Beamshots: JetBeam C-LE on 14500 vs Fenix P1D-CE

[evh]

Hi guys. Hope you enjoy these beamshots. I've no real equipment and even less expertise when it comes to cameras so please bear with me. Photos taken with Sony Ericsson K750i.

These are shots of the C-LE on various modes compared to the P1D-CE on primary mode. The C-LE is running on Energizer E2 and the P1D-CE on a Sanyo CR123 Lithium II.

Click on the pics to see a larger image. On some pics the PWM on the C-Le can be clearly seen. and by the way, the artifacts are actually my wall having some texture on it. :laughing:

C-LE Low vs P1D-CE Med


C-LE Med vs P1D-CE Med


C-LE Hi vs P1D-CE Med



C-LE 14500 Lo vs P1D-CE Med



C-LE 14500 Med vs P1D-CE Med
http://server6.theimagehosting.com/image.php?img=c-le 14500 med.JPG&album=24544


C-LE 14500 Hi vs P1D-CE Med

C-LE 14500 HI vs P1D-CE HI :rock:


C-LE 14500 HI vs P1D-CE HI (Lowest Exposure):rock:


Hope you guys like em.

 

[HarveyRich]

Thanks, interesting shots. I have a couple of questions, though, about the photos. From your shots, it looks to me as if the C-LE on low is brighter than it is on med or on high (top two pics). Also, in the middle pics, the C-LE on 14500 on low looks considerably brighter than it does on medium. So, either you're using different exposures or something's strange here. Further, it seems as if your P1D shots are a bit weird too, e.g. two shots in pics in the middle at med look much different in brightness.

I think you need to give some exposure numbers and perhaps explain these discrepancies. It's very difficult to make sense of it otherwise. Thanks.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

Good pics, but it seems like you mis labeled your pictures with the wrong level of output on a couple of them.


The Jetbeam is crazy bright on a 14500 isn't it?

 

[LightScene]

Just guessing: the first pic should be labeled low vs low; pic #3 is identical to pic #2, which seems to be right.

 

[LED_Thrift]

The problem is that the exposure time of the camera shutter is too short in relation to the pulse-width modulation time cycle. Some of the pictures of the beam happen to be when the light is at least partially in its 'off' cycle.

To get a proper exposure of a light using PWM, you have to use a s l o w shutter speed [use a tripod] - a speed that is at least as long as the PWM cycle. To get the proper exposure this would necessitate stopping the iris down to the smallest appature.

 

[LED_Thrift]

Any recommendations for brands of 14500s or places to buy them? I want to try - both of mine from CEJs group buy [thanks again CEJ] have secret mode.

 

[Strauss]

Any recommendations for brands of 14500s or places to buy them? I want to try - both of mine from CEJs group buy [thanks again CEJ] have secret mode.

I would suggest trying some of AW's protected 14500's. Probably the best 14500 cells out there. You can get them in the dealers section on CPF.

 

[mayo]

Just got back from a walk with the jetbeam CLE on 14500. Unreal. Thanks for the pics.

 

[LED_Thrift]

I would suggest trying some of AW's protected 14500's. Probably the best 14500 cells out there. You can get them in the dealers section on CPF.

Thanks Strauss,

Thrifty

 

[evh]

Thanks for the comments guys. I probably screwed up the labelling of the pics or the picture taking (most likely both) and for that I humbly apologize.
:lolsign:

All the pics except the last one was taken at exposure set to +0.0 on the phone camera and white balance was set to Daylight. I don't really know how to adjust the shutter speed and since it's a phone i can't mount it on a tripod. Again I'd like to say sorry to disappoint you guys. I'll try to learn more before posting more pics.

By the way I'm using unprotected Ultrafire 14500 from DX. I use a multimeter to check the voltages regularly and do not use the batteries below 3.2V. Funny thing is on a full charge they only push out 4.0 maybe 4.05 tops. Any idea why? Do they have to be "broken in" first or something?

I hope the pics did not upset Fenix or JETBeam camps as I have both lights and absolutely love them.

Another thing is my C-LE gets warm on medium pretty quickly and on high it gets hot under 2 minutes.

 

[HarveyRich]

Hey guys: see this thread before you do too much fooling around with those 14500s on high on the jetbeam C-LE:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=157940

 

[IsaacHayes]

Looks like pics hi/lo are swapped backwards...

I have a 14500 AW protected and the positive side catches on the jetbeam with the twisting action. Doesn't seem to work very well...

 

[evh]

Edited the pics.

 

[Patriot]

Hey guys: see this thread before you do too much fooling around with those 14500s on high on the jetbeam C-LE:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=157940

Thanks Harvey. I hadn't see that thread yet. Um makes me a bit concerned about the 14500 in this application. I don't think I'm willing to take the chance with mine.

 

[farscape105]

What is a safe cutoff voltage for 14500's? And would 14500's give generally the same runtime at all levels as nimh's?

 

[evh]

What is a safe cutoff voltage for 14500's? And would 14500's give generally the same runtime at all levels as nimh's?

Hi farscape105, I'm still running my C-LEs on 14500s. My batteries come with a warning label that states the max voltage at 4.2V and minimum voltage at 2.7V. I haven't used them below 3.0V to be honest.

As for runtime, no one has actually tested it to my knowledge. I don't think anyone wants to do a test either judging by the lack of proper heatsinking on the lamp head.

By the way I tested current draw by connecting a multimeter on the negative end of the battery and also on the C-LE lamp threads. Here's the results.

14500 3.6V
Primary mode - 0.55 A (peak @ 0.59A)
Low Mode - 0.10 A (peak @ 0.1A)
High Mode - 1.25 A (peak @ 1.34A)

Since my batteries are rated at 900mAh, that would probably mean about half hour on high, less than 2 hours on primary and about 8-9 hours on low.

I hope my math is correct and hope this answers some of your questions.

 

[cratz2]

What is a safe cutoff voltage for 14500's? And would 14500's give generally the same runtime at all levels as nimh's?

With most lights that put out considerably more brightness on LiIon (14500) cells than on NiMH cells, there's no way the 14500 can provide the same runtime on a given level as NiMHs... At least not in my experience. Most of the time, it will be half or less the runtime as on NiMH cells.