moldyoldy
Flashlight Enthusiast
During activities cleaning up our house for sale and eventual move to a 2-bedroom apt (kids long since out of the nest), I had a fairly intense multi-day opportunity to watch different flashlights in use by various family members, none of whom could be considered flashaholics.
Flashlights in use: SC60, SC51, SC51w, H51F, H502, Fenix LD01 on 10440. I have other lights from 4Sevens, Fenix and Sunwayman, but they were not used or wanted, mostly because they were physically too large. Small and bright was the key. Lumens between 100-200+ were useful. LED coloration and beam pattern became the distinguishing factors.
Distances from flashlight to surface being viewed: most of the time a meter or so, but normally less than 3 meters. Surface colors ranged from dark stained wood to pastel colors on painted surfaces. Small detail objects were being viewed or looked for.
Activities:
1. Cleaning the ceilings/walls/floors, especially behind all furniture or pictures. lots of dust, cobwebs and sad to say, mold!
2. Assembly of replacement furniture from Ikea. As anyone who has moved more than once knows, the focus becomes smaller, lighter, fewer. Get rid of anything that requires 2 adult males to move! Most of the furniture in furniture stores is far too large and heavy when it comes time to move - unless a company pays the cost of professional movers.
3. Comparing paint strips for shades of coloration and coordination.
Commentary:
3. Comparing paint strips: All other lights were quickly eliminated in favor of the SC51w. Although the coloration of the "w" was a bit too warm for my taste, it was far better than all of the other cool white LEDs that I normally prefer. Room lamps were either too warm or too cool in color, hence the use of the SC51w. The Sun was either hiding behind clouds or on the other side of the Planet.
2. Assembly of replacement furniture from Ikea: This is where the H502 was at a strong disadvantage because of the wide-angle flood light - it was too wide. With 2 people working on assembly, the flood light from the H502 was often bothersome to the other person. The H51F was more appropriate because of the diffuse and broad spot with lots of flood which was still limited in width.
1. Cleaning ceilings/walls/floors: Here is where the H502 demonstrated the advantage of such a very broad flood light. It was nice to have a flood light to find mold as well as cobwebs & dust on walls. The H51F was a very close second because I could lay the light on the wall to shine the diffuse spot along the flat surface - which quickly lit up any objects sticking to the walls, or even the uneveness of the sheetrock.
Summary: Headlamps were highly effective, no matter whether on or off the forehead. The SC51w was the obvious winner for coloration shades between paint strips. The H502 was comparatively ineffective in anything other than pure flood usage and relatively close to the object/surface being viewed. The H51F with it's diffuse spot and liberal, but edge-limited flood was very useful. The SC60, SC51, LD01 etc were simply cool-white flashlights useful for laying on the floor set on the highest output to look for lost objects.
Path forward: My daughter absconded with the SC51w. That was my only non-cool-white LED. Based on our collective experiences, I will probably purchase an H51Fw as a replacement.
Caveat: The event was limited to a single-room environment. Nothing outside.
Flashlights in use: SC60, SC51, SC51w, H51F, H502, Fenix LD01 on 10440. I have other lights from 4Sevens, Fenix and Sunwayman, but they were not used or wanted, mostly because they were physically too large. Small and bright was the key. Lumens between 100-200+ were useful. LED coloration and beam pattern became the distinguishing factors.
Distances from flashlight to surface being viewed: most of the time a meter or so, but normally less than 3 meters. Surface colors ranged from dark stained wood to pastel colors on painted surfaces. Small detail objects were being viewed or looked for.
Activities:
1. Cleaning the ceilings/walls/floors, especially behind all furniture or pictures. lots of dust, cobwebs and sad to say, mold!
2. Assembly of replacement furniture from Ikea. As anyone who has moved more than once knows, the focus becomes smaller, lighter, fewer. Get rid of anything that requires 2 adult males to move! Most of the furniture in furniture stores is far too large and heavy when it comes time to move - unless a company pays the cost of professional movers.
3. Comparing paint strips for shades of coloration and coordination.
Commentary:
3. Comparing paint strips: All other lights were quickly eliminated in favor of the SC51w. Although the coloration of the "w" was a bit too warm for my taste, it was far better than all of the other cool white LEDs that I normally prefer. Room lamps were either too warm or too cool in color, hence the use of the SC51w. The Sun was either hiding behind clouds or on the other side of the Planet.
2. Assembly of replacement furniture from Ikea: This is where the H502 was at a strong disadvantage because of the wide-angle flood light - it was too wide. With 2 people working on assembly, the flood light from the H502 was often bothersome to the other person. The H51F was more appropriate because of the diffuse and broad spot with lots of flood which was still limited in width.
1. Cleaning ceilings/walls/floors: Here is where the H502 demonstrated the advantage of such a very broad flood light. It was nice to have a flood light to find mold as well as cobwebs & dust on walls. The H51F was a very close second because I could lay the light on the wall to shine the diffuse spot along the flat surface - which quickly lit up any objects sticking to the walls, or even the uneveness of the sheetrock.
Summary: Headlamps were highly effective, no matter whether on or off the forehead. The SC51w was the obvious winner for coloration shades between paint strips. The H502 was comparatively ineffective in anything other than pure flood usage and relatively close to the object/surface being viewed. The H51F with it's diffuse spot and liberal, but edge-limited flood was very useful. The SC60, SC51, LD01 etc were simply cool-white flashlights useful for laying on the floor set on the highest output to look for lost objects.
Path forward: My daughter absconded with the SC51w. That was my only non-cool-white LED. Based on our collective experiences, I will probably purchase an H51Fw as a replacement.
Caveat: The event was limited to a single-room environment. Nothing outside.