Lights Lumens and what not

[TNT1]

Well if you have an Android phone you can download a lux meter. it uses your phones camera. Then shine the light in question on to a white wall or paper about 50-150mm away. measure the reflected lux by placing the phone next to the light facing the wall. The idea is to read the reflected light. this takes out any optics effects.

 

. then do the same for the other light. that should give you a very good idea of how much brighter one is over the other. Play around with the distance or get a real lux meter.

 

To determine the actual lumen is not really possible. Well not in a DIY setup.

 

Perfect, thanks. I trust what the H7 says on the box, but these other lights, claim a 1watt cree chip, but I don't believe it, just want to compare.

 

Thanks.

[Bike Lore]

I don't know of any commercial available LED that can produce over 200 lumen at 1 watt. if it is 3 watts then it would be possible to reach 300lumen. at the end light = power the LED can only covert light from power. how good it is depends on the LED.

[GBguy]

As I understand it, lumens represent the total visible light output from a particular source. To measure them, you need some kind of sphere around the light, measuring light at different wavelengths (because lumens take into account the sensitivity of the human eye) in every direction. This is not something that can be done at home - in fact, I understand that it's a challenge even for bike-light manufacturers, so they tend to take Cree's ratings at face value.

 

But lumens don't take into account the efficiency of reflectors or lenses, that concentrate the light into a beam, which is how we actually use these lights. This is much easier to measure, at least in a comparative sense - just shine different lights on an object (like a wall) and measure how brightly it is illuminated, using the exposure meter in a camera.

 

But, even then, this brightness doesn't tell the whole story - I find the beam shape or pattern, the colour-temperature of the light, and even where the light is mounted (helmet or handlebar) have a direct influence on how well I can see when riding at night.

 

I normally use a LED-lenser H7 on my helmet, which is said to be 170 lumens, and a MagicShine MJ-872 on my handlebars, which is advertised as 1600 lumens - nearly ten times the power. However the LED-lenser has an adjustable beam which, at it's narrowest, illuminates a small area just as brightly as the MagicShine. But that area of brightness is way too small to consider using this light by itself, and if I make the beam wider, it is much too dim (but fine for things like reading a map or fixing a puncture).

 

On the other hand, the 1600-lumen light illuminates *everything* in front of the bike to a similar level of brightness, so there's no feeling of riding down a dark tunnel. But, even so, the MagicShine is not so bright that I don't find the little headlight useful - particularly for "looking around" to see what's coming up, or to alert cars to my presence.

[LouisLipz]

Hannes!

 

Nou net die Transbaviaans klaargemaak. Daai Pyro2000 van jou het geloop soos stroop!

[Bike Lore]

Ek is baie bly. wat se setting het jy hom gehou?

[roodie]

 

 

 

 

Hay C. here are some info for you. The manufacture "Shenzhen Minjun Electronic CO.,LTD" address is Building D, Huali Industrial Zone, 28 Baoan District, Shenzhen, China. They are the OEM of Magicshine. Check their site www.headlamp.cn Magiclight was one of the first distributors that imported there light to ZA. they sell mainly to the shops. The ML1000 is a MJ808E but in a nice box with ZA support.

 

There are other manufactures that also make lights like this. Based on the same design. And some are even better quality than Minjun product but that is not always the case.

 

Just for some background info go check lupine Tesla http://www.lupine.de...ghtheads/tesla/ I am of the option that Minjun was contracted by Lupine to manufacture the Tesla but somewhere down the line they started selling direct. I really don’t see the point of paying 7K for a light that cost R350 to make. How much more reliable can it be? If it last 3 years then you will be so far behind with current technology by then that buying a new light is not a bad idea.

 

Something that I have seen is that manufactures overate there product to sell. Because your eyes can only ditect a doubling a light output being 30% darker is hard to spot and they get away with it. There are also other ways of tricking people to think the light is bright. For example having a very narrow beam reduces the area that is illuminated.

 

For example if you half the diameter of the outside of the beam pattern then the smaller light will be 4 times brighter using the same emitter.

 

The MJ808E/ML1000 has a very wide beam pattern but with a condensed spot. Which give you the best of two world. The MJ870/MJ872 are to the other side with an extremely wide beam but not focal point.

 

I see there is Magic Shine and Magic Lights on the internet - Magic light does have the 2013 ML1000 version the ML1300?

[extremelights]

I see there is Magic Shine and Magic Lights on the internet - Magic light does have the 2013 ML1000 version the ML1300?

 

That looks like the SC1000 to me. it is another Cree XM-L light.

 

Personaly I like to look at the future for better light. I have the Extreme1400 that is comming in about next week. It will use the new Cree XM-L2 led.

 

Extreme 1400 (Pre order)

 

Product Description

 

The Extreme 1400 was designed to be brighter and run longer than the Extreme 1200, but with no added weight. Emitting 1100 lumen for 5 hours and only weighing 340 grams, it hit the goal!

 

Equipped with the New Cree XM-L2 U2 LED that boasts 20% more light than its predecessor. Cree XM-L2 is a breakthrough in high lumen output and efficiency at high drive currents, delivering 1198 lumens at 3 amps, 25°C. This is improved even more with a well-designed copper thermal path which adds 10% more light at equivalent power levels. Read more here www.cree.com

 

The Extreme 1400 is powered with a high quality Samsung battery pack, which has 20% more power for its size and weight. The result is a 5 hour run time on high with an output of 1100 lumen. The capacity is 5200mAh for a 4 cell battery

 

Mode Lumen Runtime

 

High 1100 5h

 

Low 250 24h

 

Strobe 500 10h

 

Weight: 340g

[Titan29er]

<p>Hi guys.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I received my <u><em><strong><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><font color="#000000">Extreme 2K 3x Cree XM-L2 </font></span></strong></em></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><font color="#000000">on Monday afternoon.</font></span></p>

<p> </p>

<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><font color="#000000">Tested it as well of course...</font></span></p>

<p> </p>

<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><font color="#000000">What a brilliant product. Don't know why I haven't bought myself this light earlier.</font></span></p>

<p> </p>

<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><font color="#000000">Anybody out there with the same product? Your feedback will be appreciated.</font></span></p>

<p> </p>

<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><font color="#000000">Thank to Extreme Lights.</fo

[Titan29er]

What the hell just happened with my post?????

 

[Marius]

I bought the Extreme 2400 Cycle Light - it's pretty bright!

[Marius]

Was using a niterider firestorm HID I bought 5 years ago for R3500 before, can't compare the lights or weight.

[extremelights]

The Extreme 2K does not stop to impress.

 

Under promise and over deliver; This is something you don’t see a lot in the cycling light world. Our recent runtime test for the Extreme 2k revealed that this miniature light does not fall short. We where conservative in our original estimation of 4h but we did not expect this at all. The high power density of Panasonic cells and efficiency of the cutting edge 3 x Cree XM-L2 U2 was able to achieved well over 5h45 for 1800 real lumen. The light and battery only weighs 398g.

Compare that to the Extreme 1200 MKII which weighs about the same but only produces 900 Lumen for 4h. The Extreme 2K is a showcase of how much LED and battery technologies has improved over the last 3 years.

 

http://extremelights.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/66/2014/02/2K-Post.jpg

 

The test is the first run results and needs to be repeated to be confirmed.

[Bike Lore]

New in depth article about the best bicycling light for you.

Winter is fast approaching and as a cyclist the time before and after work is shrinking. A good cyclist knows that the pain of getting off the saddle is worst than staying on. There is no other option other than getting equipment that would allow you to safely extend your ride time in to the twilight zone and beyond.

Welcome to the exciting world of night cycling.

http://www.extremelights.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/66/2014/02/MTB-Bicycle-Night-Light-1024x404.jpg

The following article explains more about the different technologies that addresses the requirements for various cycling stiles.

Best Bicycle Light- Which LED and Which battery?

LED’s and Battery technology have improved dramatically over the last few years. Notably the most has been the battery technology. Even though it is very hard to see from casual inspection which is a good or bad battery pack. It is worth investing in quality. A good battery pack can dramatically extend the runtime and life time of the light. It can also reduce the overall weight and improve the reliability. The cyclist needs to decide which type of cycling they do most and buy equipment that is best suited to address their needs. This article hopes to provide more information to allow you to make an informed choice.

[goodluck Phil danger]

Sorry if this is the wrong thread.... I'm MAYBE considering the Exposure Reflex or Maxx-D, are they worth the extra cost?

[goodluck Phil danger]

Also, has anyone had any experience with the Exposure Blaze rear light?

[Bike Lore]

Exposure brand will not disappoint you if you can get over the price tag.