estimates of the lightoutput of the E3-pro-StVZO and E3-pro-XP-G. Claimed output 305 and 370 lumen.
My estimates: Less than half that...

 

[steverosburg]

swhs,

Thanks for your continued testing! Now that I've seen your reviews I couldn't be more happy that I chose to go with the Philips LBL and just modded it for extended runtime. At the end of the day what matters most is consistent, quality light output, and the Philips LBL has that in spades. It really is a shame that SuperNova is exaggerating their stats so much that they completely destroy their credibility.

I'm so happy with my Philips LBL setup that I don't really care about new technology that may come out now (unless it's to get a backup Philips LBL just in case my ever dies). I'm so happy with the total light output and beam pattern that there is absolutely no need for improvement upon what I already have.

-Steve