Torch advertising

I'm kind of new to all this, so bear with me.

Joe public have no idea what the Lumen rating or LED numbers mean. People see a torch on eBay with 3 LED and presume that it's brighter than a torch with 1 LED. Supermarkets sell torches with 95 LEDs, but how bright and far far a throw does that torch have compared to a cheaper single T6 LED running off 4 AAA batteries.



I own a couple of dogs, and walk them in the dark during the winter months. So like many, I need a torch that will give a bright light so that I can pick up after the dog- and throw that light some distance if the dog wanders off across the field.

My preference when buying a torch is to see a picture of the light at night illuminating something - but when have you ever seen that on eBay? Shining it on a blank wall, or pointing up in the sky doesn't really achieve anything for the average buyer. Because I own a website about responsible dog ownership, I set up my own torch test and made a slide show about it.

So how can we get torch manufacturers to include photos of a standard test?

My webpage of torch review is here www.dorsetdog.com/torch-flashlight-review

PS. I would have posted this as a new thread in General Flashlight Discussion, but this is my first post and "Make a new post" wasn't an option

Mark

Hello from England

Hi all

I live near Weymouth in the County of Dorset, which is on the south coast of England, Great Britain.

I've had a thing about torches since I was a kid, and now in my fifties I still browse and seek the ideal torch. My first torch being an Every Ready minilight pocket torch with a small bulb protruding out of the end. Although I recall as kids one Christmas our getting tiny torches with interchangeable plastic animal faces.



I've owned a lot of torches since then, many of which have been an absolute waste of money.

My current torch has a Cree T6 LED, has a lens some 45 mm (2 inch) wide and takes 4 AAA batteries. Has a great wide spread and long throw





I just wish that manufacturers would produce advertising images that helped consumers to buy the product

Re: Hello from England

Great review site:

http://flashlightguide.com/

I don't think the manufacturers will do outdoor beamshots because the pictures may affect their sales. How else can they sell 10,000 lumens pocket size lights.

Re: Hello from England

Cerealand said:

... How else can they sell 10,000 lumens pocket size lights.

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Like many other people, I've got no idea how bright a 10,000 lumens light is

Re: Hello from England

I see no positive reason to show a beam on a blister pack,best way is by a distance diagram us used by makers at present.

Re: Hello from England

Mark Ellis said:

Like many other people, I've got no idea how bright a 10,000 lumens light is

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Can't take a beam shot of a 10,000 lumens pocket size flashlight if one does not exist. The packaging is just inflated numbers. :thumbsup:

Re: Hello from England

mcnair55 said:

I see no positive reason to show a beam on a blister pack,best way is by a distance diagram us used by makers at present.

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I've never seen a distance diagram on any torch packaging or display case in any supermarket or autofactors. Same goes for most torches on eBay

Re: Hello from England

:welcome: blister packs are now in the past check reviews or ask the questions for some great flashlight choice on here. Many excellent lights available from reputable brands
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?19-Flashlight-Reviews

Moving away from AAA or AA to li ion cells would make a significant change in your use,be it in a powerful compact size to an all out monster light. A good designated light for flood/throw and a smaller back up edc for that "just in case" time.

Check out some brands like Fenix/Eagletac/Nitrecore/Thrunite/SunWayMan, in no order to name just a few brands to get started .

:thumbsup:

Re: Hello from England

Mark Ellis said:

I've never seen a distance diagram on any torch packaging or display case in any supermarket or autofactors. Same goes for most torches on eBay

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You do not own a Fenix or Nextorch then as both there's do.

Mark Ellis said:

Joe public have no idea what the Lumen rating or LED numbers mean.

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This is true, but most of "Joe Public" also have no idea what BHP or Torque is either.

The truth is, for the vast majority of the buying public they are happy to be uninformed and ignorant in their purchases. For those few that do like to make informed purchases, a little research and reading goes a long way. And is all so easy to do in this day and age.

Mark Ellis said:

People see a torch on eBay with 3 LED and presume that it's brighter than a torch with 1 LED. Supermarkets sell torches with 95 LEDs, but how bright and far far a throw does that torch have compared to a cheaper single T6 LED running off 4 AAA batteries.

Click to expand...

There are standards, in fact any half decent torch maker will display ANSI FL1 standard figures, or at least a variation of this info. Sadly in the UK we only have crap torches being sold for the most part unless you buy online or from a specialist retailer. But again, this all comes down to being an informed buyer or not.

Mark Ellis said:

My preference when buying a torch is to see a picture of the light at night illuminating something - but when have you ever seen that on eBay?

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You do see it.

But there are several issues here. To be comparable, you need to see photos of other torches at the same location. And importantly using the same camera settings.

It is very easy to manipulate a picture, either when capturing it (shutter, aperture etc.) or afterwards on a PC.

e.g.

This took about a min to do on PC.

Pic 1 is how it came off the camera.

Pic 2 is down selling to use as a comparion.

Pic 3 is showing my "high output".

Pic 4 is the mobile supersun pocket torch!!!

They are however all the same picture, same torch, just messed about with.

Mark Ellis said:

So how can we get torch manufacturers to include photos of a standard test?

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You would need to define what a standard test was and how to measure it. Then you'd need to get people to agree to it.


http://flashlightwiki.com/ANSI-NEMA_FL-1

Chicken Drumstick said:

It is very easy to manipulate a picture, either when capturing it (shutter, aperture etc.) or afterwards on a PC.

e.g.

This took about a min to do on PC.

Pic 1 is how it came off the camera.

Pic 2 is down selling to use as a comparion.

Pic 3 is showing my "high output".

Pic 4 is the mobile supersun pocket torch!!!

They are however all the same picture, same torch, just messed about with.

Click to expand...

Chicken drumstick illustrates a point very well with the manipulated images. How bright the light 'looks' in a photo and how it appears to your eyes are two very different things.

Even with a 'control' light source for comparison, comparing brightness is totally subjective. It depends on your individual eyes and how you respond to varying levels of light.

If your eyes are dark adapted, even 50lm can be blinding. If you are not at all dark adapted, 2000lm can appear unimpressive.

Actual OTF (out the front) lumen measurements combined with a beamshot to show the general appearance of the beam is about as good as you are going to get. Beyond that you would need to try out the light yourself.

This is why in my reviews I present actual output measurements and both indoor and outdoor beamshots.