most blinding light HID or Incadent?

500 lumens of HID or 500 lumens of Incandecent?

Both are in equal size reflectors.

I'd say the HID would seem brighter.

The incandescent would be at full brightness within milliseconds ... the HID in several seconds.

with HID:

"hello Mr. Target, stand still while my HID warms up to blind you."

With incan:

"..."
"aw my eyes..."

HID=
Incan=:duck:

Discounting the warm up time of the HID, i'd say the HID will be more painful to look at due to the incredible focus you can achieve thanks to the small surface area emitting the light. Also the colour temperature of the HID will be harsher on the eyes imho.

However, if the warm up time is critical for what you want to use it for...best bets lie with the incan then imho.

I believe companies are actively trying to make insta strike HIDs though

So, lets refine. How about ROP 1185 vs. 10watt solar arc all in mag host. What would you say is better? CPF member Ra mentioned luminacy intensity being extremly high or tight on HID for thow. But, twice the lumens of ROP and 1185.

kinseykaylor said:

So, lets refine. How about ROP 1185 vs. 10watt solar arc all in mag host. What would you say is better? CPF member Ra mentioned luminacy intensity being extremly high or tight on HID for thow. But, twice the lumens of ROP and 1185.

Click to expand...

the 10W HID is NOT twice the lumen of the 1185, in fact it can be much lower by comparison if the 1185 is properly driven.

Sorry I meant Rop or 1185 twice the lumens of HID

Delvance said:

I believe companies are actively trying to make insta strike HIDs though

Click to expand...

Short of making the HID capsule even stronger than it already is, it's not really possible to make HIDs strike too much faster than the few seconds that automotive-class ballasts manage due to warm-up times and the tremendous temperatures and pressures involved.

The act of striking a HID arc causes tremendous stress on the HID envelope (huge temperature and pressure spikes) and erodes the electrodes within the arc chamber. So-called "hot restrike" capable lamps typically have stout electrodes that will wear longer. The faster-striking ballasts typically overdrive the lamp during warmup to try to provide some fraction of full output during warmup; at the cost of possibly reduced lamp life and increased risk of shattering the bulb.

Someone with greater expertise may correct me. I've read Don Klipstein's page on automotive HID headlamps a few times, but I've slept a few times since I last read it.

Hi, fellow torchlovers...

This is my powerfull 10 watt HID-torch:



And this is its beampattern:



Even the best halogen-torch needs a 5 inch reflector to reach the cp-output of the 10 watt HID with a 2.5 inch reflector.

Example: The Mag Charger has about the same reflector-dimensions as my 10watt HID, but it puts out 30,000 cp's at the most!

I managed to use one of the hotspots of the HID-arc to create the central 250,000cp-hotspot (one degree wide) in the centre of the beam, so this is one of the extremes: In general you can get up to 3 of 4 times the cp-output of halogen. So with HID the mag would have about 100,000cp

I hope this makes things clear: Delvance already said it: Due to the higher surface brightness (in general up to 6 times higher than halogen) and the higher colortemp, HID always will seem much brighter when you look into the beam

This has nothing to do with lumens output: A 30 watt halogen projection bulb has the same surface brightness as a 250 watt projection bulb !
So both bulbs will give the same throw with the same reflector, only the 250 watt will give a much wider beam. Put a HID in that reflector and you will have twice the throw !

So the question indeed is: what do you want??:

Halogen: -instand on; -low costs; -3100K colortemp (they are aviable with higher colortemp but those have painted bulbs with much lower lumens output)

HID : -30 sec wharmup; -more efficient; -higher throw; -longer lifespan; -4100-10,000K colortemp....

But be very carefull: where halogen does not have the capebillity to permanent damage your eyes.. HID DOES !!!

Any questions ??

Regards,

Ra.