Yup, that emitter is definitely off-center. The dark area in the beamshot is very subtle. At first I didn't see it, but I sort of can now. Artifacts like that tend to much more obvious in person. My emitter is centered to my eyes, and I'm definitely not going to be getting out my calipers to check it
. I have no idea what kind of manufacturing specifications HDS has for these lights, but I sort of wonder if Henry has a true-position type tolerance for the emitter in the reflector. I doubt it, as that's not easy to inspect, but lights like the one pictured above would definitely fall outside a reasonable tolerance zone.
It seems like the combination of emitter and reflector used in the Rotaries just produces ringy beams, even with centered emitters. I suppose Henry was unable to or simply didn't arrive at a reflector design that gave a perfectly smooth beam. I posted a beamshot of mine in the previous thread, showing the quite noticeable rings at the edge of the spillbeam. My beam has a bluish/purplish tinted hotspot, yellowish tinted corona (which I think I can see in the above beamshot, too), and a bluish/purplish ring at the edge of the spillbeam. Really, it's quite unattractive against a white wall or anywhere in my apartment, which happens to have lots of white and light colored walls and surfaces. When I take the light outside, the ugliness of the beam goes practically unnoticed and the light is very useful.
There's a part of me that says I shouldn't care about the aesthetics of the beam, as the light is a tool and the beam profile, not to mention the light as a whole, is quite functional for a wide variety of tasks. There's another part of me, though, that views the light as a toy in addition to a tool. This part of me likes to admire a nice beam for a split second when a light is in use. It's the part of me that gets a childlike excitement about a new gadget. This part of me is disappointed with the Rotary beam, and thus, the two sides of my excessively neurotic personality are at odds with one another over this light.
Finding and dwelling on flaws in things that I buy is a part of who I am. I stare at a dead pixel in my monitor every day. The shoes I wear to work rub my left ankle bone in an annoying way with a certain type of socks. Sometimes I think that my (very expensive) headphones are ever so slightly louder in the right ear. When I discovered that the floors in my apartment are slightly unlevel, I spent hours walking around with a level and a stack of cardboard shims. The list goes on.
When I find a flaw in a new toy, like the beam on my HDS, it tends to kill the novelty factor for me. Once that "thrill of a new toy" phase passes, though, I care less and less about whatever flaw exists and start to appreciate the item simply for its utility. There are some exceptions, though, such as my Surefire L4, which is flawless in every conceivable way, and still evokes a little excitement whenever I use it. Unfortunately, my Rotary's beam will prevent it from achieving this status. As I explained, though, I will use it and appreciate it for its great utility once the "new toy" phase passes.
Hopefully at least someone can identify with this mentality. As cathartic as it was to write this, it's making me think I need professional help.