Which red LED is brighter?

[The Light!]

Hi all,
I'm thinking of doing a mod with red LEDs for night vision purposes, though I still want them to be as bright as possible.
What sort of LED should I use for this purpose? a Nichia brand LED or a Superflux LED of unknown manufacture? Or does Nichia make superflux LEDs as well? Their site is somewhat confusing for me... Thanks!

[AaronM]

If you want a real power LED, try this out.

http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=53

[Cemoi]

See this thread.

[The Light!]

Thanks!

[Oznog]

The top-bin Rebels are brighter than the Cree XR-C. Notably smaller too.
You need to decide if you want red or red-orange. I don't know what the difference is for preserving night vision. Red-orange is significantly more visible per mw of light. The power output in mw is not really different from red to red-orange but the red-orange scores higher on the visible lumens scale. But like I say I don't know how this works with night vision, lumens of red-orange may have greater potential to disable your night vision adaptation than deeper red lumens.

[dd61999]

some of the above led are too bright for preserving night vision, unless you drive them at low power.

Stay away from red-orange, you want deep red.

The red nichia cs is a nice balance of brightness for outdoor and indoor use. although it can be a little to bright for indoors if you are trying to preserve night vision.

[The Light!]

Ok, so if I want high-power LED's I use Luxeon's Red Rebels (sounds like a good movie name! ), and if I want just regular power I use Nichias for my applications... Since I would want high powered LED light if possible, I think I'll go for the Rebels... maybe with a dimmer knob of some sort to be able to control the power... Now to read up on the Luxeons! Thanks everyone.

[yellow]

are not the normal, colored Luxeon (I/III) still the ones giving most brightness?
always wondered about this, because the white ones lag behind very much.


... bright red does not preserve nightsight

[dd61999]

... bright red does not preserve nightsight

Exactly, if you are going to have a bright red light you might as well go with a white light

[The Light!]

Hmmm... Ok thanks, something to think about.

[dd61999]

if you are interested inred lights and preserving night vision here are some good links

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/qa/nightvision.htm

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...ad.php?t=18915

[The Light!]

Thanks! already looked at the CPF one but hadn't seen the other one. It explains it much more clearly thank you! Back to the drawing board for my mod...