The most light-weight, DC-friendly spotter

Rusty Joe · Jun 29, 2010

Our security team is looking (well, actually, just I'm looking

) for a lighter weight but still bright as crap spotter for our resort. Beam quality is a remote issue, and a good spill/throw mix is preferred, but I'm not too, too picky. Needs to remotely match, meet, or exceed the expectations of my 1365 Stanley which I'm loving. Also, it must be directly usable from the DC 12 Volt car charger.

I love the Stanley, but it is heavy. In commenting, you might suggest things going from the cheaper end to the more expensive, but I'll go as high as $80. Then again, I'm a flashaholic, so I may bend. ;-)

Also, comment on the Cole 530 LED and how it would rank. And your thoughts on the Walmart X-Venture. Is it worth it's salt? Should I go all out and opt for a HID?

AnAppleSnail · Jun 29, 2010

Rusty Joe said:
Our security team is looking (well, actually, just I'm looking ) for a lighter weight but still bright as crap spotter for our resort. Beam quality is a remote issue, and a good spill/throw mix is preferred, but I'm not too, too picky. Needs to remotely match, meet, or exceed the expectations of my 1365 Stanley which I'm loving. Also, it must be directly usable from the DC 12 Volt car charger.

I love the Stanley, but it is heavy. In commenting, you might suggest things going from the cheaper end to the more expensive, but I'll go as high as $80. Then again, I'm a flashaholic, so I may bend. ;-)

Also, comment on the Cole 530 LED and how it would rank. And your thoughts on the Walmart X-Venture. Is it worth it's salt? Should I go all out and opt for a HID?

Most HID lights aren't really meant for flickery on/off/on/off use - they respond best when left on for a minute or so at a time. The Stanley HID0109 (5 lbs or so) is a lot of light for the $70, but the color temperature of the beam and the weight of the lead-acid battery hurt it in my eyes. If you're working from a car it's doable, but it's best handled with a shoulder strap. In theory you could replace its battery pack for more power and a bit less weight, but that's a fair amount of DIY work.

What kind of conditions are you working in - how much ambient light, and so on? The Magcharger system is popular, but its slow charging wouldn't do you any favors. The 12vdc charging is fairly rare among the most popular lights.

Rusty Joe · Jun 29, 2010

It's a large parking lot with lots of light, but also lots of cars, busses, rigs, and vans. Need to see under and around the vehicles, across water and amusement rides, and other corners of buildings, like conference centers and so on. There are also brushy areas behind and around the property that perps have been known to hide in.

It's a big area (more than 700,000 square feet) and lately, we've had a lot of break-ins. Plus, we have our share of kids and criminal mischief that can show its head.

The power is, of course, what counts most. But there's something cool about a light spotlight that can more easily be hoisted out and around for quick spotting. Not that it's an issue; it's me being picky.

Color temperature I keep hearing people talk about, and it's lost on me. Don't know what it means, but I do know that I won't be modding anything. Not the mechanical type.

I know that a blast of light, a brighter, whiter, fatter beam with superb reach is better. And lots of spill is not a bad thing, either.

Mattmanic · Jun 29, 2010

How bout some kind of 24w HID? They do those in D cell maglite sizes, not sure about the charging as most run off li-on cells but you could always buy some spares and a 12v charger for them

Rusty Joe · Jun 29, 2010

Mattmanic said:
How bout some kind of 24w HID? They do those in D cell maglite sizes, not sure about the charging as most run off li-on cells but you could always buy some spares and a 12v charger for them

Give some examples. Maybe post some links.

AnAppleSnail · Jun 29, 2010

Rusty Joe said:
The power is, of course, what counts most. But there's something cool about a light spotlight that can more easily be hoisted out and around for quick spotting. Not that it's an issue; it's me being picky.

Color temperature I keep hearing people talk about, and it's lost on me. Don't know what it means, but I do know that I won't be modding anything. Not the mechanical type.

I know that a blast of light, a brighter, whiter, fatter beam with superb reach is better. And lots of spill is not a bad thing, either.

If you can give up on a charging plug, you get a lot more options opened to you. Color Temperature - have you ever seen those awful headlights on the road that are blue, or even purple? Those are lights with what's called a "high color-correlated temperature."

Hot things glow at different colors. Electric stove coils glow red, softened steel can be orange or yellow, molten steel is white, and so on. But these things don't just emit photons of one color - they emit a range of them based on a bell curve. The stove mainly emits infrared light, with a hint of red that makes a glow. The molten steel emits a lot of green light, with the center of its bell covering the visible spectrum. If you look at the visible spectrum, ROY G BIV, green is in the middle. The sun's CCT is there at 6500K, but it emits a broad range of light, making a white. If you continue to raise the CCT then the main colors emitted change. A higher CCT light source would look blue, then purple at higher temperatures.

If you have a light source that isn't emitting very many red photons, you'll have trouble distinguishing red colors. Also, light sources that emit a relatively large amount of blue will tend to glare a bit more. With the Stanley HID0109, my skin looks corpseriffic because the blood underneath doesn't return very many photons.

A HID light will definitely deliver the power you want. They're a form of arc lamp, and they take a few seconds to get to full blast. Not that they start out dim! They start out at several hundred lumens and top out in the few-thousand range (35w) and higher (55w, etc). There's a thread of videos of them starting up.

The Stanley HID is remarked upon a lot because it has a quick startup and is about the cheapest you'll get a HID light. The Mag-size HIDs tend to be more expensive, running around $150. They're amazingly good lights, and easy to handle, but that's a lot over your budget. Nothing punches through the night like 'em though...

Rusty Joe · Jun 29, 2010

AnAppleSnail said:
If you can give up on a charging plug, you get a lot more options opened to you. Color Temperature - have you ever seen those awful headlights on the road that are blue, or even purple? Those are lights with what's called a "high color-correlated temperature."

Hot things glow at different colors. Electric stove coils glow red, softened steel can be orange or yellow, molten steel is white, and so on. But these things don't just emit photons of one color - they emit a range of them based on a bell curve. The stove mainly emits infrared light, with a hint of red that makes a glow. The molten steel emits a lot of green light, with the center of its bell covering the visible spectrum. If you look at the visible spectrum, ROY G BIV, green is in the middle. The sun's CCT is there at 6500K, but it emits a broad range of light, making a white. If you continue to raise the CCT then the main colors emitted change. A higher CCT light source would look blue, then purple at higher temperatures.

If you have a light source that isn't emitting very many red photons, you'll have trouble distinguishing red colors. Also, light sources that emit a relatively large amount of blue will tend to glare a bit more. With the Stanley HID0109, my skin looks corpseriffic because the blood underneath doesn't return very many photons.

A HID light will definitely deliver the power you want. They're a form of arc lamp, and they take a few seconds to get to full blast. Not that they start out dim! They start out at several hundred lumens and top out in the few-thousand range (35w) and higher (55w, etc). There's a thread of videos of them starting up.

The Stanley HID is remarked upon a lot because it has a quick startup and is about the cheapest you'll get a HID light. The Mag-size HIDs tend to be more expensive, running around $150. They're amazingly good lights, and easy to handle, but that's a lot over your budget. Nothing punches through the night like 'em though...

That was very informative. I've decided to give the Stanley HID a try, but what about the other lights I've mentioned? How do they stack up to the 1365 I have now?

AnAppleSnail · Jun 30, 2010

Rusty Joe said:
That was very informative. I've decided to give the Stanley HID a try, but what about the other lights I've mentioned? How do they stack up to the 1365 I have now?

At this point I'm digging up reviews, as I've not used the lights.
Cole 530 LED: One
Two
It's a buyer site review stack, but people seem to like it. The DC-running and charging are good for your purposes. They say it's about 2 lb.
At this Review, I found this instructive picture for the Coleman's spill:

This seems to be a CPF review of the light.

Walmart x-venture One
That review says that this light doesn't have much spill.

The Black&Decker V-2million is an excellent light, but it's another megahalogen with a SLA battery. I'm a fan of mine, but its 12VDC charger is 50 mA, limiting charge speed. It's likely to have the output to work in your parking lots, although it will dim as the battery power drops.

The Stanley HID will give you tons of light - the halogens have about half the light output and the Coleman about one fourth. With the way the eyes perceive light, it wouldn't be such a big difference alone. But to see past other lights you need even more light - you have to make enough lux on your target (lumens per meter squared) so that it's at least as bright as the things near it. Check Wal Mart's return policy and try their halogen - the "1 million candlepower" is not a useful measurement, but you might see if it works - and if it doesn't work, it's not the right product for you.

A note about SLAs in general - they don't like sitting on shelves. Some people have had problems with their batteries being no good. I'd call that a broken product. When you get one of these, charge it and run it down - if you get a very shorter-than-normal runtime, charge it again and see if it improves a lot. If not, the battery is in poor shape and I'd like to think that you are owed a replacement.

Price and one store with the light:

Coleman 530, $55 at Wal-mart
Wal mart x-venture, cant' find prices for it anymore.
B&D v-2million, $30 at Home Depot
Stanley HID0109, $70 at Wal-Mart

The most light-weight, DC-friendly spotter

Rusty Joe

Newly Enlightened

AnAppleSnail

Flashlight Enthusiast

Rusty Joe

Newly Enlightened

Mattmanic

Newly Enlightened

Rusty Joe

Newly Enlightened

AnAppleSnail

Flashlight Enthusiast

Rusty Joe

Newly Enlightened

AnAppleSnail

Flashlight Enthusiast

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