Newbie Question on Optics and Output

I just picked up this light (Dorcy Focusing LED Flashlight 414252) from Brightguy and I have been very impressed. I have several 1-1.25 Watt lights and this comes closer to the effectiveness of my 3W Mini Mag Lights because it is able to focus into a very tight spot.

Have I just hit on the obvious fact that in terms of performance Optics are every bit as important as Output?

First of all: :welcome:

Very simply put: in a flashlight you want to convey most of the light generated by the lamp or LED out of the front and in accordance with the expected use the designer decides whether the beam will be a concentrated one or a wide one. If he chooses the former, an optic system will indeed help in avoiding lateral losses and put out a high percentage of the light.

If you type 'TIR' in the Google search box on top of the page you will find a lot of threads on this subject, like for instance this one:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/143634

They will help you to understand the matter but very basically it's like a car with a powerful engine: it will be of no use if your drive train can not put this power down on the road, a slippery clutch or worn out tires can loose a great part of your horsepower before they reach the ground.

:wave: