Niteye EYE10 Review

[taratata]

Thanks for the reply Colonel Sanders,

So this light is direct driven ? It make sense, i didn't understand how the current could be so different with different batteries.
So there is no low-batts or thermal protection either ?

I saw another thread where somebody spoke about an emitter swap for a Nichia HCRI, so i'll wait and see...

[subwoofer]

- What do you think about an emitter swap for a Nichia 219 HCRI, used with 16340 : will the driver provide as Amps as the battery could, and so fry the led ? I wish I knew for sure but I would think that whatever that emitter could pull when driven directly would be all you would see...but I just don't know. Colonel Sanders spoke of 3 amps with a AW 18350 on max (IMR i think, could provide 6A), which surely fry the Nichia as it is twice the max current it supports. One AW 16340 have a max of perhaps 1500mA ? The three amps I saw WAS with an IMR 18350. A direct driven XM-L can certainly pull much more than that on an IMR cell so there is some limiting factor here other than the cell used. Could be resistance, could be the driver....don't know.

- Could you please tell me the internal diameter of the head, and the height of the reflector. I like TIR optics and want to know if it fits I don't plan on taking this thing apart myself. I do plan on having my emitter swapped for a neutral or high CRI emitter by someone who really knows what they're doing.

Thanks for the reply Colonel Sanders,

So this light is direct driven ? It make sense, i didn't understand how the current could be so different with different batteries.
So there is no low-batts or thermal protection either ?

I saw another thread where somebody spoke about an emitter swap for a Nichia HCRI, so i'll wait and see...

As Colonel Sanders said, the EYE10 is not direct drive. The driver circuit controls the current to the LED, but is not designed for the extra input voltage of RCR123, hence the overdrive condition when using these cells.

I don't disassemble review lights unless this is specifically part of the original review, so can't help you with the internal dimensions.

If you get your customised EYE10 sorted, post some pics, I'd be interested to see it.

[GordoJones88]

LOL, I skipped over this review thread because I thought it was
one of those creepy multi-eye flashlights that give me the heebie-jeebies.

Woofie, I'm guessing the 4500 Lux was taken using an AW IMR 16340 around 650 Lumens ?

The EYE10 has a heavy orange peel reflector.
The RRT01 has a smooth reflector with reported 3500 Lux at 550 Lumens.
That seems a little bit more than expected between them?

I happen to notice it's $64 shipped if you're willing to wait a month for a slow boat from China . . .

[Colonel Sanders]

Right, it is NOT direct drive. The driver is still holding things back a bit even when used with a fresh AW 18350. I can tell you from experience that this cell absolutely can drive an XM-L to more like 5a when direct driven and unrestricted! It's a badass cell.

I paid $67 shipped for mine when goinggear had them on sale. Got it in 3 days.

This light can register a fair amount better than 4500 lux at 1m according to my testing. It depends on the state of charge and how quickly you take the measurement but I think I recall seeing more like 7000k (perhaps only briefly) and I know it'll do 6000k+ with no problem (on AW 18350.) The reflector is mild to moderate orange peel, IMO. Certainly not what I would call heavy OP.

[subwoofer]

This light can register a fair amount better than 4500 lux at 1m according to my testing. It depends on the state of charge and how quickly you take the measurement but I think I recall seeing more like 7000k (perhaps only briefly) and I know it'll do 6000k+ with no problem (on AW 18350.) The reflector is mild to moderate orange peel, IMO. Certainly not what I would call heavy OP.

You are right about a short lived higher lux reading. The beam profile graph requires set-up alignment and takes a few minutes to complete. I start in the middle to get the more realistic peak measurement and the outer spill is affected less by the slight drop in peak output, but overall the output measured becomes equivalent to the ANSI measurements.

Bear in mind as well that ANSI lumens are measure 30s after turn on. The EYE10 over-driven by an IMR heats up very quickly and loses efficiency and the cell voltage drops quite quickly too, so the peak output at turn on is much higher than the real working output levels, but only for a very short time.

The reflector gives a very smooth beam, so works well - does it matter how heavy or light the OP?

[taratata]

Thanks Subwoofer and Colonel Sanders for the precisions.

I thought initially that the led was current regulated, but had a doubt reading Colonel Sanders speaking about the IMR... My fault

So i can feel there is a relationship between the over voltage of a rechargeable Li-ion and the max input voltage of the driver to explain why the current delivered by the driver to the led can vary with the batteries.
But i can't explain it with my basic electronic knowledge...

What i would like to know is "Is the current delivered on max with a RCR123 to a Nichia 219 exceed a lot 1.5A ?"

I have two solution here: wait or try

[RBWNY]

I'm now trying out an AW 18350 in the Eye10. Does this light have any discharge protection? --- I'm assuming I should keep an eye on the cell so that it doesn't go too low. Is it safe to run it lower than 3.00 or should that be my cutoff?

[subwoofer]

I'm now trying out an AW 18350 in the Eye10. Does this light have any discharge protection? --- I'm assuming I should keep an eye on the cell so that it doesn't go too low. Is it safe to run it lower than 3.00 or should that be my cutoff?

There is no discharge protection. Remember the power source it is designed for are primary CR123s, and it will run these down to nothing.

[cyclesport]

I also use AW 18350's in my Eye 10 and simply try to swap em' out after using for approx 30/35 min with a lot of high bursts. Hardly scientific, but utilizing the IMR's in this way I'm finding depleted voltages in the 3.2 to 3.5v range with lightly cycled batteries. I too try not to deplete them beyond 3v (or 2.7 max). Every charger I own charges these batteries to 4.24v at the lowest, sometimes finishing at 4.28v. I'm probably shortening the cycle life to some degree but far so good.

[RBWNY]

Thanks! My usage doesn't include too many high bursts. So with that in mind, I think 3v will be the goal.

[texas cop]

I've had mine for a few days and I really like it but noticed something. When cool I can turn it to high then down a few notches them back to high. 2-5 seconds later it blinks once, when warm it doesn't do this. Anyone else have this?

[Colonel Sanders]

Mine has an occasional blink but it seems to do it randomly (and not very often.) Only once did it do it a few times (4-5) in a short time (over the course of a couple of minutes) and that was during some steady state max brightness lux testing I was doing.

One warning about running these IMR cells down to low voltage...it doesn't take long to get from 3.5v down to 2.5v! There's not a whole lot of energy left down there so it goes by very quickly on high. Just keep it in mind. If you notice the light getting dimmer, shut 'er down right away.

[TweakMDS]

Thanks for this review, and also damn you for making me doubt my earlier established plans

I was all set of buying the Sunwayman V11R + M20A as a nice CR123 + 2xAA duo where I could exchange heads for versatility purposes. Now I see that an alternative can be the Niteye Eye10 (XM-L) + Eye12 (XP-G), which is pretty much the same, but with (probably) the same head on the Eye12 and Eye10.

However, the Eye12 looks very, very good for a 2xAA. Only advantage of the SWM would be a better build and longer battery life (SWM M20A seems to have an amazingly long running med-mode).

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a single review of the Niteye Eye12, and surprisingly little info on the Eye10, except for this review...

[cyclesport]

Thanks for this review, and also damn you for making me doubt my earlier established plans

I was all set of buying the Sunwayman V11R + M20A as a nice CR123 + 2xAA duo where I could exchange heads for versatility purposes. Now I see that an alternative can be the Niteye Eye10 (XM-L) + Eye12 (XP-G), which is pretty much the same, but with (probably) the same head on the Eye12 and Eye10.

However, the Eye12 looks very, very good for a 2xAA. Only advantage of the SWM would be a better build and longer battery life (SWM M20A seems to have an amazingly long running med-mode).

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a single review of the Niteye Eye12, and surprisingly little info on the Eye10, except for this review...

Just a couple of my own observations of the Eye 10 and V11R. These two lights have rapidly become my fav. 1 X 123 lights out of many due to the control ring UI. Something about these UI's are addictive. Fit & finish is superb on both. The only downside(s) I see to the V11R is (1) a slightly ringy beam, although tint is good (slightly cool but acceptable) (2) emitter slightly off center (this was the same way on a V10R Ti+ also that I no longer own) but it doesn't have any noticable effect on the beam. It does have better heat sinking than the Eye 10 with both using RCR123 3.7v Li-ions (the Eye 10 gets hot much faster) and I like the smoth damped feel of the ring on the V11R better than the detents on the Eye 10 although with the Eye 10 this is OK since there is no rear clicky and the detents probably keep the ring from activating in a pocket better. The Eye 10 with it's XM-L U2 emitter is the best floody beam pattern and tint of any XM-L light I own (many)! It's warmer than all other XM-L U2 lights I own with a creamy, artifact free beam with a large, very difuse hotspot and very large useful spill beam.

I'm very glad I bought both and have a hard time going back to my other single 123 lights with rear clicky UI's to change modes. I would be hard pressed to choose one over the other.

[eh123456]

Which one is brighter ?
Some say the Eye 10 is noticeably brigher, is this true ? If so, this could be the reason why it gets hot faster.

Just a couple of my own observations of the Eye 10 and V11R. These two lights have rapidly become my fav. 1 X 123 lights out of many due to the control ring UI. Something about these UI's are addictive. Fit & finish is superb on both. The only downside(s) I see to the V11R is (1) a slightly ringy beam, although tint is good (slightly cool but acceptable) (2) emitter slightly off center (this was the same way on a V10R Ti+ also that I no longer own) but it doesn't have any noticable effect on the beam. It does have better heat sinking than the Eye 10 with both using RCR123 3.7v Li-ions (the Eye 10 gets hot much faster) and I like the smoth damped feel of the ring on the V11R better than the detents on the Eye 10 although with the Eye 10 this is OK since there is no rear clicky and the detents probably keep the ring from activating in a pocket better. The Eye 10 with it's XM-L U2 emitter is the best floody beam pattern and tint of any XM-L light I own (many)! It's warmer than all other XM-L U2 lights I own with a creamy, artifact free beam with a large, very difuse hotspot and very large useful spill beam.

I'm very glad I bought both and have a hard time going back to my other single 123 lights with rear clicky UI's to change modes. I would be hard pressed to choose one over the other.

[subwoofer]

Just a couple of my own observations of the Eye 10 and V11R. ......
....It does have better heat sinking than the Eye 10 with both using RCR123 3.7v Li-ions (the Eye 10 gets hot much faster)......

Actually, your observation shows that the EYE10 has the better heat sinking V11R (or that the EYE10 runs at a much higher output).

The idea of heat sinking is to take the heat away from the LED. Evidence that this is working is the heat being transferred to the casing of the light - and hence the light getting hot.

Once the heat is in the casing of the light, it then has to be dissipated to your hand or the surrounding air. Small lights with high output are always going to struggle to dissipate the heat so will run hot. If the casing gets hot quickly, the heat is being effectively drawn away from the LED, so the heat sinking is good.

[fyrstormer]

Not sure what's so appealing about Niteye products. They're just down-branded Jetbeams.

[gunga]

How are they down branded?

[fyrstormer]

How are they down branded?

They are "factory twins" of existing Jetbeam models, with slight changes, sold by a company that just started selling in the USA, which already tried to steal Cool Fall's SPY 007 design until they got caught.

[gunga]

Ah okay. TRied to steal the 007 design? Wow, did not know that...

[fyrstormer]

Ah okay. TRied to steal the 007 design? Wow, did not know that...

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...=1#post3829247

I have no personal grudge against them for doing this, but it's information worth knowing anyway.

[cyclesport]

Which one is brighter ?
Some say the Eye 10 is noticeably brigher, is this true ? If so, this could be the reason why it gets hot faster.

*I replied to your query a couple of days ago but CPF went down for awhile and my post was apparently lost.

As to your question, the Eye 10 is indeed brighter to the eye (I don't have access to equipment to measure lux or lumens) than the V11R when using 18350 IMR's compared to the V11R using std. protected 16340's. Although with both using 16340's it's harder to tell the difference. The Eye 10's hot spot is a little larger and the spill beam is quite a bit larger in dia. than the V11R as well.

[cyclesport]

Actually, your observation shows that the EYE10 has the better heat sinking V11R (or that the EYE10 runs at a much higher output).

The idea of heat sinking is to take the heat away from the LED. Evidence that this is working is the heat being transferred to the casing of the light - and hence the light getting hot.

Once the heat is in the casing of the light, it then has to be dissipated to your hand or the surrounding air. Small lights with high output are always going to struggle to dissipate the heat so will run hot. If the casing gets hot quickly, the heat is being effectively drawn away from the LED, so the heat sinking is good.

*I replied to your post a couple of days ago subwoofer but CPF went down for awhile and my post was apparently lost.

I understand what you're saying. I know for example that the heat sinking abilities of the Eye 10, V11R, and ET's D25C Clicky (for the sake of comparison, since all three XM-L U2 lights can reach 600+ lumens with Li-ion's) are all designed to operate without overheating on CR123 primaries, and do so adequately with this 3v cell. With 3.7v Li-ion's however, the Eye 10, and D25C (Ti & aluminium versions) both get extremely hot within 25sec. and almost too hot to hold within 2min. However the V11R does quite well and takes 5 or 6 min. to reach a similar level and seemingly would continue operating for much longer without damaging the driver/emitter or battery, although I haven't actually tested this.

I guess I thought this was due to the V11R controling heat distribution with more metal/mass around the emitter to better distribute the heat to the whole light...much the same way a larger 18650 tactical light (with an XM-L U2 emitter...say a Klarus XT-11, or ET's new D25LC2 Clicky) can operate for 10 to 15 minutes on high, generating a high lumen output without getting uncomfotably hot and possibly causing damage to the driver/emitter? I've also owned and given away several "budget" Chinese XM-L T6 lights that get so hot within 30sec. that you literally have to put them down... yet I don't see people claiming this is due to their superior heat sinking abilities? I'm certainly no expert, and understand what you're saying, but does my reasoning have any merit?

[cyclesport]

Not sure what's so appealing about Niteye products. They're just down-branded Jetbeams.

I own a few Jetbeam lights and like them very much, and almost bought the RRT-01 when it arrived. I didn't like or understand why Jetbeam utilized a SMO reflector for a small EDC light where throw would be far less important and/or desirable to most people, rather than a nice useful smooth floody beam that a OP reflector would provide? Then the Eye 10 hit the market shortly after and at over $35 cheaper (from a popular Chinese dealer) and with an OP reflector, XM-L U2 emitter vs. a T6 on the Jetbeam, and using almost the same design as the RRT-01 with a few cosmetic differences, I ordered one.

The build quality is outstanding and IMHO equal to, or better than, almost any volume production light available! With the OP reflector, upgraded emitter, and $36 saved...this was/is a fantastic bargin! (I'm aware this is subjective to many, and some would prefer the T6 being warmer, but having many lights utilizing both I like the U2 a little better since it too is quite neutral and seems to provide a consistant off-white, artifact free beam pattern regardless of the manufacturer)

This is my one and only Niteye light and have only had it a few weeks so I don't know how it will fare long term, but I have dropped it twice at waist-high (on concrete and ceramic tile no less!) without and damage at all! I'm not knocking the RRT-01 but at almost 700 OTF lumens w/AW 18350 IMR's, my favorite UI for a small 1 X123 EDC light , and $68 total price I consider the Eye 10 one of the best small EDC light purchases I have ever made.

[fyrstormer]

The smooth reflector is annoying, but apparently the big competition right now is to see who can make the smallest thrower. I retrofitted my RRT-01 with an Arc6 reflector for $5 and a sheet of sandpaper. Since the Arc6 reflector is a slightly modified McGizmo reflector, the beam is super-clean.

The extra lumens won't really be noticeable, because the differences between individual emitters can exceed the rated difference between the RRT-01 and the EYE-10. Also, the lower-driven emitter in the RRT-01 will last longer, if that sort of thing matters to you.

[Colonel Sanders]

"Actually, your observation shows that the EYE10 has the better heat sinking V11R (or that the EYE10 runs at a much higher output).

The idea of heat sinking is to take the heat away from the LED. Evidence that this is working is the heat being transferred to the casing of the light - and hence the light getting hot."

Yep. I have an aluminum Tri-EDC that gets hot really fast on high (2.8a) but I can wrap it in a single layer of electrical tape (I did this as a test) and the light feels like it is running WAAAAAAAAAAY cooler. Better heat sinking? Nope, just better insulation and worse heat sinking. The IR gun shows the light to actually be hotter even though it feels much cooler. It just can't transfer that heat so well to my hand. Think about it.

[Colonel Sanders]

"The smooth reflector is annoying, but apparently the big competition right now is to see who can make the smallest thrower."

In that case they're using the wrong emitter. Nothing throwy about a small XM-L light....though the EYE10 does ok (7k lux at 1m by my testing) through raw power.

[eh123456]

Received mine yesterday, very nice small light, very bright with 16340 too, only complain is the half knurling on the control ring as some other users have mentioned.

[veedo]

Ordered one today, along with some aw18350's. Cant wait for this to come in, sounds like a great light. Anyone fry theirs yet?

[Colonel Sanders]

Ordered one today, along with some aw18350's. Cant wait for this to come in, sounds like a great light. Anyone fry theirs yet?

Trust me, if I haven't then you won't.