Re: I need an UBER SPOTLIGHT!!!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Crnkin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dont worry about lumens, worry about Lux or candela (cd)
The marauder above is 5000 lumens but only 102,000 lux.
The deft-x is well below 1000 lumens but 900,000 lux. Therefore it is 9 times brighter.
Lumen is total light output, lux is the brightness of the spot.
I have a $14.70 light that is 50,000 lux, or half as bright as the $500 marauder.
Or look at the thrunite tm31mb from OSTS, at 400,000 lux and only $295
http://www.onestopthrowshop.com/OSTS-TN31mb-TN31mb.htm OSTS and OMGlumens are the same guy, just different lines of lights.
Chris </div></div>
I have to respectfully disagree with this argument...
I mean no offense in any way, this is just my position on it-
Discarding a lights cumulative ratings and/or measures of lumens, candela, lux and distance to fixed .25 lux (throw ability), reflector size/shape/ material, emitter type and power source in favor of only inspecting a measure of brightness at one meter won't provide enough information to decide the usefulness or worthiness of a light. Without other relevant information explains very little. If needed to be narrowed down to two, I would place importance on lumens and lux.
It's like accessing a cars performance by only knowing horsepower produced at the engine, without knowing torque, BHP, the cars weight, transmission...
Also to mention: the ergonomics, quality of housing, its length or weight, user interface, durability, circuitry and protection, run times, beam pattern and color/temperature that define the use for the light (whether it be a pen light, HID or flood light) and account for levels of quality.
As mentioned in your example above... A light may have a much higher lux rating at 1 meter even though the other may have a higher lumen output... But how much weight does that hold when someone is looking for a search light inside 400 yards? The proportion of candela or lux to total lumen output is incredibly important and absolutely relevant. The pencil thin beam of a light with a high lux value and low lumen rating (thats disproportionate for some purposes) may leave much to be desired if trying to light up a large area. It certainly can be useful but doesn't suit all needs.
I don't mean to come across argumentative, I just don't see how one could suggest a light to be inferior and overpriced based solely on lux rating. The combination of over 5,100 lumens focused to over 100k lux is no slouch.
I'm not trying to justify that $400 is required to make such a feat possible (its output) (as DIY projects can reach and exceed many commercial offerings and far cheaper) but rationalize what has been put together in products like the X6.
Some differences to consider:
Battery powered external pack (with ability for direct 12v ac/dc plugin)
Handheld and compact (6.3" long)
Brightness modes
LED Emitter performance that has rivaled some HID's (no bulb changing,
lamp temps, no warm up stage 'instant on')
Power/Battery pack indicator
In fact, on the other end of the spectrum, the the SR95S UT smaller handheld is rated at 260k lux, more than double that of the marauder. However, it's dedicated for throw and has 1/5 the amount of total light output. Because of the design, It does not have the capacity to illuminate areas as large. Neither their lux or lumen rating make either superior, they're just different products utilizing different emitters, reflectors etc... This particular model reaches over 1,000 meters throw in a traditional tube design, also battery powered, a great feat for an LED in its class.
For example, here's the high lux ultra throw model SR95S UT
The regular SR95 (higher lumen, lower lux)
Again the X6
They're just different. The throw model is incredible but ls so tightly focus it leaves much around it unlit. It's much brighter than the x6 and is utilizing the new SBT-70 emitter.
DIY lamps can be just as or more powerful for significantly less money and I have great respect for those able to accomplish that. Out of inexpensive materials we can make lights with insanely high lumen ratings or brightness but combining and balancing them with all of the other elements into something that's functional and in form that's compact and need specific is an art itself.
Again, I don't mean to stir anything up. It just doesn't sound right to dismiss products companies such as Olight, Fenix, jet-beam/nitecore, 4Sevens as overpriced and/or underwhelming. There's more than brightness that's going into these products that we pay for.
