Big Guns Outdoor Shootout (450'-600') -SF M6, Boxer 24W, Mag85, Mag61, DBS, Tiablo A8

[RichS]

This is part II of the beamshots I took while on a trip to Brown County, Indiana a few weeks ago. These are the longer range beamshots I took using the high output lights I have. You may have seen the close/medium shots with the smaller, more pocketable lights. If not, here is that post: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=191407.

Originally I was only going to include my big hitter incandescent/HID lights, but the thrower LEDs I have did so well I decided to include them also. It's not fair to compare the total light output, but you can see that the reach of these LED lights is amazing even compared to some of the powerhouses I have.

I took shots at 450' and 600', and on the way back to my cabin I took some shots of a treeline at 500'.

My camera is a Fujifilm F30 with the following settings, which get the beamshots very close to what I saw with my eyes:
- ISO 200
- 2 second exposure
- F2.8
- White balance set to daylight

Here is the line-up in order as pictured (all have new primaries or fully charged li-ions):

- Mag85 3D (SMO - Kai) (WA 1185) (3x18650)
- Mag61 2D (MOP - FM) (Philips 5761) (6xEneloop AA)
- Boxer 24W HID (3x18650)
- SureFire M6 HOLA (MN21) (6xCR123)
- DBS 3SD Q5 SMO (18650)
- Tiablo A8SE Q5 SMO (18650) (Not pictured - I only used the Tiablo in the 600' beamshot)

I ordered the beamshots in order of perceived performance from least to best instead of the order of this list.

Here is a shot of the target (roof) in daylight and a control shot showing level of darkness when I took the beamshots.

450' Ft Shots

Daylight - 450'

SureFire M6 - 450'

DBS 3SD SMO - 450'

Mag61 MOP - 450'

Mag85 SMO - 450'

Boxer 24W HID - 450'

600' Beamshots

Daylight Shot of target (roof) - 600'

Control Shot - 600'

SureFire M6 - 600'

Tiablo A8SE Q5 SMO - 600'

DBS 3SD SMO - 600'

Mag61 MOP - 600'

Mag85 SMO - 600'

Boxer 24W HID - 600'

I also wanted to take a few a longer distance treeline shots, so I found a good place as I was heading back to the cabin. There is a pretty big drop-off on this hill, and it's about 500' to the trees. Unfortunately I didn't get a daylight shot of this.


500' Beamshots

Control Shot of target (Treeline)

DBS 3SD SMO - 500'

SureFire M6 - 500'

Mag61 MOP - 500'

Mag85 SMO - 500'

Boxer 24W HID - 500'

My conclusions - I give the win to the 1800 lumen WE Boxer 24W. The Mag85 is very close and has much better color, but I give the edge to the Boxer for thowing like a maniac while illuminating a larger area around the target. Also, although the Mag85 keeps up very well and seems to match it, the Boxer is doing all that with an OP reflector vs. the smooth reflector in the Mag85. I can't even imagine how far the Boxer would throw with an SMO reflector. But the biggest edge the Boxer has is it's practicality - 60 minutes of regulated 1800 lumen output in a light I can stick in a holster on my belt. I actually took this light with me on a long night hike, and it was awesome. Surprisingly, it wasn't too bright to use for a hike, and it light up an unbelievably broad area. It was like taking a day hike in the dead of night. Not to mention all the batteries that were saved, since everyone else I was with could turn their lights off when I had it on...

The M6 is an awesome light, but it diffuses too much over these distances. The M6 is amazing for medium ranges up to 300'-400'. However, at 500', I put the M6 ahead of the DBS due to how much better the M6 lit up the surrounding area. The DBS had a stronger spot, but it was confined to such a small area that it would be poor for searching an outdoor area at that distance. The M6 did as well as it did I believe due to the color rendering.

I was dissappointed at the Mag61. I had heard that it was even brighter than the Mag85, but even with a tailcap mod and FM adapter and Eneloops, it just keeps up with the M6. But, at least it's rechargeable...

Finally - I have to give a shout out to the awesome LED throwers at 600'. Here we have lights at the fraction of the competetor's size that you can stick in your pocket, runs for 3x as long on 1/3 of the batteries, and throws with the big boys. Way to go Dereelight and Tiablo!!

Thanks for checking this out, and thanks to all those that put up with my many modding questions in getting these built, as well as those that persuaded me to get the awesome Boxer! Great purchase!!

- Rich

 

[Norm]

:twothumbs Great beam shots, I'm sick of seeing bright circles on white walls, these shots show the lights the way they were meant to be used.
Norm
PS what's that white stuff all over the ground?

 

[sotong_kia]

I believe they are snow...

 

[FILIPPO]

all of my compliments!!!:thumbsup:
very good beamshots, and final comment!:thumbsup:

only thing I have not understood well is wich bulb do you use in your mag2D...you wrote WA1764 but I can't find any bulb with that number...maybe is a WA1164 or WA1160??:thinking:

VERY GOOD REVIEW!:twothumbs

 

[RichS]

all of my compliments!!!:thumbsup:
very good beamshots, and final comment!:thumbsup:

only thing I have not understood well is wich bulb do you use in your mag2D...you wrote WA1764 but I can't find any bulb with that number...maybe is a WA1164 or WA1160??:thinking:

VERY GOOD REVIEW!:twothumbs

Thanks for the nice comments Filippo and Norm. I really appreciate it.

I must have been more tired than I thought last night...

The Mag 2D is running a Philips 5761 bulb. I updated the original post.

 

[FILIPPO]

ah ok 5761...
yes, it should be a little more powerful than Wa1185 but maybe is becouse batteries that have some problems with 5,5Ah drow...

 

[Patriot]

ah ok 5761...
yes, it should be a little more powerful than Wa1185 but maybe is becouse batteries that have some problems with 5,5Ah drow...

Yeah that's a strange thing. My 3C mag85 is brighter than the mag61 on 18650s. It made me lose interest in the 61 a while back. Like you said, probably the 5.5Ah draw.

 

[Fooboy]

nice pics!

 

[RichS]

Yeah that's a strange thing. My 3C mag85 is brighter than the mag61 on 18650s. It made me lose interest in the 61 a while back. Like you said, probably the 5.5Ah draw.

I was pretty bummed about it. I would say that my Mag85 is about 30% brighter than my Mag61. I only built this Mag61 because it was two steps higher on Lux Luthor's Most Powerful Mods list, and I wanted to build something brighter than my Mag85. Since I've already got it built, I'm thinking of going ahead and getting some batteries that will handle the draw better and see if it becomes significantly brighter. I found Elite 1700 cells back in stock, but I was wondering if NiCad batteries would work even better. I have heard they can handle even more draw with less sag than the best NiMH batteries.

 

[Probedude]

Nice beamshots! You've got me looking into getting parts to make a Mag85 now

Dave

 

[RichS]

Nice beamshots! You've got me looking into getting parts to make a Mag85 now

Dave

Thanks Probedude. The Mag85 is so easy to build, and has just simply amazing output and color. The only resistance mod I've done to it is the tailcap mod, which really brightened it up. I posted pics of it here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2340683&postcount=7

My dad has a stock 3D Mag light, and when comparing my Mag85 against his stock light it is just staggering. It literally looks about 40x brighter than the stock 3D mag. I don't think your going to find anything even close to the output of the Mag85 mod for the money.

 

[Probedude]

Thanks Probedude. The Mag85 is so easy to build, and has just simply amazing output and color. The only resistance mod I've done to it is the tailcap mod, which really brightened it up. I posted pics of it here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2340683&postcount=7

Much appreciated on the info. I've been buying mostly LED lights from DX but recently did buy a bi-pin socket and mount from someone in the Marketplace section (KIU?), and an OP reflector from KD but I bought the 8mm hole version (mag ROP version?).

I'm still pretty new at figuring this all out - at least now I know the Mag85 is a 3D mag so I'll pick one of those up on Monday from HomeDepot. Will be placing a McMaster Carr order also for delrin to make up some AA holders.
Dave

 

[adamlau]

Incans are best represented with white balance set to tungsten. Incans balanced to day light tend to depict more yellow than the actual view.

 

[RichS]

Incans are best represented with white balance set to tungsten. Incans balanced to day light tend to depict more yellow than the actual view.

Thanks for the info adamlau. I don't seem to have a tungsten setting on my camera (Fuji F30), but I looked in the book and one of the white balance presets is for shooting in incandescent light. I am assuming this would be a better option to use, but I wonder if it would be even better to use the manual setting with white paper. I would just hate to have to do this every time, especially when going back and forth from LED to incandescent. My camera doesn't have a preset for LED lighting, but it does have one for shooting under cool white fluorescent lamps. Do you think this setting would be effective for LED beamshots?

 

[sb_pete]

The Mag 2D is running a WA 5761 bulb. I updated the original post.

If I'm not mistaken, it's a Phillips 5761. I too was dissapointed with this bulb. Seems to me that the mag85 is brighter and also able to be focused whereas the 5761 is too big and requires a kiu socket.

Anyways, great beamshots, thanks!

 

[RichS]

If I'm not mistaken, it's a Phillips 5761. I too was dissapointed with this bulb. Seems to me that the mag85 is brighter and also able to be focused whereas the 5761 is too big and requires a kiu socket.

Anyways, great beamshots, thanks!

Oops..I stand corrected (again)...post updated

I'm going to try it with Elite 1700's and see if it makes a difference. I think the huge draw is just too much for the batteries, and we aren't seeing the potential of this bulb. Also, I am using the stock socket with FM bi-pin adapter and it is working fine for me with the ability to focus. I'm using an FM MOP reflector.

 

[iapyx]

hi, I too have a Mag85 and even two Mag61´s.
I´ll see if I can make some beamshots.
As far as I can tell the two Mag61´s are slightly brighter than the Mag85.
But in order to do an honest comparison, I´ll have to do the test with fully loaded batteries. The ones in the Mag61´s arrived from AW just a few days ago and have not yet been charged by me. (they arrive at 40% full if I am not mistaken)

set up mag85:
Maglite D host
3x AW li-ions C-size
WA 1185 (of course)
AW D incan driver with soft start (3 levels of brightness)
smooth reflector

set up mag61 #1
Maglite D host
2x AW li-ions C-size
Philips 5761
AW D incan driver with soft start (3 levels of brightness)
LOP reflector

set up mag61 #2
Maglite D host
2x AW li-ions C-size
Philips 5761
AW D incan driver with soft start (3 levels of brightness)
MOP reflector

iapyx

 

[RichS]

hi, I too have a Mag85 and even two Mag61´s.
I´ll see if I can make some beamshots.
As far as I can tell the two Mag61´s are slightly brighter than the Mag85.
But in order to do an honest comparison, I´ll have to do the test with fully loaded batteries. The ones in the Mag61´s arrived from AW just a few days ago and have not yet been charged by me. (they arrive at 40% full if I am not mistaken)

iapyx

Beamshots would be great!

I just received my 2 AW C batteries also, but I need to get the spacer for the Mag C light. I have been using 6xEneloops in my Mag61, but I am hoping that the AW C li-ion config will make it brighter. I've always been disappointed in my Mag61, especially since I made the Mag85 first. The whole point of building the Mag61 was to build a light that was a step up in brightness, and instead it was a step down for me.