Hey fellow Martians!
I just finished a single Think Different under a Mars II 700 standard spectrum. As far as resin goes, this light did not dissapoint. The smells my plant made were overwhelmingly pleasant and the buds have that sticky feeling even after drying. My buds came out dense and hard, with only the darkest underside branches producing "popcorn." My plant however was pretty small, so I can't say too much on penetration for larger plants.
This next grow of mine I'm keeping the LED about 42 inches from the soil. It seems far, but using > 300 watts in a 2x2.5 foot space is overkill. I figure I'll let the plants grow up to it.
The regular spectrum has served me well, even during flowering. I appreciate the cool and warm white LEDs because I feel like plants still need a bit of everything, if only to possibly signal and trigger certain responses. The inclusion of infrared diodes impressed me. I know that plants control their vertical height based on a ratio of IR to red light. Also, it gives the light coming off the panel a noticeably "warm" radiant feel. I feel like this may help increase the temperature of the leaves and thus allow them to transpire more.
I think the most underrated strength of these lights is the price point. My panel cost me about 1 USD per ACTUAL watt. That's assuming 300 watts, which is the lowest reporting I've seen. I have yet to get my own kill-a-watt and test, but there are some higher quotes for this panel floating around and that makes me want to know (I.e. 300-420 watts).
So with this in mind, compare a Mars II to an LED panel of the same actual watt power... Mars II is usually half the price or less. Or, spend what you would have elsewhere toward a Mars II and get about twice as much raw power for your money. Granted the Mars II panels don't have fancy lenses or other tech, you can easily get into "overkill" levels of watt per square foot without devastating your wallet. I think high penetration lenses are cool, but more for wide open large grows where the light needs to go straight down into a plant because there may not be a wall or surface close enough to help collect it. But for guys like me growing in a tiny shiny tent, most of that light is bouncing around in there like crazy. It's hard to cast a shadow.
Sorry for rambling, I just love my light and I'm obviously Thinking Different right now.
