Best throw in LED

fordwillman

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Messages
75
Location
Arizona
I dont post much, but really enjoy reading here--have learned quite a bit. I am "still" looking for a real throw monster LED. Would prefer a single led with good regulation and serious throw. Is that the Lumapower MRV?? Are there other contenders? What about the new Q5 Cree in something?? Any help would be appreciated. This would be used camping and in my truck. Oh, and something the average mortal can afford, ie under $150, $100 would be better. Thanks
 
I may be wrong, but I think the Mag-Lite LED upgrade has some pretty far throw. It won't break the bank either.
 
Lumapower MRV with no contest (as far as I know), D-mini if you prefer single 123 or MIII w/ turbo head. For me (personal feeling) Mag-Lite LED has also far throw but less global output.
 
Out of those listed in my sigline the SF 6P with the G&P CREE drop in has the furthest throw and won't break the bank either.
 
An aspheric mag will out-throw anyting short of HID.

You reckon? I might have found a new project! Thanks

Does Moda or others offer just the aspherical with bezel or can you simply get the aspherical lens seperately?
 
Last edited:
Yes - Malkoff drop-in, 3D or 4D Mag, and that aspheric lens - you'll throw forever. Might want a reflector upgrade, but that's something to ask those in the Homemade and Modified lights forum. Quick, no nonsense build.

Thanks for the back-up there LukeA
 
My Malkoff modded Maglight has the best throw of any LED light I own. I should mention the incandescent lights tend to outthrow LED, particularly in urban situations, in fog, or in smoke. There have been discussions about this but I don't know if the effect has been fully explained yet.
 
Check out the bottom link in my sig showing the effects of using a 30x15mm aspheric condenser lens from Surplus Shed in an older Lumapower M1 (I've been told the new "tactical" M1 does not work as it has a deeper reflector) -- it will outhrow a Malkoff 3D even though overall output is much lower (~700mA in a Cree, as opposed to 1A+ through a Seoul that is from a higher efficiency bin) I would love to see what someone could do with a specially engineered aspheric light -- possibly one that would use internal reflector to capture light emitted to the side and collimate it as part of the beam, as well.

My Malkoff modded Maglight has the best throw of any LED light I own. I should mention the incandescent lights tend to outthrow LED, particularly in urban situations, in fog, or in smoke. There have been discussions about this but I don't know if the effect has been fully explained yet.
In part, this has to do with the fact that bluer light is prone to getting scattered. Also, in the dark the rods of the eyes are particularly sensitive to blue light, so it is more of a nuisance than backscatter from yellowish incandescent light (this is why fog lights often have amber filters). Using warmer LED bins such as Cree WH, or Seoul SV0 will help in this respect.

I have found that a bigger factor however is the fact that most LEDs have brighter spill beams and weaker throw than incandescents of comparable overall output -- this is because LEDs emit most of their light into a hemisphere, or in the case of a Cree, a narrow cone, while Incandescents and HIDs emit lights in all directsion -- so a greater percentage of the light hits the reflector, and becomes part of the beam. That means with an LED you will be trying to see a target lit up with a weak beam, through a veil of bright backscatter created by the strong direct spill. (This is why vehicle fog lights are located as low to the ground and possible, and have shields to block direct spill)

I found this out because my M1 with a lens is much much less affected by fog than any of my other LEDs, even though the M1 actually has one of the coolest emitters in my whole collection.

Yes - Malkoff drop-in, 3D or 4D Mag, and that aspheric lens - you'll throw forever. Might want a reflector upgrade, but that's something to ask those in the Homemade and Modified lights forum. Quick, no nonsense build.
I don't believe the Malkoff is the best choice to use with an aspheric lens because it uses a Seoul, which emits most of its light to the sides. Cree XR-Es generally give better results with lenses because most of their light is projected straight forward, so more light will be captured by the lens.
 
Last edited:
Check out the bottom link in my sig showing the effects of using a 30x15mm aspheric condenser lens from Surplus Shed in an older Lumapower M1 (I've been told the new "tactical" M1 does not work as it has a deeper reflector) -- it will outhrow a Malkoff 3D even though overall output is much lower (~700mA in a Cree, as opposed to 1A+ through a Seoul that is from a higher efficiency bin) I would love to see what someone could do with a specially engineered aspheric light -- possibly one that would use internal reflector to capture light emitted to the side and collimate it as part of the beam, as well.

In part, this has to do with the fact that bluer light is prone to getting scattered. Also, in the dark the rods of the eyes are particularly sensitive to blue light, so it is more of a nuisance than backscatter from yellowish incandescent light (this is why fog lights often have amber filters). Using warmer LED bins such as Cree WH, or Seoul SV0 will help in this respect.

I have found that a bigger factor however is the fact that most LEDs have brighter spill beams and weaker throw than incandescents of comparable overall output -- this is because LEDs emit most of their light into a hemisphere, or in the case of a Cree, a narrow cone, while Incandescents and HIDs emit lights in all directsion -- so a greater percentage of the light hits the reflector, and becomes part of the beam. That means with an LED you will be trying to see a target lit up with a weak beam, through a veil of bright backscatter created by the strong direct spill. (This is why vehicle fog lights are located as low to the ground and possible, and have shields to block direct spill)

I found this out because my M1 with a lens is much much less affected by fog than any of my other LEDs, even though the M1 actually has one of the coolest emitters in my whole collection.

I don't believe the Malkoff is the best choice to use with an aspheric lens because it uses a Seoul, which emits most of its light to the sides. Cree XR-Es generally give better results with lenses because most of their light is projected straight forward, so more light will be captured by the lens.
I think the ideal aspheric configuration would be the emitter (Rebel because it is closer to a point source) mounted Recoil LED-style pointing back into a half-elliptical reflector. The focal point of the lens should be the other focus of the ellipse.
 
I think the ideal aspheric configuration would be the emitter (Rebel because it is closer to a point source) mounted Recoil LED-style pointing back into a half-elliptical reflector. The focal point of the lens should be the other focus of the ellipse.
Yep. For that matter, it would be cool to see someone produce a HID or Incan with the filament/arc located right at the focal length of an elliptical reflector, and a aspheric lens at the other. Combining the sheer lumens of a incan or HID with the collimation that an aspheric can provide could really make some amazing results.
 
Cree XR-Es generally give better results with lenses because most of their light is projected straight forward, so more light will be captured by the lens.

That's correct.:thumbsup:

I experimented a lot with different lenses and Led's in view of the best results.
Cree's are the way to go.
To improve the result with one Aspherical Lens needs a second lens with a special grinding.
Depending on the quality of the lenses and the diameter, the improvement is about factor 8, which results in 8 times better throw.
This thread could be interesting:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=159372

Good luck and best regards

____
Tom
 

Latest posts

Top