Elektrolumens ELX-12 Review

I just finished testing an ELX-12. This is one amazing LED light. For people that may not be familiar with Wayne Johnson's latest creation the Elektrolumens ELX-12 is a 12 x 3 watt LED light. The 12 - 3 watt LED's are matched up with 12 - 27mm reflectors. The model I tested was the ELX-12 20AA. The 20AA part of the title refers to the two parallel 10AA packs wired inside the light. This light comands attention whether on or off. It us just too big to be ignored. Here are a few pics to demonstrate what I mean.


Green 3D Mag, ELX-6, ELX-12





It measures 16 3/8 inches long. It weighs 4lb 6oz and the head is 5" in diameter.
This is a big imposing looking light.




Here is the complete setup.

The 20 AA pack consisting of two parallel 10AA packs delivered 60 minutes of bright run time. That was very nice and I consider that time to be quite reasonable. I tested the packs after charging them and they charged very evenly, this is important when dealing with parallel packs. For a battery run time test I took lux @ 1 meter readings every 10 minutes and here are my results. At the 60 minute mark I could still easily see the garage in the pictures below.

Start-----------28,590
10 min---------23960
20 min--------23,050
30 min--------22,720
40 min--------22,560
50 min--------22,030
60 min--------20,930
70 min--------14,760

When I do runtime tests I keep any light I use in front of our living room air conditioner set on low fan closed system. With this setting I am just recirculating the room air over the light. This is because I have found lights that may get quite warm when sitting for a runtime test do not get nearly as warm when in actual use, so a few months back I decided to start doing all of my runtime tests like this whether the light is incandescent or LED for the sake of consistency.
One other point, the batteries that were used were the 2500mAh Energizers that came with the light.

When I first read about this light I posted that Wayne may have created the first LED light that could be considered a "spotlight". When it came time to do some comparative pics that people could relate to, I did not have any conventional flashlights (LED or Incandescent) that could even come close. So I had to some more "unfair" comparisons for people to be able to get an idea of what this light is capable of.

The first series of photos will compare 4 lights a 10MCP Thor, a 3 MCP Dorcy, an ELX-12, and an ELX-6. The camera was set at 6" f 3.2 for these photos. The garage I am aiming the lights at is 370 yards away. This is the same camera setting I used when comparing my van headlights to the ELX-6 in the ELX-6 review.



10 MCP Thor
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3 MCP Dorcy
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ELX-12
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ELX-6
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When looking at the cropped images pay attention to the transformers at the top of the picture as well as the rest of the photo's



10 MCP Thor
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3 MCP Dorcy
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ELX-12
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ELX-6
If you ave a very good monitor you can still barely see the garage in this picture.
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Curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to take this with me to a Spotlight Shootout I was doing with Mr Ted Bear. I also had a brightstar with me and PGP had his too. The pics below are comparing one of my Thor's, PGP's 24 watt Brightstar , and the ELX-12. The camera setting was 6" f.3.5.
This is the same setting I used for all of the lights that night from the Ken 4 all of the way down to the ELX-6 20mm. I did not bring my daughter's Dorcy so this comparison will have a 10 MCP Thor, 24 Watt HID Brightstar, and the ELX-12.


10MCP Thor


24 Watt Brightstar


ELX-12


Thor


Brightstar


ELX-12

The 12 27mm reflectors do not produce as tight a beam as the Thor or Brightstar, but the corona is very bright and very even. The people at the shootout were rather suprised at how well this LED light did.

There were a couple of issues with this light that need to be mentioned.
The first is the lens retaining ring. Four bollts just do not seem to be able to hold the entire ring flush. This is not my opinion, you can see for yourself.



The gap is on half of the light. The half not photographed was fine.
When I mentioned this to Wayne he said he started using a screw on bezel for this light.
The other issue is that the rubber cap for the switch seemed to be working it's way loose after a couple weeks of testing. I know these are little things but this is not a cheap light.

Things that I really did like a lot.
The knurling felt very nice to hold. It provided great grip without being too rough.
The light has a very nice balance to it which made it very comfortable to carry around.
I love the fact that there is no warm up cycle with LED lights as opposed to HID's.
I like to use my lights as needed and not continously.


Over all this is a very impressive light both in appearance and performance.
It is much more blinding to be on the receiving end of this light then all but my biggest spotlights. The reason for that is twofold.
1. The color temerature of the LED's is very irritating to most people's eyes when looking at them.
2. The 12 LED's in their "little" 27mm reflectors will catch a persons eye much faster then my spotlights with their bigger reflectors. The spotlights need to be pointed almost directly at a person to be real blinding. The ELX-12 will be much more blinding much quicker when seeking to use it in this manner.

The night before I sent this light back something was attacking my wife's chickens. I had numerous lights in the room I could grab including 5 different HID spotlights, Two halogen spotlights, the ELX-12, and an ELX-6. The light I immediately grabbed was the ELX-12.
The maruarder turned out to be a racoon. I blinded it with the ELX-12. It just froze while blinking it's eyes. Because of it's obscure position I could only whack a club next to it and it then wabbled out of my yard and did not return that night. In this circumstance there was no real choice, the ELX-12 gave me immediate blazingly bright light that was utterly blinding to what I knew was going to be some animal.

I do like this light and plan on getting one at some point. The price is a bit of a question mark as Wayne of Elektrolumens is working on two different configurations.
ELX-12 20AA and ELX-12 6D. The 6D model is currently $349 without batteries or a Charger. If I remember correctly the ELX-12 AA was originally $499 as a complete setup and around $360 or $370 for the light wired for 20 AA's but with no batteries or charger.

The reasons I am not getting one immediatley are-
1. I am curious to see how the 6D version performs in terms of brightness and run time.
2. I have funds for non daily use lights allocated in different directions right now.

I do not personally consider the ELX-12 a daily walk the dog light. I have an ELX-6 20mm and an ELX-6 27mm on order for those duties. The ELX-12 is a light I will keep around the house fully charged and accessible for those times an overpowering amount of light is needed immediately, either for illuminating object and areas, blinding masked marauders, or both.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

WOW

-David

Very nice review, thanks. I love reading these type of reviews even though there is a slim chance I will every procur the light.

When Wayne starts putting twelve K2's instead of twelve luxeon III's this light will be incredible!

john2551 said:

When Wayne starts putting twelve K2's instead of twelve luxeon III's this light will be incredible!

Click to expand...

The K2's will be nice. I know Wayne has already mentioned there will be issues with K2's and 27mm reflectors. We will have to see what ends up being done about that.

Also I noticed Wayne mentioned in the ELX-12 6D thread that he does not plan on offering the 20AA version due to the complexity of the battery pack. I will have to call or email him and see if that will be the case. I so I will either post here or edit my review.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

As always very nice and extensive review mtbkndad. I am loving my ELX6, though the ELX12 might be too big for me. I am contemplating about the ELX6 with the 27mm reflector. Although I just might get an HID too:naughty:

kukula,

I am glad to hear you are enjoying your ELX-6 as much as I enjoy mine.
My only regret about doing the ELX-12 review is that now my ELX-6 seems rather dim in comparison.
When I get my nice new ELX-6 27mm I will do a review on it and compare it with my ELX-6 20mm. As a fellow multi-led user you may have the same dilema with HID that I do. I really like the convenience of instant light. I was sent a Brightstar(on loan for comparing with ELX-12) I will be doing a review on in the near future. If I could only have one, it would be the ELX-12 any day. I would much rather have the extra weight and a little less throw in trade for instant light, more overall lumens coming out the front of the light, a wider more useable hotspot, and the ruggedness of LED's.

I did email Wayne and he did say he will make either configuration of ELX-12.
It depends on what people order 6D or 20AA. Before I spend that much I really want to settle for myself which way I would rather go in such a large light.
Longer and narrower, Shorter and wider. I do like the look of the 20AA more.
Maybe I can get Wayne to give me a discount on the "used" one I sent back.


Take Care,
mtbkndad

I think that the 12 LED flashlight head would be an eye catcher without even being turned on. I have not seen a flashlight like that before, it looks great.
Nice beamshots.

iamerror said:

I think that the 12 LED flashlight head would be an eye catcher without even being turned on. I have not seen a flashlight like that before, it looks great.
Nice beamshots.

Click to expand...

Sorry about the late reply, It really is an eye catcher in a very good way. Nearly everybody that saw it said things like, "That is awesome" or "WOW".
Only one person said, "That is just too much". His opinion changed when I turned it on. He then said, "That light is REALLY cool". The lady at the shipping center said "That light is beautiful".

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

Sick light!

Oh my...i've seen the threads over at EL's section on CPF...but seeing the beamshots...:rock: .


Nice review mtbkndad! Very fine light but at that size, it serves no purpose for me. Keeping a close eye on little friend though...

So when are you going to attach an ELX-12 to your mountain bike ? Now that would give the local animals and cars a nice scare hehe.

I liked the "glowing" endorsement touch of the racoon story. Whether that was really impromptu or not takes a back seat to the fact the ELX-12 was clearly the right "weapon" of choice for the monster of the moment.

Since you said you struck the ground nearby I'm assuming threre was no intent to harm the intruder, I'd have done the same, though for the less altruistic rationale of not wanting to have to clean up the bloody results nor be on the receiving end of his teeth if I missed. Besides people think racoons are "cute" (whether deserved or not) but if it'd been a possum or something where you could come back and admit you had to defend yourself and not have PETA damn you to hell, would the ELX have withstood a swing at the beast?
(ducks as CPF'ers decry the disrespect of harming one of their prizes in their collection)
If I'm out walking the dog I'm not going to carry that baton sized torch
AND a baton, and in a large city those of us that aren't in the law enforcement occupations don't usually have a firearm, so I think it's a legit question.
I mention this also as a thumbs up to Wayne's product because of all those tested I think clearly his would stand the most chance of still working. I own a Thor 10mcp and a Vector 1.5mcp spot and a couple of mag 3d's (though current fave is a nuwai lux V 352) and none of the prior 3 would survive.
(not suggesting that would become part of the test procedure either)
There are times when it could be the light or your life. Then again look where I am, the choice is clear.
"Yesterday in Oregon, a man was found dead, mauled by a pack of wild dogs..... authorities found the body with a large flashlight, which had to be pried from his cold, stiff hands....."

iamerror said:

I think that the 12 LED flashlight head would be an eye catcher without even being turned on. I have not seen a flashlight like that before, it looks great.
Nice beamshots.

Click to expand...

That is one of those 100LED Ebay jobbies right

Mtbkndad, I know I have a good monitor, I still can't see the garage!

This would be a good spotlight! What would you guesstimate the lumen output would be?


GAMMARAY

Just thought I'd say I like this concept a lot. 6D would be great AND using the latest P4's would be insane. One day, one day….
Wayne Johnson of ElektroLumens makes unique lights, I think they are all great!

gammaray1965,

I did not know people were still reading this review or I would have checked it and responded much sooner. Sorry about the delay.

Regarding the garage, if you have your monitor on bright and cannot see the garage at the end of the street you will need a better monitor.
I use my 17" Powerbook for viewing most of my shots because it's monitor is OK and I can see the garage, it is very dim. My G4's CRT professional graphics monitor shows all of the rock formations all of the way up the mountains behind the tree in the shots above, WOW! I learned real quick not to use that monitor for checking my photos and getting an idea of what other people might be seeing. That monitor shows the Garage in the ELX-6 cropped shot dim but quite clear, much more clear then my 17" Powerbook.

Wayne listed this at 1,000+ lumens, but that would be from the LED's and not necessarily what is coming out the front end of the light.

http://elektrolumens.com/ELX-12/ELX-12.html

I did not have the light box I made for the Stunner review when I had the ELX-12 so I cannot give a relative comparison between my Stunner, or Mag 85 in terms of total light output.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave: