Beginner question: brightness of lights.

[Lewis A Fernandez]

I have two Godox SL60W LEDs. 
 

I can pretty much never do wides because they are simply not bright enough.
 

Now this question may almost come across as stupid, but what am I looking for when purchasing something brighter? 
 

These lights are 60W so I’m guessing I need something higher wattage. Is it possible for a light to be the same wattage and be brighter? Or am I looking out for something like Lux or Lumen? 
 

Please bear in mind when answering that I’m from the UK so terminology may differ. 

[David Mullen ASC]

Generally the higher-wattage LED will be brighter so that's a good starting point, then you can also look at the photometric data.

You can make a smaller light more intense by making it spottier but at the expense of spread. 

[Lewis A Fernandez]

13 hours ago, David Mullen ASC said:

Generally the higher-wattage LED will be brighter so that's a good starting point, then you can also look at the photometric data.

You can make a smaller light more intense by making it spottier but at the expense of spread. 

Thanks so much for the response. 
 

I’ve considered red heads. Five times the output of my LEDs at a fraction of the cost but they run so hot. I work in small spaces and I can imagine everyone sweating within minutes! 

[Mark Dunn]

5 hours ago, Lewis A Fernandez said:

Five times the output of my LEDs

Not that much. A redhead is 800W and a 60W LED is about 500W equivalent. Depends on the modifier of course but nothing like 5x.

You don't say what sort of work you're doing, so two heads may or may not be pretty minimal kit, but it's possible that the problem is how you're using the lights rather than the raw output.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Mark Dunn

[Lewis A Fernandez]

1 hour ago, Mark Dunn said:

Not that much. A redhead is 800W and a 60W LED is about 500W equivalent. Depends on the modifier of course but nothing like 5x.

You don't say what sort of work you're doing, so two heads may or may not be pretty minimal kit, but it's possible that the problem is how you're using the lights rather than the raw output.

Thanks for this Mark. I guess that brings me back to me original question then. If a LED of much less wattage is equivalent to 500W how do I know what I’m getting in terms of brightness? How does that work? 
 

The work I’m leaning towards is narrative work with actors. 

[Ed Conley]

Try this article

https://filmdaft.com/watts-lumens-and-lux-what-do-they-all-mean/

 

[Ed Conley]

https://filmdaft.com/how-many-watts-do-i-need-for-video-lighting/

 

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Many manufacturers list photometric data -- for example, here is the data for the Aputure LS 600d Pro (8A / 720W).
https://www.aputure.com/products/ls-600d-pro/

 

[David Mullen ASC]

There is an old rule that you need 100 foot-candles to get f/2.8 at 100 ASA.  So that means, for f/2.8, you need 50 fc for 200 ASA, 25 fc for 400 ASA, 12.5 fc for 800 ASA, etc.