Olight M2X UT JAVELOT...1/2 mile beam?

[John7Boy]

I fully recharged my batteries for Thrunite TN32 and both my M2X-UT s. The E serial number completely dedomed bare metal and LED and my F serial number much smaller metal surrounding LED but clear coated over all.
Aiming at my white walled target unused house at aprox 700 plus metres across a shallow valley the E serial numbered M2X is probably to my naked eye & my wifes as well is showing a brighter but greener hot spot. The TN32 has a much whiter and wider hot spot on target but is still equal second to my F serial numbered M2X_UT which has a whiter hotspot than the F serial numbered M2X-UT but not as white or as wide as my TN32.
I dont have picture posting authority on this forum as a newbie, but my rudimentary light meter showed at 1 meter the TN32 hot spot at 115,000lux, E serial# M2X-UT also 115,000lux and F serial# M2X-UT at 96,000lux. Sorry I dont know how to convert lux to cd or lumen.

Olight SR95-UT SBT-70, Fenix TK-70, Thrunite TN32, Olight M2X-UT (both F&E versions), Nitecore EA8, Ultrafire C8, Thrunite Neutron 2a v2, Nitecore HC90, Olight S15, XTAR VP2 x2, Maha MH-C808M

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

understood...but to visibly SEE my building from 1/2 a mile away with this light is MUCH better than reading it on a chart. My point was it was as impressive as the "chart" would suggest. I was not looking do debunk any claims.

No worries and I know what you where meaning. My point was, as beam distance is calculated, it is entirely possible for a light to fall short or even exceed this figure.

And I suspect a lot of throwers aren't at their ideal focus where the Peak Beam Intensity is measured.

e.g.

Measuring at 1 metre is the same as candela, so lots of people measure at this distance. But most throwers will not be focused at 1m, so the beam isn't as intense.

If you measured at say 30 metre distance and back calculated to 1 metre you might get a very different result. Which in turn will then give you very different Beam Distance figures.

 

[Beckler]

Not to start a debate here, since I'm one of them, but other than lightly illuminating distant buildings for no reason, what do people use these long-range flashlights for exactly?

 

[Limey Johnson]

Not to start a debate here, since I'm one of them, but other than lightly illuminating distant buildings for no reason, what do people use these long-range flashlights for exactly?

exactly. [emoji3]

 

[Capolini]

Not to start a debate here, since I'm one of them, but other than lightly illuminating distant buildings for no reason, what do people use these long-range flashlights for exactly?

lol! It is called "SEARCH AND RESCUE"! ..................I use them to walk my Husky on Hiking trails! It is nice to see dinner from 400/500/600 yards away!:laughing:

Edit: One of my lights, the TK61vn V4 is ~ 750Kcd. Its "THROW" is more than double of the stock M2X!!

TK61vn-750Kcd/1732m

M2X- 164Kcd/810m

 

[savumaki]

I've had similar lights so I'm looking forward to using it on my pontoon boat for all the obvious reasons.
Limey J- I don't believe a reason is ever offered for owning a specific flashlight let alone 78+ different flashlights (not me).

 

[John7Boy]

Its all about the Force! Its either with you or its not.....:naughty:

 

[cccpull]

Not to start a debate here, since I'm one of them, but other than lightly illuminating distant buildings for no reason, what do people use these long-range flashlights for exactly?

What! That's not enough for you. Actually, I also use it when camping out in the woods/in my case swamp to point out wild life. Like a small spotlight.

 

[Berneck1]

The lumen/distance thing is no different than people wanting 40 pixel cameras, when 8 pixels gets 99% of the job done perfectly. It's far more than you need in most situations. I would say in less than 1% of my situations i need more than 1000 lumens, and even then I only need more than 100 lumens maybe 5% of the time.

There is definitely a need for brighter and farther, but only in specialized situations. Otherwise, you're just being annoying and blinding other people for no good reason.. Haha

That being said, please keep buying these lights, because it drives down the prices of those "low-lumen" lights. ;-). It was only a few years ago I was paying $120 for a 320 lumen light, now I have more than that in my pocket for $40! The lumen race does have its advantages.


Sent from my iPad using Candlepowerforums

 

[molimelight]

Not to start a debate here, since I'm one of them, but other than lightly illuminating distant buildings for no reason, what do people use these long-range flashlights for exactly?

My goal is to light up some geese flying over while I'm out walking my dog at night. After that, I'll come up with something else. :huh:

 

[chuckhov]

'Wants' are one thing, but I have a 'Need"!

I Need to be able to blind the lead Bigfoot so that I can make an escape!

Seems to have worked well thus far! :twothumbs

-Chuck

:thanks:

 

[TEEJ]

I applaud the OP for testing the light!

:welcome:


I would like to give some perspective on the concept for context, as I see many posts with varied interpretations, etc.


In real life for example, you are rarely actually looking for a white building per se, but, a white, and/or reflective surface IS the easiest to see, so, they make dramatic targets compared to low-contrast subjects.


So, if you CAN see that your beam IS ON something white off in the distance, that at least gives SOME clue as to beam range...for white targets.

The ANSI spec uses 0.25 lux as the level of illumination on something off in the distance, to be able to claim that as your beam distance (You have to be able to put 0.25 lux on the thing at that range).


In PRACTICE, you can't REALLY see anything far away with 0.25 lux unless its large and white/reflective, etc. For example, if I am dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt, and I were to walk away from you, you'd tend to lose sight of me about when the lux on my back dropped to ~ 1 - 5 lux, depending on your night vision/degree of night adaptation, etc.

If I were for example thrown from a crashed plane, and laying unconscious in a field, even if you had a direct line of sight to my full prone location, you'd need closer to 15 - 30 lux on me to see me/distinguish me from the grass, etc....if I were over 100 meters away.


The interesting thing about this is, 0.25 lux on the page of a book you are holding is enough to read by (A candle a few feet away sort of illumination)....

...and (I've done this experiment) If you provide that 0.25 lux for the guy with the book, by shining a light from say 200 meters away, you can't see the guy or the book, but he can read by your light.



The reason is that at longer ranges, you need your fovea to focus on fine details, that, at longer ranges, are a very small percentage of your total field of vision. Your fovea is ~ 2º cone of your sharpest vision, the part you squint to reduce down to for example.

Its ALSO your WORST night vision area, and, you need a LOT more light to see the same detail, IF its your FOVEA you are counting on to SEE with.



Soooo

Many people invariably ask, when presented with the idea of a light with an 800 meter beam, WHAT (WTF) do you NEED to SEE 800 M away anyway? :shrug:


And, the answer is that w/o binoculars, etc, not much....with a caveat.


Caveat:

A beam that puts 0.25 lux on something 800 M away is NOT what you'd USE to spot something 800 M away...but, because if it CAN put 0.25 Lux on something at 800 M, it can ALSO put 16 Lux on a target 100 M away, or 25 lux on something 80 M away, etc.


As I mentioned, unless you're are trying to find Liberace or an Elvis Impersonator, or a giant white edifice, etc...0.25 Lux is pretty much useless....and 1 - 30 lux might be what's REALLY needed to find that dock from the boat, or your dog, or the wrecked guy who is laying on a riverbank, etc...

and that "800 Meter" light can typically put enough light on stuff ~ 50 -100 M from you to be truly useful at that range....and, at 400 M, it WILL get you that bare minimum 1 lux for large enough, bright enough, targets.


So, the answer is that you need an "800 M" light to SEE low contrast stuff at 50 - 100 M.

:candle:



One more example for context: At 200 meters, a shooter with a good light gathering scope, can see (barely) a man-sized blue/white paper target at ~ 1 - 5 lux, and get off shots at it. The same shooter at the same range, but looking directly at a rusty steel plate target, may not even be able to tell its there until the lux is increased to over 30 lux on the plate, and some cannot see it until 50 lux, etc. The contrast of what you are looking for will dictate the USEFUL range of your light.

:rock:

 

[Limey Johnson]

great post!

in simpler terms, the way I told it to my girlfriend's son (who is a flashaholic in the making) was that if he were 1/2 mile away, I'd be able to illuminate a sheet of notebook paper well enough for him to read the writing on it. This may only be 3/4 accurate, but it IS entirely possible. When you look at the LED in this light and tell yourself that TINY little module can accomplish that sorta performance is beyond amazing.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Not to start a debate here, since I'm one of them, but other than lightly illuminating distant buildings for no reason, what do people use these long-range flashlights for exactly?

You did not start a debate, but spurred some interesting comments.

Those of you who have a triple, or some other floody torch, and a serious thrower can take it to a forest and, using the flood beam, look around you. The nearby trees and such are lit up quite well; but beyond the trees? Not so good. Now, even with the flood on, activate the thrower, and you will be able to see past the nearby trees, into the forest. And that's where many animals may be spotted (or where your dog is bounding). This is useful. The farthest away I generally use a light is maybe 100 meters max. My NiteCore TM36 and Sky Lumen SL-1 do a fine job spotting critters, and it is always closer than 100 meters.

 

[Throwjunkie]

Received my filter a couple weeks ago and just getting time to install it Wow what a difference around the neighborhood I cant wait to take this light Hunting this weekend. I want to Thank you Limey Johnson for this Filter it installed easily and perfectly per your instructions.

 

[Limey Johnson]

Received my filter a couple weeks ago and just getting time to install it Wow what a difference around the neighborhood I cant wait to take this light Hunting this weekend. I want to Thank you Limey Johnson for this Filter it installed easily and perfectly per your instructions.

You are welcome!! certainly glad you are happy with it!!!

 

[Throwjunkie]

I can see this will be my favorite light for hunting I think a lot of folks look at long distance throw lights as having to fully illuminate an object to be useful that's a good thing if the mission is to find someone lost. but not so good for hunting For me I set in my mind what I'm looking for when using my light a fox for instance and while I'm not lighting him up like daylight at 800yards I can certainly see that its a fox sized critter and I can see his outline and tell heads from tails once he's in the scope that little bit of light helps me see its not a dog. For me the lights throw distance helps me find that silhouette that I can then lock my scope onto. I have a huge 12" hid spotlight I build a few years back that has a focus adjuster if I need to see exactly what it is at that distance thats the light id use, but in hunting you don't want to light a field up like daylight all you do is run off everything in the field. For search and rescue Yeah Id want to be holding the sun in my hand.

 

[scs]

I applaud the OP for testing the light!

:welcome:


I would like to give some perspective on the concept for context, as I see many posts with varied interpretations, etc.


In real life for example, you are rarely actually looking for a white building per se, but, a white, and/or reflective surface IS the easiest to see, so, they make dramatic targets compared to low-contrast subjects.


So, if you CAN see that your beam IS ON something white off in the distance, that at least gives SOME clue as to beam range...for white targets.

The ANSI spec uses 0.25 lux as the level of illumination on something off in the distance, to be able to claim that as your beam distance (You have to be able to put 0.25 lux on the thing at that range).


In PRACTICE, you can't REALLY see anything far away with 0.25 lux unless its large and white/reflective, etc. For example, if I am dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt, and I were to walk away from you, you'd tend to lose sight of me about when the lux on my back dropped to ~ 1 - 5 lux, depending on your night vision/degree of night adaptation, etc.

If I were for example thrown from a crashed plane, and laying unconscious in a field, even if you had a direct line of sight to my full prone location, you'd need closer to 15 - 30 lux on me to see me/distinguish me from the grass, etc....if I were over 100 meters away.


The interesting thing about this is, 0.25 lux on the page of a book you are holding is enough to read by (A candle a few feet away sort of illumination)....

...and (I've done this experiment) If you provide that 0.25 lux for the guy with the book, by shining a light from say 200 meters away, you can't see the guy or the book, but he can read by your light.



The reason is that at longer ranges, you need your fovea to focus on fine details, that, at longer ranges, are a very small percentage of your total field of vision. Your fovea is ~ 2º cone of your sharpest vision, the part you squint to reduce down to for example.

Its ALSO your WORST night vision area, and, you need a LOT more light to see the same detail, IF its your FOVEA you are counting on to SEE with.



Soooo

Many people invariably ask, when presented with the idea of a light with an 800 meter beam, WHAT (WTF) do you NEED to SEE 800 M away anyway? :shrug:


And, the answer is that w/o binoculars, etc, not much....with a caveat.


Caveat:

A beam that puts 0.25 lux on something 800 M away is NOT what you'd USE to spot something 800 M away...but, because if it CAN put 0.25 Lux on something at 800 M, it can ALSO put 16 Lux on a target 100 M away, or 25 lux on something 80 M away, etc.


As I mentioned, unless you're are trying to find Liberace or an Elvis Impersonator, or a giant white edifice, etc...0.25 Lux is pretty much useless....and 1 - 30 lux might be what's REALLY needed to find that dock from the boat, or your dog, or the wrecked guy who is laying on a riverbank, etc...

and that "800 Meter" light can typically put enough light on stuff ~ 50 -100 M from you to be truly useful at that range....and, at 400 M, it WILL get you that bare minimum 1 lux for large enough, bright enough, targets.


So, the answer is that you need an "800 M" light to SEE low contrast stuff at 50 - 100 M.

:candle:



One more example for context: At 200 meters, a shooter with a good light gathering scope, can see (barely) a man-sized blue/white paper target at ~ 1 - 5 lux, and get off shots at it. The same shooter at the same range, but looking directly at a rusty steel plate target, may not even be able to tell its there until the lux is increased to over 30 lux on the plate, and some cannot see it until 50 lux, etc. The contrast of what you are looking for will dictate the USEFUL range of your light.

:rock:

Nice post, Teej. Aside from lux and effective distance, the size of the hotspot, the brightness of the spill, and the size of the spill relative to the hotspot are also important to me. I prefer a large hotspot, 7-10 degrees, that goes a long way and a 60-65 degree spill, in a pocketable light with a head no more than 50mm. (For a reference, I like the beam profile of the Eagletac G25C2 MKII a lot.) Those are characteristics that I don't think dedoming can provide. For my preference, I think increasingly more lumens is the only way to go. If a light can meet those criteria and put 20 lux at 100 yds. That'll make my night.