How bright do you want the light to be?
Your own eyes and a camera flashlight can do a lot of good work if you’re worried about hidden cameras.
The obvious use of a flashlight is to make a dark area brighter with you controlling where the light goes. But an overly bright light in a small area can sometimes have the effect of making it nearly as difficult to see as the darkness did. Getting a light with the proper brightness level is important, and you can check the lumens rating to know how bright or dim a flashlight will be.
The higher the lumens, the brighter the light will be. While flashlights generally land between 20 and 3,500 lumens, the average output for general use is usually in the 100 lumens range and illuminate objects at around 20 to 30 feet. But some flashlights will offer a range of lumens, allowing you to control how bright your light is.
Light source type
The bulb type of your flashlight can play a big part in many factors, including brightness, light color, battery life and more. There are three common types of light sources for flashlights: LED, incandescent and krypton. Incandescent bulbs are much like the standard light bulbs you have or had in your home. There is a filament inside the glass that heats up when electricity is passed through it, which generates light and heat.
More modern flashlights use LED or krypton bulbs. LED, or light emitting diode, options can produce very bright light, use less energy, and barely emit any heat. LEDs also have a much longer lifespan than incandescent bulbs. Krypton bulbs operate similarly to an incandescent bulb, but the glass fixture portion is filled with a mixture of krypton and xenon gases with a filament passing through it.
LED lights have become the most common for many of the reasons listed above. While these lights can be a bit more expensive than other lighting types, in the long run, they will last longer and get more use per charge than others.
What type of beam do you need?
Another factor to consider when picking out a flashlight is the style of light beam you need. The three primary beam types are flood, spot and adjustable. A flood beam is going to work best for smaller rooms or seeing objects that are closer to you as it will cast a wide beam of light. If you want to look at something more specific or further away, then you’ll want a spot beam. But to get the best of both worlds, consider an adjustable beam so you can change it from flood to spot or anything in between.