LED Lighting: The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread?
Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2023 4:58 am
Well it is no longer the 90s or early 2000s anymore now, is it?
These days LED lighting is the standard. For older explorers this was probably nice because now you could see more in situations where security was non-existent and you just wanted to see more of the neat area you were exploring.
Of course this quickly reached almost everyone and now it's all LED. Motion sensor lights, flashlights, headlights, spotlights... There's a lot to like about the technology; it's low cost, highly efficient, and way brighter than the incandescent standards of old.
So why does this obvious subject deserve its own topic?
Because LED lights make it harder to find you.
You read that right, this is one of the few wins we've had in stealth as a concept. LEDs aren't perfect and have downsides that, if you're going to encounter lights during an operation, make it a bit of a relief to see being used against you.
Point one: LED lights cast harder shadows.
Since LEDs produce very specific spectrum lighting, they diffuse far more strictly than incandescent. While this does offer a leg up to anyone looking for you if you are moving at speed laterally to their position, it otherwise actually helps to break up your outline. The happy result is that more patterns or lack thereof will be effective in an LED illuminated environment.
Point two: LED often washed out colors.
People are cheap, so if something seems like it'll get the job done why spend more on bells and whistles you don't need? LED lighting exists that more accurately mimics incandescent lighting but people are happy with what seems like the blinding white/blue tint lights. These lights don't reflect the same off of materials as incandescent and effectively reduces the saturation of the illuminated area. Handy! This also increases the effectiveness of a larger range of colors and camos for any given area.
Point three: LEDs more rapidly decrease natural night vision.
By using bright LED lighting, the user quickly depletes the light collecting rods in their eyes. The operator knows to counter this by keeping at least one eye "fresh" one way or another, but an individual or party using LED to illuminate will have a much harder time seeing into areas not directly hit by the light. In fact, many set ups have a super bright center that almost makes it impossible to see outside of the cone of light.
These three points also work against each other. If I'm standing in an open area and I use a basic bitch LED torch to light up an area say, 30m away, my peripheral is all monochromatic with sharp shadows and barely even visible in the first place. All I will have left is motion detection and if my suspect doesn't move rapidly to my left or right I have very little hope of seeing him.
So what's the takeaway here? It doesn't change much. Lateral movement against observation is always the biggest risk anyway and should be done slowly under actively searched illumination. Even during routine movements it becomes a common consideration; move slowly as to not draw attention or are you too close to a potential threat and just need to keep your time under illumination to a minimum?
It's fun to consider either way.
These days LED lighting is the standard. For older explorers this was probably nice because now you could see more in situations where security was non-existent and you just wanted to see more of the neat area you were exploring.
Of course this quickly reached almost everyone and now it's all LED. Motion sensor lights, flashlights, headlights, spotlights... There's a lot to like about the technology; it's low cost, highly efficient, and way brighter than the incandescent standards of old.
So why does this obvious subject deserve its own topic?
Because LED lights make it harder to find you.
You read that right, this is one of the few wins we've had in stealth as a concept. LEDs aren't perfect and have downsides that, if you're going to encounter lights during an operation, make it a bit of a relief to see being used against you.
Point one: LED lights cast harder shadows.
Since LEDs produce very specific spectrum lighting, they diffuse far more strictly than incandescent. While this does offer a leg up to anyone looking for you if you are moving at speed laterally to their position, it otherwise actually helps to break up your outline. The happy result is that more patterns or lack thereof will be effective in an LED illuminated environment.
Point two: LED often washed out colors.
People are cheap, so if something seems like it'll get the job done why spend more on bells and whistles you don't need? LED lighting exists that more accurately mimics incandescent lighting but people are happy with what seems like the blinding white/blue tint lights. These lights don't reflect the same off of materials as incandescent and effectively reduces the saturation of the illuminated area. Handy! This also increases the effectiveness of a larger range of colors and camos for any given area.
Point three: LEDs more rapidly decrease natural night vision.
By using bright LED lighting, the user quickly depletes the light collecting rods in their eyes. The operator knows to counter this by keeping at least one eye "fresh" one way or another, but an individual or party using LED to illuminate will have a much harder time seeing into areas not directly hit by the light. In fact, many set ups have a super bright center that almost makes it impossible to see outside of the cone of light.
These three points also work against each other. If I'm standing in an open area and I use a basic bitch LED torch to light up an area say, 30m away, my peripheral is all monochromatic with sharp shadows and barely even visible in the first place. All I will have left is motion detection and if my suspect doesn't move rapidly to my left or right I have very little hope of seeing him.
So what's the takeaway here? It doesn't change much. Lateral movement against observation is always the biggest risk anyway and should be done slowly under actively searched illumination. Even during routine movements it becomes a common consideration; move slowly as to not draw attention or are you too close to a potential threat and just need to keep your time under illumination to a minimum?
It's fun to consider either way.