Fire-Foxes III compared to Magic Scorpion 40W and 85W Ebay HID...

jayrob

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Got my FF3 today from Lips' GB... :D

It is so small and lightweight!

HID comparison 5.jpg

HID comparison 1.jpg


I'm using the new 3400mAh Panasonic cells for the FF3 as well as the Magic Scorpion 40W... (NCR18650B)

Does the FF3 have a little whine? Yes it does...

Is it a little 'floody'? Yes it is...

Does it matter? Not at all! :)

The palm trees are about 200 yards away:

HID comparison 2.jpg

HID comparison 3.jpg

HID comparison 4.jpg


It out shines and out throws both of the other lights shown. Even the 85W ebay HID, which is quite disappointing for the ebay HID performance...

I think it's actually a great thing that it has a lot of spill in my opinion. It doesn't take away from the throw. Maybe it could have even better throw, but in comparison to these other lights, it wins! (IMO)

It's more dramatic in person vs the pictures...

So small!

Thanks so much for the GB! :thanks:





Update:

See here for updated comparison beam shots after changing the bulb color temp to 4300K for the Ebay HID: :D (and my Mag HID mod too)
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...85W-Ebay-HID&p=3964916&viewfull=1#post3964916
 
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mvyrmnd

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Awesome. Mine's somewhere between Miami and Sydney as I write this...

I can't wait.
 

mohanjude

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I got mine from Ma - I can do a comparison between FF3 and Magic Scorpion 65W.. I know which one will win.. FF3 due to its compact size..
 

jayrob

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Sure would like to see comparison beam shots between the FF3 vs the Scorpion 65W...

I was going to get the Scorpion 65W, but opted for the 40W because I figured with the supply capacity, 40W might be good. It is a nice light for the price and I'm very happy with it...
 

jayrob

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I've got some good news for the Ebay HID lights! :cool:

Just swapped out my ballast and bulb with a 4300K and it is a huge improvement!

I'll get a beam shot when it gets dark to compare, but I can tell in room light that it seems twice as bright...

And it was a 75W ballast/bulb instead of the 85W that I removed!

I had messaged the seller to ask if they can provide a custom ballast/bulb at 4300K, and it's the hot ticket for $31 bucks.

Also, if you do this, take note that there is excess lubricant on the inside of the head of the light, so you can clean all of that off with isopropyl alcohol because I noticed that it was smoking the lubricant during my burn in with reflector off... (make sure to clean the bulb with alcohol too just in case)

One more tip. There is a little room for 'tweaking' the bulb centering when you install the new ballast/bulb. So naturally if you get it perfectly centered, your light will perform better.

I'll post a beam shot tonight... :)
 
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I would probably ruin my light trying to change bulb and ballast :) still remains humonguous light so even it would perform 2 times better than the FF it still is huge.Maybe i should have considered that better before buying :p
 

LuxLuthor

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Great review shots of that FF-3. I need to send payment to Lips after I get totals for everything. I thought he said he might have had some spare parts, and I asked him if he thought we should grab any spare things while the gettin's good--if he has them in hand.
 

jayrob

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Great review shots of that FF-3. I need to send payment to Lips after I get totals for everything. I thought he said he might have had some spare parts, and I asked him if he thought we should grab any spare things while the gettin's good--if he has them in hand.


:thanks:

I just took three more comparison shots because I swapped out the stock ballast/bulb with a 4300K 75W for the Ebay HID... (same for my 75W Mag HID mod)

As the pictures will show, the (now 75W) Ebay HID will do better. Which it should. Since it has a larger reflector.

My Mag mod has a smaller reflector vs the FF3, but still does better since it is 75W vs 42W for the Fire-Foxes III... (I think the Mag mod wins over all 3 here) :D

HID%20comparison%206.jpg

HID%20comparison%207.jpg

HID%20comparison%208.jpg


Having the 4300K bulbs made all the difference in the world! :D

I like the beam profile of my Mag mod best, but the size/weight + cool factor of the FF3 is amazing! :cool:

And it compares side by side with the 75W lights...





Here's the Ebay HID before and after side by side:

HID before after.jpg
 
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Ty for your detailed information/beamshots/links!
A few questions:

Could you send me a link where to buy the bulb/ballast you bought?
How much better is the throw with the new bulb/ballast, because pictures often are misguiding + different color temperature might be misleading as well.
How much runtime does a firefoxes III has?

Appreciate your help!
 

jayrob

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Ty for your detailed information/beamshots/links!
A few questions:

Could you send me a link where to buy the bulb/ballast you bought?
How much better is the throw with the new bulb/ballast, because pictures often are misguiding + different color temperature might be misleading as well.
How much runtime does a firefoxes III has?

Appreciate your help!

The pictures don't even do it justice!

Visually, it seems twice as bright after the 4300K swap...

Plus I got my bulb perfectly centered on the re-install, and I really love the Ebay HID light now!

I mean it's huge, but it has a very nice beam and throw. Plus the modes, and other safety features. Not too bad at all now that it has the 4300k bulb. :)

I'll message you with a link to the ebay seller that I bought from because it seems to be against the rules to post links to sales sites. In fact, I just was in contact with them to ask about 85W 4300K, and they said they can get them for me for the same price...

About the Fire-Foxes III. Just Google "Fire-Foxes group buy' and you will find the link to all the specs.

It has protection and low battery indicator. So the best cells are the new Panasonic 3400mAh 18650's. (NCR18650B) The light takes 4 cells.

Lips said about 65 minutes with Panasonic 3100mAh cells. So figure about 10% longer with the 3400mAh cells...

Anyway, I believe it's not against the rules to post a picture of the specs:

HID%20comparison%2011.jpg
 
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Sounds like it's worth the 30$. I am quite happy with the brightness of my 85W but it can never be bright enough :). Also the color seems to be much more pleasant!
Maybe i'll buy a compact HID in a few years, probably even brighter and or smaller. Now i can't really justify the cost.
But it sounds that with the bulb upgrade the ebay HID beats the fire fox hands down (although being 3 times bigger)
 
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Patriot

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A ton of spill from that 75W Ebay swap. Kudos to them for a really well done video also. After catching that huge moth next to lens in your photo the skyfish maniacs are going to flood your PM box. :laughing:

Great comparisons!
 

jayrob

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I was wondering when anybody was going to mention that moth...
yellowlaugh.gif



Sounds like it's worth the 30$. I am quite happy with the brightness of my 85W but it can never be bright enough :). Also the color seems to be much more pleasant!
Maybe i'll buy a compact HID in a few years, probably even brighter and or smaller. Now i can't really justify the cost.
But it sounds that with the bulb upgrade the ebay HID beats the fire fox hands down (although being 3 times bigger)

Yes I would say the 4300K ebay mod now beats the FF3, but it should, because of more power, and a larger reflector...

One thing not shown in beam shots, is the dot at close range. The FF3 blows them all away. It is perfectly centered and nice and round. Similar to a really bright LED. I'm guessing it's due to a perfectly set bulb position in a very well designed reflector made specifically for HID:

HID%20comparison%2010.jpg

HID%20comparison%209.jpg


I can't believe how much light the Fire-Foxes III puts out. It seems like more than the 42W spec says.

It's so small and lightweight too. And I should also mention that it warms up twice as fast as the other lights I compared it to, including the Magic Scorpion...

The quality of the finish, and the workmanship is the highest. It is perfection!

It is comparable in brightness and throw to the larger, more powerful lights that I showed.

At this point, it seems impossible to be any better. (size vs brightness)

Because if you go for more power, you will sacrifice run time and/or size...
 
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BVH

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At this point, it seems impossible to be any better. (size vs brightness)

Because if you go for more power, you will sacrifice run time and/or size...

This has always been the case, yet, the performance of HID's still improves and the size of the lights continue to shrink
 

jayrob

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This has always been the case, yet, the performance of HID's still improves and the size of the lights continue to shrink

And now it's at the point that they need to start shrinking the batteries!
yellowlaugh.gif
(but add capacity as well)

But yes of course your right. And advancements continue to be made in batteries too...

HID%20comparison%2012.jpg
 
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Thatspec

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Jayrob, can you say the step down to 24W after the FF3 has been on a while is noticeable when it happens? I think mine did it last night but it's hard to tell much difference, it must be a gradual decrease. So far at least I've never seen a sudden decrease in brightness. I haven't run it for more than 15 minutes at a time yet but my batteries were quite warm at that point, will try a longer run tonight (if I can stay awake until it gets dark, getting old isn't for sissies)...
 
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