500,000 candlepower?

kamkazmoto

kamkazmoto

Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Messages
4,135
Just found a flashlight at Target. The light is made by a company called Foresight and it has a Xenon bulb and an aluminum body (brush finished) that has a knurled section in the middle of the body. Powered by 2 CR123s it is a little shorter (maybe .25 inch) than my Surefire C2 but the body has a slightly larger diameter than the C2. The bulb looks like the same one as a 6 volt Maglight.

The packaging says it has a half million candlepower but it is not as powerful as my Surefire with old batteries. I would guess that it is throwing about 40 lumens. The best part is the price. Its' regular pricing is 14.99 but it is on sale now for 10.48. That is about the same price that you would pay for 2 CR123's at Savon. The fit and finish on this light is good but not excellent. All in all it seems to be a good light to throw in my tool box.
 
It says manufactured and distributed by Foresight USA with a California Address but then it says made in China.
 
Remember, light on a surface is measured in foot-candles. Candle-power in-and-of-itself is not a helpful number (does not account for distance or area).

I'm guessing since you understand the idea behind lumens, you might already know that.

Just wanted to say it anyway....:footinmou
 
brewthunda said:
What is the difference between lumens of candlepower?

Or maybe I should just do a search?
Click to expand...
One is spelled L-U-M-E-N-S, the other C-A-N-D-L-E-P........

Sorry:D :D :D
 
you can start here:

http://www.lightcalc.com/glossary.html




think of it this way....candlepower is intensity. Let's say you have two bulbs - one is a millimeter wide and the other is a foot wide. Both output 500,000 "candlepower". The small one will be a flashlight, the other one will cook the skin off your body. Make sense?

The best measurement for light output is foot-candles (and you have to specify a "distance").

Example: most schools nowadays require that desk surfaces be illuminated by 50 foot-candles.

Imagine the classroom having 4 large hanging flourescent lamps in the room. Using common sense....if the lamps are mounted higher up, the light "falling" on the desk is less. If they are hung lower, the foot-candle reading is higher. (see definition on that link - explains it well). So, you have to know the light output as well as the distance in order to calculate foot-candles.



That said, a good flashlight illumination will be disclosed in "lumens" - which is total light output "at the source" - regardless of size of lamp. Why not in foot-candles? Because that would mean including a distance in your calculation, and since no two people are alike, no two lighting needs the same......and so on...it's not as useful.

So, look on the blister pack for "lumens", but keep "foot-candles" in the back of your head.
 
Candlepower is how bright the center of the beam is. That tells you how far the light will cast. Lumens is the total light output, which is affected by how well it spreads out. Manufacturers' claims are often wildly exaggerated; the government doesn't seem to be interested in enforcing the laws about false advertising.

I saw that light at my local Target but it was more money than that. I'm pretty happy with my Dorcy Luxeon but if that one is only $10.48 the next time I go it's going to be hard to resist. I doubt I'd go back to incandescent for edc (I like the led reliability) but can I think of some other use I might have for a little xenon flashlight? Hmm ...
 
Those Foresight lights are well built but pretty dim; however, it's not because they're made in China. They're just inexpensive discount store items. I mean for $12-$14 bucks, don't expect Surefire quality. Despite Larry's sarcasm lots of good lights are made in China: Streamlight Jr Luxeon, Gerber LX3, Gerber Trio, Electro Lumens XM-3, Dorcy 1watt Luxeon, LedLenser V2 and a whole bunch of so called "Nuwai" flashlights (just to name a few).
 
This is sort of like a big 'ol bolder in the middle of the track. (as in de-rail)...

I don't have the exect acronym down, but it goes something like "The International Institue of Standards and Measure." Anyway... this document outlines what the light levels should be in certain environments. It states the standard in (suprise) foot-candles of light.

I'm the Army Aviation Safety Officer for a pretty big unit. We have a WWII era hangar that was recently re-fitted with tungston-carbide lights for energy conservation reasons. The lights hung about 95 feet above the hangar floor, and I was currious about the light levels. I went down to Industrial Hygene and begged a simple handheld light meter from them. I was getting between 11 and 15 FC, but the meter was gauged for 1-200 in incriments of 20, so the accuracy was dubious at those low levels (sort of like your speedometer below 10 MPH).

The book of standards states that aviation mainenance needs 150 FC. The imediate fix was to procure portable halogen light trees. And plans are in the works for new lights. Thanks Tax-payers! should cost you about $30,000 when it's all done!

:eek: :eek: :)
 
Funny thing is i was looking at the same light last night in target. I didnt get it because im spoiled after owning a surefire, plus i didnt want to have to put expensive batteries into a 10.00 flashlight.
 
You can get a dozen 123's from Surefire for 15.00 dollars. Play with your flashlights all you want.
Mike
 
Great minds think alike I guess. I just picked this light up tonight on impulse without having read this thread. I only paid $7.48 for it so I felt justified in buying it without having any knowledge of how it would perform. It can't touch my G2, but it is still a decently bright light for less than $10. I am going to give it to my mom for her purse until I can get her a Surefire.

I also picked up a Vector 1 million candlepower spotlight for $14.99. It's the one with a pistol grip and aluminum body. It seems very well built and awesome for the money. It has battery level indicator LEDs and a small floodlight, plus it came with a car charger and a regular indoor charger. I still have about 9 hours to go until I can use it, but I am optimistic that it will be pretty bright.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top