Why do so few vendors rate lights in lumens?

[Halthron]

Maybe this belongs in the rants section but since it's light specific, figured I'd post here.

Lumens (candlepower) are the standard rating system for light output yet I don't see many products being rated in lumens. Sure, the vendors list the wattage but wattage is a way to rate power flowing through the light, not the output of the light. This is why you get "Oh, 3 watts of LED is brighter than 5 watts of halogen"

Why do so few vendors provide the light rating in lumens?

If you're a vendor and see this, PLEASE put the lumens rating on the datasheet for the product! And the light temperature too if you haven't already.

 

[ronrosa]

Because it would blow up the "10 watt HID is equal to a 50 watt halogen" statement that many HID vendors claim.

 

[DiverBuoy]

do you think in lumens ... how many people do?

 

[Charlie99]

do you think in lumens ... how many people do?

Nah. I think in terms of the SI unit of candela, and the 3 dB beamwidth. But specs in lumens would be fine too.

 

[PerroneFord]

The problem is that lumens only gives part of the picture. But it is an objective measure of at least SOME part of the light. However other factors such as beam pattern, beam spread, light temperature (Kelvin), power consumption, etc., are all important factors. I find that cave lights are often better specified than most common handhelds. But then, the group buying them has fairly specific demands, and when you are spending upwards of $1k on a dive light, you kinda want to know the details!

 

[DiverBuoy]

It's like the measurement of a mile or a kilometer ... to a child it's meaningless ... but once you've walked your first mile ... or been able to see an entire mile to put it into perspective it simply has no point of reference. Of course once a person has held a light of X lumens and has seen the spot it makes in the daylight and in the dark, the richness of the colors, intensity of the reflection, etc ... then there is at least some perspective or basis to relate. Personally I just don't think of things in terms of lumens. Maybe dive lights should be like computers where they have a benchmark based on a specific Intel Pentium (minimum) which is considered 1 unit of measure ... all other PCs become multiples of that unit of measure for comparison purposes. So I'd like to name a specific common, oft sold, basic noob model divelight as 1 unit of measure and consider all other divelights a multiple of that base light. (well conceptually anyway).

 

[Rick Inman]

So I'd like to name a specific common, oft sold, basic noob model divelight as 1 unit of measure and consider all other divelights a multiple of that base light. (well conceptually anyway).

Naw... keeping it complicated and vague makes it much more fun.

I recently installed a couple of 5000 lumen projectors where I work. Yesterday while the projectors were projecting white light onto the big screens, I turned on my 21w Slavo and shined it over the projector light onto the screen. And I could see the small spot made by my light!

Now I can tell everyone that my dive light is brighter than a 5000 lumen projector!

 

[DiverBuoy]

Naw... keeping it complicated and vague makes it much more fun.

I recently installed a couple of 5000 lumen projectors where I work. Yesterday while the projectors were projecting white light onto the big screens, I turned on my 21w Slavo and shined it over the projector light onto the screen. And I could see the small spot made by my light!

Now I can tell everyone that my dive light is brighter than a 5000 lumen projector!

See at least this gives you a permanent visual and mental reference that you can recall.

 

[Rick Inman]

See at least this gives you a permanent visual and mental reference that you can recall.

Actually, I recall it next to your light just fine.

 

[DiverBuoy]

Actually, I recall it next to your light just fine.

You mean showing off by dimming my light out of all existance