Lights don't look as bright anymore!!!

I remember when I first got into flashlights. It was...well, right when I joined this forum, pretty much. I upgraded from the Mag to the Brinkmann Maxfire after a short stint with the Dorcy 45 lumen, which did initially impress me. The Brinkmann looked so friggin bright! I showed it off to everyone! Then came the Streamlight Scorpion before the floodgate was let lose.

Now, lights just don't seem as bright. I don't know if it's my surroundings, but I think not. I don't know if it was the switch from incan to led or that fine comparisons between lumens in the 25% range are not visible to the unaided eye, or what.

I'm almost down about it. Anybody else get this way?

I know that even after I have had a light for a while, I start to not think it's so bright anymore.

I only made the switch to LED carry lights last year, and at first I was stunned.

Now, I guess I am only impressed by the lack of light I sometimes see.

obi

Obijuan Kenobe said:

I know that even after I have had a light for a while, I start to not think it's so bright anymore.

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Kinda the way I feel also until I see some of the things other people call flashlights then I LMAO, but you can bet your lights still look amazing to everyone else every time.

that happens, it is called human nature,

Right in the middle of being bored and unimpressed with my lights at mo, thinking of a new more powerfull wow factor light, but how far can you really see anyway? Now and again I see people tripping over their own feet with a mega 9 led torch they think is amazing and mine looks bright again, if only for a short while

The cure for this is to use one of those old 3xAAA 9 led budget lights for a couple weeks. Then when you go back to real lights you're thoroughly impressed again. I found my old generic Luxeon 3xAAA and when I turn it on I realize why everyone was saying before that led can't compare to much more than a minimag. Cause output was pathetic and runtime was only marginally better.

The same thing happens with cars. If you have something fast in your stable, drive it long enough and it will eventually feel pedestrian. The only cure is to go back to one of your slower cars (and in this case, dimmer flashlights) for a while to readjust your expectations.

Our brains are just very good at adapting to the world around us. We get a certain kind of stimulus for a while, the neural networks in our brain train, and we gradually think it is perfectly normal and unremarkable.

If the human brain can adjust to being chased out of its home by enemy soldiers, living in a squalid refugee camp for months, and moving to another country with a foreign language and having to start earning a living from scratch, then the human brain can adjust to seeing well at night.

It's just the way the brain works. Everything is judged relative to past experience. If you want a new thrill, try putting Hi-CRI emitters in your lights and marvel at how lower output can still be just as useful when the light is higher quality.

Buy a Mini Mag for $8 and use that whenever you feel like your lights aren't all that bright. :thumbsup:

alpg88 said:

that happens, it is called human nature,

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nope, its called losing perspective
Its a temporary condition in which bright lights lose their appeal, spend some days using traditional "Bomb shelter" era lights and you'll feel better

Illum said:

nope, its called losing perspective
Its a temporary condition in which bright lights lose their appeal, spend some days using traditional "Bomb shelter" era lights and you'll feel better

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call it loosing perspective, getting used to, or some other name, it is all human nature.
you value things more when you loose them. you see them in a different light, literally, lol.

alpg88 said:

call it loosing perspective, getting used to, or some other name, it is all human nature.

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+1 :thumbsup:


I don't tend to "over use" my lights whilst working preferring to move about in "ambient" low level light with my night adapted vision, don't get me wrong I still use them but periodically/intermittently to illuminate completely darkened areas thus they still retain some of their "WoW factor" IMO, oddly enough I'm still satisfied using a 1w Luxeon on occasion too! LOL


Mega Lumen output is the bee's knees but I seem to get as much enjoyment out of ultra low output lights (ALS especially)

When this happens to me I just set my U2A to output level 3 and treat it as the only level. Works like a charm!

This has to be what has happened. I'm called out. Perhaps this "flashoholic's illness" will pass when I experiment with my Rayovac Value Brite. Woops, already has! * snicker *

aha! i think it comes naturally. adaptation i guess. when i first got my p7 led torch, it was amazingly bright. now its just plain ordinary.

I want a SST-50/90 or a triple/quad xpg drop-in that my thrunite 1.5A is not like much brighter anymore coz brighter is better. :devil:.

I am at the stage where my brain hasn't gotten "used" to the lights. Although my collection is small, very small yet growing still, I can relate to what you guys are saying. Nonetheless, when it does get used to the light, I will still be in awe and amazed at how these little products and devices give out such an amount of power. Especially because then are no more bigger than probably the size of your pinky nail.

Anyways, forthcoming (either paid, reserved, or waiting to arrive):
50w HID torch
MG-P Rocket SST-50
Download's Pocket Rocket
Mag SST-50 Drop-In

I have another D Mag just waiting for a mod... dont know what to do to it.

Hi, Second post here.

All it takes to remind me how bright some flashlights are is to shine on some thing to have a closer look.

I get this with another hobby of mine, hi-fi. After a while you get used to the system and it doesn't impress quite as much. At this point, go listen to a poor system for a week or two and your expectations will readjust.

Like others say, every now and then I put batteries in one of my oldest lights and play with it for a few minutes. Then I compare my smallest of my newer lights to it and laugh. I then leave the oldie on and try my lights next to it in order of output and laugh at every single one. I'm still not impressed by the output of my bigger lights anymore, but at least I have a laugh and am confident that my lights haven't lost it (not sure about myself, though...)