how bright is a "real" lightsaber?

[gundamaniac]

My two cents: If you watch the prequels, which I realize are practically blasphemy in almost every die-hard fan's book because of all the inconsistencies and tinkered-with storyline, the lightsaber actually casts a glow on Yoda simply because he is CG and can reflect the glow thanks to being a part of the artificial environment. However, the glow is not reflected in any human actors or other lightsaber-wielding Jedi/Sith. This, imo, leaves it up to the individual to decide whether they want a glow cast on surroundings or not. I personally think the reflected glow looks awesome.

As for ELs and LEDs looking "more real" than the movies...well I personally loved the ESB rotoscoping. Sure, no reflections were cast, but the blades shimmered a bit, not due to reflective tape on a rotating rod this time, but due to the imperfections in hand-rotoscoping entire scenes, and the blades still had a distinctive white core and a soft (note, soft) glow. In RotJ, the green skywalker blade lost its white core in several scenes, with a muddied olive green core, and in the prequels, the glow of the lightsabers was rather sharp and harsh, not soft like ambient light in the original trilogy. And the reason that I like the shimmering blades is that they are arcs of energy; the shimmers in my opinion added to the image of a powerful blade of energy that is emitted and barely kept in check by a mere cold metal handle.

Sorry for rambling...I realize I gave more than two cents. Maybe a dollar's worth? It really just comes down to personal preference and judgement, especially since we're dealing with completely impossible technology here and trying to equate it with reality.

A Jedi gains power through understanding; a Sith gains understanding through power.

[dbraxton9]

my current video FX test is a lightsaber duel between a live actor (me) and a stop-motion animated Vader action figure. It looks better than it sounds, believe me. I had the chance with the action figure to try scotchlite on the saber blade. it looks really cool, but I still insist the ELs (getting LEDs later this year) look better. The scotchlite blade doesn't spin like the fullsize props did, so the shimmer is missing. One reason the rotoscoping looks the way it does in the prequels is that it's digital this time instead of done by hand. It looks better by hand to me. I agree the ANH and ESB shimmer (vader's blade in ROTJ shimmers better than luke's) is the coolest. I am trying to achieve this type of effect with a dimmer circuit that a friend is building for me, we'll see how it turns out.

"Size matters not. Look at me! Judge me by my size do you? And well you should not! For my ally is the force, and a powerful ally it is!"

[photonalterations]

I would guess that it would be as bright as a spark gap from high voltage electrodes.only 3 foot arc instead of 1-2 inches
Here is a pic of my spark gap from a cold cathode driver.
http://www.photoninnovations.com/DVC00151.JPG

[swear000]

Lumens are generally a measure of light intensity. However, the saber blade is much more than just a light.