In your opinion..can a flashlight be too bright

Ok, before I get thrown to the wolves, let me explain. I'm new to the flashlight seen, I have a g2 and a photon led keychain light. I doubt I would go much futher then that, but here is my question...

Last night teh wife was already asleep, i have the photon available to use to walk around teh room as to not take wake her up by turning on teh overhead light, however, it's so bright it lights up the entire room. I end up using a 99 cent keychain light from teh grocery store.

In your opinio, can lights be too bright. i think my g2 is perfect for me. bright, durable and relatively inexpensive. But some of these lights are crazy bright. What are they used for?

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

A light can be too bright for a particular purpose. Using a bright light to look for something in a dark theater will annoy everyone near you. A flashlight with multiple levels sure comes in handy.

Alan

I find some of my lights too bright, alot of the time.
I find alot of dimming lights dont go low enough.

I really wish my U2 would go alot lower than it does, it can be blinding even on the lowest setting if you are completely night adapted.

I like lights that can go real low, like the Arc4

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

Yeah, if you were working outside in the dark, you probably don't want to totally destroy your night vision with the brightest light out there. .

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

Yes, lights can be too bright for some things. For walking around in the dark just navigating like.... going to the bathroom half asleep you only need enough light to make out things, any excess will either wake you up or make your eyes scream.... ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif
Some people even use colored lights for navigating and reading to preserve night vision. Red is one color that helps in that respect, I am unsure of other colors though.

Bright lights are good when you have to make out details either for very close inpection work or reading or for throwing a beam at a distance spotting objects and finding a path the more intense a light beam is the further and better you can make out a trail or spot something that either is moving or will move. Another use for a very bright light is to startle and/or blind someone either scaring them or rendering them more helpless for your own protection.

Two things about very bright and very dim lights that are good/bad, the brighter the light the shorter the runtime and larger batteries required, where the dimmer the light the smaller batteries and longer runtime.

No sense in using an extremely bright light up close if not needed as it may only oversaturate the area causing you to be night blind for some time until your eyes readjust.

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

It all depends on distance and context. When reading a map you don't need much light since it is only one feet from your eyes. You need a really dim light when doing this so you don't ruin your night vision. But in the next moment when you need to light up something 100 yards away there is no such thing as a too bright light.

Sigbjoern

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

A flashlight can easily be to bright.

For most of my nightime activities, if I need a light, I prefer one that puts out as little radiation as possible. I only need to see the ground at my feet. Plus I like them dim enough that I don't loose all my night vision, and can still see things moving around me. These lights also have good runtimes.

The small high intensity lights have their uses as well. I think there are many people that want a small spotlight in use at all times while hiking in the woods when dark. Thats great and all if you like tunnel vision and want to be blinded if you look at anything close.

Then there are the defensive and offensive uses of the small lights for which many were intended. Not that many people actually have the training and know how to use the lights effectively in these situations.

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

Yup, they can be too bright.

For a great nightstand light, I suggest the Palight Onestar, with focusing lens removed.

On it's lowest setting, it is plenty of light to easily navigate a dark house without blinding anyone.
The "always on" is a nice feature as well.
The switch is also silent.

On high, it is just as bright as a Photon, Infinity Ultra, etc.

Bob

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

even a single LED light like an Infinity Ultra is almost too bright when you are night-adopted in near-darkness. I find that when I get up at night to use the bathroom I just use the corona, the edge of the light, to see my way around and make sure my aim is good /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

One reason I like the L1 -- the low is indeed quite low.

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

I got interested originally in LED lighting because the small LED's allowed for low level lighting not available from incandescents. Can a flashlight be too bright? Of course it can!!!! In many situations, too bright of a light is more destructive to viewing than no light at all. I think it is helpful to realize that with light comes shadow; bright light causes deep and unfathomable (sp) shadow.

EDIT: I believe some of the flashlights we now have are as appropriate for some illumination needs as a chainsaw is proper for splinter removal! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

Have a look at the Eternalight Derringer.

http://www.techass.com/el/derngr/index.php

It's got 3 output levels on the two white LEDs and 2 levels on the 1 red LED. Red is a good color for not disturbing sleeping people. If you've got a bigger budget, look at one of the other Eternalights. I've got the ErgoMarine and really like it.

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

Maybe its a big splinter.

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

You know you are a flashaholic when you fire up your aircraft magnesium landing light to go to the bathroom at night.... nope... not too bright. (is that the light or the person?)

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

There is nothing more fun than strobing people with a Tristar Phazer when they try to sleep /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin07.gif

Sigbjoern

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

Part of flashaholism is of course to have dedicated lights for every little special purpose you can think of to provide excuses for buying more lights.

I have a particularly DIM green Infinity non-ultra light (about one third the brightness of the REGULAR green non-ultra Infinity) which Batterystation gave me back along with a replacement light when I returned it (cheers to Kevin at BS). Turns out it works great as a night time bathroom light due to its low level. Talk about being decadent...

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

Suertetres,

Your question is a good one because it shows you're on the way to becoming discriminating about your lighting needs. Using a super-bright light for all tasks is like using a sledge-hammer to drive a tack. Non-flashaholics tend not to think this way... because they just don't know much about flashlights. Or care.

For discreet, low-intensity indoor lighting, the Photons are OK, but there are better choices. You might consider the Inova X5T, although its "bounce" will light up a room. The Princeton Tech Attitude is a decent, low-cost alternative. As Cognitivefun mentioned, even the stalwart Infinity Ultra can overwhelm dark-adapted eyes, but it's still a good choice.

Alternately, consider a PEAK Matterhorn (AAA) 1-LED or 3-LED (my favorite). Their beams are narrower, with less "spill", and you can get 'em in red if you want subtle/de minimus. Also consider the Inova X1. Its beam is super-focused, but some consider it too tight for navigation.

So many choices, so little time.

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

Brighter is always better.

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

[ QUOTE ]
Lynx_Arc said:
You know you are a flashaholic when you fire up your aircraft magnesium landing light to go to the bathroom at night.... nope... not too bright. (is that the light or the person?)

[/ QUOTE ]
Showoff!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

Yup, a light can be too bright, but it depends on the use. I prefer brighter lights (with tighter beams but a fair amount of sidespill) when outdoors 'cuz I don't want to step on a poisonous snake. On the other hand, you can't really read in bed using the incan side of a Pila GL3 (yup, I tried... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

Yes, of course a light can be too bright. Even a keychain light can be too bright. I have two lights on my keychain all the time, a Photon II with a white led, and a similar light with a red led. The red led is much dimmer than the white, and less obtrusive because of its color. That's what I'd use for getting around a dark room without waking people up.

There is also the Photon Freedom which is dimmable by holding the button down. Finally, there is the low tech approach of just covering most of the regular led with your finger.

Re: In your opinion..can a flashlight be too brigh

NO! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif