Wave of SunDrop and SunDrop XR-U

[SFfanman]

Couldn't wait - order sent - confirmation received - Paypal sent!

Some drops of sun to help melt this darn snow!!



Now the wait...



But it is always worth it!

Looks like you couldn't resist. Looking forward to your impressions and analysis.

[ironhorse]

Email sent for my first McGizmo.

[scout24]

Congrats, Ironhorse!

[run4jc]

Looks like you couldn't resist. Looking forward to your impressions and analysis.

I think I need counseling.....

[chaoss]

I'm in, order placed, shipped & paid .
Now the wait .

[Bass]

e-mail sent

[Bass]

Sundrop XR-U incoming!

Can't wait to recieve this light. It will be my first McGizmo but I have wanted one of these for a long time. I'm in the UK, so must be patient.....

[derangboy]

Ditto, decent sales weekend for Don?

[Bass]

Ditto, decent sales weekend for Don?

Yeah, he can eat this month

Congrats. I saw your thread on Sundrop Vs CRI RaClicky - I think you made the made the right choice!

Please post your impressions when it gets to you. I take it you are in Canada, so likely to get to you first!

[reeso]

Sundrop XR-U incoming!

Can't wait to recieve this light. It will be my first McGizmo but I have wanted one of these for a long time. I'm in the UK, so must be patient.....

Nice one!

Mine took 8 working days to get to Sunny Swansea from Don - it felt so much longer.

[Bass]

Thanks Reeso. I'm going to have to be patient - 8 days! Can a grown man last that long

Nice avatar!

[Bass]

My Sundrop XR-U arrived two days ago. Swift and efficient service from Don, arrived to the UK in 5 days! This was my first McGizmo, so I didn't know what to expect but the whole order process, service and delivery have been top notch. I am very impressed with the whole transaction

I have played with the Sundrop for a couple of days now and the XR-U is just a fabulous tool; a brilliant concept and superbly executed. Colour rendition is about as good as it gets from an artificial light source and from an LED, it is staggering. I didn't expect it to be as good as it is, so very pleased.

I'm particularly impressed with how the Sundrop renders shadow detail and retains contrast. Blacks stay black, which is very nice. I have been using the Sundrop to view photography prints over the weekend and it is a comparable substitute to the ColourConfidence GrafiLite IMO.

The beam is perfectly white, only downside is a brownish / tobacco colour ring around the outer edge of the beam. I presume this is due the LED being further away from the sapphire lens, than the original Sundrop? No biggie, I knew it would be there from the various threads and beamshots, just an observation and it in no way spoils the light. A necessary compromise to enhance the light and it's lifespan, I imagine.

I'm preaching to the converted here I know but might be of some use if you are still considering one and undecided. I had very high expectations for the Sundrop and it exceeded them all. My first McGizmo but probably not my last

A few shots of the Sundrop - backdrop is a pair of denim jeans. 50/2.8 macro lens used, wide open or stepped down a notch.

[maxspeeds]

Hi Bass Sweet pictures and I'm glad you're enjoying your XR-U. If you'd like to get rid of the brown rings, try a Surefire F04 diffuser. It not only protects the head of the light, but acts as a anti-roll mechanism along with smoothing out the beam. I always have one attached to my SunDrop XP.

[malamalama]

try a Surefire F04 diffuser. It not only protects the head of the light, but acts as a anti-roll mechanism along with smoothing out the beam. I always have one attached to my SunDrop XP.

Congratulations Bass. I second maxspeeds about the SF diffuser. I have a F04 diffuser on a Haiku for the very reasons he mentioned. I also have a F05 red filter on a LS20.

maxspeeds, since the SunDrop XP is already very floody with no hot spot (vs. the XR-U), are you using it for the outer rings or mainly for protection? I know on the SunDrop 3S, there is a definite line or circle on the outer edge with no spill, but I never though about using a diffuser on it to control the edges. Thanks.

[maxspeeds]

maxspeeds, since the SunDrop XP is already very floody with no hot spot (vs. the XR-U), are you using it for the outer rings or mainly for protection? I know on the SunDrop 3S, there is a definite line or circle on the outer edge with no spill, but I never though about using a diffuser on it to control the edges. Thanks.

Malamalama, I mainly use the F04 diffuser to get rid of the outside rings and brown perimeter. It can be barely seen here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=262391 that the Sundrop XP does have artifacts and rings on the outside perimeter. It can be best seen on the top left of the guitar. There are around 3 rings that can be seen on the left and right (which I'm guessing is from the 6 dies of the Nichia 083 LED). However, since the XP is a larger flood, the rings aren't noticeable most of the time when viewing an object up close.

[Bass]

Thanks for your posts maxspeeds & malamalama, I appreciate it

The brown outer rings aren't spoiling the utility of the Sundrop for me, I knew they would be there but when the rest of the light is pretty close to perfect, it is more of a 'niggle', nothing more; if you know what I mean? I will definitely keep the Surefire diffuser in mind; looks to be a useful accessory.

The XP has the original Sundrop head but with a two battery set up, for extended time - I think I am correct in saying? With the LED closer to the sapphire lens in the original head, does this allow for less brown rings and a larger spill / flood? Is the difference noticeable?

Could you also please clarify - the original Sundrop, XP and 3s versions are all the same head configuration but the XR-U has a revised head and the LED with the larger clearance to the lens?

Thanks guys, all info gladly received!

[maxspeeds]

The XP has the original Sundrop head but with a two battery set up, for extended time - I think I am correct in saying?

That is correct. The SunDrop XP has the original SunDrop head with a 2x123 setup with a SOB (single level) at a drive current of 333 mA.

With the LED closer to the sapphire lens in the original head, does this allow for less brown rings and a larger spill / flood? Is the difference noticeable?

I'm not sure on this one as I've never had a SunDrop XR-U with the Nichia 083 light engine.

Could you also please clarify - the original Sundrop, XP and 3s versions are all the same head configuration but the XR-U has a revised head and the LED with the larger clearance to the lens?

This is correct. The original SunDrop (single level), SunDrop 3s (three levels), and Sundrop XP (single level) all have the same head where the Nichia 083 light engine is as close as possible to the Sapphire lens. The XR-U has the revised head and allows the possibility of other light engines to be used (Cree XR-E, Cree XP-G, Cree MC-E, SSC P4, etc.)

[McGizmo]

Maxspeeds has it right.

I would add that you will get a noticeable corona with either the SunDrop or SunDrop XR-U head and likely any LED light source. Not knowing for sure, I attribute this to both the fact that the image is not infinitely small and the fact that the angle of refraction of light is not the same across the various wavelengths of the visual spectrum. The lens is not aspherical in design nor would I have known how to design it as such based on the refractive index of sapphire. Such considerations as well as their importance is simply beyond me. Further, had I designed some non constant radius lens I have my doubts the factory that makes these for me would have been able to grind such a lens. I would imagine that someone with optics design capability could design a similar lens with less if no spherical aberration at the perimeter. My focus is on the interior of the flood coverage where I believe a decent distribution of light can be viewed.

I plan to be offering the original SunDrop head as well as the XR-U in the near future so I think some more information regarding the two will be helpful.



I believe it reasonable to state that the XR-U gives roughly a 50 degree flood angle whereas the original SunDrop has a 75 degree flood angle. I base this on some rough measurments and calculations I have made using the High CRI 083 LE.

[scout24]

Bass- Beautiful pictures of Sundrop sweetness!

[tygger]

Congratulations Bass. The Sundrop XR-U is still my most used light. Its a serious battery miser on the low/med levels. I put a half drained battery in months ago and its still going strong.

[derangboy]

Thanks for all the great information guys! I would definitely be interested in the old style Sundrop head should it become available again. I've still got another week of waiting (typical shipping time for my location).

[Bass]

Thanks again maxspeeds for your answers to all my questions!

Don, thanks for the detailed information. Lens design is very complex. I follow and understand your reasoning but that is the depth of my knowledge. As you rightly point out, the centre of the flood is the important part of the light design.

I'm interested in an original Sundrop head. I'll keep an eye out for the wave notification.

I must agree with tygger, very efficient with batteries. Mine gets lots of use on high and I am getting seriously long run times.

Thanks again for all the info and kind words on the pics

[derangboy]

It's an incredible instrument!

[Bass]

Derangboy - nice photo. A 'roll in the hay' with friends?

That 2 x AA pak looks fantastic!

[Bass]

Three more images of the XR-U Sundrop. Hope this is the right place to put them? Couldn't see a Sundrop photo thread.

[Illumination]

I plan to be offering the original SunDrop head as well as the XR-U in the near future so I think some more information regarding the two will be helpful.

Great news...I was always a big fan of the original Sun Drop... I 'broke' my budget when they were being discontinued so couldn't pull the trigger back then...maybe I will finally get one this time...

[reeso]

Does anyone know why my Sundrop XR-U led glows in the dark? Even if I haven't used it for a day it still glows very faintly.

[Moka]

It's the phosphors the use for the LED... Perhaps someone else can provide a more scientific explanation

[maxspeeds]

Does anyone know why my Sundrop XR-U led glows in the dark? Even if I haven't used it for a day it still glows very faintly.

That's pretty neat. Mine only glows for a few seconds after the light is off. I wish it glowed longer.

[McGizmo]

Hi guys,

I have edited the first post in this wave offering to now include the option of original SunDrop head as well as the SunDrop XR-U. I hope this doesn't take the level of confusion beyond manageability!

Anyone considering using either of these heads to host a LE other than the Nichia High CRI LE that I include with the lights needs to consider the LED head room offered by both heads.



I have also edited the subject line here in this post to being "Wave of SunDrop and SunDrop XR-U".

The now offered original SunDrop head with the latest Nichia LED does not boast as high a lux as the SunDrop XR-U but it does give you more lumens out the front end. I believe the SunDrop XR-U as host to the Nichia LE is justified for those who need to maximize lux at the expense of lost flux.

I have not commented or made any suggestion of using the XP-G LE in the SunDrop XR-U because I feel the short XP-G is too far from the lens and light loss too significant. In my mind, one would choose to use a XP-G LE primarily because of higher flux at the expense of CRI. The XP-G LE behind the original SunDrop Head does give you a bright circle of flood to be sure. I think the warm XP-G LE that I am no making is a better choice than the original cooler LE and this is because of the beam you get. The beam looks like an eclipse and should I end up actually offering a SunDrop with a XP-G LE I think I will call it an eclipse for sake of identification and clarity. The beam pattern is a bit disconcerting because the ring of light or corona is obviously warmer than the main circle of light within. This disparity in tint is an obvious artifact that may not be acceptable to many folks!!

I should probably see if I can capture this in a beam shot one of these days.