Lumens on Maglites

Hey - Just out of curiosity, I wondered if I could get the lumens of my old Maglite torch, a 4D LED.


Am I right in thinking that lumens is accurate, and candlepower is less accurate? Someone mentioned that candlepower can be exaggerated by taking the brightest part of the light into the equation or something...?

I saw a 2 Million Candlepower light that interested me, one of the ones that probably require two hands carrying it - But I take it that I can't really get a good lumens-CP conversion? It doesn't mention lumens on the item description.

Lightbringer36 said:

Hey - Just out of curiosity, I wondered if I could get the lumens of my old Maglite torch, a 4D LED..

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here is a maglite lm ratings that i could find. unfortunately no ratings for led
http://www.brightguy.com/manufacturer/maglite.php

4d led is nothing more than a regular incandescent light with lux3 led retrofit bulb, it actually makes less lm than stock incandescent bulb.
it has a regular inc. bulb in the tail "for higher intensity light" as they say in user manual, i had 4d led converted it to 150w halogen

Am I right in thinking that lumen's is accurate, and candlepower is less accurate? Someone mentioned that candlepower can be exaggerated by taking the brightest part of the light into the equation or something...?

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correct

I saw a 2 Million Candlepower light that interested me, one of the ones that probably require two hands carrying it - But I take it that I can't really get a good lumen's-CP conversion? It doesn't mention lumens on the item description.

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2mcp usually has 6v 20w bulb or something similar, around 400-500lm, but i might be wrong since i can't see the light in question.

there is a fast easy way to make your 4d led mag a lot brighter, tle 300 drop in, around 600-700lm, 3 modes, throws far with very useful spill, it will be lighter more durable, than 2mcp light, you'll still be able to use alkaline d cells, thou using different cells will make run longer and brighter, thou it will cost around 80 bucks

Lightbringer36 said:

I saw a 2 Million Candlepower light that interested me, one of the ones that probably require two hands carrying it - But I take it that I can't really get a good lumens-CP conversion? It doesn't mention lumens on the item description.

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alpg88 said:

2mcp usually has 6v 20w bulb or something similar, around 400-500lm, but i might be wrong since i can't see the light in question.

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According to what I have seen these multimillion candlepower torches are like a typhical 4D lantern but bigger and brighter: a narrow and bright hotspot for good throw, but the spill is very wide and dim. Also the beam is filled with artifacts.
Sometimes I have been tempted to buy one of these torches just for the sake of comparing it to lights like Fenix TK30. I am sure I would be happy about the TK30!

Regards, Patric

Swedpat said:

According to what I have seen these multimillion candlepower torches are like a typhical 4D lantern but bigger and brighter: they have a narrow and bright hotspot for good throw, but the spill is very wide and dim. Also the beam is filled with artifacts.
Sometimes I have been tempted to buy one of these torches just for the sake of comparing it to lights like Fenix TK30. I am sure I would be happy about the TK30!

Regards, Patric

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yea, they look like that but unlike 6v lanterns they have metal reflector, glass lens, h3 bulb and sla battery.

the best 6v lantern (for the price) is a dorcy rubberized one with 5" reflector, i have few, i love them, as a hosts, once i took completely stock one and replaced the krypton bulb with rop high, and used 6x sub c cells, amazing results, too bad plastic everything didn't stand up to heat other ways it would be excellent searchlight.

Swedpat said:

According to what I have seen these multimillion candlepower torches are like a typhical 4D lantern but bigger and brighter: a narrow and bright hotspot for good throw, but the spill is very wide and dim. Also the beam is filled with artifacts.
Sometimes I have been tempted to buy one of these torches just for the sake of comparing it to lights like Fenix TK30. I am sure I would be happy about the TK30!

Regards, Patric

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Hi Patric,

That doesn't seem like a good recommendation for the spotlight. What I'm interested in getting is "throw" so that the area between the flashlight and the spot its aimed at has a visible beam of light, preferably brighter than the Maglite. But I guess I'd need to pay a bit more for that sort of light?

Lumens = total light output
Candlepower = amount of light at brightest emission point
Lux = amount of light at given distance

Candlepower is pretty much useless for any conventional use, which is why we use lumens to gauge how much light is being emitted, and lux to gauge throw. A 3D Mag with fresh batteries is making roughly 80 lumens with 10,000 lux (when it's focused as narrowly as possible).

In order to "see the beam" as you're wanting, you'll need something with extremely intense output. A good candidate would be an HID light; most 35 watt models of these make about 3,500 lumens with 200,000 lux, with a beam that is plainly visible in most nighttime outdoor atmospheric conditions as long as you're within a few dozen degrees of the axis (you can't see it from very far "from the side", but if you're near where the light is emitting, you can see the beam.) If you need something that is more visible, go with a high wattage laser (at least 50 milliwatts), which has a visible beam even in indoor lighting.

StarHalo said:

Lumens = total light output
Candlepower = amount of light at brightest emission point
Lux = amount of light at given distance

Candlepower is pretty much useless for any conventional use, which is why we use lumens to gauge how much light is being emitted, and lux to gauge throw. A 3D Mag with fresh batteries is making roughly 80 lumens with 10,000 lux (when it's focused as narrowly as possible).

In order to "see the beam" as you're wanting, you'll need something with extremely intense output. A good candidate would be an HID light; most 35 watt models of these make about 3,500 lumens with 200,000 lux, with a beam that is plainly visible in most nighttime outdoor atmospheric conditions as long as you're within a few dozen degrees of the axis (you can't see it from very far "from the side", but if you're near where the light is emitting, you can see the beam.) If you need something that is more visible, go with a high wattage laser (at least 50 watts), which has a visible beam even in indoor lighting.

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The ones that I was considering was the ones that often need 2 hands to carry them and have a large reflector.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9822935/Trail/searchtext>SPOTLIGHT.htm

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9823367/Trail/searchtext>SPOTLIGHT.htm

They use candlepower instead of lumens though......so I'm really not sure. 3500 lumens would do the trick.....not sure what sort of price I'd be looking at for them though.

Lightbringer36 said:

They use candlepower instead of lumens though......so I'm really not sure. 3500 lumens would do the trick.....not sure what sort of price I'd be looking at for them though.

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This is considered by many to be the perfect entry light into the world of HID.

Expensive maybe, maybe not. Depends on what you're after. Those halogen lights with the SLA batteries are pretty much rubbish and a waste of money unless you like to just turn it on for a few minutes to watch the beam, because a few minutes is all the battery will last for.

They're not really useful for anything other than showing off to non-flashaholics, and also for blinding an intruder. And if that fails, at least you've got something hard and heavy in your hand to throw at them.

Jash said:

This is considered by many to be the perfect entry light into the world of HID.

Expensive maybe, maybe not. Depends on what you're after. Those halogen lights with the SLA batteries are pretty much rubbish and a waste of money unless you like to just turn it on for a few minutes to watch the beam, because a few minutes is all the battery will last for.

They're not really useful for anything other than showing off to non-flashaholics, and also for blinding an intruder. And if that fails, at least you've got something hard and heavy in your hand to throw at them.

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As far as HIDs go, I suggest the Stanley HID spotlight for starters. It's a great deal and much cheaper than the Titanium Innovations L35.

Spotlights have their place. It's always fun to take out my Peak halogen spotlight that cost me $19 and use it to out throw hand held flashlights that cost ten times as much. Sure, it's large, heavy, and a bear to live with when on the go, but for $19 it was an absolute steal of a deal.

And yes, it does impress every flashaholic that I've shown it to once I tell them the price that I paid!

When it comes to throw distance versus cost, spotlights (halogen or HID) can't be beat.

I have a short list of ANSI lumens here:

http://www.smartdeviceresource.com/device-reviews/maglite-led-flashlight-review-and-guide/#specs

Not all of the lights have data because they didn't submit the older lights for testing (including the 4D LED, which is discontinued now).

StarHalo said:

Lumens = total light output
Candlepower = amount of light at brightest emission point
Lux = amount of light at given distance

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Thanks for that. :thumbsup: Archiving for future reference.

SiliconCali said:

Thanks for that. :thumbsup: Archiving for future reference.

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Our archive for new/future flashaholics, The Welcome Mat: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/277224

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_mag-led.htm
Multiply Quickbeam's total output numbers by 1.39 to get lumens for LED lights.
For 4D
Total output 43
Lumens 59.77

EDIT
Note the Quickbeam numbers are for the 1st generation 3W MagLEDs. NOT the latest Rebel Mags.

Actually, while in Costco yesterday I noticed that Mag's new LED lights have lumens ratings posted on them. The 3D was a little over 100 (109? don't remember exactly) and the AA minimag was I believe 67.

Nice that Mag has joined others in posting lumens.