Xenon / Bright LEDs / Luxeon ?

Greetings,

I am a new member to this forum and new to the world of LED lighting but fascinated by it. But I am confused by these three style light sources. To make it simple, in order of light intensity, would I be correct in placing in order the three lights as: Bright LEDs (single and multiple) then Xenon followed by 1, 3 and finally 5 watt Xenons?
I am also confused by the fact that Surefire offers a rather large variety of Xenon lamps, all similar in physical size to that of the LED lights. Why choose Xenon over Luxeon? Isn't the point to go solid state and leave behind the incandescents?

Hoping someone can set me straight.

My opinion? LED's will not replace incans any time soon.

I'm still thinking that LED's are more of a fad. They are bright, but lack sufficient intensity for any long range use. The color spectrum is always different for every LED (I've never seen two white Luxeons with the same color hues), product control is lacking, i.e. pea green "white" LED's, or purple/blue tinted white LED's. LED's also seem to "wash-out" with any ambient light. LED's don't have the concentration or power to maintain beam integrity when ambient light is present (this is a main reason why an LED will never be suitable for "tactical" applications).

There also seems to be some debate over reflectors or optics for LED's. I think, if you look at SF's L-series, the reflectors are huge, probably to get a decent enough beam from the LED. Inova and their T-series lights are using an optic to get an excellent concentrated beam, in a much smaller package than a reflector equipped LED light.

-dan

You know, I don't know how many times I have answered this question. Do a search on thread titles with the word "incandescent" or "incan" and look for ones like "How long before incans die?" or "When will incans just DIE already?" and so on.

I have just decided that I am going to start work on the definitive thread about why incandescent technology is still very much alive and kicking and why in some ways, Xenon-halogen filled tungsten filament incandescent lamps still excel even the best LED's. Look for it, and you will have your answer. Or do a search. Heck you could pretty much just do a search on my username in the general light forum--I always seem to be defending incans.

I will say this: I doubt that very many people have seen a REALLY good incandescent flashlight. Mostly they just know about crappy, yellowing, dead batteries, sucky lamp maglites or evereadys or whatever cheapo brand is on the shelves now.

Fur is dead!!

Oh yeah? Seen what's on the racks in your fav women's clothing department this fall, PETA not withstanding?

A little more on topic, "they" will never pry my incandescent camo E2E from my cold fingers./ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif

And even more on topic Torydog, these days you can get a really bright light with any kind of glowing gizmo in it....depending on how much you wanna pay. The nice thing about LED's is they (generally) don't burn out anytime soon.

Have fun shoppin'. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

I am convinced that all of the poor throw issues with LEDs are due to focusing that is less than optimum. Yes, I know that there are some really nice optics and reflectors out there, but even "tight" optics such as the Carclo and Fraen have much more beam divergence than a simple parabolic reflector, which is what incandescents use. The Surefire L4, L5, etc. have stippled reflectors that deliberately sacrifice throw to obtain smoothness.

The experience that cinched it for me was when I bought an EverLED, stuck it in a 4AA Craftsman tool light (which has a smooth reflector), and compared its beam to the Surefire L5. The Surefire, of course, put out way more light. But beyond about 20 feet, the EverLED's throw stomped the L5. It also stomps any of the alkaline-powered incandescents that I tested it against, not to mention the Arc LS, Longbow, etc.

Of course, I'm sure that something like the PT Surge or a 6D Maglite would beat it. But the EverLED is clearly a step up, both in output and throw, when compared to the stock bulbs of typical household incandescents. And it's regulated.


Andrew

Typically LED lights cost much more than xenon, have longer run times for wattage ratings and produce usually better flood patterns but suffer mostly from long throw envy compared to xenon. If you are looking for long distance throw and cheap cost (lightwise) go xenon/halogen. If you want long run time and whiter light and dont mind spending much more LEDs could be addictive.

It takes about 10-15 5mm LEDs to equal a 1Watt Luxeon in intensity but you wont get much of a throw with them while luxeons with reflectors/optics can give you a decent throw a lower wattage incandescent may easily outthrow it.

Best thing for you to do is start reading and reading and reading threads about LEDs and about Incandescent lights and comparison threads and decide what your needs and uses are and your budget both short and long term. Once you get into being a flashlightaholic you may then start thinking about rechargable batteries and other types of batteries, before you know it you are juggling a three ring circus of knowledge in your brain, batteries, bulbs, and budget.

give your money to someone you can trust or you may end up with more flashlights than a siamese family of octopi can use in a lifetime. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif

torydog,

Welcome to CPF /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif