Maxabeam: how many lumens

[Fred23]

Hi,

I 'm comparing my PH40 with the Maxabeam of my colleague.
Of course, beam is not the same.
But by checking the specs of PH40 and Maxabeam, PH40 can give Lumen value, and Maxabeam doesn't.
Who could give me how to calculate for Maxabeam lumens.?

tks

[pyro]

Maxabeam is only 1000 bulb lumens.

[Flashanator]

I remember emailing peak beams and asking them about this.

They didn't wont to tell me at all, I know its a light all about CP. But on flood mode I wanted to know how much light it dished out.

[Nos]

hmmm how many lumens/watt does a xenon short arc produce?

[Flashanator]

Dunno, but I read as the wattage goes up so does the lumens per watt.

I see those 1.6kw helicopter XSA lights, tremendous amount of light.

[karlosk98]

Hi,

I 'm comparing my PH40 with the Maxabeam of my colleague.
Of course, beam is not the same.
But by checking the specs of PH40 and Maxabeam, PH40 can give Lumen value, and Maxabeam doesn't.
Who could give me how to calculate for Maxabeam lumens.?

tks

karltev who visited the factory was told the improved version is 1500 lumens, do to A grade bulbs, while the common is 1000, if I don t mistake.

[Patriot]

I believe it closer to 1600-1800 lumens according to a post by member Ra, which was posted a long time ago. In any case I can promise that it's well over 1000.

I'll go take to some lux measurements and see what I get....

[sledhead]

Hi,

I 'm comparing my PH40 with the Maxabeam of my colleague.
Of course, beam is not the same.
But by checking the specs of PH40 and Maxabeam, PH40 can give Lumen value, and Maxabeam doesn't.
Who could give me how to calculate for Maxabeam lumens.?

tks

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the comparison! I have a PH40 also. If you could only have one, which would you choose?
Thanks

[Patriot]

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the comparison! I have a PH40 also. If you could only have one, which would you choose?
Thanks

At one time I owned the PH40, PH50 and Maxabeam. Although I no longer own the PH40, it's a far more versatile light. The Maxabeam is very specialized and because of the throw that it's capable of it's very unique.

Here is an older thread showing the vast difference between the the PH50 and Maxabeam.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=210201

[Patriot]

Patriot
I'll go take to some lux measurements and see what I get....

Ceiling bounce (integrating bathroom test)

Jil Eznite 500 lumens 26.8 lux
AE24/S 1200 lumens 61.2 lux
Xenide 25 1500 lumens 73.1 lux
Maxabeam 79.8 lux
Mag 85 3C 1500-1700 lumens. 84.5 lux
WiseLED Tactical 1500 lumens. 91.2 lux
K3500R "3500" lumens 144.4 lux
N30 "3200" lumens 152.6 lux (borrowed from my bro)
X990 3200 lumens 154.0 lux
POB 3000+ lumens 159.0 lux
Costco 3000+ lumens 188 peak, settled to 154
PH50 5000+ lumens 530 peak, settled to 368

4 x 26W 1800 lumen Energy Star Fluorescent coils (bathroom lights) 590 lux


The PH50 overloaded the sensor. I had to adjust the sensitivity range and retry. I guess it's safe to say the the Maxabeam is a good 1500+ lumens.

[karlosk98]

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the comparison! I have a PH40 also. If you could only have one, which would you choose?
Thanks

I don t have neither lights but I plan to purchase first a maxabeam do to its versatility. ( not the one Patriot refers), You dont have the extreme necessity for a second light.

You have three output levels plus 1 to 40 degree beam, that means you can search your tacklebox in low flood or illuminate a tree 2000 yards away with high spot.( you will need a telescope for that)

You cant do that with a ph50.

plus, the laser beam in the maxa is cool. Ra said when he compared it with a hid in front of people, the maxa drew all the attention.

But if you want to iluminate an entire football field then there is no rival for the polarion. It is more practical than the maxabeam in high flood, in that sense.

[sledhead]

Patriot: Thanks for the link and your opinion. I missed the PH50 but I am very happy with the 40!

Karlosk98: Love that laser beam shot with the Maxabeam also! The different levels and variable dispersion are definite +'s. I'll have to see a Maxabeam in person someday.

[Patriot]

Although the three different power levels could be considered a bonus on the versatility debate, I see the main advantage being the ability to increase run time and nothing else. It's still producing 300-500 lumens on low so it's not exactly a reading or tacklebox light. I think a person would be much better served by a 5 lumen headlamp for such purposes.

The other problem that I have with the Maxabeam as a "general purpose" sort of utility spotlight is that the 40 degree beam is literally horrible. In fact, it's not very good even at 10 or 15 degrees. The only way to get around this inherent short-arc problem is to purchase the collimating lens which is very expensive. I'd just as soon purchase two or three N30's to accomplish the same purpose as the extra lens on the Maxabeam.

It is true that the MB attracts more attention than most HID lights because it's so different than what our brains are used to seeing. I think this alone is testimony to how specialized the light really is. I suppose I consider the beam shape of the Polarion to be more versatile than the MB's in the sense that it distributes the light in a way that makes it more useful for the majority of applications. Additionally the PH50 is far more efficient running at 90+ lumens per watt at 50W By comparison the MB produces about 20 lumens per watt at 75W. This is a really notable difference but the price that one pays in order to throw a beam of light remarkably far.

Lastly, it wouldn't be my first inclination to think of the PH40/50 a flood light. In my mind it is still a throw machine that just happens to have a large corona. The spill of the PH50 isn't even as bright as the Costo HID which reflects more light near your feet. The diffuser cuts the light back into more of a true flood light.

[LuxLuthor]

I just have to interject my ongoing reservations with trying to calculate lumens when a reflector is involved. It came up recently in this unique Osram Ministar bulb design....but they at least specified candela and beam angle to be able to get in the ballpark.

I don't get why anyone would want to try and find out bulb lumens of a HID spotlight....but that's just me.

[Patriot]

I don't get why anyone would want to try and find out bulb lumens of a HID spotlight....but that's just me.

You mean because it's so hit or miss or because they're so bright why bother?

[LuxLuthor]

You mean because it's so hit or miss or because they're so bright why bother?

Because lumens are not a relevant measurement of a HID bulb, and even less related when an adjustable reflector is involved using the bulb in a spotlight. Pretty much hashed out my points in this thread I keep on my subscriptions list.

Plenty of links in that thread to keep you busy. Also XeRay's site has a good summary of the concepts here. Probably the most relevant is the section titled: "A comparison of the watt and the lumen illustrates the distinction between radiometric and photometric units."

[Patriot]

Lux, I've spent the last 60 minutes digging into the threads that you've referenced and I'm still lost. Is there any measurement for HID bulbs that is relevant, relative or valid? Even reputable manufacturers like Xeray assign an output specification to their products.

I realize that there is a big difference between the laboratory and a guy who's just trying to understand if one light is going to light up a room brighter than another light. If a person simply wanted to know approximately how many bulb lumens a particular light was producing couldn't a reasonable determination be made based on the bulb manufacturer's data at a given wattage?

The integrating sphere appears to be the correct/proper device for measuring lumens based in lux....(I think) A light box is a rough replication of the integrating sphere and the ceiling bounce or room illumination test is a still rougher version of the light box. Since a light meter is capable of measuring the overall amount of photons bouncing around within a space, can't it show the relative differences between different lights? If it can reveal the relative differences can't those differences be assigned values and if so what should those values be measured in?

I think the whole point of the integrating sphere and other indirect measuring methods seeks to remove the anomalous effects of reflectors. Other than different loss rates due to differences in reflector coatings isn't the indirect method of measurement fairly reliable?


I think you know me well enough Lux, but to anyone who may be thinking this post is a challenge to the previous post, it's not. LuxLuthor is very knowledgeable and well versed on this topic and I hope to gain some insight from my questions...while realizing that they all overlap a bit. Thanks Lux

[LuxLuthor]

Patriot, my good friend (seriously)...it is a shame that it is so time consuming and rather tedious to sort through what I know people want as a simple answer. I greatly respect you for being one of the few willing to spend some time seeing it is not as straight forward as everyone normally thinks.

On the one hand, you can get "seat of the pants" relative comparisons if you use something like a ceiling bounce test...but it assumes that your light is positioned at the same starting spot, aimed at the same spot as one you are comparing with, has a relatively similar beam pattern (& hotspot, corona, spill, etc.) as well as same position of light meter taking reading, no difference in ambient lighting, etc.

The important thing to understand with lumens is the specifics on how precisely it is defined. When you realize that, you begin to see that a HID bulb put into an adjustable reflector (of variable reflecting quality) like the MaxaBeam uses doesn't make sense to describe in lumens, because you are dealing with a directional light output.

That is also why Osram listed output of new Ministar bulb (I linked thread above) in Candela + beam angle (which together can give a ballpark lumen conversion).

The integrating sphere appears to be the correct/proper device for measuring lumens based in lux....(I think) A light box is a rough replication of the integrating sphere and the ceiling bounce or room illumination test is a still rougher version of the light box. Since a light meter is capable of measuring the overall amount of photons bouncing around within a space, can't it show the relative differences between different lights? If it can reveal the relative differences can't those differences be assigned values and if so what should those values be measured in?

The Integrating Sphere is the "Gold Standard" but the size required to measure an entire light + reflector without it interfering with the necessary even dispersion is nearly impossible, and certainly impractical...so manufacturers give ballpark claims of questionable results. You could just put in the HID bulb itself, but you still would need to make estimates of the secondary effect of the reflector.

The light box and ceiling bounce inventions here at CPF were ways for people to try and approach the I.S. concept without spending the huge amount for those (IS) devices. However, the light does not reflect and disperse completely and randomly in a box, ceiling, or any non-spherical setup. Of course they can be used for relative ballpark comparisons, but people toss out results in lumens like they really are that absolute value.

Ideally, if you start with an LED or incan bulb that has been rigorously measured at a certain conservative voltage and bulb age (output drops significantly with many bulbs I tested proportional to degree of voltage overdrive and time run), you could use that as a reference point in comparisons.

I don't know what the actual measurements (or how they were done) are of various HID bulbs that you referenced (Maybe XeRay knows), but if it was expressed in (I.S. verified) raw HID bulb lumens, it becomes a whole other ballpark once you interface it with a specific regulated ballast voltage/current output and reflector/lens setup.

As you know, the idea of pointing a spotlight/flashlight at a wall, and taking beam readings with a light meter at any distance is extremely problematic, based upon placement in the hotspot, corona, spill...and it still not taking all the dispersed output into account.

I think the whole point of the integrating sphere and other indirect measuring methods seeks to remove the anomalous effects of reflectors. Other than different loss rates due to differences in reflector coatings isn't the indirect method of measurement fairly reliable?

I would be very surprised to find that an entire spotlight has been inserted into a very large ($$$$$$) I.S. for an accurate total package measurement. There are way too many variables to say that any other "indirect method" is reliable. Even with a ceiling bounce, the issue of light meter placement and gradation of bulb's light concentration coming out of a reflector will not be reliable.

Shine any of your lights in a ceiling bounce manner, and note the variations in hotspot, corona, spill, etc. At what placement is the light meter going to be the same reliable reading from light to light, since they all have different beam patterns?