1 & 3 watts on the market

I am very gladdened to see the influx of 1 and 3 watt led lights coming into the market place these days. So how long you all think before 5 watters hit the market?

which market?? the 1 watters were first then the 5 watt, and the 3 watt most recently.

but the 5 watt were mostly in specialty($$$$) and modded lights because they have a very short halflife, before the phospors degrade.

I am with extas,
There are 5 watters out there but their half-life is very short (250-500 hours) compared to the 10,000 hour half-life of the 3W or up to 50,000 hours for the 1W.
Presently, I am building a light using a Luxeon V and it's half-life does not bother me. It will take me two years until the drop becomes noticable and by then higher output longer lasting Luxeon Vs should be out.

I meant the mainstream consumer market.

There's actually quite a few and already reviewed here from $50. Or did you mean running out to Walmart and picking one up there?

zapper, correct!

How long will it be before we see 1,3 and 5 watt Luxeons in the $1 flashlight? OK, the solid state flashlight could be a common consumer product when those emitters are in the $8 to $10 flashlight. Until the price drops to where the average consumer gets a cheaply built product with a ringy LED beam the light will be a hobbyist light or a unique toy for the excentric people.

I am out of round

We are now only starting to see some affordable
1watt and even a couple of 3watt Luxeon flashlights
in Australia. Before then we had to order O/S.

Yeah, the higher price of the LuxV seems to have made the generic market pass it over. Jaycar had a couple of LuxI lights, then they recently introduced a LuxIII light. But still no LuxV. Maybe when/if the price of LuxV drops to something like the current LuxIII price...

Good designs will be another matter altogether. I recently bought a LuxI headlamp running 3AAA. Doesn't last long on highest setting, the LED is run at less than full power because the casing is plastic... bleah.

its gonna be a long time. if ever. since lumileds is the "sole" source for luxeons, and they are at least 2 years ahead of any competitor (a guess). i can't see the real consumer market see even 1 watts soon.

the real consumer market being home depot, walmart.

i'd expect to seen chinese ufo-like 1 watts in walmart WAY before luxeons or at the same time.. basically the luseons need to be less than $2-3 per piece. $5 or more per LED won't make it into that market.

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but really the true market for luxeons is the "specialty markets" that are for enthusiasts, and i'm not talkin flash-a-holics. basically i'm talking REI customers, emergency personel, etc... and thats where we have been seeing them and where the best lights will be for the forseeable future basically in the $20-50 range. and thats a perfect range for the chinese to get into.. for their US competitors are actually in the $40 - Infinity range..

and seriously, i don't think that we will see consumer lights for another reason. heat. the consumer market is flooded with cheap *** <$5 2-d lights made of the cheapest plastic and cost <$1 to make. and any real luxeon needs some metal. I personally won't buy or mod any luxeon based project without a nice sink and a full metal body.

so i guess to me, luxeons aren't even in the consumer market yet.. consumer = <$10

There are Loads of Chinese Cheap 1 Watters (probably Clones of Luxeon's) available in the market... and extas is right about walmart... it sure might hit the market by storm... imagine a 1 Watter CR123 Light @ $ 7 (cost of Mini M@g .. i guess) ... Posibilities are ENDLESS here /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

ViReN

1 watt cr123 won't happen i think.. the price of those in store is 2/3 of that $7. it'll be one of the standard sizes, aa, aaa. the walmartians don't like new things.. i have seen $15 2x123 lights at target and walmart.. but i think they just sit there until they decide the stock is not moving and then they close it out.

but thats here in the US. i'll get to see the asian street market soon, lol. time to visit the inlaws in bangkok. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif