is a u-bin really that much brighter than a t-bin?

trivergata

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I've seen the figures, and worse yet the prices (holy crap!), but I have to ask, does it really make that big of a difference? Do I need to order one RIGHT NOW for my Aleph? :laughing:

I, like most of my fellow CPFers feel that brighter is better, but I'm not sure if this is really a noticable difference.
Josh
 

grnamin

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Even between bins, you could still be playing the Luxeon lottery. A top-performing T-bin will emit 87.4 lumens, same as a lowly U-bin. If you do get a top-performing U-bin, it will emit a max of 113.6 lumens. You won't get that out of a T-bin. When playing the Luxeon lottery, it's always good to purchase more than one "ticket". :naughty:

orig.jpg
 
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TrueBlue

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It depends on how good of a T-bin versus U-bin. I've got one T-bin light that will out shoot any UX1J light I have. The advantage of the T-bin is that is has less of an issue of tint problems. Your odds of getting a really nice tint it better with a T-bin emitter.

The picture below is two T-bin lights that are both in an Aleph 1 head. On the left is a 'supernatural' T-bin running on a small Vital Gear FB1 body; the whitest and brightest anyone has ever seen running on just a 3V boost converter. It is brighter than any U-bin light I have. The other light is also uses an Aleph 1 head and has a TW0J emitter running at 6V. Both lights run 1000mA to the emitter. The bigger TW0J should have the advantage with twice the voltage and lots of mA available. As you can see the little 3V Supernatural easily out punches the bigger light. I'd like to add that Supernatural even outpaces the soon to be in production K2 emitters.

balrogalephheadbeamshots4yj.jpg


Admittedly this picture is not comparing the U-bin to the T-bin. The T-bin Supernatural outpaces the U-bin lights I have by 10% visual brightness. If you find a great T-bin emitter it could be better than a U-bin light. The T-bin could have a better chance of having a better tint.

Guess which light is my EDC? :)
 
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Kiessling

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It's not *that much* ... no revolution ... but it is more. One step further, not a leap. IMHO it isn't absolutely necessary to upgrade. It's nice getting an U-bin og course, but all depends on price and application.
bernie
 

Macaw

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Well, this thread has me feeling a bit better about ordering the Raw Ni with the TWOJ emitter rather than the hoped for Ubin. Hopefully I'll win the luxeon lottery on this one..
 

EVOeight

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Can you really buy an X bin Luxeon III? Has anyone used one? I see that a F bin and an X bin have a HUGE difference in output and yet they are both still 3 watt Luxeon III LEDS. How can this be?
 

grnamin

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EVOeight said:
Can you really buy an X bin Luxeon III? Has anyone used one? I see that a F bin and an X bin have a HUGE difference in output and yet they are both still 3 watt Luxeon III LEDS. How can this be?

If you find an X bin Luxeon III, Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster will be standing right next to it. :D Just kidding. :) I'd settle for a W bin Lux III if Lumileds ever made some. I may be wrong about this, but I think the highest existing bin for Luxeon Vs is X and the highest for the Luxeon III is U.
 

Kiessling

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The highest available LuxIII is the U-bin.
The X-bin is a LuxV bin and even unobtainium in general as the best LuxV bins we get on a regular basis are W-bins.

EDIT: argh ... didn't type fast enough ... :laughing:
 
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trivergata

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Brangdon - that's about what I expected. I'll get one later, but the wife is complaining about eating ramen noodles to support my habit, so I have to cool off for a few weeks..........days............ok, I'll try not to visit the sandwich shoppe in the next hour.........too late :ohgeez:
 

UVvis

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I had a light that came with a really crappy tinted T-bin. That T-bin was only a generic T, but my eyeball would put its tint in the aqua "YO" range. I figured that since I was going to change the LED, I would put in a nicer U-bin. I got a UX1K, which has a much nicer tint for outdoor use. After replacement I noticed that this U-bin totally blew away my older T-bin. As a guess, that T-bin was in the lower end of its range.

Also, it is worth pointing out that the bin is a range, so you could have a good performing t-bin rated at 87 and a weak performing u-bin rated at 88.
 

Perfectionist

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So according to the table my R binned Fenix should put out 40-50 lums ...... but most reviewers have said its nearer 25-30 ...... why is that ??
 

Kiessling

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Because you have losses in the optical system (reflector, lens, placement of those, ...) AND the driver of the L1P won't deliver the rated current it seems, at least not for long.
The rated lumens are bulb-lumens (for the LED) and not lumens for the output of the flashlight, and the losses can be significant.
This is why we have to take all the lumen ratings of manufacturers with a grain of salt :( :mad: ... there are only few who rate the output of their lights (and not the bulb) and do so in an honest way. Surefire is notorious for underrating their lights in addition to stating true output-lumens.
bernie
 

xpitxbullx

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Macaw said:
Well, this thread has me feeling a bit better about ordering the Raw Ni with the TWOJ emitter rather than the hoped for Ubin. Hopefully I'll win the luxeon lottery on this one..

What if you lose the lottery with your 'T' bin? The best 'T' bin can only match the worst 'U' bin.

Jeff
 

Radio

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Yes, this is a very basic level informative thread, I actually copied and pasted the chart to my desktop for future reference, just a couple quick questions/answers, not too sure about the LUXI, LUXIII, LUXV nomenclature, but I think I understand the 1watt 3watt thing, Is the wattage rating of the LED like the rating of a regular resistor as in the amount of heat it can dissipate?
 

Kiessling

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Officially there is no wattage assigned to the LEDs as this varies with Vin and drive current.
There is the LuxI, LuxIII and LuxV and not the 1W, 3W and 5W.
Those doe have max drive currents they are rated for which would be 350, 1000 and 700mA.
bernie
 

Radio

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So that is very confusing since almost all the lights I see here are labled as 1 watt or 1.5 watt or 3 watt, are they referring to the Vin or Vf, what is the difference between Yin and Vf?
 

balazer

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You should imagine that the distribution on Luxeon III fluxes is Gaussian. Given that there are very few U-bins, you can guess that the U-bins will almost be at the bottom of the bin, and T-bins will very seldom be at the very top of the bin.
 
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