New light

Hi,just a quick heads up about a Kickstarter light i found i hope its not been posted about before but it looks quite good its called TripLit TripLit its maybe worth a look.

At least give a teaser for folks to decide if they want to know more-
( can’t post pics)

TripLit: The Worlds First Portable OLED Light
Looks like a panel light serving as an omnidirectional area light/lantern

Here you go, OLED screen sold as a lamp:

They carefully avoid telling how many lumen it produces.

I'll have a go, (but I did not have the time to think over if I do this right, please correct me on this): the luminance of the screen is 1000-3000 cd/m2, from a screen of 78.1 cm2, that is 7.81-23.4 cd. A light source of 1 candela that shines 360 degrees sends out 12.6 lumen. A screen has an average beam angle of 120 degrees (I just made that up), so the source will be 4.2 lumen for 1 candela, so this lamp should then be 33-100 lumen.

Actually, if you scroll down the page and read carefully, they do give you some clues, but they are somewhat contradictory. They say the OLED screen gets ~100lm/w in that chart where they compare it to LED (~120lm/w). Then, they say the Li-Ion pack is 5500mAH. And finally, they claim the light is designed to give 100 to 300 lumens. One would suppose they mean 100 for low and 300 for high. But, if you do the math from the 5500mAH cell and the 100lm/w, and considering a claimed 12hr run-time, you will get around ~193 total max lumens. A lot better than 33-100 lumens, but still not great. However, if you consider using this light in areas of near total darkness, it should be plenty to see by. Then, you can go back to the debate of the usefulness of low-lumen light sources (moonlight mode?). Obviously, this light is designed more for the run-time than the luminance. They claim 12 hours on high and 30 hours on low. I predict that it will be useful for its intended purpose.

Ah, thanks, missed that part of the FAQ, I could have avoided my rough and probably somewhere faulty calculation :-)

200 lumens is an ok light source, but I'd go for a somewhat more efficient led-flashlight (my addiction is helping me making this choice ;-) )

Ah, don’t worry about it! I think their calculations look a bit rough and somewhere faulty too! :bigsmile:

Edit: Also, about lumens vs runtime: My take on it is that run-times are for the lower modes. It doesn’t hurt my feelings to have a turbo mode that only lasts 10 minutes, as long as there is also a lower mode that gives me run-time when I need it. In other words, I prefer the choice to be in my hands.

This is an impartial review and somewhat entertaining

I think I saw this on shark tank

72$? :smiley:
Oh wow.
How much flashlights can I get for that…
3 Convoys + 4 Batterys + Charger…

Or a external Battery + USB Splitter + 4 Xiaomi USB lights + a lot of money left…

It’s not that you’re buying a light for $72. Most of that money is the donation for them to begin production. In fact, a lot of it is to pay for the vendors’ re-tooling costs and up-front profit.

Hm, I wish they’d give the emission spectrum, not just the color temperature number (or identify the specific OLED product they’re going to use)

I’d rather have this one:
http://spie.org/x102843.xml
Candlelight-style organic LEDs: a safe lighting source after dusk … low color temperature lighting source.
19 August 2013, SPIE Newsroom. DOI: 10.1117/2.1201308.005070

Well, If I buy a Convoy C8, I also pay the production and the retooling etc.pp.

In the end, I get a not so bright light for my 72$ - and that’s what counts.

In the end, you’re right about what you get. But, I disagree with your other point. Convoy doesn’t have upfront costs, because they are in business already. At one time, they did have upfront costs, and somebody had to fund those. :wink:

Sure, but someone who want’s to start a business, but can’t deliver products that are worth the price, will be punished by the market.

That’s how it works.

I don’t pay anybody more money, just because he has to buy something. Others have to, too.
Convoy maybe has the machines (or contacts to people who have) - but at some point, they were very little and had nothing. Like anyone else.

I mean, those OLED lamps… nice idea, flat and useful - but in the other hand, they are just a battery, a little circuit and a OLED Screen.
That’s it - for 72$?
If they had done it with some COBs or special led plexyglass (with good 5630 LEDs on all 4 edges), they could have had the same thing just under 25$. Which is (imo) still a high price for what you get.

Great review.

Kickstarter is riddled with scams, and the company itself doesn’t seem to care, just as long as it rakes in a steady commission.

And no, white LEDs do not produce any UV light.

Energizer has a great folding / ramping lantern that uses 4 / or 8 AA's ..as good ? or better ? for 25~30$

Still like two s2 convoys and diffuser film better

I’m not sure about the hype surrounding Triplit. The device would need to cost about 10$ or less to compete against lights available in developing countries. Just like the cheap chinese lights, the battery will be dead in some time. A flashlight with a diffuser is a lot easier to deal with when changing a tyre. This thing is hard to carry. I think its a poorly researched invention.

A dude from Kickstater with 217 backers to compete for price with monster US brands or big Chinese brands is absurd.

Comparing a brand like Convoy that is actually in China that has tons of connection to a person from the west that only has an idea (no matter where he got the inspiration) still does not stand because even if the price was lower he would still not be able to match the Chinese price.

As for Energizer, they already come with a heavy brand name, no need to think twice about it, they will produce in millions and will have automatically assured distribution in tons of stores, so their product will be cheap cause the concept is volume sales due to having that huge financial power to already manufacturer in millions.

I still think you’re missing the point. In fact, I think you’re missing the whole point of Kickstarter and other sites like it. The idea is that you are donating funds in order to help them get a product to market. It is a charitable twist on the idea of funding through investors. The fact that you get a light out of the deal has nothing to do with the amount of money you give them. The light is just their way of saying “Thank You” for your donation.

Convoy, and others who are successful in business had to have upstart funds at one time. They probably got those funds in some traditional way, such as from investors. Or, they may have set some of their own money aside for years in order to invest in themselves. But, all of that costs something. The idea of Kickstarter is that the funds don’t cost you anything. People donate funds so that your business can get a kick-start on being successful. Otherwise, it usually takes years to find success, even in a good business with an excellent product.

The bottom line is that if you don’t want to donate the money, with no promise of anything in return, then you shouldn’t be looking at anything on Kickstarter - ever.