22 *Amateur* beamshots of 12 lights

[hoongern]

Indoor/Outdoor Beamshots (updated Feb2010 D26-TL3,WA1111,WA1185, LF IMR-9, etc.)

Updated 1st Feb 2010:

I got a couple of proper incans and decided to do some outdoor beamshots! I've uploaded the 0.25sec exposures below, although I also did 0.125, 0.5, and 1.0 second exposures. I felt that the 0.25secs had the best exposures. Hope you enjoy these

Original post below:
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Hi guys,

Originally I wasn't going to post this, but I decided, why not - maybe get some feedback on how to improve my beamshots in the future.

Now, I only discovered CPF and the joy of lights a couple of months ago - so I don't have a big collection at all (very small indeed) - but I was especially interested in how they'd compare to the old "cheap budget" lights which were lying around the house. I also didn't want pure white wall shots, and not having a proper outdoor place to do it, I decided to try "bookshelf" beamshots.

I don't have a great camera as well, but since I took these shots, thought I'd share them with you guys, if it's any use at all!

Here's the modest collection of some horrible + some nice lights:

From left to right:
1) Police 5W (1x AA Alkaline)
2) Police 8W (2x AA Alkaline)
3) Police 20W (3x AAA Alkaline)
4) Maglite 2AA w/ Terralux drop-in (2x 1.2V Eneloop AA 2000mAh)
5) Eveready 2AA Incan (2x AA Alkaline)
6) Eveready 3D Incan (3x D Carbon Zinc "Super Heavy Duty")
7) Fenix E01 (1x AAA Energizer Lithium L92)
8) Fenix LD01 (1x AAA Energizer Lithium L92)
9) Liteflux LF2XT Q4-4C (1x 1.2V Eneloop AAA 800mAh)
10) Romisen RC-N3 Q5 (1x AW Protected 16340)
11) 4Sevens Quark AA Tactical R2-WC (1x AW Protected 14500)
12) Fenix PD30 Q5 (2x AW Protected 16340)

All beamshots were taken with a Canon Digital Ixus 70 on Manual (1/4sec exposure, F2.8, ISO 80) with color balance set to "Daylight"

Interestingly, I found that sorting by file size gave a "sort of" measure of light intensity, and got the following results, from smallest to largest (Although I guess for the last few shots which overexposed, it doesn't mean much):

- Police 5W
- 4Sevens Quark AA Moonlight
- Liteflux LF2XT 1%
- Eveready 2AA
- 4Sevens Quark AA Low
- Fenix E01
- Eveready 3D
- Liteflux LF2XT 15%
- Fenix PD30 Low
- Fenix LD01 Low
- 4Sevens Quark AA Medium
- Police 8W
- Police 20W
- Maglite 2AA Terralux 40lumens
- Fenix LD01 Medium
- Liteflux LF2XT 50%
- Fenix PD30 Medium
- Fenix LD01 High
- 4Sevens Quark AA High
- Liteflux LF2XT 100%
- Fenix PD30 High
- 4Sevens Quark AA Max
- Romisen RC-N3
- Fenix PD30 Turbo

Hope this is useful =) If not, never mind. I'm wondering if I should have used a higher ISO / faster shutter speed... I'm not a photographer at all..

 

[DimeRazorback]

Nice shots mate!

As I do beamshots myself, I can appreciate the time and effort that goes into them!

Great job!

:twothumbs

 

[RobertM]

Nice beamshots--thanks for sharing them with us!

-Robert

 

[csshih]

nice shots! that really tells us how those "police" lights are.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Great work, hoongern. Nice to see such a variety of lights compared. Thanks for your efforts.

Geoff

 

[run4jc]

Nice job - like Dime, I know how much work goes into making these - from the setup, to photographing them, to sorting, editing, uploading, posting - and on and on. I haven't been able to do any outdoor shots (other than an occasional random deer sighting with a point and shoot camera) but am planning something, hopefully soon, with photos and video.

I like your idea of the bookshelf - nice colors. Great job - thanks! :thumbsup:

 

[Frank_Zuccarini]

Very interesting.

Thank-you for doing this for us.

Frank

 

[Roger Sully]

nice shots! that really tells us how those "police" lights are.

I love the 5W!! :thinking:

That's kind of scary that they were marketed as police lights..
anyway back to the topic. Nice job on the beamshots. I don't know about these guys but I absolutely LOVE beamshots. I'm still learning about all the lights and sometimes the descriptions and tech specs make my head spin. Nothing like an old fashioned eyeball to say ":thumbsup:OK i like the looks of that one"

 

[hoongern]

Thanks all for your thanks!

I love the 5W!! :thinking:

That's kind of scary that they were marketed as police lights..
anyway back to the topic. Nice job on the beamshots. I don't know about these guys but I absolutely LOVE beamshots. I'm still learning about all the lights and sometimes the descriptions and tech specs make my head spin. Nothing like an old fashioned eyeball to say ":thumbsup:OK i like the looks of that one"

Yeah, the "police" part makes no sense at all, but I've found use for the 5W - it's dimmer than my LF2XT on 0%, and slightly dimmer than the Quark AA on moonlight, so when I do get up in the middle of the night, it works well for preserving night vision!

 

[Jay T]

Hi guys,

All beamshots were taken with a Canon Digital Ixus 70 on Manual (1/4sec exposure, F2.8, ISO 80) with color balance set to "Daylight"

.. I'm not a photographer at all..

You handled the camera exposure settings correctly (locked). This puts you into the upper third compared to other CPF beam shooters.

 

[Lightcrazycanuck]

You handled the camera exposure settings correctly (locked). This puts you into the upper third compared to other CPF beam shooters.

lovecpflovecpflovecpf

 

[hoongern]

Hi guys,

I just updated some of my beamshots with some incans!

D26-TL3
LumensFactory IMR-9
D26-WA1111
D26-WA1185

See the beginning of my first post for the new beamshots! Enjoy!

btw how do I change the thread title? I tried changing the title of my first post but it didn't update the thread title....

 

[DuncanHynes]

Not bad! Yes, lock the exposure so it's the same across the board...I try to adjust the time of the exposure so it does seem a close match to what my eye does then go with that time for each light. I'm sure there are other methods. And turn the image stabilization to 'single' if you have a Canon or similar camera...meaning it won't be continuously moving even if it's already on a tripod. And yes, tripod is a must! I have tried to prefocus on a wall or object next to the wall with lights on, then turned all ambient light off while turning the flashlight in question on keeping the shutter release half depressed (keeps it focused and ready) and THEN taking the shot.

 

[Swedpat]

Thanks for your beamshots, always nice to see! :thumbsup:

Regards, Patric

 

[hoongern]

Not bad! Yes, lock the exposure so it's the same across the board...I try to adjust the time of the exposure so it does seem a close match to what my eye does then go with that time for each light. I'm sure there are other methods. And turn the image stabilization to 'single' if you have a Canon or similar camera...meaning it won't be continuously moving even if it's already on a tripod. And yes, tripod is a must! I have tried to prefocus on a wall or object next to the wall with lights on, then turned all ambient light off while turning the flashlight in question on keeping the shutter release half depressed (keeps it focused and ready) and THEN taking the shot.

Thanks for the comments. I actually only Have a canon Ixus 70 which is a very simple point and shoot - can't even adjust the exposure time / aperture by default but I managed to get a bit more out of it using the chdk firmware. It's still pretty limited. I just try to do the best I can with what I have if I ever have a better camera though, I'll keep that in mind. One thing I do is to use the 2 second timer so that the camera is not shaking when it actually takes the picture.

 

[Dioni]

Thanks for the new beamshots! :thumbsup:

 

[N10]

nice beamshots!...shows the color rendition of incandescents well..

 

[icpd30]

I like to see beamshots. Skill of the photographer is secondary. It's a great way to analyze the light's ability, at your own speed.