If i remember correctly (too far ago!) there were already HIDs conversions, H3 bulbs. Amondotech 3152 or something, though at 35W only and just about 700k cd and shortly after that 55W HID ballasts arrived. Halogen throwers like the Thor Colossus Thor X ain’t too shabby then also. esp if overdriven, if i am not wrong some outthrow the HIDs if done properly.
It’s all about the surface luminosity and reflector size, after that part would be to ensure that big ass reflector doesn’t warp too much and you could add shims for fine tuning the focusing for the best result etc.
Could even be comfortably before year 2000 for those warm white lights, even before the CPF era, and possibly even before the WWW internets era. :face_with_monocle:
I have already excluded those carbon arcs and tank short-arcs and portable short arcs, which have been around for way before year 2000, which cost $$$ anyway so not fair to compare them.
PS. No intention to compare with LED stuff like BLF GT or some LED super throwing mods. Just some “history”.
That is exactly the early adopter problem.
If you are willing and Able to financially support this (and any really any emerging technology) then God bless you.
But for the rest of us,
We are well served to wait for the bugs/cost to get worked out/lowered to where it makes sense to buy these things.
I’ve been on the selling end of this with Sony Betamax vcr’s and people willingly spent $800+ for something that was outdated and the cost cut in half or more within 9 months.
But it was worth it to them at the time so it is all relevant.
Peace Out.
I’m hoping someone comes out with a LEP zoomie. That way you wouldn’t be limited to the tiny dot of light in the distance as your only light option.
However, apart from the cost I can see one issue that might complicate a LEP zoomie: the need for the little right-angle reflector in the center of the lens. The purpose of the reflector is to divert into the side of the bezel any dangerous coherent laser light that passes through the phosphor. Without that reflector some laser light might escape presenting an eye hazard.
In a zoomie with the lens moving back and forth there is the possibility that the reflector might become misaligned or the user might remove the lens. Either case could result in dangerous laser radiation escaping the light.
The reflector also takes some space and would limit how close the lens could retract to the phosphor. Without close retraction, the flood beam might not be very wide.
Nevertheless, Acebeam did mention that they are working on a LEP zoomie, curious how they are going to solve that reflector problem. Let’s wait and see
Actually no. They said they were working on a zoomie and didn’t explicitly confirm it was a LEP one.
I hope it is. But seeing how they ignored my request for clarification I think it’s not.
I’m actually an authorized dealer for these lights out in Southern California. You can email me at brightlumenshop@gmail.com and I will contact you directly.