What moonlight output do you prefer and why?

LED Flashlights – General Info
41

If I want to be able to see the ceiling when waking up in the dark, a 0.01 to 0.09 nightlight is sufficient. I call less than 0.1 a firefly level, but that is not as specific, or clear, as naming a number, and the scenario in which it applies…

When I wake up in the dark, 0.1 to 0.5 is enough to see the floor easily, when walking to the toilet. I call less than 1 lumen a moonlight level, but Ive seen some call 10 lumens a moonlight. Best to specify, and qualify when you use whatever level.

If I turn off all the lights in the house, and am walking to the bedroom in the dark, after being acclimated to home lighting, I need 3-5 lumens to see easily. I call 1-10 lumens a Low level.

The L11c AA model w Nichia, SBFlashlights - authorized dealer of Solarforce, XTAR, iTP, Lumintop, Thrunite, Spark flashlights
is an example of a light that has both firefly, and what some here would call moonlight
it has 4 modes and offers 0.09, 3, 30, 90 lumens.
It is an extremely versatile light, especially the first 3 modes, for indoor use when acclimated to full darkness.

42

I really don’t have a need for moonlight…in the house we have a nightlight for late night pee runs or whatever. At home the flashlights are for power outages or similar. I have one on the nightstand, one in the living room, one in the computer den, etc. I have no need for a moonlight when sleeping at home. When we’re out camping, hiking, geocaching, whatever, a low of about 10 lumens is good for finding stuff in the cooler or checking the doneness of a burger around the fire. For walking to the bathroom while camping about 50 lumens is good to not trip over roots, rocks, racoons, or avoid a branch in the eye. I taught my family to not shine flashlights at other people, campsites, pets, so 50 lumens doesn’t bother anyone else, and the user can see where they want to go safely.

Finally, of course 300+ lumens is for scaring away the boogeyman, or bears, or nosey park rangers!
:smiley: :smiling_imp:

43

I like my moon modes to produce a lux of about 0.25 candelas at one or two meters… in other words, a moon mode which is actually the same brightness as moonlight. If it’s significantly brighter or dimmer than moonlight, it’s not really a moon mode.

44

That reminds me - something I’ve found an issue with is that real moonlight outdoors is much more usable light than a moonlight mode and sometimes even a low mode on a flashlight. Our eyes have adapted to natural lighting and a flashlight, no matter how good, does not compare nor does it flood the area with equal light levels. To feel comfortable walking around on a dark moonless night, I need about 10 lumens to feel comfortable that I know where I’m going and I can see well enough because it’s all directed and reflected light, not dispersed light moonlight. But with a full moon on a clear night, I don’t need a flashlight at all and often walk around without it turned on unless needed.

Having said that, I can see why some people like a moonlight mode for faint lighting. I just have no real need for it.

45

Why not create a programmable moonlight with all 3 levels to choose from like Manker, Zebralight did? everyone happy!

I like how the old jetbeams used to have programmable levels of brightness, make a 4 or 5 level light with programmable brightness in ramp up sequence so anyone can program it to their liking.

46

I’m puzzled by most of these comments. I recently got a Sofirn sp10b with a 2 lumen moonlight mode (using 14500s). I find it absolutely useless. It’s barely a glow; I can’t think of any use for it at all. It could be that the rating is wrong. A Youtube reviewer said he thinks it’s about a half lumen (Sofirn SP10B EDC or Keychain Flashlight Review! - YouTube). They should have left it out of the normal cycle. What do people find useful about a .5 lumen? I’m not being a smartass; this is a serious question.

47

The most used mode at my house is usually moonlight. I tend to stay up later than everyone else (modding or on this forum), I use moonlight mod to walk around in the house and slip into bed without waking anyone. Or when I wake up and feel the urge to go, I can light my self right to the bathroom without disturbing the significant other :innocent: . Your eyes adjust to the darkness after a few seconds and .5 lumens looks brighter in total darkness once they adjust.

48

Have you ever worked in a really dark place with hundreds of people around (for example theatre) where you need to read something or move around without bothering everyone?
1 lumen is more than enough to be able to see the floor in front of you in a pitch dark area, or read text on a page.

49

I’ve never had a flashlight with such a mode, so I haven’t had opportunities yet to see how useful it can be (apart from going into a pitch black room and trying it out). But yes, in my six decades of life I’ve had plenty of opportunities to be in such situations, and I can’t think of any situations I’d find myself in where I’d need it.

Maybe if this light really had 2 lumens in moonlight (assuming that “Charles BrigTec” is correct that it’s only about a half), it would be helpful to me for something. I hope I conveyed in my first post that I’m not saying no one would find it useful. Obviously it’s helpful for you. However, I would rather moonlight weren’t in the normal rotation of modes of the sp10b. I’d rather those choices be low-med-high.

50

That was the case with my first one. It’s replacement was a black one with a much higher moonlight mode. Now it is useful .

51

I can understand, some just dont need or ever use moonlight. To those of us who do it’s the best thing ever. I had the same thoughts with those annoying flashy modes in the main modes that was common a few years back. Once you clicked too far and hit the flashy modes you had to keep clicking through them to get back to low, I absolutely hated that. That was the whole reason programming drivers became so popular here. You could customize the flashlight with a driver swap and program to any modes you wanted at any brightness you wanted. Now there are so many UI’s that can fit about any ones needs without changing the code, but it’s still changeable if there’s something you wanna change. Maybe this could be a option for you or purchase a light that’s easy moddable with a programmable driver swap. Just my 2 cents. :smiley:

52

In my definitions (purely my own, as others generally use the terms interchangeably), there’s a difference between moonlight and firefly.

Moonlight would be about what you’d see on a moonlit night, ie, some decent brightness, but not enough to ruin your night-vision.

Firefly would be about the same glow as a firefly’s buttocks.

So in a pitch-black room, moonlight would let me light up the clock on the wall, while firefly would only let me see the small clock on the table next to me.

They both have their purposes. I loooooooove the moonlight mode of my SF31W (not 36, but 31). It does the former rather beautifully. My ’10B has the latter, and yep, it’s quite dim, that sometimes I can’t see the (LCD) clock unless it’s angled right at me and the light.

For reading something in the middle of the night, I’d need firefly, not moonlight. Moonlight up close would ruin my night-vision somewhat. Not nearly as bad as low, but still somewhat.

Funny, but about a half-hour ago I tried my ’10B on firefly going down some stairs in the dark. Usable, but barely. Yet low would be way way too bright. Moonlight would’ve been perfect.

My (perhaps only) gripe about the ’10B is that there’s that huge huge gap between F and L. F was added to the ’10B, as the ’10A only had L/M/H. So I guess Sofirn didn’t want to screw with the existing levels to even the gap. Understandable, I guess.

So the ’10A has L/M/H, and the ’10B has F/L/M, and H with doubleclick. About perfect, as I can keep it on F and doubleclick right to H if needed.

53

SP10A.

54

Yeah, the 10A would probably have been better. The reason the Moonlight or firefly mode is a problem isn’t just because I don’t have a need for it. It’s that sometimes I forget what the UI is on that light (as opposed to my A1S) and I click it to the moonlight mode and don’t realize that it’s still on. I have to remember to tilt the flashlight up to look and see if it’s on. When my batteries arrive and I can try out a new Thorfire TK15, I’ll decide whether I’d rather carry that one in my bag and send the Sofirn back.

55

I’m not sure there is a 10A anymore , just a black 10b . Maybe wrong. I too had to look to see if on , now even more so because seems they changed to short click to moon light . Love the light overall though. Perfect EDC size.

56

During the weekend, at my parents home, at night, after everyone goes to sleep, I use the Jetbeam RRT01 (adjustable brightness from 0 to 650 lumens) that produces the lowest moonlight/firefly/barely visible light I’ve ever seen.
Compared to that, even the moonlight of the “older” Sofirn SP10B is very “powerfull” .
I use it to walk inside the house without waking everyone! It is ideal for “stealth” mode :smiley:
Even during the week I use a flashlight with diffuser in the lowest mode (maybe not exactly moonlight or firefly), as a “candle” in the bedside.

Jetbeam RRT01 (16340 Li-Ion) vs Sofirn SP10B (14500 Li-Ion) vs Olight S1R Baton (16340 Li-Ion)
I had to increase the Jetbeam output so that I could compare the beams, as it is ULTRA-LOW

!

57

Acto AX, there still is:

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Sofirn-SP10A-Portable-Lamp-Light-Mini-LED-Flashlight-AA-14500-Mini-Handy-Keychain-Torch-Light-CREE/3145031_32835913916.html

I got a bunch of coupons for Sofirn lights today in email, and this was listed.

I’d first send an email/PM to verify which model/version/whatever it is, if you want to be sure.

58

In the Technical Parameters table on that web page it shows that light having a moonlight mode. Doesn’t that make it a 10b?

59

Update: I don ’t know how many lumens the .01% Biscotti mode on a 6* or 8*7135 Convoy is, but that’s pretty much the only mode I used on both my 4C tint S2 and (sorely missed) 7A tint M1 last November, when a tree fell on my power pole and I had zero electricity for five days straight. The lit up my path around the house more than well enough.

60

I read the operating procedure for the sp10b(a?) and no mention of direct access to moonlight. Maybe mine slipped through the cracks? Anyone else have one from a week ago . The sp10b from a month ago does not