Flashlights in TV shows and movies

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square11098

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Anyone know what flashlights they use in CSI (Las Vegas, NYC, Miami)?
I've noticed that in some episodes for CSI:LV, they've used either SF M3s or M4s.

As for movies, in the first parts of National Treasure, Nicholas Cage and crew seemed to be using SF M6s.

Thoughts? Comments? Observations?
 

Size15's

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Welcome to CPF!

Yes, we do notice flashlights used in TV shows and movies etc.
There are threads on this very topic every once in a while.

Al
 

Mags

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CSI does use M4s. I believe they use the X5s often too.
 

joema

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In earlier seasons, CSI:Las Vegas used Streamlight Scorpions a lot. More recently they use Surefire M4s a lot, but still a few Scorpions.
 

nc987

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The One with Jet Li, swat team used the Surefire Universal systems on their rifle.
 

elgarak

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Sign of being a flashaholic: You use the back and still button on TiVo and DVD player whenever a flashlight passes by, to identify it (even if other family members are present).

At the beginning, CSI:LV was using Streamlights almost exclusively (Scorpion and UltraStinger). The UltraStinger was quickly replaced with SF M4s.

The first LED they used was an Inova X5. They still mostly use Incans, they photograph nicer. LEDs are too blue, and produce a cold and harsh look on film. However, on CSI:Miami they used an L4 a bit. Also on CSI:Miami I saw a SL Strion.

Law & Order uses mostly a Scorpion.

Star Trek Enterprise featured a modified M4, I think. They mounted a collar with blue LEDs behind the head. On the trivia track on the DVDs they mentioned how happy the set and prop designers were about the development of blue LEDs, which they did not have during the early 90s on Star Trek:TNG, DS9 and Voyager.
 
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square11098

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Ah good point, I forgot to mention that Innovas were used on CSI.
Another movie that just came to mind where a SF was used - A Sound of Thunder with Ed Burns. They used a modified looking M4. Good story, very badly-made movie.
 

CLHC

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There are many television shows and movies that use flashlights and like everyone else here tend to look more closely at them.

In the movie Panic Room (with Jodie Foster) it's a SureFire 6P that the little girl used to Morse-Code for help. . .Had a clicking sound to it—hmmm. . .

The one I kind of don't agree with is the Mag-Lights used by the Secret Service men in the movie Transporter2. I thought the U.S.S.S. were issued SF 6P/6Z if I remember reading that correctly in one of the gun magazines.
 

Icebreak

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CHC said:
In the movie Panic Room (with Jodie Foster) it's a SureFire 6P that the little girl used to Morse-Code for help. . .Had a clicking sound to it—hmmm. . .
I came across that DVD in the 5 dollar bin at Wal-Mart recently and bought it. That was pretty cool. The camera appears to travel into the pipe up to the flashlight and does a macro shot of the filiment. Yes. Rewind/Slowmo/Pause.
 
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zespectre

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Somebody beat me to the Surefire M4 on Supernatural.
-Lost has at least one Surefire 6P and what may have been a 9N
-Invasion has military guys using angle head lights and the ranger guy using a Streamlight.
-Surface had a guy on the ocean research vessel with what I think was an Inova T3 or T4 (he was in the background fixing something).
-NCIS has had too many different lights to count.
 

jtice

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I really liked the hand diving HID lights they used in "The Cave"

Till I looked them up....
10W HIDs with 5 hour (huge) battery pack, $650 to $1200 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

sween1911

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In "The Hunted" with Benicio Del Toro, there's a scene in which a host of cops swarm a factory or something, all of them armed with 9P's with turboheads.

In "Hide and Seek", the Sheriff check's out the house with is what I think a 12PM. Hey Al! ;)
 

Size15's

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House of Haunted Hill (I think it's the last remake) had 12PM's
They do get a lot of use, that is until the M4 came along.

1st Episode of Stargate SG1 Season 9 had them using M4's.
Strange how they needed a real illumination tool when they already had some cheap excuse attached to their P90's
 

elgarak

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In "Blood Work" Clint Eastwood uses a SF 6P and an M4 with Turbohead, if I remember correctly. In the end he chases the bad guy into a dark shipwreck at night, and leaves his nice lights behind. Jeez, this scene made me angry. The most tension came from the fact that he couldn't see, but just ten minutes ago he had an M4!
 
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Mark2

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elgarak said:
The most tension came from the fact that he couldn't see, but just ten minutes ago he had an M4!

I guess he was out of lithium cells. ;)

Once in an emergency situation another person needed a flashlight and all I had to give was an M3 with HOLA. Every 15 minutes the person came to me with a dim beam and I had to change the batteries. An hour later I was out of spare cells. The person had no idea of the cost of the cells or the light and was even complaining about the light getting very hot and not illuminating the other side of the river well enough because of the "broad" beam. No light covers all situations... (Still like the M3 very much, it's just not a light for S&R.)
 

ob1

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in Las Vegas (Not CSI Las Vegas) I saw them use a Streamlight TL-2 or TL-3
 
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