I have the black smoked. Yes they due cut down the light that will be emitted, there's no way around it. But I was shocked at how much light they allow to pass through. One thing you could consider is putting them on your headlights (but not on the fogs). They look great, protect your lights on the track if you race, and they do retain some reasonable functionality on the street.
Bought them years ago, can't track down who I bought them from. I remember I did a search on ebay initially and found a place that had them laser cut in black, clear, yellow, and blue. After 3 years, they held up well.