Why the interest in lower wattage lights???
- Thread starter cobb
- Start date
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Luxeons are still too costly for house lighting compared to flourescent and halogen. Flourescent bulbs now cost less than a luxeon and probably take 1/4 the power/lumen and will outlast a bunch of 5watt luxeons. A halogen is white and bright and you can buy lots of electricity and replacement bulbs for the price of a wimpy 5 watt lux compared to a 20 watt halogen at 5 bucks and no drive circuit required.
nerdgineer
Flashlight Enthusiast
Why do some people still want 4 cylinder cars when they make V6's and V8's?..
BatteryCharger
Flashlight Enthusiast
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nerdgineer said:
Why do some people still want 4 cylinder cars when they make V6's and V8's?..
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Good question. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
nerdgineer said:
Why do some people still want 4 cylinder cars when they make V6's and V8's?..
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Good question. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
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BatteryCharger said:
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nerdgineer said:
Why do some people still want 4 cylinder cars when they make V6's and V8's?..
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Good question. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
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Fuel economy, mostly. Some people only need their small cars to carry them around town - not cross-country, or onto rough terrain or through heavy snow up mountain roads. Different purposes, different requirements and all that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Not every situation calls for a LuxV or a million-candlepower spotlight - certainly not reading a map in the dark while trying not to be spotted by enemy patrols some ways away. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Or for those of us not in dangerous territory, you don't NEED 120-500 lumens of light to make your way to the bathroom or to change a kid's diapers.
Now, those lights that can put out a lot of lumens AND ratchet down to low levels to let you read maps or navigate around the house are invaluable... which is one of the driving forces behind two-stage switches, and creations like the VIP or the Lionheart.
BatteryCharger said:
[ QUOTE ]
nerdgineer said:
Why do some people still want 4 cylinder cars when they make V6's and V8's?..
[/ QUOTE ]
Good question. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
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Fuel economy, mostly. Some people only need their small cars to carry them around town - not cross-country, or onto rough terrain or through heavy snow up mountain roads. Different purposes, different requirements and all that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Not every situation calls for a LuxV or a million-candlepower spotlight - certainly not reading a map in the dark while trying not to be spotted by enemy patrols some ways away. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Or for those of us not in dangerous territory, you don't NEED 120-500 lumens of light to make your way to the bathroom or to change a kid's diapers.
Now, those lights that can put out a lot of lumens AND ratchet down to low levels to let you read maps or navigate around the house are invaluable... which is one of the driving forces behind two-stage switches, and creations like the VIP or the Lionheart.
One other reason is utility. A light you use often you may want the best, but one you keep in the car or in a drawer by the sink or in a toolbox banging around with pliers and wrenches you don't need a high power light everywhere sitting around doing 95% of the time costing 75.00 or more each.
well, does mouth-abilty count? I can easily work with my AAA in my mouth...(no one wants to touch my Arc-AAA) but my mini-mag+lux3 sandwich is a bit too heavy...
ok seriously though they do have luxeon modded AAA lights and all but the run time isn't very practical for most people. I just got my sandwich mentioned above yesterday but was doing quite well with my Arc-AAA for over a year. The brightness isn't always needed, but certainly is nice to have.
On top of that, you have the whole flood vs spot issue. There's a lot of different opinions about what kind of light is best and there's no light that can do everything. It's just the right tool for the job kind of thing...you wouldn't use a power drill for an eyeglass screw, and indeed sometimes a light can be too bright for the job...
Oh yeah and the fact that most people don't even care. They'd grab some plastic 2D light off the shelf at the grocery store, have no idea what an LED is, buy a new one when the bulb dies, etc...maybe one day they'd pick up an LED light, they're becoming more popular now, but it wouldn't matter to them, whatever's cheap and available.
So in conclusion, there's more than one reason as to why luxeon's aren't the only led lights out there...
ok seriously though they do have luxeon modded AAA lights and all but the run time isn't very practical for most people. I just got my sandwich mentioned above yesterday but was doing quite well with my Arc-AAA for over a year. The brightness isn't always needed, but certainly is nice to have.
On top of that, you have the whole flood vs spot issue. There's a lot of different opinions about what kind of light is best and there's no light that can do everything. It's just the right tool for the job kind of thing...you wouldn't use a power drill for an eyeglass screw, and indeed sometimes a light can be too bright for the job...
Oh yeah and the fact that most people don't even care. They'd grab some plastic 2D light off the shelf at the grocery store, have no idea what an LED is, buy a new one when the bulb dies, etc...maybe one day they'd pick up an LED light, they're becoming more popular now, but it wouldn't matter to them, whatever's cheap and available.
So in conclusion, there's more than one reason as to why luxeon's aren't the only led lights out there...
I think the car example is a bit unfair. You can get a dim led light or a 5 watter in about the same size. A bit different with a car or engine size.
Since it seems dimmer lighting levels are needed, wonder why that has not been used more or a higher range exist?
Just seems many of the conversations lead to size, brightness and run time, upmost brightness and beam pattern than I read deeper and discover the light is a multi led one or a 1 or 3 watt unit.
just wondering, flashlight wise, not automotive.
Since it seems dimmer lighting levels are needed, wonder why that has not been used more or a higher range exist?
Just seems many of the conversations lead to size, brightness and run time, upmost brightness and beam pattern than I read deeper and discover the light is a multi led one or a 1 or 3 watt unit.
just wondering, flashlight wise, not automotive.
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cobb said:
I think the car example is a bit unfair. You can get a dim led light or a 5 watter in about the same size. A bit different with a car or engine size.
Since it seems dimmer lighting levels are needed, wonder why that has not been used more or a higher range exist?
Just seems many of the conversations lead to size, brightness and run time, upmost brightness and beam pattern than I read deeper and discover the light is a multi led one or a 1 or 3 watt unit.
just wondering, flashlight wise, not automotive.
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Okay, there are two schools of thought on flashlights, as far as I can tell:
One school is 'Bigger is Better', and they're the type of enthusiast you see in car and electronics circles who have the most powerful engine or computer around. They figure they don't NEED anything lower than that, which means that they'll take their full-powered rig dut for anything... and if they need something less powerful (Heaven forbid), they'll just get something else. In flashaholic circles, this is the type of person who carries a P91-lit Surefire for all their daily tasks, and the 'smarter' ones who realize that you don't want to use a 500-lumen light to read a map in a car or to use up your batteries doing minor tasks like that carry a second or third light more suitable for close-in purposes which don't require that sort of illumination.
The emergence of another group of thought, the 'everything in one package' school, suggests that one carry a light that can do both low and high-intensity levels, if only because 90% of the time you won't need the extra illumination at the high levels... and this saves you both money and the extra batteries for that second light, on top of the weight or size of said light. Lights like the Twintask 2L, the Surefire A2, or the two-stage lights (or the upcoming U2) follow this line of thinking, at least IMO. I've found, myself, that having a light that can do BOTH tasks at once to be handy - I save money on batteries with the low-power level, and I save pocket or belt space by not having to carry three lights to do three different things. While I still carry a second light anyways, that's more a backup light than a requirement. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
The Lionheart seems to be the culmination of this school of thought, at least to me. But that's just my opinion.
cobb said:
I think the car example is a bit unfair. You can get a dim led light or a 5 watter in about the same size. A bit different with a car or engine size.
Since it seems dimmer lighting levels are needed, wonder why that has not been used more or a higher range exist?
Just seems many of the conversations lead to size, brightness and run time, upmost brightness and beam pattern than I read deeper and discover the light is a multi led one or a 1 or 3 watt unit.
just wondering, flashlight wise, not automotive.
[/ QUOTE ]
Okay, there are two schools of thought on flashlights, as far as I can tell:
One school is 'Bigger is Better', and they're the type of enthusiast you see in car and electronics circles who have the most powerful engine or computer around. They figure they don't NEED anything lower than that, which means that they'll take their full-powered rig dut for anything... and if they need something less powerful (Heaven forbid), they'll just get something else. In flashaholic circles, this is the type of person who carries a P91-lit Surefire for all their daily tasks, and the 'smarter' ones who realize that you don't want to use a 500-lumen light to read a map in a car or to use up your batteries doing minor tasks like that carry a second or third light more suitable for close-in purposes which don't require that sort of illumination.
The emergence of another group of thought, the 'everything in one package' school, suggests that one carry a light that can do both low and high-intensity levels, if only because 90% of the time you won't need the extra illumination at the high levels... and this saves you both money and the extra batteries for that second light, on top of the weight or size of said light. Lights like the Twintask 2L, the Surefire A2, or the two-stage lights (or the upcoming U2) follow this line of thinking, at least IMO. I've found, myself, that having a light that can do BOTH tasks at once to be handy - I save money on batteries with the low-power level, and I save pocket or belt space by not having to carry three lights to do three different things. While I still carry a second light anyways, that's more a backup light than a requirement. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
The Lionheart seems to be the culmination of this school of thought, at least to me. But that's just my opinion.
