Two more questions on LED technology

[Farhad Gulemov]

Hi,

I have been wondering about to things concerning flashlight power:

a) string and Saint Dogbert have told me that in order to make a lightbeam seem twice as powerful to the human eye, it take a lightsource which is FOUR times as bright. Does that not suggest that for various reasons (cost of manufacturing flashlights and the need for electrical energy to quadruple the power of a flashlight) flashlights will inevitably "hit a wall" in terms of how much more power they can have. If my Fenix TK40 which cost me $138 can throw 630 lumens, and since my eye will barely notice the difference between 630 and, say, 1000 lumens, does it make sense for a manufacturer to offer an even more powerful flashlight?

b) The Fenix Tk40 uses Cree MC-E LED. Are these LEDs all that determines the lumens capability of the flashlight which uses them or is there more to it? If I take an old Maglite and somehow stick a Cree MC-E LED into it, will it also be capable of putting out a 630 lumens beam?

Thanks a lot for any pointers. You can tell by these questions that I am a noob in the LED flashlight business, but I am really fascinated by this stuff.

 

[Marduke]

1) LED's are just like computer processors. Constant small improvement with the occasional jump. Over time, the improvements to make products "just a little bit better" do indeed add up to better products. Also, how bright a light can be is by no means the ONLY aspect of the design. There are many aspects which make a light good, and differentiate designs.

2) Yes and no. The LED is just one component of a system, all of which must be balanced in the design. LED + power source + power management + heatsinking + optics + body + UI all make up a light, and must all function together. Crap out on one, and you can end up with a paperweight.