Beamshots! Ultrafire C2 Cree vs. P61, K2 Palmblaze,Inova T3(new), SurvivorLED

[woodrow]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the great reviews and beamshots on all the new Cree lights. Also thanks to Batteryjunction for their great service. I thought I would post some beamshots of my New (1st ever Cree) Ultrafire C2. It in a nutshell is the Most Impressive $40 light I have ever bought. It is also the most impressed by a light I have been since my SF 6p back in the late 80's.

There are other reviews of the light, so I thought I would just post some pictures. The light itself reminds me of a short SL TL-3 without the belt clip. Its bezel is the same size as the tl3 and bigger than my sf gpz. Length is that of a gpz.

Now for some beamshots. These were taken at about 25' to the bathroom wall. ISO 100, f/4.5, 1 sec for all of the following.

What makes the C2 so great is its sidespill. It reminds me of my 10 watt hid I sold a week or so ago. This light has made me not miss it. Another thing I like about this light is that the cooler than incan color shows up on the orange walls and dark orange/red floor of the furniture store I work at. Here are some beamshots that show that.

Overall the whitter light is much better for navigating the store in the dark. Plus, it just has a much brighter sidespill than my old p61,tl3 or anything else I have had besides my old hid. For the money, I do not know how to compete against this light. I just bought the new Huntlight, but only for the lower levels that light offers as well. As for the beam of the C2. I think it is amazing what Cree leds can do. Anyone who has not bought one yet...Look at Batteryjunction and spend the $40.00 How could you loose?

Thanks for looking everyone!

 

[woodrow]

Re: Ultrafire C2 Cree vs. p61,K2 Palmblaze,Inova T3, Sl SurvivorLED

I thought I would post some longer distance beamshots as well. All were on manuel at f/5.6 at 1 sec. Film was at ISO 100. Next time I will shoot at 1/15th of a second, as these shots and the ones above are ever so slightly over exposed. I took the same ones earlier at 1/60 of a second and the computer at walgreens did not even put them on a cd. So I was not taking any chances.

These are at about 60' I sold my Survivor led, and camera was too far back for you to see, but it still has the most intense and tightest spot at that distance, it just does not put out as much overall light as the other lights. I will take another shot with my D-mini when it arrives at the same settings and distance. My point is the survivor led is a great light and I will miss mine.
Here we go:

All are good lights. The P61 particularly did well at this distance with its broad spot.

 

[FlashCrazy]

Great shots! Thank you for taking the time to put this together...very informative.

I just got my C2 in the mail yesterday and am thoroughly impressed as well.

 

[JKL]

Thanks for the beamshots...great sidespill :naughty:

 

[pilou]

In your second set of beamshots, and at least for that scene, the K2 seems to do the best job of lighting up the whole place.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

That K2 indeed looks the most impressive of all.

 

[FlashCrazy]

The Palmblaze is a great light from what I've seen all over the forums...no doubt. But the nice thing about the C2 is that it can run on an 18650 or 123 rechargeables (or primaries, if that's all that are available), plus you can use the C2 for extended periods without it getting hot. I don't think the C2 is a good direct comparison for the Palmblaze anyway. But at $22 shipped, you can't go wrong!

Plus...you gotta get 'em both!

 

[boef800]

Re: Ultrafire C2 Cree vs. p61,K2 Palmblaze,Inova T3, Sl SurvivorLED

... My point is the survivor led is a great light and I will miss mine.

I can imagine that.I say: buy a new one and give it the seoul treatment:naughty:.

Alex

 

[woodrow]

I really liked my palmblaze when I got it, but the C2 blows it away. The C2 has about the same throw as my D-mini with the smooth reflector, but a much wider sidespill. The D-mini is nice for its size vs. output. Both the C2 and D-mini are great lights.

 

[Strauss]

Great beamshots! That C2 is very impressive for the $$

 

[sims2k]

Great shots. I was thinking of buying the Palmblaze K2 myself. Which one is built better ... the K2 or the C2 ?

 

[woodrow]

Thanks for the comments. I think the Palmblaze is most likely better built, but only in the fact that its threads are smoother. I was REALLY impressed with the Palmblaze when I bought it, but after the C2 came and I had both for a week or so, I gave the Palmblaze to my boss because he did not have a decent light. The C2 is just brighter.

 

[Zeppert]

That does it... I just placed an order for a C2. Can't wait to compare it to my Q3.
I'm guessing that it should be about double the brightness?

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

What kind of runtime does this thing get with a protected 18650? The output looks very impressive (especially in first pic). Is it regulated or direct drive?

 

[2xTrinity]

What kind of runtime does this thing get with a protected 18650? The output looks very impressive (especially in first pic). Is it regulated or direct drive?

It has a buck circuit -- meaning that it will step the voltage down from two cells to maintain reguated output the whole time. From one cell, when it is fresh, the circuit will regulated the output, but but once the battery voltage drops below the circuit output voltage, it will direct drive after that. Runtime to 50% on 18650 is a little over 3 hours I believe. On 2x RCR123, probably more like 1 hour, but it will be brighter, and have perfectly even output.

I'd say it's definitely a light worth getting here is a link to Kai's HA-III version. Some have suggested that it might not actually be hard-anodized, but even if it's simply natural finish, that's still a big improvement -- the biggest flaw with the C2 is that its flat black finish will get dinged, and silvery metal underneath is very noticeable.

 

[Minjin]

Interesting that the C2 only has a buck circuit. The light it is often compared with, the U2 style, has been proven to have a buck/boost circuit.

 

[ginaz]

palmblaze is looking pretty good to me as well!