BlueJ
Blue Haired Freak
I'll be posting the running results of my lighting exercise here, in the hopes that it's useful.
Today's installment is a comparison of the Bosch reflector from Daniel Stern and the Hella reflector that arrived today from Amazon. In all cases, the bulb is the Daniel Stern Narva. Part numbers later....
Two scenarios:
1. In the garage, white door shut. Headlamp rotated in the shell so that it is aligned vertically even when the bike isn't. Camera on tripod, not moved between shots. Bike not moved either. Distance from headlight to garage door about 8 feet. Camera at about my eye level (I'm 6'2"), about 2 feet behind and to the left of the bike. Camera set on 'incandescent' white balance, iso 200, f/2.5 at 1/100 second (purposely slightly underexposed to show beam pattern). No lights in garage other than bike. In each photo, the Bosch is on top, Hella on the bottom. First picture is low beam, second is high beam.
2. In the street, aimed at neighbor's yard. Headlamp aligned 'correctly' in shell, so the beam is tilted because the bike is tilted on the kickstand. Handlebars adjusted to point straight ahead (so beam pattern will be tipped up to the right). Camera on tripod, not moved between shots. Bike not moved either. Distance from headlight middle of yard across street about 50 feet. Camera at about my eye level (I'm 6'2"), about 8 feet behind and to the right of the bike, aimed so that the near edge of the pattern could be seen. Camera set on 'incandescent' white balance, iso 200, f/2.5 at 0.62 second (again, purposely slightly underexposed to show beam pattern). There is a dim streetlight off to the left, not contributing much.. In each photo, the Bosch is on right, Hella on the left. First picture is low beam, second is high beam.
Draw your own conclusions. To my eye, the Bosch has some distracting extra 'banding' in the near field and on the side on high beam, and is a bit too narrow for long dark roads. The Hella has a bit more spread, which is good, and less of the banding, although there is a noticable narrow bright stripe at the edge of the beam pattern. On low beam, the Bosch has a more noticable up-and-to-the-right component, which I guess is to make reading signs easier but these days the signs are so reflective they don't need that extra help. In fact, on high beam, at night, signs so far down the road I couldn't possibly read them reflect back so brightly that the contrast makes it hard to see if there's something dim and furry getting ready to kill me between me and the sign. The Hella has a bit more light at the bottom of the pattern on low, which is good -- the Bosch cutoff down low is pretty pronounced.
Next installment will perhaps be a comparison of the Narva with an HID that should be coming soon... When I do that one it will be with only one reflector, but I'll add other bulbs (the stocker and Silverstar) to the mix.
Cheers!
Today's installment is a comparison of the Bosch reflector from Daniel Stern and the Hella reflector that arrived today from Amazon. In all cases, the bulb is the Daniel Stern Narva. Part numbers later....
Two scenarios:
1. In the garage, white door shut. Headlamp rotated in the shell so that it is aligned vertically even when the bike isn't. Camera on tripod, not moved between shots. Bike not moved either. Distance from headlight to garage door about 8 feet. Camera at about my eye level (I'm 6'2"), about 2 feet behind and to the left of the bike. Camera set on 'incandescent' white balance, iso 200, f/2.5 at 1/100 second (purposely slightly underexposed to show beam pattern). No lights in garage other than bike. In each photo, the Bosch is on top, Hella on the bottom. First picture is low beam, second is high beam.
2. In the street, aimed at neighbor's yard. Headlamp aligned 'correctly' in shell, so the beam is tilted because the bike is tilted on the kickstand. Handlebars adjusted to point straight ahead (so beam pattern will be tipped up to the right). Camera on tripod, not moved between shots. Bike not moved either. Distance from headlight middle of yard across street about 50 feet. Camera at about my eye level (I'm 6'2"), about 8 feet behind and to the right of the bike, aimed so that the near edge of the pattern could be seen. Camera set on 'incandescent' white balance, iso 200, f/2.5 at 0.62 second (again, purposely slightly underexposed to show beam pattern). There is a dim streetlight off to the left, not contributing much.. In each photo, the Bosch is on right, Hella on the left. First picture is low beam, second is high beam.
Draw your own conclusions. To my eye, the Bosch has some distracting extra 'banding' in the near field and on the side on high beam, and is a bit too narrow for long dark roads. The Hella has a bit more spread, which is good, and less of the banding, although there is a noticable narrow bright stripe at the edge of the beam pattern. On low beam, the Bosch has a more noticable up-and-to-the-right component, which I guess is to make reading signs easier but these days the signs are so reflective they don't need that extra help. In fact, on high beam, at night, signs so far down the road I couldn't possibly read them reflect back so brightly that the contrast makes it hard to see if there's something dim and furry getting ready to kill me between me and the sign. The Hella has a bit more light at the bottom of the pattern on low, which is good -- the Bosch cutoff down low is pretty pronounced.
Next installment will perhaps be a comparison of the Narva with an HID that should be coming soon... When I do that one it will be with only one reflector, but I'll add other bulbs (the stocker and Silverstar) to the mix.
Cheers!
