Re: TK35 and 35W HID v 65W HID comparison
The difference you are seeing is not due to just the lumens output of the two lights but the LUX value which is a measurement that relates to how far the light will throw the beam of light.
This explains it better than me
http://flashlight-wiki.com/Light_Output_Measurements
So higher lux equals better throw, IIRC if you have a light of 100,000 lux @1m to double the distance the light can throw you would need a light of 400,000 lux @1m in theory.
Your TK35 lux figure is around 25,000+ lux @1m
Your Ebay 35w light IIRC was around 50,000 lux @1m
So although your 35w HID should be putting out more lumens it can only throw them a little further due to the lux figure being only double, so your findings are pretty much spot on if your Tk35 can do 200m and the 35w ebay HID does 220m.
This is due to a number of factors, size of reflector, quality of reflector and Surface brightness of lightsource etc.
I will also explain the difference between Bulb lumens/Emitter lumens or OTF (out the front) lumens.
Alot of the less reputable flashlight makers want to put the highest numbers they can on there products so if they can quote bulb/emitter lumens (you see this alot on ebay) they can have that higher figure as although the bulb/emitter can produce say 1000lumens by the time you factor in the losses through the reflector and glass lens of the flashlight it will be reduced and that's why fenix rates the tk35 at 800+ OTF lumens, if they wanted to play the numbers game they could quote the higher emitter lumens figure to inflate the numbers but they don't as it is misleading and just like you are disappointed with your 35w hid due to it not being double the power and throw of you TK35 which the adverts would lead you to believe.
Also i think the TK35 is rated at 800+ OTF lumens (that figure is pretty accurate), your 35w Ebay light is rated at 3300lumens but it will actually put out a lot less, when tested on this forum the 65w ebay HID was around 4000 OTF lumens so i would guess that the 35w ebay hid would be putting out around 2000 OTF lumens maybe less could even be 1500 OTF lumens as HID bulbs get more efficient at higher drive wattages so that is also why you dont see as many sub 35w HID flashlights as below 35w its hard to get the efficiency needed to make using HID as worthwhile.
It is also usual to not notice small increases in lumens like the difference between 200 and 250 but you will notice between 200 and 400, so your 35w HID light being only 500+ lumens more than the TK could leave you feeling like there is not much difference, but it is due to the way our eyes see the differences in lumens and brightness you tend to need double the lumens to notice a big difference.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ated-Short-Arc-amp-HID-spotlight-Lux-readings
This thread shows a list of CP (candlepower) figures for various lights tested on this forum, CP is the LUX value @ 1m.
You can see on this thread how the 40w Polarion X1 HID has a high CP figure of 400k even though it is only a 3inch reflector, this is due to the high quality reflector they use and while although seemingly expensive compared to the Ebay 35/65w lights there is no comparison to the quality of construction and parts used in these lights, and they should throw about twice as far as most other 35w hid's.
You can also see how the big halogen Thor spotlights CP figure of 300k+ even though they have a lower quality reflector is able to produce high CP due to the fact that the reflector is 9inches.
Quite a few of the lights are custom made lights and if you click the links you can see the build threads for them.
So after that mega wall of text
, here is some options that may be useful that a better than your current lights in throw and lumens.
Edited to comply with forum policies
There was also the Mozo 35w light (was used as a base for a few of the mods in the previous thread listing CP figures) which is a clone of the N30/L35 and used to sell on ebay pretty cheap but they are no longer made but sometimes they come up for sale from time to time at around $100.
Also alot of people modify those big 9inch Thor spotlights and put in a a HID car 55w conversion kit in them which takes a little bit of work but is fairly easy to do and can make a cost effective powerful spotlight that throws pretty well, but obviously kinda big and heavy but for under $100 you can have a very bright long throwing light which is why they were so popular on here, i modded one of the smaller thors with a hid kit although due to its size i have not used it much though i do occasionally take it out on a walk with me but its a bit overkill lol.
But if you have large open spaces which need the throw and lumens it provides you may have a use for it.
It may also be worth getting a LUX meter so you can measure the figures yourself the LUX meter from dealextreme is around $30, so you never have to wonder about a new light you can measure it to see for yourself, something i have been meaning to get for a while.
So i hope that helps you out a bit in your search for the lights you are after, although some of the options are expensive they can save you money in the long run by not having to get a bunch of low cost lights which never do what you want.
After being here a couple of years and reading tons of threads about different lights and custom ones, you learn a ton of info which helps you make better decisions and hopefully save some money on only getting the lights you really need, although this place has a habit of making you think i really need all of them
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