# P7, Bridgelux C2000 and SST-50 beamshots



## clint357 (Nov 29, 2009)

Well I decided to go out last night and get some shots of the P7 vs the SST-50 with a 27mm reflector and brought the Bridgelux along with me. The P7 is getting about 2.7A out of the Kaidomain driver and the SST-50 is getting double that from 2 drivers. The Bridgelux C2000 is getting 2.5A at 17.5v from the CCHIPO. These are all running from the vehicle battery and are being tested for automotive/automotive auxilary use. I wanted to test some more reflectors between the P7 and SST-50 to see what kind of beams they produced, but I had some thermal problems and popped a couple drivers apart. Hopefully I'll get a chance to test them again a week from now though. 

Jeep Cherokee Low beams






High Beams





P7 with the narrow Boom reflector





P7 in a 27mm reflector behind a 38mm condenser





P7 with just the 27mm reflector





SST-50 with same 27mm reflector





This is the C2000 (which most people say is useless because of the large die size) behind a DX 52mm P7 Reflector





Same setup with a 50mm aspheric (barf)





Same reflector with DX euro aspheric





*Addition:*
Here is a pair of P7 units that ARE intended for offroad/utility use.






Overall, I'm pretty impressed by the SST-50 because it gives a nice tight beam with such a little reflector and driving it with a couple of $12 Kaidomain drivers seems like it's not a bad way to go. The Bridgelux is a flood, but a damned bright one!


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## saabluster (Nov 29, 2009)

Well that Bridgelux should be bright considering how much power it is consuming. All that power and it still has a hard time throwing the beam all that far. Just depends on what you want I suppose. Are you going to make any attempt at a cutoff? Are these intended strictly for off road? I am not sure what KD drivers you have in mind but do you know if they can handle the voltage spikes in an automotive electrical environment? 

Thanks for the beam shots. I think it would be more interesting to see how each LED solution performs when the same amount of power is used across the board. Maybe you can try that on the next round. Have you looked into the SST/CST-90s yet?


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## clint357 (Nov 29, 2009)

saabluster said:


> Well that Bridgelux should be bright considering how much power it is consuming. All that power and it still has a hard time throwing the beam all that far. Just depends on what you want I suppose. Are you going to make any attempt at a cutoff? Are these intended strictly for off road? I am not sure what KD drivers you have in mind but do you know if they can handle the voltage spikes in an automotive electrical environment?
> 
> Thanks for the beam shots. I think it would be more interesting to see how each LED solution performs when the same amount of power is used across the board. Maybe you can try that on the next round. Have you looked into the SST/CST-90s yet?


 
Hey Saabluster, That's a good idea to try each one with the same amount of power, but I think the Bridgelux would fall pretty short. I didn't really do this to show that one is better than the other, just a good point of reference to see all three in the same setting for a solid comparison. I'm not saying that the Bridgelux is great by any means, I just thought I would say something about it because not many people on here have played with one. It has it's place in flood applications and ease of using a CCHIPO to drive from a vehicle, other than that it's bulky, hard to focus, and requires a very high voltage. I haven't got my hands on a SST-90 yet, but I would like to do so sometime soon . When are you putting one of those in the DEFT? I would love to see that.


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## blasterman (Nov 29, 2009)

> All that power and it still has a hard time throwing the beam all that far.


 
Since we have to knowledge how the beamshots were made how are you able to make that statement? I seem to be the only forum member who actually owns a digital camera with manual settings....

Also, I'm not sure who died and declared beam throw as being the only criteria for driving use. If tight beams are preferable for night use, then I would logically respond that driving during the day with toliet paper tubes strapped to your eyes is better as well. From a purely automotive perspective an elliptical beam spread is the most ideal - NOT a perfect circle. Do we have any LEDs out there with an elliptical beam spread? No? Then we can make the adult conclusion that beam angle or 'throw' as we call it is a function of matching the emitter to the optic. 

Throwing a bunch of different LEDs on a specific optic and calling one better than the other is a bit ridiculous. I don't use C2000s in any of my fixed lighting appliations either, and if I were building something for road use I'd use smaller (< 12volt) neutral whites for power concerns and a lenticular lens.

Bridgelux are clearly one of the least efficient packages out there, but they weren't designed for efficiency (or stuffing in flashlight optics).


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## clint357 (Nov 29, 2009)

blasterman said:


> Since we have to knowledge how the beamshots were made how are you able to make that statement? I seem to be the only forum member who actually owns a digital camera with manual settings....
> 
> Also, I'm not sure who died and declared beam throw as being the only criteria for driving use. If tight beams are preferable for night use, then I would logically respond that driving during the day with toliet paper tubes strapped to your eyes is better as well. From a purely automotive perspective an elliptical beam spread is the most ideal - NOT a perfect circle. Do we have any LEDs out there with an elliptical beam spread? No? Then we can make the adult conclusion that beam angle or 'throw' as we call it is a function of matching the emitter to the optic.
> 
> ...


 
Thank you for clarification. I bought the bridgelux for a guy who wants a very floody light for his boat while it is at the dock. It's easy to drive with a CCHIPO and can be made in a fairly compact design. It is not going to save the world with it's efficiency, but it will never be on for more than 15 minutes and being run off of a high quality marine battery. I did not intend to make anyone think that I was trying to say that the Bridgelux is the best and should be used for everything. I just wanted to post some comparisons between a 10w, 20w and 45w LED for people to look at. For my needs the C2000 worked well. It's a durable, bright LED that can be put in a fairly small enclosure.....that's all. I know there are certain people who are just focused on efficiency, or throw, or CRI, or a perfect cutoff but I just wanted to give other members a good idea of the output differences between these lights.


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## saabluster (Nov 30, 2009)

clint357 said:


> Thank you for clarification. I bought the bridgelux for a guy who wants a very floody light for his boat while it is at the dock. It's easy to drive with a CCHIPO and can be made in a fairly compact design. It is not going to save the world with it's efficiency, but it will never be on for more than 15 minutes and being run off of a high quality marine battery. I did not intend to make anyone think that I was trying to say that the Bridgelux is the best and should be used for everything. I just wanted to post some comparisons between a 10w, 20w and 45w LED for people to look at. For my needs the C2000 worked well. It's a durable, bright LED that can be put in a fairly small enclosure.....that's all. I know there are certain people who are just focused on efficiency, or throw, or CRI, or a perfect cutoff but I just wanted to give other members a good idea of the output differences between these lights.


Please don't get me wrong Clint. I appreciate what you are doing for us here. Good design is finding a balance between all those factors you mentioned. Although I focus highly on primarily one aspect with the DEFT I have many others projects that I am working on that have had to have serious consideration on the balance of other qualities. The Bridgelux is hard to beat if you need a cheap uber bright flood light. I prefer the CST-90 myself or even multiple XP-Gs but there are also drive considerations as well. 

I did not get out of your post that you were saying the Bridgelux was the best by any means only showing that it can be an alternative in certain applications. I did not realize the application was as a flood light as you make driving lights(right?) and the pics had it compared to a vehicle's lights. I'm sure he will be quite happy with his new light. Good job.


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## clint357 (Nov 30, 2009)

I just wanted to give newbies something to compare these leds to so I used my vehicle's lights. I just like posting comparison shots for others to use as reference. Didn't mean to confuse anyone on my intent.


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## Linger (Nov 30, 2009)

clint357
re:50mm aspheric - wow, looks like the hard copy photo was heated

Thanx for the pics.
whistle:sarcasm=on)
There is lots of confusion with your intent
(/sarcasm:devil,
and you can only clear itp with dozens more pictures


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## Al Combs (Nov 30, 2009)

I like the SST-50 beamshot where you said you used the same 27mm reflector as in the P7 beamshot. Was it the Khatod 27mm smooth? If so, was the LED flush with the bottom of the reflector when it came into focus? Any shimming or grinding necessary? You see I was thinking of making a P60 drop-in with an SST-50, that reflector and the brass mount from one of those $3 DX P60 drop-in hosts.


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## clint357 (Dec 1, 2009)

Al Combs said:


> I like the SST-50 beamshot where you said you used the same 27mm reflector as in the P7 beamshot. Was it the Khatod 27mm smooth? If so, was the LED flush with the bottom of the reflector when it came into focus? Any shimming or grinding necessary? You see I was thinking of making a P60 drop-in with an SST-50, that reflector and the brass mount from one of those $3 DX P60 drop-in hosts.


 
It is this (http://kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=6429) reflector with the center opened up with a proper sized drill. It gives a really nice beam for something that small. It sits right on the black plastic ring around the base of the P7 and right on the base of the SST-50 as well.


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## Al Combs (Dec 1, 2009)

Thanks! Got it bookmarked in my SST folder.


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## HarryN (Dec 1, 2009)

I might be missing something, but the bridgelux setup is the only one lighting up the trees in the background. Of all of the setups there, the images would indicate that this one is just outshining them all, both in beam width and ability to see distance.

If you want more throw with large area packages - consider optics instead of reflectors.

One more useful point - in spite of the apparent efficiency rating difference given at a die temp of 25C (which just is not reality), the Bridgelux package has BY FAR the best thermal properties out there that I have seen. LEDEngin is a close second, both trouncing that P7 by a large margin.

Thank you for the effort to share those images.


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## clint357 (Dec 1, 2009)

HarryN said:


> I might be missing something, but the bridgelux setup is the only one lighting up the trees in the background. Of all of the setups there, the images would indicate that this one is just outshining them all, both in beam width and ability to see distance.
> 
> If you want more throw with large area packages - consider optics instead of reflectors.
> 
> ...


 
If I had aimed the others higher, they would have outdone the C2000 for distance...but only slightly. https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/247227 at the end of this thread it shows what the bridgelux will do with a 100mm condensor, but there is a lot of light lost since the focal length is 80mm and the LED has a 120 degree projection. It is a very bright light with good color though. Especially for $40.


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## clint357 (Dec 1, 2009)

*UPDATE*
I had 2 of my drivers fail on me, and I'm now thinking that the P7 and perhaps the SST-90 were already being underdriver by the bad drivers. Take a look at the last picture I added with the dual P7s and a different shipment of Kaidomain drivers. I know it's a pair, but each one seems to be brighter than the single unit in the previous pics.


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## Linger (Dec 1, 2009)

please include pic of drivers (the ones that failed as well). Sometimes KD site and what is received vary, but if I can see pics of what you have I learn about the ones I have as well.


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## clint357 (Dec 1, 2009)

Linger said:


> please include pic of drivers (the ones that failed as well). Sometimes KD site and what is received vary, but if I can see pics of what you have I learn about the ones I have as well.


 
It's this driver http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=6386 and the metal Positive Input pin in the center was loose on one so I soldered it (VEEEEEEERY carefully) back into place but the ones driving the SST-50 and P7 pictured first popped off after a few minutes of use.


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