Cubes & the importance of good optics

Hey everyone,  Travis here from NL Light Bars. One thing we get a lot is "why do you guys focus on optics in your lights all the time". Well its simple. The lens design and optics are one of the BIGGEST factors in a good light. They determine where the light goes. There are 2D, 3D, 4D, spot, floods, combos, hybrid, frosted, diffused, blah blah blah. It can get over whelming for someone who doesn't know the difference. So we have some pictures and a quick video showing just how important they are.

So what you are going to see below are 3 different spot beams. 3 different lights almost the exact same power, using spot optics.

Budget Bar Cube: This is your standard cube with 2D optics. CREE chips. Please keep in mind this is a 18 WATT, 1800 lumen cubes. The cheap ones you often see online are only 12 WATTS, 1000-1400 lumens. Be careful what you buy! You can also get epistar chips which are not as bright.

DuraSeries Cubes: These use a slightly smaller version of our DuraSeries optics. The larger optics do not fit in our cubes. 20W, 2000 lumens. High Output CREE Chips.

HyperSeries Cubes: These use use Osram chips. 20W, 3000 lumens. They use 4D optics which are by far the most focused on the market.

What you see here in the first picture is our Budget Cube. Looks decent enough, however if you compare it to the second picture which is our DuraSeries cube. You can see it is much brighter and much more focused. Sure the first one is good if you want flood lighting, but they are BOTH SPOT CUBES. In the 3rd picture the Budget cube is on the left, and DuraSeries on the right. Yes, the budget cube is slightly further away, but at that distance it shows you loose all focus compared to the DuraSeries. Imagine how badly a 12 Watt version would be.



Here is another example. Budget Cube in the first picture, and DuraSeries in the second. In the third picture it is hard to tell, but the DuraSeries cube is on the left and the Budget cube is on the right. The DuraSeries cube almost drowns out the spot cube at that distance. Once again, imagine how badly a 12 Watt light compares!

Here is a video showing what the pictures are all about. We threw HyperSeries in at the end just to show a quick comparison. We didn't plan to, but decided it was a good idea after we shot the original pictures and video.



If you guys have any feedback or questions feel free to contact is at shop@nllightbars.com.

~ Travis Pinsent
Co-Owner/Operator