Amber vs clear

[Fawnbuster]

If you want to make stuff up to explain things you see, then that's on you. But for people who care what's ACTUALLY happening, there's science. If you have a problem with what I quoted, you can take it up with these guys, who made the statements.

I don't argue with idiots.... click

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[OFC Ranger]

I don't argue with idiots.... click

You spent 34 years dealing with idiots. I've only spent 5 so far.

Secrets, you must share them.

 

[Fawnbuster]

You spent 34 years dealing with idiots. I've only spent 5 so far.

Secrets, you must share them.

Hang in there it only gets worse hahahhaha. No actually I loved it and loved training cops driving, shooting, dt's and other stuff. Hearing back from them when they tell me my training saved there butts is all the reward I needed. My pension was maxed and I was working for 5 weeks vacation but when covid, construction right next to my office and war on police all got going at the same time, it took me less than a year to say my health and Blood pressure wasn't worth it anymore. Miss my colleagues but do not miss dealing with belligerent people. Life should come with an ignore button hahahha

 

[OFC Ranger]

Hang in there it only gets worse hahahhaha. No actually I loved it and loved training cops driving, shooting, dt's and other stuff. Hearing back from them when they tell me my training saved there butts is all the reward I needed. My pension was maxed and I was working for 5 weeks vacation but when covid, construction right next to my office and war on police all got going at the same time, it took me less than a year to say my health and Blood pressure wasn't worth it anymore. Miss my colleagues but do not miss dealing with belligerent people. Life should come with an ignore button hahahha

Belligerent people are easy.

Juveniles & Traffic Control - two things that will land me complaints.

I'd rather work a murder with a 3 week old body in an non-air conditioned trailer than deal with those.

Anyhow, I don't want to spam up the dude's thread any further. lol

 

[Fawnbuster]

Belligerent people are easy.

Juveniles & Traffic Control - two things that will land me complaints.

I'd rather work a murder with a 3 week old body in an non-air conditioned trailer than deal with those.

Anyhow, I don't want to spam up the dude's thread any further. lol

Agreed on picking your poison when you can. STAY SAFE!

 

[Msfitoy]

 

[OFC Ranger]

 

[Msfitoy]

 

[AdamHarris]

Anyway..Is frenchy on this thread? Bunch of skipped post numbers here for me..

 

[seanellaz]

​

Amber vs Clear

The off-road lighting age-old question: amber vs. clear lights. What is the difference, and can one color of light actually be better than the other? Let’s dive into the science behind off-road light color offerings, and figure out which is best for an off-road application.​

What is Color Temperature?

First, we need to understand how the unit of measurement of the Kelvin Scale describes the color output of light. The Kelvin scale ranges from 1000 to 12,000; the lower the Kelvin, the warmer the color temperature of the light and will typically represent yellow, orange, and red. The higher the Kelvin number, the cooler it will be and will be blue, indigo, or violet. Baja Designs lights emit 5000k, which is recognized the closest color to natural daylight. Our amber lights, or more accurately selective yellow lights, are specifically designed for off-road driving in inclement conditions and are about 3000K. We use “amber” as a generic trade term to describe the alternative to our clear offerings. Through years of racing heritage and engineering, we have found selective yellow

to be superior to a more orange hued amber color, mainly because of the greater effective lumen output.

Baja Designs Amber Wide Cornering

Baja Designs Clear Wide Cornering
​

Light Spectrum

The visible light spectrum is the section of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Without taking several college courses on what that means, essentially, that equates to colors the human eye can see. Each color has a different wavelength that affects how light refracts through airborne gasses; the warmer the color, the longer the wavelength, and the cooler the color, the shorter the wavelength. Each color also effects how that portion of light is perceived. Many blue light blocking products exist in optical and display systems because the human eye has difficulty registering the blue to violet hues, which can lead to fatigue. The greater perceived resolution and definition while using Amber light is main mechanism benefiting to the observer.

Amber Color

Amber color can be achieved in several ways, with the most common being a lens or light cover that white light passes through, giving the Baja Designs signature selective yellow color. The other way is starting with an amber-colored LED, such as the LEDs that can be found in our RTL. Overall, amber LEDs and bulbs do not match the lumen output of the clear emitters. The most important concept to keep in mind is that regardless of clear or amber, if the intensity is too great in the environment, oversaturation will occur, and the driver will experience a reflective glare.

Because of the decreased optical workload needed by the observer, objects in the foreground will appear sharper and more distinguishable. Subjectively speaking, many professional drivers have reported the benefits of amber hued lights for both high and low beam applications. Now amber does have one drawback.; Due to the color temperature of the lens, the effective lumen value of light output are reduced by a small percentage (~15%). The white light is going to be marginally brighter than the amber when directly compared.

Clear 

Human eyes have evolved into seeing best at noon on a sunny day, which translates to a color temperature of 5000° Kelvin, the same as our ClearView optical system. A color temperature of 5000K greatly reduces driver fatigue and increases terrain recognition when compared to a great number of our competitors’ offerings, which range from 6000-6500K. Baja Design exclusively uses 5000K LEDs on all our LED lights.  
With a clear lens, the light will project further than with an Amber lens due to its 5000k color temperature allowing more colors of light to escape. But due to the blue, Indigo, and violet rays passing through the optics there is a greater chance that the observer will experience glare, due to the reduced ability to register those colors.

Verdict

When designing the most optimal lighting package, application is the main consideration to consider. If you are aiming for high-speed open desert driving, clear and intense lights are your best option. If you are driving through inclement environments such as dust, snow, or fog, then we recommend running amber lights with dimming, or high/low capability. We don’t believe that a perfect all-around light package runs solely off of just amber or clear, but in fact, a mix of both. Thankful due to our uService you are able to swap out lenses yourself and see which is best for you.

What Is Your Lighting Zone?

The needs of every off-roader are different, so we’ve created a Lighting Zone system to help you mix and match the right products, with the right lenses, in the right places to achieve the absolute best results. We believe it’s not just about having the brightest lights, but using the right lights in the right way and all that ties into the right color temperature. A high quality and strategic lighting package will make you safer and give you that competitive edge, but it is important to understand the proper placement, power and pattern for each zone. Whether you love rock crawling and overlanding, or racing 100mph in the desert, we have lights that will perfectly illuminate each and every zone.
​

I have always preferred Amber for Foglights. They seem to work better for me in rain / snow / fog. Very happy with these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LPW15M9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 In Bambi mode I can see really well what is ahead of me. Work great in conditions described above.

 

[seanellaz]

I can't believe I am having to do this;

I quoted BD whom said:

" Through years of racing heritage and engineering, we have found selective yellow to be superior to a more orange hued amber color, mainly because of the greater effective lumen output. "

I responded with:

"I am not doubting what you say as you guys have vast more experience than me in such matters. However I do want to ask if you happen to have any photos or data to this point or is it more of personal preference voiced by your drivers. What is "Greater effective lumen output"? Is it like the 15% between white and yellow? Greater? Smaller? Something else? "

Just to make sure, again: "What is "Greater effective lumen output"? Is it like the 15% between white and yellow? Greater? Smaller? Something else? "


This would imply when taking both portions together, as intended, I am asking if the lumen loss between amber and yellow is similar to that of white and yellow.

I did not, as you seem to think, ask about white and yellow. Why would I, their original post has that information.

I wasn't being snarky, the guy responded with an answer unrelated to my question, so I clarified that with a simple "that is not what I was asking".

How in the world is that snarky?

I am not doubting what you say as you guys have vast more experience than me in such matters. However I do want to ask if you happen to have any photos or data to this point or is it more of personal preference voiced by your drivers. What is "Greater effective lumen output"? Is it like the 15% between white and yellow? Greater? Smaller? Something else?

I always feel compelled to ask for this information anytime a company takes a "we said it, so trust us" approach to a claim.

Again I am not doubting anything you are saying as I press these types of questions regardless of product or business size. Its just a personal tick of mine that is all.

In my searches for lights, I have seen "Amber" and "Yellow" used interchangeably. I think they put out less bulk light as they are both generated with a white light, "Yellow" / "Amber" lights have either a filter applied on the LED or to the lens to remove other bandwidths. Subtracting the other (not yellow / amber) light means they are overall less bright watt for watt given same setup.

 

[OFC Ranger]

In my searches for lights, I have seen "Amber" and "Yellow" used interchangeably. I think they put out less bulk light as they are both generated with a white light, "Yellow" / "Amber" lights have either a filter applied on the LED or to the lens to remove other bandwidths. Subtracting the other (not yellow / amber) light means they are overall less bright watt for watt given same setup.

This has nothing to do with my question.

 

[Todd Chapin]

I have dd3 "amber" pro fogs although they look more yellow when on. Regardless after having them awhile and thinking they were a huge improvement over oem leds I found how well they through thick fog recently. I noticed other vehicles could barely see and were following me because the ambers " cut" at least 100ft though what appeared inpenatrable fog. Im 100 percent in the amber camp for inclement weather.

 

[seanellaz]

This has nothing to do with my question.

ok

 

[Cinci36]

Lived in Europe for 13 years, in area heavily covered in snow some countries required yellow lights or light covers. Do to white light reflexing off of the snow will blind drivers including your vehicle. Everywhere else clear lens are required.

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