If the guy who set the world record doesn’t think it works very well, I’ll take his word for it.
I brought it up mostly as an example of expensive ways to squeeze out miniscule improvements; projects which fall on the wrong side of the Pareto principle.
Looking at the math though… take 1 Mcd and add 5-10. The throw goes from 2000 m to 2049 or 2097 m. Seems hardly anything to write home about, especially when a LED+driver swap for a nice de-domed XP-G2 could probably add … * checks the numbers * … roughly 30-90 (2280 m to 2757 m).
Not that the ideas are mutually exclusive. But one mod is a big gain for relatively little effort, while the other is a sizable project for small gain.
Very rough estimate based on a bunch of fuzzy factors which haven’t actually been measured yet. Large margin of error. It sounds like it might be possible to hit 2 Mcd with the right mods though, if things go well. But it’s really too early for any solid numbers until prototypes have actually been measured.
I think that CW is better for older people like me.I have a Maxtoch 2X shooter with the dd led,and I don’t like its tint at all.If I find a new dd led of the same type but with another,better, tint,something that it is possible but it is rare,I would send the light with the led to giorgoskok for a swap.
Lux and throw have an inverse square relationship. Basically, throw = sqrt(lux). Except that ANSI throw measures to 0.25 cd instead of 1 cd, so the way it works out is more like this:
ANSI throw = sqrt(lux / 0.25)
So, sqrt(1M / 0.25) is 2000 meters… and sqrt(1.1M / 0.25) is 2097 meters.
There is data behind this. It’s the same reason why old ladies have blue hair. Age, or perhaps decades of sun exposure, can damage the eyes in a way which significantly reduces the brightness of perceived light, particularly higher frequencies so it causes a red-shift. So as people age, it takes higher and higher color temperatures to appear “pure white”… and more light in general in order to see.
Oh, um, and de-doming LEDs makes them warmer and generally a bit greener. So, it’s good to start with something pretty blue, like 1000K to 1500K higher than the intended tint. This is why purplish 0A/0D tint emitters are so popular for that purpose.
And, as a bonus, those Really Cold White LEDs are available in higher brightness bins as well, sometimes even a bin higher than ‘officially’ available, while at the same time cheaper (because supply/demand).
I've recently tested the Utorch UT02 in CW and NW at a distance of 400 meters. We expected the CW to throw better, but in real life the tree was more visible with NW. You have more depth and contrast. Firefighters in Holland prefer the more NW because of that.
I have posted this many times before, I have seen the exact same results myself.
My S70 on paper had more lumens and more throw and was cool white.
My L6 on paper had less lumens and less throw (slightly but measurable) and was neutral white.
In the real world though it was 100% unanimous among ~7 people that the L6 threw further and was better. In particular when shining it at a creek bed at the edge of the usable beam the S70 could just make out the creek bank. The L6 on the other hand we could see stones and even a frog and bush. There was zero doubt that the L6 was better in the real world.
This confused me at the time because I was the only one that knew the numbers on the light and I fully expected the reverse results.
The mechanism which makes sunsets orange is the same mechanism which makes cool white throwers less effective than neutral or warm white. It also doesn’t help that cool white throwers tend to have a visible blue beam, and the blue haze of the beam itself can get in the way of seeing what the light is aimed at.
The ANSI throw formula, square root of lux, is a good approximation, but it’s only an approximation. It’s like a spherical cow in a vacuum. It really should factor in color temperature and distance too.
That means, after calculating ANSI throw numbers, you can probably adjust that estimate according to the color temperature… perhaps 82% for CW, 90% for NW, 93% for WW. Or, for a 1.2 Mcd light, that would mean:
1796m for CW
1971m for NW
2037m for WW
2190m when used in a vacuum
This is a very rough approximation, but hopefully it gives a general idea what to expect when using these sorts of lights in real life.
I should qualify that statement. In my book 5-10% is decent. Not significant and definitely not very significant. Now that is just my feelings on it. That said the reason I said not worth it is because of the application. The way to make huge strides is to combine a bunch of smaller advancements. This is what has allowed me to reach the numbers I have over the years. Searching for small improvements that others overlooked or didn’t care about because that small increase in one area was deemed unimportant.
With this application I do not feel it makes sense. Because you will essentially end up with a similar beam as an aspheric light, that is with no spill, but without the intensity that comes with an aspheric lens. Now if I can get 5-10% without losing the spill in its entirety then I’m more likely to do it.
amen to that.
i have been trying to buy nw only lights only lately
cw washes everything out so bad compared to nw
makes everything look dead, flat, and lifeless imho
nw rules if you want everything to be close to the actual colors you see in daylight
Let me clarify what I said here, if for no one’s sake but my own.
I don’t really care what the tint is as long as it does not greatly reduce throw. This thing is a thrower… not a fog light.
My personal preference when I have a choice is somewhere between 5350K and 6500K, looking at THIS CHART . And keeping those choices touching the BBL.
But again, this is a personal preference; as is everyone else’s opinion on tint for the most part…
It, has been said above that what works in the real world is what counts. Some interesting as well as good info has been given in the last several posts by people who apparently know what they are talking about. :+1: I totally agree with going with “what works in the real world”. But I will throw in this codicil……… … “as long as it does not greatly affect the ability of the GT to be the thrower it was meant to be”.
There, I feel better now.
I was never advocating a tint that had a bunch of blue, green, & especially red, or yellow orange in it. Those extremes “to me” are ridiculous.
But yeah, IF cold white does give the best throw…. then let’s at least lean to the cooler side of tint’s… without going overboard.
If it is something else, then let’s go with that.
Peoples personal preferences should have zero influence on what tint is chosen. It should be the tint that is best suited for the main stated purpose of the light…. and that is a thrower.
That is all for now I think.
Thank you for reading,
and have a nice day.
