Originally Posted by
MikeyMK
Later...
So you disagree, then reflect precisely the same point on an exaggerated level that I never referred to at any point. Ok then..
In summary, differences of light in any way will hinder overall visibility somewhere. Whether that be switching from one brightness to another, or having two different brightnesses in the same field of vision.
Far better to have a light that fills everywhere you need to see at a level that is as sustainable as possible throughout your journey.
At least, in the few decades of experience with my own sight.
Although I don’t agree completely with
rm -rf’s point on not being able to tell the difference between 700 and 1000 lumens, he does have a point. From a physiological stand point, the way the human eye responds to that difference is fairly narrow. Even larger difference, say 300 lumens to 1500 lumens are going to result in the bleaching of the rod cells and, thus, a complete reliance on cone cells which respond much quicker to light differences. You aren’t going to see any differently outside of the light you are using because the light is dimmer than if it is brighter.
Bottom line: you can’t preserve night vision...which is what you are talking about...by using dimmer lights. You can preserve it by using the red spectrum of light but any white light photons of any intensity bleaches out your night vision. Using a dimmer light just means that you won’t see as much.
Again, try the experiment and see how it works. I, too, have many decades of experience with riding at night. I know, from experience, that using dimmer lights doesn’t make riding at night easier or better.