Lumen VS. Candelpower

[doug01]

Hi,

First post. I just found the site. Haven't looked around to much but I have a question in regards to what is the difference between lumen and candlepower. And I guess for a baseline where does a 3-D cell maglight fall. I'm wanting to find a bright light that is rifle mountable with a decent distance ~50 yards. I've been hearing coyotes and want to defend my sheep if I need to. Also, Don't want to break the bank. I seen a mountable 400 lumen for about $100 which should be a decent deal but didn't know if say 200 lumen would suffice. Of course more would be better but but I seen a 200 for about $15. Thanks for any help.

Doug

 

[DM51]

Welcome to CPF, doug01.

You'll find some useful definitions and other information in the Welcome Mat which may help you, but you have also asked an interesting question about what you might need for your specific purpose of protecting your livestock, and I'm sure members will be happy to advise you.

 

[Gunner12]

Using the search bar is pretty helpful too. Here's the result page I got.

In short, candlepower = how much throw. Lumen = how much total output.

If you want a light, put up more thing you want. How much output, how much throw, runtime, multimode, batteries, beampattern, how much spill, and so on. It helps a lot more then asking "what's the best light" like many newer people do.

:welcome:

 

[StarHalo]

Some "Cliffs Notes" defintions:

Lumens - How much light there is total
Candlepower - How bright a light beam is at its brightest point

Candlepower isn't that helpful in determining how bright a light is, so we don't really use it. Instead, aside from lumens we also use the following term;

Lux - How much light is on an object at a specific distance

So lumens tells us how much light something emits in total, and lux tells us how much of it is being thrown forward. A light that has a lot of lumens but very little lux would be similar to a garage worklight or a bare light bulb; there's a lot of light but it's not being focused into any one particular direction. A light that has just a few lumens but a high lux would be like your Mag; the bulb isn't all that bright, but thanks to the big reflector, it can throw a concentrated beam a long way.

A ~50 yard target would not be a challenge for most of our modern flashaholic lights; a 200 lumen pocket light could actually cover your needs, and you should expect to pay at least $50 for a good weapon-mountable unit. A good place to start would be the Fenix TK series, and there will be more suggestions from the weapons guys to follow..

 

[M@elstrom]

Haven't looked around to much but I have a question in regards to what is the difference between lumen and candlepower. And I guess for a baseline where does a 3-D cell maglight fall.

A Maglite used to rate their products in Lumens (Lm) now they adopted Peak Beam Candlepower (PBC)... anyway a 3D Mag with fresh Alkalines & Krypton (whitestar) incandescent bulb should be in the vacinty of 76 Lm OR 22,000 PBC :thumbsup:


BTW :welcome:

 

[DM51]

To revert to the main reason for Doug's question: there are many lights available that can be rifle-mounted and easily cope with the 50 yards you need for illuminating coyotes, including some which will manage double that distance and even more - most of them smaller than Maglites, too.

Any members want to make suggestions?

 

[jhc37013]

I would suggest a Eagletac T100C2 Mark II or Fenix TK11 R2.

 

[fixitman]

I mounted an eagletac P10A2w on my carbine. It easily lights up targets at 60 yards, and is probably good out to about 80 yards.
The eagletac P100A2 will reach farther, since its beam is tighter.

I went with the P10A2w over the P100A2 because I like the neutral tint and wider hotspot of the P10A2w. The P100A2 is less expensive though.

 

[doug01]

Ok! Thanks for all the input. I stand corrected on thinking that a maglite would have more lumens. I will check out all the good tips.

One more thing.......Would a LED flashlight fit this bill or should I stick with a single bulb??

Thanks again,
Doug

 

[Gunner12]

Of course a LED light could work. There are many that can reach 150 yards or more, so 50 yards shouldn't be a problem. The Eagletacs in the post before yours could work pretty well. They are simple, built well, and have enough range for what you need.