Roger asked me to add a data point to this discussion so I will but since it is the result of comparing only three LED's, it is certainly supect as heck and may have no "general population" implications. I have come to feel that the 611 BadBoy is the realistic upper limit for a single 1x123; at least as far as the BadBoy goes. I keep expecting to see a boost circuit surface that can provide more current off a single 123 cell but that hasn't happened yet, to my knowleged and I digress......
Anyway, Since 611 mA is underdriving a Lux III and certainly within acceptable levels, by *our* standards for driving a 1W, I decided to compare a 1W with two Lux III's, all driven by BB611's. I tested the three BB611's with the same test LED and powered by my bench supply and they all drew the same current level from the power supply so I assume that they all are providing roughtly the same current to the LED. So I built 3 PR-T heads using these BB611's and a S rank and T rank Lux III and a R2H 1W. When I tested the Lux output from the same distance, the S rank III might have edged out the R2H with a photo finish. The T rank III scored about 10% higher lux than the other two. As a result of this and other observations, I have a few *working* conclusions that I base my build decisions on:
At current levels above the 611, I will choose to use the Lux III instead of a 1W as I believe more of the power is converted into photons and less in heat. At levels below 611, I feel the Lux III is a viable alternative to the 1W and given its purported superior thermal capabilities, it may be preferable, especially in cases where thermal management may not be optimal.
In real world use of these lights, the variations in tint as well as luinous output have very little bearing on the effectiveness of these lights unless the light is being used at its very limit of effective range. If this is often found to be the case in use, a more powerful tool should be selected in the first place. Backing off on the throttle and going with more efficient levels of drive current as well as the accompaning thermal relief, makes sense to me.
If you are meeting with other flashaholics for some competition or hope to get a high lux score, bring out the hot rail job that is nitrous equipped. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I know it's a weak analogy but how many of you know the upper speed limit of your cars? How many of you take your cars to this limit? This analogy fails but for a significant reason. Your car can be driven at speed levels from 0 up to its max. For the most part, out lights have had "one speed". As we move into varible levels of light output, the rules and considerations of builds will change. I have been using two level lights for a while now and this has been very enlightening to me! I have a couple different mods now that typically are giving me the choice of about 75 mA or 917 mA of current to the LED. Given these two levels, the choice has been obviously for a Lux III. When I have actually used the light with purpose, 9 times out of 10, I have used the 75 mA level.When light is used you can easily have too much light for the task at hand and it can work against you given the ambient levels of light in the surrounds. When I have played with the light, 9 times out of 10, I switched to the 917 mA level; I am a flashaholic after all. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
To get back to the subject, my take is that a specific, single output level light can be effective with the choice of a 1W or Lux III, depending on the circumstances and choice of host as well as drive level. I do feel that the Lux III has a greater dynamic range and that it can compete with the 1W at levels that are appropriate for the 1W as well as work at levels where the 1W will fall short of the mark.
