mudman cj
Flashlight Enthusiast
I just snagged the last FM3X Megalennium head and I am really impressed with the throw using the 1185 lamp. It has taken me a while to settle on this combination as my favorite throwy light, so let me start with some background on my flashlight purchases.
I found CPF a few years ago while researching the 'new' LED lights (Luxeon I, III, and V) that had just come out and was hooked right away. I started off with a couple of LED lights and then a Mag mod, and picked up a couple more incandescent lights before tending towards LED lights for the majority of my purchases. When warmer tint LEDs came out, they had me thinking that incandescent's days were numbered. But after many purchases and much research I have come back to incandescents. You just can't get the same light out of an LED. And if you want throw, LEDs just can't match the beam from a good incan. By no stretch of the imagination am I an LED basher. LEDs have their purposes and I carry 2-3 LED lights on me at all times. But I recognize the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Most of my LED lights are general purpose, neutral tint and single cell lights. They tend to put out a peak reading of a few thousand Lux at 1 meter. I have a couple of LED lights that can exceed a peak reading of 10,000 Lux at 1 meter at turn on, and I know of one that exceeds a peak reading of 45,000 Lux at 1 meter (a custom ArcMania light using a 6 die Ostar LED and a series of 3 lenses). I don't know the light intensity of the DEFT, but I think it would exceed all of these. But, they are still not full spectrum lights and this can have detrimental effects in some circumstances. Due to the lower surface brightness of LEDs compared to an incandescent filament, few LED lights exceed peak readings of 10,000 Lux at 1 meter, especially the higher lumens output 4 die emitters like the P7 or MC-E.
Most of the incandescents lights I have put out a peak reading of around 30,000 Lux at 1 meter using somewhat standard reflectors like the standard size Mag reflector or the Surefire KT4. I measured a peak value in the 30,000 Lux at 1 meter range with both the 1111 and 1185 in the KT4. *Edit: With more fully charged batteries I measured a peak lux value of about 54,000 for the 1185 in my KT4 head.* With a 1111 in my 2" deep Mag reflector I measured a peak reading of just over 45,000 Lux at 1 meter. Not bad! But then I saw the 1185 in the 3" diameter FM3X and I knew it was something special. A lux measurement on freshly charged AW 2600mAh 18650 cells peaked at over 120,000 Lux at 1 meter.
And the beam is much more than just a hotspot. There is a large corona that is bright in its own right and the wide spill you would expect from a 3" diameter head like this. I have the VLOP reflector in my FM3X and my Megalennium has a McClicky switch that is the icing on the cake. This FM3X head makes the Megalennium a beautiful and usefull light to behold. So here's to Fivemega for making one of the most awesome flashlights ever fabricated. :bow: Thank you Varooj!
Gratuitous eye candy:
This is a beamshot with the light 5 meters from the wall. The hotspot is around 6-8" or 15-20 centimeters across (I am estimating here).
And this is the same beamshot, but at -1 eV to show the size of the hotspot.
I would include some outdoor beamshots, but lack an appropriate location here at my house to show what it can do. I will take it out someday soon to a nice range and take some pics to share.
OK, the wait is over. Here are the outdoor beamshots I promised!
First of all, here is a control shot of the range without the use of any flashlights:
Next up is the 1111 in my KT4 powered by 2 AW Li-ion C cells:
Third is the 1185 in my KT4 powered by 3 AW 2600mAh 18650 cells:
Last but certainly not least is the 1185 in my FM3X again powered by the 3 AW 2600mAh 18650 cells:
In these shots, the distance to the yellow sign in front of the tree is about 150 meters and the distance to the tree behind the sign is about 170 meters.
I found CPF a few years ago while researching the 'new' LED lights (Luxeon I, III, and V) that had just come out and was hooked right away. I started off with a couple of LED lights and then a Mag mod, and picked up a couple more incandescent lights before tending towards LED lights for the majority of my purchases. When warmer tint LEDs came out, they had me thinking that incandescent's days were numbered. But after many purchases and much research I have come back to incandescents. You just can't get the same light out of an LED. And if you want throw, LEDs just can't match the beam from a good incan. By no stretch of the imagination am I an LED basher. LEDs have their purposes and I carry 2-3 LED lights on me at all times. But I recognize the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Most of my LED lights are general purpose, neutral tint and single cell lights. They tend to put out a peak reading of a few thousand Lux at 1 meter. I have a couple of LED lights that can exceed a peak reading of 10,000 Lux at 1 meter at turn on, and I know of one that exceeds a peak reading of 45,000 Lux at 1 meter (a custom ArcMania light using a 6 die Ostar LED and a series of 3 lenses). I don't know the light intensity of the DEFT, but I think it would exceed all of these. But, they are still not full spectrum lights and this can have detrimental effects in some circumstances. Due to the lower surface brightness of LEDs compared to an incandescent filament, few LED lights exceed peak readings of 10,000 Lux at 1 meter, especially the higher lumens output 4 die emitters like the P7 or MC-E.
Most of the incandescents lights I have put out a peak reading of around 30,000 Lux at 1 meter using somewhat standard reflectors like the standard size Mag reflector or the Surefire KT4. I measured a peak value in the 30,000 Lux at 1 meter range with both the 1111 and 1185 in the KT4. *Edit: With more fully charged batteries I measured a peak lux value of about 54,000 for the 1185 in my KT4 head.* With a 1111 in my 2" deep Mag reflector I measured a peak reading of just over 45,000 Lux at 1 meter. Not bad! But then I saw the 1185 in the 3" diameter FM3X and I knew it was something special. A lux measurement on freshly charged AW 2600mAh 18650 cells peaked at over 120,000 Lux at 1 meter.
And the beam is much more than just a hotspot. There is a large corona that is bright in its own right and the wide spill you would expect from a 3" diameter head like this. I have the VLOP reflector in my FM3X and my Megalennium has a McClicky switch that is the icing on the cake. This FM3X head makes the Megalennium a beautiful and usefull light to behold. So here's to Fivemega for making one of the most awesome flashlights ever fabricated. :bow: Thank you Varooj!Gratuitous eye candy:
This is a beamshot with the light 5 meters from the wall. The hotspot is around 6-8" or 15-20 centimeters across (I am estimating here).
And this is the same beamshot, but at -1 eV to show the size of the hotspot.
I would include some outdoor beamshots, but lack an appropriate location here at my house to show what it can do. I will take it out someday soon to a nice range and take some pics to share.
OK, the wait is over. Here are the outdoor beamshots I promised!
First of all, here is a control shot of the range without the use of any flashlights:
Next up is the 1111 in my KT4 powered by 2 AW Li-ion C cells:
Third is the 1185 in my KT4 powered by 3 AW 2600mAh 18650 cells:
Last but certainly not least is the 1185 in my FM3X again powered by the 3 AW 2600mAh 18650 cells:
In these shots, the distance to the yellow sign in front of the tree is about 150 meters and the distance to the tree behind the sign is about 170 meters.
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I don't even know that I can comprehend that, especially from a light that's not a 50W+ HID! Wow...I've got to see that thing in action - beamshots please!! 
