Lumintop ED10 (XP-G R5, 1xCR123A/RCR) Review: RUNTIMES, VIDEO, BEAMSHOTS and more

selfbuilt

Flashaholic
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
7,006
Location
Canada
Warning: pic heavy, as usual.

ED10004.jpg

ED10003.jpg


The ED10 is pocket 1xRCR/CR123A-class light from Lumintop, featuring a Cree XP-G emitter. Scroll down to see how it performs relative to others in this class.

Manufacturer's Specifications:
  • LED: CREE XP-G R5
  • High: 180 Lumens, 1.5 hours
  • Med: 35 Lumens, 7 hours
  • Low : 4 Lumens, 70 hours
  • Strobe, SOS modes
  • Max Range : 60m
  • Max Intensity: 1100cd
  • Impact Resistance: 1.5m
  • Water Resistance: IPX-8, 2m
  • Working Voltage: 0.9~4.2V
  • Battery: 1xCR123A or 1x16340 (RCR)
  • Size: 20.6mm (bezel diameter) x 66.0mm (length)
  • Net Weight : 0.90 oz (excluding battery)
  • MSRP: ~$30
ED10002.jpg


Packaging is a plastic clamshell containing the light, good quality wrist lanyard, keychain ring and clip, extra o-ring, and manual (on the product card).

ED10018.jpg

ED10015.jpg

From left to right: CR123A, Lumintop ED10, Olight i1 SS, 4Sevens Q Mini 123, Zebralight SC30, Thrunite Neutron 1C. Sunwayman M10R.

All dimensions are given with no batteries installed:

Lumintop ED10: Weight: 21.5g, Length: 70.4mm, Width (bezel): 20.7mm
Olight i1 Stainless Steel: Weight 48.1g, Length: 63.9mm, Width (bezel): 20.4mm
Jetbeam BC10: Weight: 46.6g, Length: 90.3mm, Width (bezel): 23.2mm
Thrunite 1C: Weight: 45.2g, Length: 91.5mm, Width (bezel) 22.0mm
Xtar WK21: Weight: 59.1g, Length: 66.5mm, Width (bezel): 25.8mm

ED10009.jpg

ED10005.jpg

ED10008.jpg


Overall build is compact – the light is quite small, but still feels solid enough. Anodizing is a matte black, without any nicks or damage on my sample. There is knurling along the various body and head surfaces, but it is not very aggressive. Grip is reasonable, and I was able to operate the light single-handed. Labels are restricted to the tailcap, and are bright white against the black background.

Light has a scalloped bezel ring, letting you know if the light is on when standing on its head. There are raised attachment points on the tail, and the light can tailstand. :)

There is a metal spring at the base of the base of the light.

Light works by tightening the head against the body, so as such screw threads are anodized for lock-out.

User Interface

To activate the light, tighten the head against the body.

There are five output modes, arranged in sequence: Lo > Med > Hi > Strobe > SOS. To access the modes, do a loosen-tighten cycle while the light is on.

There is no mode memory – the light always comes on in Lo if you leave it off for more than a few seconds.

For a more detailed examination of the build and user interface, please see my video overview: :wave:



Video was recorded in 720p, but YouTube defaults to 360p. Once the video is running, you can click on the 360p icon in the lower right-hand corner, and select the higher 480p to 720p options, or even run full-screen.

PWM/Strobe

Med mode:
ED10-MedPWM.gif


Lo mode:
ED10-LoPWM.gif


The ED10 uses PWM of 1 kHz frequency. This is high enough to not be generally noticeable, but it is detectable by eye.

The ED10 has a strobe mode, measured at 9.9 Hz.

Noise:
ED10-LoNoise.gif


There is a re-occurring circuit pattern noticeable at lower frequencies, but it does not produce any visual effect (i.e. the light is reasonably flicker-free, with only the expected 1kHz PWM noticeable).

Beamshots:

ED10006.jpg

ED10010.jpg


The ED10 uses a Cool White XP-G emitter – very poorly centered on my sample - in a medium orange peel textured reflector. Given the small size of the reflector, I don't expect this to distort the beam much.

All lights are on AW protected RCR, about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences.

ED10-Beam001.jpg
WK21-Beam001.jpg

i1-Beam001.jpg
BC10001.jpg


ED10-Beam002.jpg
WK21-Beam002.jpg

i1-Beam002.jpg
BC10002.jpg


ED10-Beam003.jpg
WK21-Beam003.jpg

i1-Beam003.jpg
BC10003.jpg


ED10-Beam004.jpg
WK21-Beam004.jpg

i1-Beam004.jpg
BC10004.jpg


Testing Method:

All my output numbers are relative for my home-made light box setup, a la Quickbeam's flashlightreviews.com method. You can directly compare all my relative output values from different reviews - i.e. an output value of "10" in one graph is the same as "10" in another. All runtimes are done under a cooling fan, except for any extended run Lo/Min modes (i.e. >12 hours) which are done without cooling.

I have recently devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values (ROV) to estimated Lumens. See my How to convert Selfbuilt's Lighbox values to Lumens thread for more info.

Throw/Output Summary Chart:

Effective November 2010, I have revised my summary tables to match with the current ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. Please see http://www.sliderule.ca/FL1.htm for a description of the terms used in these tables.

ED10-FL1-Summary1.gif


ED10-FL1-Summary2.gif


The ED10 has regulated output levels on both 1xCR123A and 1xRCR, with higher output on 1xRCR. ANSI FL-1 lumen measures on 1xCR123A seem very accurate.

Throw is about what you would expect for such a small head, although my sample was a bit higher than the reported ANSI FL-1 spec.

Output/Runtime Comparison:

WK21-MaxRCR.gif

ED10-MedRCR.gif


WK21-HiCR123A.gif


The output/runtime performance of the ED10 is exactly what you would expect for a good XP-G R5-based light. Light is regulated at all levels, on both 1xCR123A and 1xRCR

Potential Issues

All output modes are in one series, accessed in sequence (i.e. Strobe and SOS in the same sequence as Lo, Med and Hi).

Light lacks a pocket clip, but it does come with a keychain clip and wrist-lanyard.

Preliminary Observations

The ED10 is a very compact, 1xCR123A/RCR every-day-carry (EDC) type of light. Overall builds reminds me a lot of the 4Sevens Mini 123, although the ED10 is a bit longer (and not as aggressively knurled). Grip is still reasonable, and I found the ED10 fine for single-handed use.

Performance is very similar to the Mini – I found largely equivalent output, runtimes and regulation patterns between the lights. I quite like that these lights are fully regulated on 1xRCR :thumbsup: – many in this class resort to direct-drive on this higher-voltage battery source.

Interface is again somewhat similar to the Mini, but the ED10 unfortunately only has a single set of modes that include strobe/SOS in the main sequence. I prefer to see these hidden, when possible :shrug:

At the end of the day, no surprises here – the ED10 is exactly what it purports to be, with seemingly accurate ANSI FL-1 specs. If you are looking for this sort of basic, twisty 1xCR123A/RCR light, ED10 is worth considering. :wave:

----

ED10 was provided by Lumintop for review.
 

yifu

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 15, 2011
Messages
713
Location
Australia
Thanks for the review once again! 1.6k lux at 1m is a bit low for EDC use for me, but is pretty typical for those small XPG lights.
 

selfbuilt

Flashaholic
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
7,006
Location
Canada
Thanks for the review once again! 1.6k lux at 1m is a bit low for EDC use for me, but is pretty typical for those small XPG lights.
Yeah, I typically prefer a little more throw myself - but as you say, that is pretty typical for this sort of light (i.e. very similar to the 4Sevens Mini). If the emitter was better centered on my ED10 sample, I expect you could squeeze an extra couple of hunded lux at 1m - but that wouldn't generally be noticeable.
 

GordoJones88

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 26, 2011
Messages
1,157
Location
Tennessee
Thanks for all the reviews Selfbuilt.

Hopefully we'll get to see the Quark MiniX on this graph eventually?

I'm sure it would be similar to the Olight i1, which I got based on it's curve.

WK21-MaxRCR.gif
 
Last edited:

selfbuilt

Flashaholic
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
7,006
Location
Canada
Hopefully we'll get to see the Quark MiniX on this graph eventually?
I'm sure it would be similar to the Olight i1, which I got based on it's curve.
It should be identical, given the previous relationship between the Olight A-series and the 4Sevens Mini (i.e. the XP-G versions). It is unlikely that I would be sent one for review at this point, so I would just take the Olight i1 as a good comparable for the Mini X.
 

wrc65

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
8
I don't mean to bring this back from the dead but after reading this review I purchased this light for less than $30 and have been so surpised with how well it has performed. I think it may be just a little underated. Output and runtime really isnt bad especially for its incredibly compact size. Thanks for the review because I am so satisfied with this little light.
 

enki_ck

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
28
Location
Croatia
Hi, anyone have long term experience with this light? I'm considering it and the olight i3 and this one is actually rated for use with a RCR which is a very big plus for me. But the lack of reviews, posts, anything, ... on this light has me worried. I'd like to know how the one hand operation is, is there any mode skipping, contact issues (both my iTP A2 and Fenix LD01 died from it)? Also how hot does it get in high? Thanks.
 
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