| Why lux and not lumens?
PLEASE NOTE: We will keep here the following explanations as simple
as possible because not all of our customers have studied in the area of
technology and physics.
So the following text is kept very simple with a full intention and
renounced incomprehensible formulae and concepts.
At first we must know what lux and lumen mean at all. Lumen is the value
that state which total optical power i.e. of a bulb or LED can be emitted
in ALL directions. That means, if i.e. a LED 1000 has 1000 lumens then
this LED 1000 is beaming the 1000 lumens in ALL directions, therefore 300°
degrees.
And this point now is exactly for us divers very important, then unfortunately
we divers do not want to have emitted the light in all directions but determined
into one direction in fact precise forwards as strong as possible. Yes,
is also logical because what uses us the light at diving backwards? We
want to see something, where we beam with the lamp. In this place now comes
Lux into the game.
The lux value predicates which optical power still arrives at all at
the object which gets illuminated. To the better understanding an example
from the practice: A regulation from the working world says that a light
source e.g. LED must provide one meters of distance a workplace (e.g. desk)
with at least 1000 lux, so that this is illuminated for well. Now it is
becoming clear that it is not useful to install a light bulb with 1000
lumens into the desk lamp, because we still do not know if the 1000 lumens
light bulb does bring the 1000 lux on the desk. For our memory: 1000 lumen
emitted in all directions, but 1000 lux shall arrive at the desk. We transfer
the whole thing to the diving lamps now. The detail that a diving lamp
has 1000 lumen says absolutely nothing about it, which lux optical power
arrives at the object at all.
Now critics will say (or competitors) that lux indications cannot be
compared at all because the irradiation angle is not the same. In principle
correct because only the same irradiation angles can be compared with each
other. However, this statement is wrong in the reference to diving lamps.
Because all diving lamps have proven themselves a very narrow irradiation
at about approx. 6-15 degrees as very good and practice-oriented. This
means, that all common diving lamps have a narrow irradiation forwards
and therefore they are comparable to each other.
So why do the manufacturers publish the lumens performance, but not
the lux performance? For exactly this reason, because they would not like
to be comparable! We take the following example to this: We have two diving
lamps: Dive lamp A has 500 lumens and dive lamp B has 1000 lumens. A creates
with 500 lumens 15000 lux and B creates 1000 lumens with only 13000 lux.
Every diver would immediately know now that A is brighter than B and would
buy A of course (if the optical power would be the only decision criterion).
But exactly these do not want the manufacturers. So they prefer to indicate
nebulous values which say nothing about the actual brightness.
TillyTec is one of only a few manufacturers which give the lux optical
power. TillyTec already has many times asked the competitors to publish
the lux values of their lamps also but obviously dominates the fear that
they will lose even more customers because of that. Perhaps they do really
know how bright their lamps really are and therefore they do not want to
publish the lux values at all, because they stand then even worse there.
The only way to check lumens is in a laboratory and this will cost $5,000
and up. To check lux it will cost you $30 up for a luxmeter at amazon or
any home improvement store. You can do this by your self. The higher the
lux number the brighter the light! Point!
The TillyTec LED 2000 dive lamp with 45 000 Lux is the smallest and
brightest diving lamp with the longest burning time worldwide! |
