tarwheel - could you post a photo once it gets a bit darker? I'm curious how it compares to battery-powered LEDs such as a MagicShine.

Yes, my light is the B&M Luxos IQ2 U model.
Busch & Müller Luxos IQ2 U - Harris Cyclery bicycle shop - West Newton, Massachusetts

However, the SP hub cost me much less than the prices you quoted. I bought both of the light and hub/wheel from Long Leaf Cycles in VT. The light cost me about $220 and the SP hub cost $120. My $500 total cost included the labor for a wheel build, a Velocity Dyad rim, double-butted spokes, the SP hub, the B&M Luxos U headlight, and B&M Toplight Line Plus taillight. I originally planned to get a less expensive light but upgraded to the Luxos U because it would cost less than buying a light plus a separate dynamo charging port.

Peter White has beam shots for the B&M Luxos and a range of other lights on his website. The striations in the beam for the Luxos light are evident in the photo on his website, but appear more pronounced in real life -- at least with my light. My Luxos beam is very bright, but it's also very steaky with pronounced lighter and darker areas within the beam.

Busch & Muller dynamo bicycle lights

The luxos u has had 3 genrations, I've had one of each. The newest version has pretty much addressed the design flaws and is more or less water tight now.

This stuff is way too fiddly for me. I use a bright battery powered light on the bars aimed somewhat down, and another on my helmet aimed a bit higher. The Niterider helmet mount has a ratchet for fine tuning the aim. On high, stadium lighting FTW.

Riding bike = dyno lights on without effort or routine, no fiddling needed.

SP hubs <$100

Yeah, it's fiddly to get setup, the advantage of the dynamo is no fiddling at all after that. No charging, no forgetting your light, etc, it's always on your bike and always working. (Typically at a much higher price though)

I bought my Cyo Premium light, Shimano 3N72 hub AND the LX 10sp rear, a pair of rims, spokes, tape, nipples, and a full 10sp Dynasys Deore/XT mixed group for just under $600. This included levers, shifters, brakes, derailleur, chain, cassette, and whatever else needed (no crank/BB). $500 for just a wheel and light is a LOT of money. Yes, I shopped for bargains on eBay and wherever else I could find them, I always looked for free shipping, but I paid full US price for the light from Harris.

I love my dynamo setup, and I love the way the XT Dynasys shifts, smooth as buttah with a very light touch.

Just today I did an re-install of my rear light, a Magnic light from Dirk in Germany. This light uses no wires and has no battery. It runs off the eddy currents generated by the internal magnets in proximity of the spinning aluminum rim, which in turn spins the internal generator of the light. It is contact-less so there is no friction and the resistance is miniscule. I needed to make a bracket to mount it to my rear rack. As the light has to ride close to the rim, the usual place is to attach it to the brake boss or the rear stays, but that left it too far forward and not visible if you have panniers. Since I have the rack I now have it at the back of the wheel.