new to LEDs - need some help selecting please

[docb]

I want to get some bright white LEDs to use in stage production, to be dramatic flashes of light.

I want to use one LED and one driver to start and to test the idea.

I've looked at too many pages of specs and can't figuire out what to get.
I need a driver and and LED to match. was hoping to keep the LED/driver combo under about $10, (because I'll eventually need more) but am open to hearing otherwise.

Are Cree XPG's a good choice? What drivers? Better suggestion? Where to get LEDs/drivers that doesn't take 3 weeks of shipping?

Thanks for any input!!!

 

[yellow]

wrong starting point:
what will be Your BATTERY?
from there everything else has to be chosen

XP-G is the latest, brightest led and a very good base.
Try to get one more on the neutral white side (no T1 tint or something, better A1, B1, C1, ...)


PS: forget modding with that price tag, You get only junk.
There remains only DX and Kaidomain, nothing that offers quality.
Modding - in a state that makes the effort some sense - is not cheap!
If You have no very special wishes, You cant produce something that beats the price/value/quality/package-ratio-useful makers like Fenix, Jetbeam, Olight (Shiningbeam), ...

PPS: why not get a ready made light from DX/Kaido? (Or one made by a "better" maker)
If You dont like anything, or if something fails, then You have a host and most of the parts - just change what You do not like.

 

[PeaceOfMind]

XP-G is the latest, brightest led and a very good base.
Try to get one more on the neutral white side (no T1 tint or something, better A1, B1, C1, ...)

If I may jump-in there, the XP-G is not nearly the brightest white LED out there. It is however the most efficient white LED (when chosen in bin R5, or soon, bin S2). XP-G is fantastic LED, just don't confuse it with being the absolute brightest.

How bright do you need this to be for your application? It sounds like you may be looking for something with quite a lot of brightness, say Luminus SST-90 or another high power LED.

Basically you need to figure out how much power you'll have (AC Power? Batteries?) and estimate how bright it needs to be and go from there.

 

[docb]

Yes, I should have said that I am planning to run from a 9v or 12v DC power supply, plugged in.

The input to the LED power supply will be switched on and off to make these flash. I really have no idea how bright we want. It will be used on stage, so I just need to try a pretty high brightness, and then try a different one if I that is too weak. Since it's just a lighting effect for stage, not sure if a true white or a tinted white matters. Definitely open to advice.

Not 'modding', so am open to anything. I'd like it to not be very expensive, as this is just an initial test of the idea, so $10-20 for led/driver would be nice. When I look at Dealextreme I see LEDs for $6 and drivers for $3, but don't see inexpensive drivers anywhere else.

I was hoping for a US based store, and some specific suggestions of driver LED combos.

Thanks!!

 

[docb]

I'm still struggling to find a LED and driver. I know these are a lot of questions, but if you can answer any, I really appreciate it.

How do I tell the different between "cool white, outdoor white, neutral white, warm white"?

I see that Dealextreme and Kaodo have drivers for under $5, but these ok? Which one for a single XPG?

Can I just use a drop in module and skip all the driver stuff? Just hook 9vDC up and I'm done? (I don't see any XPG's on DXtreme other than as a drop in.)

Is there someone that sells a p60 female connector to use these outside of a flashlight?

DX and Kaido both good to deal with? No US based stores seem to have these inexpensive drivers. Should I just order from DX and wait the three weeks?

I think Cree XPG r5 will be a good starting point - bright and cool white-, but definitely still open to suggestions, especially for a suitable driver, or if drop in is the way to go for me.