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Halogen has a decent cutoff for its beam, as also shown earlier with wall shots. This allows the stock bulb to throw light forward without causing too much glare for other drivers. Halogen's beam fully shifts upward when on high-beam, moving some foreground lighting and casting the available light forward for additional throw.
HID has its expected somewhat sharp cutoff for the beam. The beam is relatively smooth and the light stays on the road. Light is lost in the projector when the low-beam cutoff shield is down, but all the output is available when the shield shifts out of the way to flood the area in front of the truck with light.
The OPT7 product has a low beam similar to the high beam of halogen. High beam simply gets brighter with about twice the power consumption. Aiming the light downward for proper aiming, 1/3 of the light forms a hotspot directly in front of the truck and throw is severely diminished.
Color Rendering Index (CRI):
Halogen as expected has a CRI of 100, and the colors here render very similarly to that of the Sun. Leaves are a brown/red and grass is a vibrant green. Colors are accurate, including the green/yellow pearlescent car which should take on a yellowish hue. The bulb should have a Kelvin rating of around 3500K, making white items appear slightly yellower.
HID has a CRI of under 80 and all colors are faded a bit. The bulb is rated at 4300K and will be a neutral white.
The OPT7 LED headlight bulb I expect has a CRI of around 65. The colors are severely desaturated. The bulb is also rated at over 6000 Kelvin, so it will cast a bluish hue.
Glare:
Halogen has the lowest glare when using low-beam, whether checking oncoming-traffic or any of the forward-vehicle mirrors. The high-beam shift increases glare in all situations.
HID has more glare than halogen, largely in part due to its additional light output. High beam becomes blinding in others' windshields and mirrors.
The OPT7 bulb at the same leveling adjustment as a halogen bulb has glare similar to the halogen bulb on high-beam. High beam simply makes it brighter, match the HID high-beam glare levels. If aimed downward, the OPT7 bulb's glare drops to around the level of the halogen bulb's low beam. OPT7 high-beam matches the HID low-beam glare in mirror tests, and appears dimmer in comparison for oncoming traffic.
People are used to the experience of glare by certain headlights. By looking at the halogen and HID glare photos above, one can see that glare caused by the OPT7 product is similar to driving with high beams on all the time. The LED bulb aimed downward is nearly useless as there is no throw - you will be overdriving the headlights on the highway.
Some other pictures that show HID's beam compared to a flashlight, and the CRI difference. High-CRI is why I like halogen over all other options. I have HID in my truck for the sheer output, but halogen is still my lighting preference since high-CRI LED products aren't available in vehicles yet.
Here I have zoomed and cropped the previous photos to look at how well each headlight throws light into the distance.
Low Beam/High Beam:
As expected from comparing beam shots against the wall, HID throws the furthest, and the upper-position hot spot of halogen's beam allows it to outperform the OPT7 bulb.
As I had discussed earlier in the thread, the LED bulbs simply cannot work with the reflector designed for a light source placed at a different position. You can't beat physics. In this case, the OPT7 acts like a flood lamp with very short throw, typical of a light source placed into optics that weren't designed around the emitter.
Of course, the horror-movie gray-cast illumination of high-Kelvin, low-CRI light kills contrast and detail. This color is accurate for comparisons - the camera settings or white balance is not lying about the poor color vibrance. Even HID lacks color quality, and I notice it every time I'm driving at night.
Thanks for the work you've put into this. Some really good information for sure.
Absolutely agree about the HID vs LED. My 6" HID KC lights reach out a long ways, but the 20" LED bar has a much wider flood pattern. Makes a perfect combo
Replaced the 3rd brake light bulbs for the JDM ASTAR 921s you previously posted on. I wish I would have read your post first because just with a cursory glance you can definitely tell that they are far INFERIOR to the stock incandescent bulbs. Waste of time and money.
Here I have zoomed and cropped the previous photos to look at how well each headlight throws light into the distance.
Low Beam/High Beam:
As expected from comparing beam shots against the wall, HID throws the furthest, and the upper-position hot spot of halogen's beam allows it to outperform the OPT7 bulb.
As I had discussed earlier in the thread, the LED bulbs simply cannot work with the reflector designed for a light source placed at a different position. You can't beat physics. In this case, the OPT7 acts like a flood lamp with very short throw, typical of a light source placed into optics that weren't designed around the emitter.
Of course, the horror-movie gray-cast illumination of high-Kelvin, low-CRI light kills contrast and detail. This color is accurate for comparisons - the camera settings or white balance is not lying about the poor color vibrance. Even HID lacks color quality, and I notice it every time I'm driving at night.
For this test is the Philips D3S in a reflector or projection headlamp?
11-28-2015, 06:55 PM
