Dedicated throwers

[ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS]

Can't wait to see the pictures.

And I will disagree about the picture thing being deceiving if they are done in the correct consistent manual exposure of right at 1 sec shutter on the closer distance shots of say 75yds or less and 1.4 sec shutter for say for shots that are farther. It will give you a true to life comparison what you can more than likely see in person than not seeing any beamshots at all. Taken pictures anywhere that it is dark is a lot better than taken pictures in the city under a lot of lighting, too. Where I live there is no street lights and it is pure dark. So I am blessed. I have experimented enough on beamshots to feel very comfortable to say that what you see in my beamshots is what you get. I try to keep it as real as I can. And these settings I have found will do that on a consistent basis.

 

[saabluster]

This might be heresy, but, frankly, as cd are only measured at the hottest hot spot, and then throw is calculated out to the magical 0.25 lux range

Yes this is true but this is the standard for all lights. There are not different rules for different lights. Part of the ANSI guidelines is to hunt around for the most intense spot. It favors HID lights the most in my opinion as they seem to me to be the worst at having one teeny tiny spot that that has far more intensity than the rest of the beam. After that would be aspheric type lights. Reflector based lights generally do not suffer from this as much as the nature of the collimation is to homogenize the beam which blends out some of these tiny hotspots.

...I DO like more info for throw, IF the throw is to be USED for something.

IE: A laser beam might have super duper cd ratings...but really SUCK for long range searches....the spot of light is just too small.

I appreciate your hyperbole but you know very well that even the tightest of aspheric lights I have ever made for sale is no laser. Many people have found that beam type to be exceedingly useful.

If the cd was supplemented by a measurement of the beam angle, and perhaps a standard comparison range, maybe 500-800 meters or something...to provide the width of that 0.25 (Or whatever) lux spot of light at that range...THEN I might not want or least need pics.

This is just not practical. I know what you are saying and I applaud your thinking this through as something like that would take measuring from extreme distances. I think beamshots are the better way to go here and as I said before they are important just not the most important spec.

If the throw is just for fun, well, back to the laser pointer beam patterns to get great range for the sake of claiming the longest throw, etc....and don't worry about what you'd SEE at that range.

The reflectored lights are anything but lasers. They have very good spot to spill characteristics and give a very nice field of view. That is not changed by these mods.

That said, Saabluster is a god of lux.

Sorry but I am a bit uncomfortable with that description. I know what you mean and thanks but I am not a god of anything. If anything I am but a servant.

 

[kengps]

Of course beamshots can be deceptive, and prove nothing as far as throw capability. I don't think anybody is waiting on a beamshot to prove/disprove throw. We want beamshots to show the quality of the spot, and the size comparison to the original flashlight. A 240,000 lux donut will not do. A huge reduction in spot size will not be acceptable to some. That is why we want beamshots. Has nothing to do with the Lux number. I think everyone trust Saab on the number.

 

[saabluster]

Can't wait to see the pictures.

And I will disagree about the picture thing being deceiving if they are done in the correct consistent manual exposure of right at 1 sec shutter on the closer distance shots of say 75yds or less and 1.4 sec shutter for say for shots that are farther. It will give you a true to life comparison what you can more than likely see in person than not seeing any beamshots at all. Taken pictures anywhere that it is dark is a lot better than taken pictures in the city under a lot of lighting, too. Where I live there is no street lights and it is pure dark. So I am blessed. I have experimented enough on beamshots to feel very comfortable to say that what you see in my beamshots is what you get. I try to keep it as real as I can. And these settings I have found will do that on a consistent basis.

As I said it is extremely difficult but not impossible. What I have found in early testing of my new camera is that shooting in HDR mode renders a photo that looks significantly more like what my eyes see. I am just having a hard time making sure everything is just right and repeatable with this camera as there are so many options and the UI is atrocious. Some shooting options are only available on certain settings but I really need to be able to combine different ones to get exactly what I need.

 

[bc5000]

Saabluster, did you figure out what was causing the intermittent contact issue on the TN31? My Thrunite Scorpion was doing the same thing you described in the email although it hasn't done it in a while.

 

[saabluster]

Saabluster, did you figure out what was causing the intermittent contact issue on the TN31? My Thrunite Scorpion was doing the same thing you described in the email although it hasn't done it in a while.

I am going to be putting up a thread on the TN31 and will explain it in more detail there. It appears ThruNite coated the aluminum on the battery carriers with something that increases the resistance and prevents good electrical contact. Quite ridiculous if you ask me. I went out last Friday and purchased some sandblasting equipment to remove this layer. I will update via email and the appropriate thread when finished.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

In addition to this I will be from here on out shipping each light with a "certificate of performance" to show the actual measured candela of your light. This way you know exactly what you have.

SWEET! I was going to ask you to do something like that. I think you should also engrave or put a sticker on the light that says ur name or company or something.

So indeed I think it fair to say that those who have purchased are, with the supplied data and taking into consideration my reputation, ahead of the curve. Bravo to you. To those who want to wait to hear the first reports back from the wild I understand how you feel. But know that I do not bias my reports to you here. I am first and foremost a flashaholic. I didn't come to CPF to make a buck I came here because I love lights. I started making lights not because I wanted to make money but because people here asked me to and I love the craft. It has always been that way and will always be that way.

I would have got a TN31 already if I had the cash, or if you were willing to mod personal lights.

 

[laur]

Saabluster

Here is a tutorial for you RE: HDR photography:

http://www.stuckincustoms.com/hdr-tutorial/?ModPagespeed=noscript

Also I sent you several e-mails and you have not responded -- Please READ your e-mails.

Thanks,
laur

 

[saabluster]

Saabluster

Here is a tutorial for you RE: HDR photography:

http://www.stuckincustoms.com/hdr-tutorial/?ModPagespeed=noscript

Also I sent you several e-mails and you have not responded -- Please READ your e-mails.

Thanks,
laur

Thanks for the link. Keep in mind that I do more than just make flashlights. I am a shepherd in my "church" which requires a good deal of my time and is purely a volunteer work. I am also a stay at home dad looking after a 20 month old and home schooling a 5 year old. In addition to that I had meetings this weekend and a graduation party for one of my sisters for which, as may be no surprise, I was in charge of lighting and had to make thirty lights to light up globes. Just been crazy busy. I usually reserve the nighttime after everyone is in bed to take care of the emailing.

 

[bc5000]

Thanks for the link. Keep in mind that I do more than just make flashlights. I am a shepherd in my "church" which requires a good deal of my time and is purely a volunteer work. I am also a stay at home dad looking after a 20 month old and home schooling a 5 year old. In addition to that I had meetings this weekend and a graduation party for one of my sisters for which, as may be no surprise, I was in charge of lighting and had to make thirty lights to light up globes. Just been crazy busy. I usually reserve the nighttime after everyone is in bed to take care of the emailing.

And lighting up hoodlums in the back alley if I remember right.

 

[saabluster]

Well I know many of you were probably expecting me to post pictures here in this thread but I felt it would turn this thread a little too much into a product page for me. Not that participation in this thread isn't appropriate but I think there is a limit. I have posted pics, albeit somewhat underexposed, in my new CPF sub-forum.

 

[The_Driver]

In a recent German beamshot comparison my 4000K de-domed VPT was compared to around 20 other powerful lights including the Olight SR-95 UT. Guess what: the VPT smoked the Olight. It throws farther and produces noticeably more lumens. The UT really disappointed me, it hardly does more lumens than some of the harder-driven XM-L based lights.

The distance to the tress was around 60-70m. Unfortunately the white-balance was completely off, my light is not that warm. I think the exposure was 4s. Since somebody always had to hold the light some of the shots are a bit blurry. The laserpointer pointed to the spot, where the hotspot of each light was to be pointed.

The shots can be found here

The VPT specifically is here

The shot of the Olight is here

When you hold your mouse over a picture you can see what light it is. When you have opened one you can right-click on it for higher resolution versions of the same picture.

 

[Fresh Light]

Driver, I like what you guys did with the laser being in each shot. I imagine that helps aim the light and show the images are exposed equally. I don't care for the big Olights personally. They are too big, comparatively under-powered, and don't take replaceable cells. I owned a SR90 and traded it to Lambda recently for a project light that I'm waiting on. When he tore it open he was in disbelief of all the use of a small use of only brass, a very poor conductor of heat compared to copper or even aluminium. I do, however like their reflectors and appear to be quite durable.

I told this story in another thread about a friend who went to a sportsman's show in Cleveland and was at the Olight booth seeing the SR90 for the first time. The guy from Olight hands him the light and says, 'the brightest LED light you can buy.' So my buddy lights it up and shine it around for a while and tells the guy it's pretty nice, but it's huge. 'How much is this thing,' he asked the guy and was told 450.00 (cheaper now I know). My friend proceeds to tell the guy that he has a Mag LED in his truck that is smaller and brighter than his 450.00 light, not to mention made in 'merica. So, the guy tells him to go get it out of his truck and bring it in. So my buddy gets his VaraPower light, sets it to med-low setting (maybe 12 clicks up out of 37), and shines a spot on the ceiling. The guy from Olight says nothing but gave a told-you-so look. 'Oh wait, let me turn this up,' so he cranks up the VP light to max setting completely wipes out any semblance of a spot from the SR90. The salesman says, 'uhh...that's not a stock maglite is it??'. So my friend tells him, as people start looking over at this plain looking mag that's apparently burning a hole in the ceiling, 'No it's a magLED, and Oh, and uh I did put rechargeable batteries in it!':devil:

 

[jfl]

In a recent German beamshot comparison my 4000K de-domed VPT was compared to around 20 other powerful lights including the Olight SR-95 UT. Guess what: the VPT smoked the Olight. It throws farther and produces noticeably more lumens. The UT really disappointed me, it hardly does more lumens than some of the harder-driven XM-L based lights.

Those are some amazing beamshots and the VPT is really great. I also liked the Polarion shots, but they confused me. Do you know why one of them is called "2x Polarion PH50?" I could be wrong, but I thought that light only had one power setting... Could the tester have used two lights at once?

 

[TEEJ]

In a recent German beamshot comparison my 4000K de-domed VPT was compared to around 20 other powerful lights including the Olight SR-95 UT. Guess what: the VPT smoked the Olight. It throws farther and produces noticeably more lumens. The UT really disappointed me, it hardly does more lumens than some of the harder-driven XM-L based lights.

The distance to the tress was around 60-70m. Unfortunately the white-balance was completely off, my light is not that warm. I think the exposure was 4s. Since somebody always had to hold the light some of the shots are a bit blurry. The laserpointer pointed to the spot, where the hotspot of each light was to be pointed.

The shots can be found here

The VPT specifically is here

The shot of the Olight is here

When you hold your mouse over a picture you can see what light it is. When you have opened one you can right-click on it for higher resolution versions of the same picture.

Nice job, but at that range, a tight thrower will be underwhelming. For example, lumens are not really the primary issue for a thrower, the lux on target is...the cd is given more weight than the lumen output.

To really see what a thrower is made of, you need a target so far away that only a thrower can reach it.

For example, an aspheric lensed light with barely a few hundred lumens might have a range of 600-800 meters, but the spot of light is small....because all of those lumens are concentrated into a small area on the target.

A VPT, etc, with large lumen output can put a larger patch of light on a target...but not at as far a range as if that same amount of lumens were concentrated into a smaller patch, and so forth.

When using a close target for throw lights...the very lights that concentrate the lumens for better throw are going to simply put a very small amount of light on that close target.

So a better test might have been a target or series of targets ~ 500-800 meters away. Lights that didn't reach the target(s) would simply show a black pic, etc...and whatever WAS illuminated for each light would define its range.

 

[The_Driver]

@Fresh Light: Thanks for your story, but I already saw it in the other thread. The heatsinking on the SR-90 is terrible. Somebody needs to take apart the SR-95, it's probably much better.

@jfl: We had 2 PH-50s and pointed them both at the target in the picture. 10000 real Lumens

@TEEJ: I know what you mean concerning the distance. The problem was that we decided to do these spontaneously and we only had this range. You can still see how much lux the lights are doing though. The differences in the pictures might be a little more pronounced than in real life, but they are still relatively accurate.

The really powerful thrower is a short-arc with a high pressure osram p-vip projector bulb at 120W. It uses the stock reflector housing which is extremely small at maybe 2.5 inches.

 

[TEEJ]

@Fresh Light: Thanks for your story, but I already saw it in the other thread. The heatsinking on the SR-90 is terrible. Somebody needs to take apart the SR-95, it's probably much better.

@jfl: We had 2 PH-50s and pointed them both at the target in the picture. 10000 real Lumens

@TEEJ: I know what you mean concerning the distance. The problem was that we decided to do these spontaneously and we only had this range. You can still see how much lux the lights are doing though. The differences in the pictures might be a little more proniuonced than in real life, but they are still relatively accurate.

The really powerful thrower is a short-arc with a high pressure osram p-vip projector bulb at 120W. It uses the stock reflector housing which is extremely small at maybe 2.5 inches.

LOL - I know what you mean. When I want to shoot some beam shots...WHERE to shoot them is always an issue.

A place like Arlington Cemetery...with incredibly long rows of evenly spaces markers, which would allow reference points for the range and beam width, etc, and IMHO be (technically) perfect for beam shots (Except for the macabre and legal problems, etc...)

 

[BLUE LED]

I think there might be a problem with that Olight SR95UT. My first SR95UT was under powered and did not throw very well. I sent it back for a replacement and the second one is close to my VPT Dedomed SST-90 cool white. My VPT wins, but only just.

 

[The_Driver]

I think there might be a problem with that Olight SR95UT. My first SR95UT was under powered and did not throw very well. I sent it back for a replacement and the second one is close to my VPT Dedomed SST-90 cool white. My VPT wins, but only just.

In real life the difference wasn't as big as the beamshots make it seem to be. It was a small difference. The problem is that the tints are soo different.
My VPT (with UCL lens) was measured at around 200,000lux.

 

[bigchelis]

In real life the difference wasn't as big as the beamshots make it seem to be. It was a small difference. The problem is that the tints are soo different.
My VPT (with UCL lens) was measured at around 200,000lux.

I get about the same lux with the SR95UT I tried out.

I tested a Varapower with Factory dedomed SST-90 and copper heatsink some 2yrs ago and it net 2400 real OTF lumens with stock mag head. The fact that Lamdalights can generate up to 1000 more lumens might make it seem like it throws more but that SR90 emitter is freaking awesome at throwing and can keep up in SR95UT variant.

bigC