mtbkndad
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2005
- Messages
- 1,295
This thread will have my pics and comments regarding the lights in the Group 5 Christmas shootout. The other thread is getting rather long.
If you want to see the lights themselves, look here.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/183562&page=6
I will be focusing on beamshots.
Several people mentioned the lights in the back of the truck did not seem real organized. They weren't, :thinking: but how difficult is it to read the captions Mr Ted Bear wrote in the post listed above. We were guests at this shoot and Phil had already put the group 5 lights out on the tailgate of his truck. It would have been rather rude to tell him we need to re-arrange his lights. I personally think Mr. Ted Bear did a great job of getting results up real fast. :thumbsup:
Regarding the location, this location was not really that great. There were towers that could have been illuminated in the 350 to 400 yard range, but the canyon was so deep that lights like the Polarion products, the Beast, the HB 1 would have not done very well in the shots because the photo's would have not shown the corona's and neither Mr Ted Bear's or my camera settings, for our respective cameras, are very generous. The towers would have given and unfair advantage to lights like the Mega HID and Amondotech Illuminator with their tight beams and minimal coronas. The idea was to find a spot that would be fair to all of the lights, clearly demonstrating their different characteristics.
The location and target that were chosen were because the road would be like a canvas for the beams and since we only had time for one target, due to the sheer number of lights to be shot, the 327 yard distance would not be completely overwhelmed by the high power mods and would also be at the fringe of what the lower powered lights in terms of throw could still do.
The target was the tree just in front of and to the right of the well. Since the lights had a specific target I will list the lights in terms of how well they illuminated the target regardless of how much light they put out overall.
My photos were done using a Canon S2IS set to f3.5, 6" .
Several of the lights will look very close in the resized to fit into photobucket and on CPF format. The order I have placed them is based on being able to look at the photos when they are full size.
Lights in order of how well they lit up the target tree 327 yards away are as follows-
Night Ref shot
------------------
Mark's Blitz mod
-----------------
LarryK/Sleeper
---------------
BatteryJunction/Amondotech Mega HID (Improved 4200K Costco/Harbor Freight)
---------------
HB 2
---------------
Amondotech Illuminator
----------------
Barn Burner Spot
----------------
Sam's Power On Board
----------------
Polarion Helios
----------------
Polarion X1
---------------
Polarion P2
---------------
Amondotech N30
---------------
HB 1
-----------------
Stealth Volcano
----------------
Surefire Beast
-------------------
Vintage ROP
-------------------
Some LED's for fun.
Normally I will shoot LED's at f3.5, 8" but this time they were shot on the spotlight setting of f3.5, 6" . This way people who have these LED's and do not own spotlights can see the relative difference in light output between their LED lights and the spotlights.
Vintage Task Force
-------------------
LOD CR
------------------
Draco
------------------
Night-Ops Gladius
Now for the cropped shots.
Night Ref shot
------------------
Mark's Blitz mod
-----------------
LarryK/Sleeper
----------------
BatteryJunction/Amondotech Mega HID (Improved 4200K Costco/Harbor Freight)
This is not merely a Re-Badged Costco/Harbor Freight. There have been 4 improvements including a 4200K bulb.
---------------
HB 2
---------------
Amondotech Illuminator
----------------
Barn Burner Spot
----------------
Sam's Power On Board
----------------
Polarion Helios
----------------
Polarion X1
If you look closely at this pic and the Helios pic you will notice that the thin brown bush branches in the foreground at the side of the road are brighter in this pic then the Helios pic even though the Helios is putting much more light down on the ground around the branches. You will also notice the top of the target tree is brighter in this pic then in the Helios pic. This light was focused slightly up and to the right. I have used my X1 and BVH's helios on numerous occasions before he sold it. Helios throws more light down field in a wider brighter corona, but the X1 will very slightly edges out the Helios in terms of throw if both lights are aimed right.
---------------
Polarion P2
---------------
Amondotech N30
---------------
HB 1
-----------------
Stealth Volcano
----------------
Surefire Beast
-------------------
Vintage ROP
-------------------
Some LED's for fun
Vintage Task Force
-------------------
LOD CR
------------------
Draco
------------------
Night-Ops Gladius
Now for some fun on the street.
We did not have a lot of time at this point and the upper mid part of the hill is only about 100 yards away at best. I dropped the exposure down to 4" .
What you will want to look at is the intensity of the respective beams.
Street Reference shot
-----------------
Mac's Torch
-----------------
Mark's Blitz(I call it the HyperBlitz)
Remember this is the brightest and easily the longest throwing light of the group that was in the hills.
-----------------
300 watt Blackhawk Locator HID
Notice how much more intense the beam is then the Blitz Mod.
------------------
VSS 3 Spot
------------------
VSS 3 Flood
------------------
Street Crops
Street Reference shot
-----------------
Mac's Torch
-----------------
Mark's Blitz(I call it the HyperBlitz)
-----------------
300 watt Blackhawk Locator HID
------------------
VSS 3 Spot
------------------
VSS 3 Flood
------------------
This was a fun shoot I think it is clear that anything from the Helios down would have had trouble illuminating objects in the 400 yard range with the camera settings we were using. The HB 1 and HB 2 are nice lights, but they are really big. I have large hands and could handle them for some time but they are significantly bulkier then the Surefire Beast.
I must say my favorite beam of the bunch is still the LarryK Sleeper. It is just so perfect and even and bright. Once again I listed these lights with regard to how well they illuminated the target tree with out regard to total light output, beam pattern, etc.. From that perspective both the HB 1 and HB 2 did out perform the Beast one.
One last comment, I did feel sorry for Phil when I first met him and found out the first light he saw was JetskiMark's Blitz mod.
Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:
If you want to see the lights themselves, look here.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/183562&page=6
I will be focusing on beamshots.
Several people mentioned the lights in the back of the truck did not seem real organized. They weren't, :thinking: but how difficult is it to read the captions Mr Ted Bear wrote in the post listed above. We were guests at this shoot and Phil had already put the group 5 lights out on the tailgate of his truck. It would have been rather rude to tell him we need to re-arrange his lights. I personally think Mr. Ted Bear did a great job of getting results up real fast. :thumbsup:
Regarding the location, this location was not really that great. There were towers that could have been illuminated in the 350 to 400 yard range, but the canyon was so deep that lights like the Polarion products, the Beast, the HB 1 would have not done very well in the shots because the photo's would have not shown the corona's and neither Mr Ted Bear's or my camera settings, for our respective cameras, are very generous. The towers would have given and unfair advantage to lights like the Mega HID and Amondotech Illuminator with their tight beams and minimal coronas. The idea was to find a spot that would be fair to all of the lights, clearly demonstrating their different characteristics.
The location and target that were chosen were because the road would be like a canvas for the beams and since we only had time for one target, due to the sheer number of lights to be shot, the 327 yard distance would not be completely overwhelmed by the high power mods and would also be at the fringe of what the lower powered lights in terms of throw could still do.
The target was the tree just in front of and to the right of the well. Since the lights had a specific target I will list the lights in terms of how well they illuminated the target regardless of how much light they put out overall.
My photos were done using a Canon S2IS set to f3.5, 6" .
Several of the lights will look very close in the resized to fit into photobucket and on CPF format. The order I have placed them is based on being able to look at the photos when they are full size.
Lights in order of how well they lit up the target tree 327 yards away are as follows-
Night Ref shot
------------------
Mark's Blitz mod
-----------------
LarryK/Sleeper
---------------
BatteryJunction/Amondotech Mega HID (Improved 4200K Costco/Harbor Freight)
---------------
HB 2
---------------
Amondotech Illuminator
----------------
Barn Burner Spot
----------------
Sam's Power On Board
----------------
Polarion Helios
----------------
Polarion X1
---------------
Polarion P2
---------------
Amondotech N30
---------------
HB 1
-----------------
Stealth Volcano
----------------
Surefire Beast
-------------------
Vintage ROP
-------------------
Some LED's for fun.
Normally I will shoot LED's at f3.5, 8" but this time they were shot on the spotlight setting of f3.5, 6" . This way people who have these LED's and do not own spotlights can see the relative difference in light output between their LED lights and the spotlights.
Vintage Task Force
-------------------
LOD CR
------------------
Draco
------------------
Night-Ops Gladius
Now for the cropped shots.
Night Ref shot
------------------
Mark's Blitz mod
-----------------
LarryK/Sleeper
----------------
BatteryJunction/Amondotech Mega HID (Improved 4200K Costco/Harbor Freight)
This is not merely a Re-Badged Costco/Harbor Freight. There have been 4 improvements including a 4200K bulb.
---------------
HB 2
---------------
Amondotech Illuminator
----------------
Barn Burner Spot
----------------
Sam's Power On Board
----------------
Polarion Helios
----------------
Polarion X1
If you look closely at this pic and the Helios pic you will notice that the thin brown bush branches in the foreground at the side of the road are brighter in this pic then the Helios pic even though the Helios is putting much more light down on the ground around the branches. You will also notice the top of the target tree is brighter in this pic then in the Helios pic. This light was focused slightly up and to the right. I have used my X1 and BVH's helios on numerous occasions before he sold it. Helios throws more light down field in a wider brighter corona, but the X1 will very slightly edges out the Helios in terms of throw if both lights are aimed right.
---------------
Polarion P2
---------------
Amondotech N30
---------------
HB 1
-----------------
Stealth Volcano
----------------
Surefire Beast
-------------------
Vintage ROP
-------------------
Some LED's for fun
Vintage Task Force
-------------------
LOD CR
------------------
Draco
------------------
Night-Ops Gladius
Now for some fun on the street.
We did not have a lot of time at this point and the upper mid part of the hill is only about 100 yards away at best. I dropped the exposure down to 4" .
What you will want to look at is the intensity of the respective beams.
Street Reference shot
-----------------
Mac's Torch
-----------------
Mark's Blitz(I call it the HyperBlitz)
Remember this is the brightest and easily the longest throwing light of the group that was in the hills.
-----------------
300 watt Blackhawk Locator HID
Notice how much more intense the beam is then the Blitz Mod.
------------------
VSS 3 Spot
------------------
VSS 3 Flood
------------------
Street Crops
Street Reference shot
-----------------
Mac's Torch
-----------------
Mark's Blitz(I call it the HyperBlitz)
-----------------
300 watt Blackhawk Locator HID
------------------
VSS 3 Spot
------------------
VSS 3 Flood
------------------
This was a fun shoot I think it is clear that anything from the Helios down would have had trouble illuminating objects in the 400 yard range with the camera settings we were using. The HB 1 and HB 2 are nice lights, but they are really big. I have large hands and could handle them for some time but they are significantly bulkier then the Surefire Beast.
I must say my favorite beam of the bunch is still the LarryK Sleeper. It is just so perfect and even and bright. Once again I listed these lights with regard to how well they illuminated the target tree with out regard to total light output, beam pattern, etc.. From that perspective both the HB 1 and HB 2 did out perform the Beast one.
One last comment, I did feel sorry for Phil when I first met him and found out the first light he saw was JetskiMark's Blitz mod.
Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:
Last edited: