Wow , so this single led much outperforms the 5mm led versions. I brought it up to the advertised 3 watts , using the recommended current and voltage only brought the led up to 1 watt. In either case the results are interesting because this light is NOT very bright, a dim violet color to the naked eye , but through the camera eye it might as well be the blazing sun, this is great because I need to make sure the version 2 reader works will in all lighting conditions and can be adjusted on the fly by reading a simple light sensor. Version 1 was a static 3.2 volts at a set brightness level. The lens on top of the illuminator focuses the light into a usable dot on the ceiling 6 -10 ft away.