How long did it take before you realized …

[JCD]

How long did it take before you realized that brighter is not the same as better or more useful?

Lately, I'm finding that I am much more concerned with quality of light (e.g., tint, smooth beam, etc.) at the appropriate levels of brightness than with just trying to find the brightest drop-ins with the latest LEDs. For many tasks, I'm even finding that LEDs are not the most appropriate emitters.

 

[yellow]

when I was toting around my 3D cell Maglight, believing it is the "best and brightest light",
and someone showed up w. a 6P.

that was somewhen in the last Millenium
and the 6P I got then is now my main light
(modded to led, flupic, 18650, some 2.5 years, or so, ago)
... the full round body models are way better looking than the actual ones

 

[carrot]

Yup. Welcome to the club.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=225375

IMHO, in the right setup you can be happy with far less lumens.

 

[Illum]

How long did it take before you realized that brighter is not the same as better or more useful?

When I went to HID immediately after feeling comfrtable with luxeons:candle:

 

[don.gwapo]

Not there yet and probably never be. I even want a brighter light more and more. Don't care about the runtime, I just want that bright output throughout. .

 

[NonSenCe]

a month.. or third/fourth light i got..

but am still looking for ultimate one.

 

[umc]

Yeah, I'm not so sure I'm there yet either but that being said I like all levels of light.

I'm typically a big fan of throw as well but I just ordered a Quark RGB for it's all flood, reason is I plan on using it as a "get around the house at night light" and currently using my Quark 123 on moonlight the hotspot is too bright to check on my boy so I think the RGB is going to be great for that job.

 

[jcw122]

I found out early on in my flashlight career when I bought my Quark. The Quark was my first LED light, and hearing about the advantages of neutral white (and seeing them) really convinced me.

I don't think I'll ever buy any cool lights if I can help it. The Quark and 4300k Stanley are excellent outdoors!

 

[RepProdigious]

Nah, brighter is better... Just like having more horses in your car/motorcycle :thumbsup:

 

[rayman]

The first really flashlight I had in my hand was a L1T after that I found this forum and searched for a long time before buying a Jet-III Pro. After that came P7 Maglite. I kind of always wanted to go brighter but I always look after the quality of the light from the beginng on.

rayman

 

[kingofwylietx]

I'm still working on getting over 'brighter is better' for the most part. However, I do grasp the concept. My in-house, at night, check-on-my-daughter at night light is an old 2AA light I converted to red led (from incandescent) a loooong time ago. It's just one of those old style leds that happened to fit in there. I had to trim the reflector a bit, but it's still a great light. Good throw too. It has very prevalent bright rings in flood mode.

 

[baterija]

I came here with the belief that brighter is not always better. I had experienced plenty of times where even the filtered incan minimag was too much.

I haven't changed my mind being here although the lure of brighter fits sometimes and is pretty amazing. :naughty:

 

[KingCanada]

I prefer 80-100 lumens with good run time. The "newest" emitters are the best because the efficiency is better. Although I dislike how many manufacturers go super bright. Yeah, I know that's what multi modes are for, but sometimes I want an efficient long running single mode light (RC-N3).

 

[Well-Lit]

I guess it was on or about 2005 when I got my first multi-level light. It was an HDS EDC. Brighter than some of my lights it was not. More useful for several tasks, absolutely. It's still on the night stand along with other multi-level led lights and a few " WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?" incan lights.

It's great that we have so many options:thumbsup:

Best Regards:
Bob

 

[skyfire]

smooth beam pattern and tint, are most important to me, realized after i stopped using maglites, and now have multiply lights to compare.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Brighter has never been a big factor for me. I've mostly concentrated on small multimode lights.

Geoff

 

[HIDblue]

I find I'm still into the brighter is better theory...guess I haven't matured as a flashaholic just yet. For my purposes, brighter is better, but that's just me. I'm not talking 2200 lumens Olight SR90 bright, but SST-50 bright (450-750 lumens) suits me well for the time being. :candle:

 

[RAGE CAGE]

Never progressed to far into bright obsession. Always been more concerned with build quality of light. Single mode fanatic for the most part. 20 lumens or less is good for most of my usage- like avoiding steping on legos barefoot in the dark...oouch!

 

[dudemar]

How long did it take before you realized that brighter is not the same as better or more useful?

Lately, I'm finding that I am much more concerned with quality of light (e.g., tint, smooth beam, etc.) at the appropriate levels of brightness than with just trying to find the brightest drop-ins with the latest LEDs. For many tasks, I'm even finding that LEDs are not the most appropriate emitters.

Sounds like you have taken the next step to being a flashaholic.:thumbsup:

 

[sylathnie]

You have discovered the beauty to this hobby. You can have both! I carry an LF2XT for daily use and a Quark 123-2 for brightness. Don't be afraid to want brighter and better at the same time! :candle: