OK.. yes i know im not known for it... but i take lighting seriously!! .. have to do something seriously!
K6 GS500F with standard F headlight. New 'high powered' AGM battery with 235cca (but i dont know if the cca really matters?! for lighting anyway) .. sonic .95 front springs , standard rear shock (only mention this for possible adjustment comparison issues?)
it was slightly and lightly foggy with med/high humidity and a temp of around 16 deg C (61 F) last night ... not ideal to be checking lights .. visor kept fogging pretty easy while moving slow .. or stopped making beam adjustments.
and PHOTOS will come!, i have to take the DSLR and mini tripod with me this weekend and do some further info seeking plus photos!! .. so settle down! .. i had the little pocket camera with me ... but after a few snapshots it was deemed not up to the task lens wise! in the darkness...
Yesterday i purchased these, comes with blue/white park light t10 bulbs also (http://i.ebayimg.com/t/PHILIPS-Crystal-Vision-4300k-White-Headlight-Bulb-H4-/00/$(KGrHqN,!l8E4vQWe-bfBOQ4F7U)qQ~~0_35.JPG)
whacked one headlight bulb and one park light bulb into the headlight housing and set off for a coffee run with a few mates...
had to control my urge to fiddle with the beam adjustments right away (the lads would have got huffy at the delay) .. but noticed that the focal point was different to the phillips extreme +80 and the short lived (dropped it and only had one) phillips extreme +100 bulbs that i have used previously ... not a lot different!, but not ideal for some reason... which i will get to..
the light does look "cool" O0 .. looking at the bike from the front the just slightly blue tint makes it stand out more.... but i am only really interested in how headlights look downrange when you riding/driving .. bad illumination makes me :icon_sad: ... oh one thing on the front on view.... the little cup under the low beam filament really does change things for this bulb... (will try for a proper photo to demonstrate) .. the upper half of the reflector shows the light from the filament... the cup effectively blocks light in the lower half of the reflector... there is a very defined visible line! on the reflector .. all bulbs do this to an extent on low beam .. but this IS much more noticeable .. perhaps because of the colour temperature? .. the lower half of reflector shows just a bluish glow... on high beam it looks normal .. apart from the colour..
also on the issue of beam line and definition .. the upper cutoff line out on the road for actual light is fairly noticeable also..
when i take the DSLR and test .. i need to find some concrete road/freeway to get some data and pics of too... because ...
on standard black tarmac road.... i was slightly alarmed at first .. the slight blue of the light .. just fades out real quick on dark surfaces in the distance!! .. saying that .. the light does pickup and define the lighter and reflective surfaces really well .. and WITHOUT any harsh 'argh my eyes' overglare! .. road lines, white roadside marker posts, road reflector studs, roadsigns of all types ... for these items the bulbs are GREAT! .. giving a 'high contrast/lower brightness' screen effect .. a large sign like this just shows up as almost normal 'daylight' green background, but the lettering is slightly glowing and very defined plus easy to read .. no green/white glare or fuzzing back in your face .. high or low beam (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/5083123187_7048dcb65c.jpg)
on standard black backroads with no side or centre lines , very few reflectors or posts .. these are NOT the bulbs you want!! .. it actually looked like i had put a single layer of black thin cotton sheet over the headlight lens! .. you could see... but the blue faded so fast at distance .. it was un-nerving to feel slightly blind.
similarly.. under strong orange sodium? street lighting .. the light beam onto road (mainly with lowbeam) just washes out... the whole red vs blue thing i guess... if it wasnt for the slight refraction up through the fairing screen i wouldnt have known the bulb was on.. while under orange lights! .. the road reflectors still showed up fine .. just the beam on the road was 'gone'
with the light fog/mist patches on the back roads and a bit of the freeway , i was pleasantly surprised .. ive always gone with the yellow/orange fog lamp theory on trucks and cars to soften the glare... but in the bike at least .. the slight blue did not glare the fog back at me on high or low beam and still seemed to cut through it a little to show the lines/reflectors/posts beside the road really well...
i didnt get any rain at all ... but one mate who was riding with me .. mentioned that he has used these exact bulbs in his car .. (standard headlight lens and reflector) .. he likes them , but in medium/heavy rain the droplets get highlighted a lot while the background also fades out.... high or low beam .. which he said 'after 15 mins or so' his eyes felt like they had 'tv static' in front of them.
the adjustment process was (after coffee and on way home) .. slightly prolonged, initially i forgot which knob did what and was winding the left side counterclockwise for 'down' - nope!! swear and cuss! - oh hang on ... the RIGHT knob controls height .. the left changes the 'tilt' from horizontal kind of (for beam edges) .. least that what it looked like! ...so .. several stop/remove right glove/lean forward/turn down or up the RIGHT SIDE knob/ glove on/ ride a couple km or loop back where i just came from/ repeat .. because of the blue fade i was having more trouble than normal finding the best balance between low and high beam .. eventually i got it settled .. and the low beam 'upper edge' of actual light on road is about 27-29 metres away (more reflection from light colour surfaces past that of course but the actual beam finished about there) .... which also meant that on high beam at a steady 110km/h on the freeway, slow lane (sitting up normal position) the largest of the roadsigns (intersection/interchange/distance combo) (yes i'll do a pic of these too) .. was lit up good and without glare/fuzzing of letters at about 250-300 metres .. and down to about 50-70 metres .. where my headlight beam edge started to slide off the sign.
ideally i would say city/metro/suburban roads, freeways with normal markings and other roads with reasonable markings , for the F headlight this territory is ideal! .. just NOT out in the boonies with scrub/brush near the roadside or just empty, flat and dark coloured ground beside the road... you cant see shaZam!! :confused:
i will get a pair of phillips extreme 100+ .. hopefully by end of week .. and take one out to compare the images from "instant swapping" ... for all around use i do prefer the 100+ bulb .. but these Crystal Vision ones ARE certainly usable and have their place IMHO .. the lack of glare back off the large roadsigns was really nice! .. the almost 'glow in the dark' white lines beside the road were fun to see... and the in-road or post mounted reflectors shone nicely .. almost 'High Definition' compared to normal high beam glareback ..
the best mental image i can convey right now for the type of light you see... is a standard bright handheld torch and a LED torch ..the standard bright torch is a standard headlight with reasonable distance penetration... the LED light colour up close is what you get with the Crystal Vision , with the distance fade on dark surface but ok for light surfaces and good on 'security/safety' surfaces.
i'll get my act together and report back on the concrete type road surface (Im pretty sure it will be much better vision) asap .. and get the photos up also.
TYVM for your patience with my "mini novel' review! :D :thumb:
Thats exactly what I was gonna say :thumb: :angel:
I have these bulbs in my Commodore and you nailed it exactly.
I have magnified spotlights as well so when Hi beam is on I can see EVERYTHING but under low beam the signs/markers are great but road is as you say. :dunno_black: I would not recommend them for country folk as usually poor road marking but for city folk they are perfect
Oooh... CCA (cold cranking amps) doncha love it when he talks dirty!!!
-Jools
nice write up janx :thumb:
sorry peoples .. didnt get out to pix stuff over weekend .. was a lot of yard and house handyman stuff during days .. and youngest was using the camera for a photography art project also ...
.. however have rustled up some of the lads for tues evening coffee and 'crap on session' hopefully... and 'booked' the camera :icon_rolleyes: .. if the lads are agreeable i'll pix their headlight setups also for comparison to the Crystal Visions in my bike .. plus the new Phillips Extreme 100+ also .. might try and do both in my bike AND a CBR900 streetfighter mutant, with dual dominator lenses mounted in a vertical series...
still trying to line up the lad with the xvs 650 .. for the round headlight view .. his bike is not a 7" glass... more like 5" i think ... but at the moment i am scratching my skull for other options, i know other GS500 riders locally .. but they all have F headlight..
any other photos from y'all are welcome to compare... but different locations and 'backgrounds' do vary the comparo a bit ..
my main aim will be to compare beam usability DOWNRANGE ... i will include pics of what the actual headlight unit brightness is.. but the focus will be what can be seen from the saddle..
which reminds me ... i need to brush up on the settings knowledge for the camera again... the auto selections are ok .. but its been years since i even dabbled a bit with manual settings on a SLR or DSLR .. i'm usually too impatient and just click the shot on auto.
any insights onto possible settings for night/no flash/best result possible would be a good memory jogger! ..
camera is a Canon EOS 1000 something ... got the small 'standard' 35-70? zoom lens , the 75-300? zoom .. and i think a 28mm non zoom... will update this when i look again.. as i said... its been a while.. :icon_rolleyes:
ooooo k ... winter is a bad time to try drag mates out into the night .. ;) :icon_rolleyes: ... ended up .. ME!, the camera, the bulbs, the tripod - which is now somewhere beside a road as i was going to the first site .. bungee cord broke :icon_neutral: ... so no tripod.
(got photos other week but been a challenge to get 'quiet time' to trim the sizes down for uploads/edit a few for 'real view' and rename so i have a chance at putting them together in the right groupings..
.. also ran out of time and patience to figure out the manual settings... so ended up using one of the AUTO modes with forced no flash for the most part .. problem with that is the bloody camera adjusts the exposure and such so the pics look brilliantly lit .. will re-do later in year perhaps after some camera study...
Bulbs Used = Phillips standard 60/55w - Phillips Crystal Vision 4300K 60/55w - Phillips Extreme Vision 100+ 60/55w
these first 3 have been brightness altered to give closer to a 'real world view'
standard bulb - low beam on a freeway
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-Fwy-Lo_zps436a550c.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-Fwy-Lo_zps436a550c.jpg.html)
CV4300K - lo beam on another part of back road
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKRD-LO-1_zps2d933837.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKRD-LO-1_zps2d933837.jpg.html)
EX100+ - hi beam on a back road
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKRD-HI-1_zps6ae6b3bd.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKRD-HI-1_zps6ae6b3bd.jpg.html)
.... now .. the rest are all left as taken for brightness (i think, yeah pretty sure) .. have been re-sized , and the freeway ones have been cropped cos there were some bugs and stuff hovering by then (and i edited freeway first and got carried away with it all :icon_rolleyes: )
Std front on with flash
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD1_zps36a9c382.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD1_zps36a9c382.jpg.html)
CV4300k front on with flash
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV5_zpsd7e48d5f.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV5_zpsd7e48d5f.jpg.html)
EX100+ front on with flash
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX1_zpsd1927cfe.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX1_zpsd1927cfe.jpg.html)
Std low beam and high beam - area 1
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-PK1-LO_zpsb55a82a1.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-PK1-LO_zpsb55a82a1.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-PK1-HI_zpsd99059f0.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-PK1-HI_zpsd99059f0.jpg.html)
CV4300k low beam and hi beam - area 1
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-Pk1-Lo_zps6b66453d.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-Pk1-Lo_zps6b66453d.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-Pk1-Hi_zps8931ae12.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-Pk1-Hi_zps8931ae12.jpg.html)
EX100+ low beam and high beam - area 1
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-PK1-LO_zps0cccd3ee.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-PK1-LO_zps0cccd3ee.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-PK1-HI_zps5ea12864.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-PK1-HI_zps5ea12864.jpg.html)
Std low and hi beam - area 2
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-BKRD-LO_zpsb00cf552.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-BKRD-LO_zpsb00cf552.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-BKRD-HI-1_zpsbf69fdcf.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-BKRD-HI-1_zpsbf69fdcf.jpg.html)
CV4300k low and hi beam - area 2
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKRD-LO-2_zpsc0f43468.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKRD-LO-2_zpsc0f43468.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKRD-HI-2_zps035db0c2.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKRD-HI-2_zps035db0c2.jpg.html)
EX100+ low and hi beam - area 2
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKRD-LO_zpse273f265.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKRD-LO_zpse273f265.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKRD-HI-2_zps4819bd9a.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKRD-HI-2_zps4819bd9a.jpg.html)
Std low and hi beam - area 3
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-BKFLT-LO_zps4f55f660.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-BKFLT-LO_zps4f55f660.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-BKFLT-HI_zpsb34d6ab7.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-BKFLT-HI_zpsb34d6ab7.jpg.html)
CV4300K low and hi beam - area 3
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKFLT-LO_zps923cb2ac.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKFLT-LO_zps923cb2ac.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKFLT-HI_zpsdc7fff52.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-BKFLT-HI_zpsdc7fff52.jpg.html)
EX100+ low and hi beam - area 3
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKFLT-LO_zps2cf4f08d.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKFLT-LO_zps2cf4f08d.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKFLT-HI_zpsce379f72.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX-BKFLT-HI_zpsce379f72.jpg.html)
Std low and hi beam - location 4/freeway - lo edit brightness as at top , high ... ummm?
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-Fwy-Lo_zps436a550c.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-Fwy-Lo_zps436a550c.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-Fwy-Hi_zpsd483f9dc.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/STD-Fwy-Hi_zpsd483f9dc.jpg.html)
CV4300K low and hi beam - location 4/freeway
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-Fwy-Lo_zps82331aa1.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-Fwy-Lo_zps82331aa1.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-Fwy-Hi_zpsf74e50c5.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/CV-Fwy-Hi_zpsf74e50c5.jpg.html)
EX100+ low and hi beam - location 4/freeway
(http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX100-Fwy-Lo_zpsa0400410.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX100-Fwy-Lo_zpsa0400410.jpg.html) (http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad244/Janx101/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX100-Fwy-Hi_zpsbef0b891.jpg) (http://s940.photobucket.com/user/Janx101/media/Bulb%20Comparo%201/EX100-Fwy-Hi_zpsbef0b891.jpg.html)
.... the freeway signs glared out a whole lot more than the eye sees .. while at the same time the camera makes the shots looks brighter than real ..
for some of the backroad shots .. it was kinda annoying ... the std bulb gave the best middle distance vision on hi beam , but overall the EX100+ gave better beam spread and longer distance penetration with either low or hi beam ... the Crystal Vision 4.3K still gave great light , but suffer on dark backgrounds ..
sorry i cant give any info on round headlights whether 7" or 5" or the dominator twin style ... 'oooh its too cold' they said ... 'im staying inside near the heater' :icon_rolleyes: ... pfft ... woosies!! ;)
apologies for any focus and blur issues also .. it was pretty cold and while i had warm gear on , the gloves had to come off to operate the camera , hence some slight shake ... and no tripod :icon_sad: