I did a little more investigation work on this and found out the lumen rating on these bulbs is a bit on the low side compared to what Energy Star recommends for a 40W replacement. According to
Energy Star's site, a 40W replacement must emit a minimum of 450 lumens to qualify. These bulbs only emit 300 lumens! This is quite a bit below the minimum rating.
With this realization in mind, I figured I'd throw one bulb in and compare it to its 40W incandescent cousin. The result wasn't too bad, but is slightly skewed. The CFL is a good bit longer (maybe 3/4") and sticks out of the bottom more. This allows more direct lighting to escape from the fixture, but doesn't look quite as nice.
Anyway, here is the picture that compares the two lights. The picture was taken about two minutes after turning on the lights, so the CFL is at full brightness (it didn't start out very dim anyways). The incandescent 40W bulb on the left, and the CFL 40W replacement on the right. As you can see, it lights up the counter
almost as well as the incandescent. However, the lighting above the fixture is a bit darker. IMO this isn't a problem at all.
You can see the bulb stick out.
All lit up without a flash.
