key chain flashlights

[arab]

I have both an ARC AAA and a Photon 3. I am delighted with the ARC AAA but have reservations about the Photon 3:

I had to take it apart and play around with the switch gap until I could operate the rear switch without denting my finger

The inter-mode time gap is - literally - painfully long

The auto off mode feature has a very annoying strobe at the start and end.

These are all well-known Photon 3 problems, I did however come across another:

After about a month of ownership I went to use it one day to find that it wouldn't move between modes. The light was also dim which to me suggested that when the batteries runs low, there is not enough power to run the processor to allow different modes to be selected. Once I put in new batteries, all was well again.

Oh - this leads me onto my last disadvantage

The light can easily come on in your pocket which kind-of forces you to leave it in the (very annoying) auto off mode.

The annoying thing about the Photon is that it is ***almost*** there. The problems are primarily with the logic design. The ARC does what it promises simply and very well and is therefore more useful in the real world.

 

[RonM]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> but have reservations about the Photon 3 <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I love my Photon II, but have stayed away from the 3 for the very reasons you mention. The II is beautiful in its simplicity. The less that can go wrong the less likely that something will go wrong.

I consider the usable life of a Photon to be maybe 3-4 hours (if that) of non-continuous use. Once the batts get a little weak, the light is just too dim. But its miniscule size and near weightlessness makes it a winner. The Arc AAA is a fine product, but I have too much in my pockets already.

 

[Cyclops942]

I just changed the batteries in my Photon II for the first time today. $6 for two Energizer 2016s, and I had to borrow the screwdriver and countertop from the lady at the jewelry counter at Meijer. (Yes, I could have gone to Wal*Mart, but I prefer Meijer Shifty Takers to Wally World, for reasons I don't really understand all that well myself.)

The four screws were VERY tightly fastened, and I don't think the sweet little old(er) lady behind the counter could have removed them. Craig's comments about not being able to change the batteries in this light in the dark are right on the money.

I currently carry both the Photon II (green) and the Arc-AAA (white) {as well as the Infinity Task Light (white) and the ASP Sapphire (blue)}, but I keep the Photon on my keychain, and the Arc around my neck. I use the Arc more, but the Photon stays very handy.

 

[Harri]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brock:
The thing to keep in mind as the Photon vs Arc AAA is the Photon will be dimmer then the Arc after about 10 minutes of run time then continues to fall off. After the Photon runs about 45 minutes it is dimmer then the infinity.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Is this really so? Has Craig, or you or somebody else, done similar measurements and graphs of Photon (II) as he did about Arc-LS? I'd really like to see how fast the Photon gets dimmer!!

Still, I think the size of Photon II makes it better for casual key-chain usage. When I know I will need light for longer time, I will plan for it (and thus have something else with me also.)

Btw, $6 for two 2016s sounds quite lot... even though you guys (on the other side of the pond) generally have much cheaper batteries.

Harri

 

[vcal]

Verge-
Your last photos show Arc AAA brighter at at ANY point than the Photon II, right??

 

[The_LED_Museum]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Harri:

Is this really so? Has Craig, or you or somebody else, done similar measurements and graphs of Photon (II) as he did about Arc-LS? I'd really like to see how fast the Photon gets dimmer!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, now that I have enough BATTERIES for the $%*^&*ing thing, I can now say I am equipped to perform just such a test!

Let's see how things go later today, and I'll see about putting together a "live battery porn" show later on.

It shouldn't take that many hours to run the test to the end - not like the Arc LS and lithium "AA" configuration did... I hope I don't have to do *THAT* again!! Yowza!!

 

[The_LED_Museum]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brock:
The results I have are in excel format and are at
http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/battery.xls<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's a shame there isn't a plug-in that lets you view these files, like there is for Word files. You have to purchase & install the whole Ecel package, whether you use the file creator or just read other people's files.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by videocal:
Verge-
Your last photos show Arc AAA brighter at at ANY point than the Photon II, right??

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes! Arc-AAA is brighter from start to finish of the test. Both lights were installed with fresh batteries for the test.

Notice how the separation of the 2 beams become more pronounced as Photon's beam become weaker and smaller. What looked like Photon's bright light at the center of its beam is small center beam that will become a glimmer of light as it continous to dim. In actual prolonged continous use Photon's center beam is probably good only in illuminating a door keyhole 3 inches away after 2 or 3 hours.

So much for a 12-14 hr runtime rating.

- verge -

 

[Brock]

Actaully there is a plug-in to view xls files, but it got me to thinking... I opened it here at work and low and behold there is a "save as" htm file!!! So lets see if this works... Oh this is cool. Check out
http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/battery.htm

 

[Brock]

Hopefully Craig will do a similar test as I did. The results were the Photon went from 19 to 13 in the first 15 minutes, while the Arc AAA went from 17 to 16. These match what I usually see when using my Photon for any length of time. The results I have are in excel format and are at
http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/battery.xls

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Harri.... I did a test of Photon II and CMG Infinity runtime using time-lapse photography.

Photon II is at the left side of picture and CMG Infinity is at the right side.

Each row has 6 photos representing 1 hour and column represent photos every 10 minute interval.

I've done other time-lapse photos of Photon and it always showed light degradation after the first 10 minutes and more after an hour.

In the photo you'll see Photon II brighter than CMG Infinity at the start and starts to dim after 10 minutes. After an hour it is just as bright as the Infinity but continous to dim while Infinity continous to give out an almost consistent brightness.

Arc-AAA will not burn as long as CMG Infinity but the almost 5-hours of bright light (a lot brighter than CMG Infinity) makes up for it.

Photon is rated to have a 12hr burntime but just how much of that 12hr is prime brightness light or even usable light is shown in this photo.

12-hour run time-lapse photo of Photon II and CMG Infinity;

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=443720&a=12971438&p=48741575&f=0

Here is time-lapse photo of Arc-AAA runtime showing brightness thoroughout its rated runtime;

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=443720&a=12808041&p=48464979&f=0

And here is 70-minute run time-lapse photo of Photon II and Arc-AAA showing how fast Photon becomes dim while Arc-AAA continous with its brightness.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=443720&a=12808041&p=48626849

I hope my photos can help.

- verge -

 

[MY]

I would like to kindly disagree with the other responses in this thread. I have both the P3 and the first generation ARC. While the P3 has very annoying characteristics, its very small form factor , along with dimming options (albeit confusing) simply made it my everyday keychain light. For those who carrying the least in the pocket is important, then size is crucial. When I do use it, it is always for less than a couple of minutes. I keep it on medium and use the instant bright mode if I need more light.

As for the ARC, while I do like the brightness and runtime, I cannot keep it in my pocket without the head coming off. While it is small, its size is several times larger and more noticable in the pocket.

 

[Brock]

MY is correct if you are only planning on using the light for short bursts and want about 1/4 the weight and size the Photon (2 or 3) is the way to go. If you plan on using the light for more utility purposes on a regular basis, then the Arc is the way to go. The Photon definitely has its place.

I can say the Arc with more threads on the head and the newer "O" ring configuration is a great improvement.

 

[Harri]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brock:
...if you are only planning on using the light for short bursts and want about 1/4 the weight and size the Photon (2 or 3) is the way to go...The Photon definitely has its place.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Guys, I'm convinced. Thanks to 2d_edge for great photos as well as to Brock for the Excel sheet (just to be clear, what are the units?). Craig, about that battery porn... well never mind

Harri
(I think I'll get one Photon II just to have one, but I'm buying many of those Arc AAA's for me and others!)

 

[Brock]

Harri, they are suppose to be 1000 mcd or 1 cd, so when the Arc says 16 it is 16,000mcd or 16 cd. Craig has better testing meters then I do, but we are close on the low end (below 50). In any case it should all be relative to each other.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I prefer the Photon Micro Lights for Keychain or neckchain lights.

I started with a Photon II - the one with the locking on-off switch. I prefer the white light. I carry one at all times on my keyring and on my work ID badge neckchain at work. Very good light. I have had mine for near two years, used intermittently nearly everyday and they have the original batteries in them.

For fishing, hunting, camping, etc, I bought both a red and a white Photon I COVERT which has a little tube covering the bulb so that the light beam is directed straight out. The Photon I has only a pressure activated switch - but that is fine for what I use them for - momentary light in the field.

I just got a Photon III (got a great price at a gun show) - I bought a white one. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to set the seven modes (steady light in bright, medium, and dim; flashing or strobe in fast, medium, and slow; and another flashing mode. But that completed, I keep mine in the steady dim mode on the presumption that this will make the batteries last longer. I plan to carry this one on a neck chain.

I recommend the Photon Micro Lights very hightly.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by flashfan:
I have had the UKE pocket 2AAA on my keychain for years now, and find it very convenient. It is beaten up (dropped countless times), and begs for replacement, but it still works, so I keep it in service.

For a small LED light, I love the Photons. Attached to a quick-release clip (scrounged from another light), a regular Photon II is positioned back-to-back on one ring with a covert Photon III (on dimmest setting). When needed, I can simply squeeze both lights between thumb and index finger to form a "2-LED" light.

The Photons are so small that even doubling up the lights takes less space than a lot of other keychain lights. Also, coupling the "regular" II with the covert III provides a variety of lighting options.

I don't have an Arc (yet?), so can't comment or compare it to other lights.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[PeLu]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ranger:
I prefer the Photon Micro Lights for Keychain or neckchain lights.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have another advantage for the Photon: I 'converted' several PII to a simple headlight with just removing all the keyrings and using a 6mm wide elastic ribbon, just long enough that it fits firmly around your head. The Photons shape gives the perfect angle down for this brightness. Thats the smallest and lightest headlight.

Main drawback is, that the Photon is horribly expensive around here.

 

[Harrkev]

About posting Microsoft Excel graphs....

Did you know that you can display any relevant information on your monitor and hit the "Print Screen" button?

Then, open your favorite graphics program and hit "Paste," and you have the entire screen (including graphs and data) as a graphic. Do a little cropping, convert to JPG or GIF, and you are done!

 

[busbar]

Brock--

Re: http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/battery.htm

One comment on .xls saved as .html. Using format>cells>border in excel to add some lines makes the html output look a lot more readable.

 

[Brock]

LOL, ok the next time I am at work I will try saving it a couple of differnt ways to see if I can get the gridlines in there. I only have lowly Excel 97 here at home so I can't try it right now. I will also label the numbers. Should I label them 1000mcd? since most people know the mcd or call tehm cd's or candlepower or ???