10 lumens too bright, 5 lumens about right

abvidledUK

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Aug 23, 2005
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UK
Quite a few posts about L1T, L2T being too bright on low, at 10 lumens.

I use 12 Led Ghost 2, approx 5 lumens.

Single AA battery, approx 3.5 hours RT nimh, 5 actual Alkaline Duracell Plus.

Got mine from Dae, $7 ish

http://www.qualitychinagoods.com/12-led-ghost-ii-p-210.html?osCsid=1bc2dec6505bc08d708fbc24c5820d02

It's just about right for night adapted vision, ie, when you've just woken up and going around the house.

I also glow painted one of the leds, little effect on output, easy to find if put down or dropped. (Leds off of course)

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/amart_ghost2.htm


L1T, L2T more suitable for exterior use ?
 
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UnknownVT

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Dec 27, 2002
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3,671
abvidledUK wrote: "Quite a few posts about L1T, L2T being too bright on low, at 10 lumens.
I use 12 Led Ghost 2, approx 5 lumens."

The problem with lumens measurement is that it does not quite give the full story - yes, it is a reliable way of knowing the total light output (if accurate) -
BUT it does not say how that light is distributed.

Your 12-LED Ghost is a very good case in point - this gives a nice even flood which is much more gentle on the eyes -
whereas the Fenix L1 series has a very tight concentrated hotspot - good for throw but can be too bright for close up typical hand-held tasks.

Just for comparison reference - most 1/2watt LEDs are claimed to be in the range 12-15 lumens and the (s)MJLED are also supposed to be 15 lumens max.

I find the humble Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H) a bit too bright for close tasks exactly because of the more concentrated hotspot.

But those 1/2 watt AdvancedMart lights like the 1/2w 1AA AdvancedMart - New Twisty version SK-230A and 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S acceptable - because they have noticably larger hotspots which are not quite as harsh on the eyes.

When I'm in darker enviroments and my eyes semi-dark adapted (probably not true scotopic night-vision) even a regular 5mm white LED like the Dorcy 1AAA a bit too bright for close tasks - but probably OK for navigating around....

I think Fenix may have done their 2-stage more for longer runtimes with "good" brightness, rather than for a dimmer true close task light - perhaps they might reconsider the purpose and produce a revised version with a brightness level closer to 5 lumens and with a runtime approaching 20 hours?
Now that would be something!
 

chevrofreak

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May 10, 2004
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Billings, Montana, USA
Personally I tried the single 10ohm resistor mod to the L1P switch and found it too dim, and cutting the resistance in half was still too dim for my taste.

I think I will find the LxT low mode to be just about right.
 

Planterz

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Dec 14, 2005
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Tucson, AZ
I think 5-7 is about right for a "low". The 10 lumen primary mode on the HDS that I had was nice, but I in fact did use it as a primary; if I wanted "low", I would have gone down a level. I can't speak for the L1T/L2T since I don't have one, but if the beam is the same as the L1P/L2P, 10 lumens concentrated into that tiny hotspot would be more than I would want in a "low".

A lot of it does have to do with the beam pattern. The floodier it is, the less damage it'll do to your night vision, since it'll flood your eyes evenly rather than buring a spot into your vision. Even on high my CR2 Ion is easy to see by because the flood is nicely distributed.
 
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