Black Diamond Apollo Pictures

Zigzago

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The Black Diamond Apollo lantern has been on the market for about a year now. A number of people have posted here on CPF that they have them, but no one, as far as I know, has posted any pictures. So this is my contribution.

I wanted an LED lantern for use at home during power outages. My main requirements were:
- Runs on AA batteries
- Good light quality (even and white)

I had read positive reviews of the Black Diamond Apollo on some camping web sites and when I saw it was on sale at REI, I bought one last week. I paid $34.99, normal REI price is $49.99.

The light comes in a simple cardboard box. The package identifies it as a "3 Watt" lantern but doesn't describe the model of LED that is used. Someone in another post said they thought it was a Cree. I'm not inclined to take the light apart to try and find out.

bda-1.jpg



For storage, the lantern collapses with its reflector housing telescoped down and its legs folded up. In this picture you can see the red/yellow/green battery status lights above the orange power button. Oddly, these indicators are covered when you raise the reflector housing. Supposedly, green means you have more than 50% battery power, yellow means less than 50% and red means less than 20%. I haven't had the lantern long enough to know how accurate these will be (I'm skeptical).

bda-2.jpg



Batteries are loaded by unscrewing the bottom of the lantern and inserting four AA cells into the battery carrier. The instructions that come with the light state that the light "functions with 4 AA alkaline batteries or the Black Diamond NRG rechargeable battery kit (sold separately)." The kit is a proprietary battery pack. No mention is made of lithium batteries. I used rechargeable Eneloop NiMH batteries with no problems. The battery carrier is made of thin plastic and it takes a fair amount of force to insert the batteries, which made me nervous that I might break the carrier. Otherwise the light has good build quality.

bda-3.jpg



With the reflector housing and legs extended the Apollo lives up to its name by resembling a lunar lander. Since the lantern projects most of its light downward, the legs help to broaden the illuminated area. They also allow you to level the light on an uneven surface. In addition, there's a folding ring on top for hanging the light.

bda-4.jpg



The Apollo produces an even, diffused light. There are no rings or undue glare. The light is a cool (but not blue) white. A very nice feature of this lantern is the variable output level. A single press of the power button turns on the light at its brightest level. If you then press and hold the button, the light dims until it reaches its lowest level at which point it flashes once and then begins to get brighter again. You simply release the button to keep the light at the desired level.

bda-5.jpg




The Apollo provides a good, useable amount of light. It lights up a room well enough to see everything, and is a good reading light within about 3 feet. Unfortunately I can't do much of a comparison because the only other LED lantern I have is an Eveready Folding 4AA model I bought about four years ago, and that's really in a different (dimmer) class. The Apollo's instructions list a value of 50 lumens on high. Here's a shot in the kitchen on the highest level.

bda-6.jpg




Here is the same shot on the lowest level.

bda-7.jpg




And the same view with the Energizer 4AA lantern. (I think this is a second generation model - 2 leds, both on in high.)

bda-8.jpg



The specs in the instructions state a runtime of 15 hours on high and 60 hours on low. This is curious because I only got about 4 hours on high with the Eneloops. Four hours at this level is adequate for my needs, but I wonder how they ever got 15 hours, especially if they are talking about alkalines.

Overall, I am pleased with the Black Diamond Apollo. There are cheaper and brighter LED lanterns available, but this one meets my needs for a quality, AA-powered emergency light.

Pros:
Even, diffused light
Variable output
Handy, ergonomic design

Cons:
Somewhat expensive
Battery carrier might break
 
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gunga

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Thanks so much!

I['ve been curious about these lanterns, especially the smaller orbit lantern. I do wnat to see the led inside at some point. Wonder if an upgrade is possible.

So the light works okay as a room light?
 

Zigzago

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gunga,

You're welcome.

It works pretty well as a room light. It doesn't light up the whole room like an incandescent lamp or a Coleman (gas) lantern, but it's enough light for simple tasks and up close it's good for reading.
 

DM51

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This looks very nice indeed. It's compact for travel/storage, and has a very nice even-looking diffused beam.
 

Zigzago

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Sorry for the late reply. It seems to be regulated. On high, the light level holds fairly steady for about 4 hours and then drops off quickly.
 

MorePower

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Sorry for the late reply. It seems to be regulated. On high, the light level holds fairly steady for about 4 hours and then drops off quickly.

That was likely due to your use of NiMH cells. They have a sharp drop in voltage as they near the end of their useful discharge.

Flat output when using alkaline cells is a much better measure of whether or not a light is regulated. The 15 hour runtime was probably for alkaline cells with steadily decreasing output.
 

RobertM

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Nov 24, 2007
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Thanks for the review.

Now that your review was over 1 year ago, do you still like it? How has it held up under use?

This might be my first lantern purchase. :)

Thanks,
Robert
 

Schuey2002

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Great review!

.

After my Black Diamond Orbit gets here, I have this gut feeling that it won't be long after that and I'll be ordering an Apollo to go with it! :sigh: :ohgeez: :shakehead :nana:
 

lemlux

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As mentioned in another thread, REI is closing out the 56 Lumen revision at $36.93 and is back-ordered on the 80 Lumen revision which REI offers for $49.99.

Any idea what the new emitter is, anyone?
 

RobertM

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As mentioned in another thread, REI is closing out the 56 Lumen revision at $36.93 and is back-ordered on the 80 Lumen revision which REI offers for $49.99.

Any idea what the new emitter is, anyone?

Yeah, I saw that on REI. Now I'm debating if the extra 24 lumens is worth the extra $15. :D

I too am curious as to what emitter they are using if anyone has any insight.
 

damn_hammer

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i've owned the bd orbit, and like it a lot. just checked out the rei webpage, and now it come in colors! lime, lava, and chocolate. however, the lumen specs appear to be the same as the original orbit which is the Rebel LED:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/3044296&postcount=12


both the 2010 apollo, and orbit show "DoublePower LED" in the specs. what is that supposed to mean, two leds?
 
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Schuey2002

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^^^

I think "Doublepower LED" is just an upgrade of the older "3-watt LED" that they listed as being in the Apollo..
 
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uplite

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I just received one of these as a gift from a camping buddy.

It is a pretty good design. The folding legs, folding hang-hooks, and variable brightness control are especially nice. I used it in the mountains last week. Then I opened it up to replace the LED.

This lantern is the "80 lumens" version. The emitter is a CREE XP-E. My cheapo multimeter (Craftsman 82345) reads 3.12V and 0.49A at the LED on high. If those numbers are accurate, BD used a lowly N-bin emitter. I'm replacing it with R2 flux, 4D tint. It will be significantly brighter with the upgraded emitter. More important, it will be a useful neutral white, not craptastic cool white. :p

Disassembly is easy. Remove the battery pack. Remove the 3 screws deep inside the battery well. That disconnects the body from the lower reflector and mantle.

The emitter is mounted on a 16mm x 18mm mcpcb, which is attached to a folded heatsink by four melted plastic posts. Clip the "rivet heads" off those posts with an end cutter, and you can remove the mcpcb and heatsink as separate components.

I suggest using an XPE on a 20mm star if you have one. That will give roughly the same heatsinking as the stock 16x18 mcpcb. But I don't have any 20mm stars handy, so I'm using a 10mm round pcb with a little bit of extra metal. Hopefully the more efficient R2 bin is OK with that.

MCPCB with one post clipped:
apollo1.jpg


New 10mm mcpcb on left, stock 16x18mm mcpcb on right:
apollo2.jpg


MCPCB with three posts clipped and one wire desoldered to test amperage:
apollo3t.jpg


MCPCB removed:
apollo4.jpg


Heatsink removed:
apollo5.jpg


-Jeff
 
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filibuster

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Dec 27, 2005
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Uplite, what a great project! I look forward to seeing the results.

Where would be a source for the emitters you are using. I've looked through the marketplace and haven't found one this side of the Pacific.
 

uplite

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Where would be a source for the emitters you are using. I've looked through the marketplace and haven't found one this side of the Pacific.
I get mine from Cutter, near Melbourne, Australia. If you're buying from the US you're stuck with the $1 USD = $1 AUD exchange rate right now. Doh! Just a decade ago the exchange rate was $1 USD = $2 AUD. But anyway, it's still worth it for the convenience of a good bin selection pre-mounted on a variety of mcpcbs.

You can also buy Cree emitters from the usual US electronics sources like Digikey et al, but it can be difficult or impossible to get the bins you want, let alone pcb mounting.


Please, more photos of the end product!
Yes, eventually. :) I test-fit the 10mm pcb and found that it was too small...the reflector would hit the screws and solder joints. So I need to order some 20mm stars before I do this.


Very cool, I'd just reflow the emitter onto the stock board...
That's the way to go if you have proper reflow equipment.

I don't have that equipment, and I'm not going to subject the heat-sensitive diode, phosphors, and primary optic to a frying pan or toaster oven. Also there's the issue of pre-baking components to remove all moisture so they don't POP during soldering. Maybe someday I'll try this. For now I leave that stuff to the professionals. :)


-Jeff
 
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