Cheesy reflectors
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Locoboy5150
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The following was posted about the Sunforce 25 million cp HID spotlight by Nanomiser:
"The reflector is aluminum with a smooth texture."
His full review is in this thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=239250
The tight beam pattern, quality reflector, and glass lens are some of the reasons why I'm seriously considering getting that Sunforce spotlight. For $90 it looks like an absolute steal of a deal.
"The reflector is aluminum with a smooth texture."
His full review is in this thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=239250
The tight beam pattern, quality reflector, and glass lens are some of the reasons why I'm seriously considering getting that Sunforce spotlight. For $90 it looks like an absolute steal of a deal.
cccpull
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"Quality Reflector"
The Sunforce HID appears to be physically the same as the 10 million CP model, the word quality should not be used in the same sentence. The light might perform well, but this is in spite of it's quality.:shakehead
OTOH I was able to see and handle an older model yellow Sunforce on display and the materials didn't seem as cheap, go figure.
PS I have read all of those reviews, thanks.
The Sunforce HID appears to be physically the same as the 10 million CP model, the word quality should not be used in the same sentence. The light might perform well, but this is in spite of it's quality.:shakehead
OTOH I was able to see and handle an older model yellow Sunforce on display and the materials didn't seem as cheap, go figure.
PS I have read all of those reviews, thanks.
Locoboy5150
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Hey...just going by what the HID and spotlight experts here in CPF said about it. They all said it was very good, performance-wise but you're right, they didn't say much about its overall build quality. The high performance of the light is directly affected by the quality of the reflector though, right? A light can't perform well without a good reflector, thus I drew the conclusion that the Sunforce HID had a good reflector in it. Is that not the case? It has been with my other flashlights, but those are in a different category of light.
If you have another viewpoint on that particular model, please post your opinions/review here. People like myself that are considering buying one could definitely use more reviews to read through.
They all said it was very good, performance-wise but you're right, they didn't say much about its overall build quality. The high performance of the light is directly affected by the quality of the reflector though, right? A light can't perform well without a good reflector, thus I drew the conclusion that the Sunforce HID had a good reflector in it. Is that not the case? It has been with my other flashlights, but those are in a different category of light.If you have another viewpoint on that particular model, please post your opinions/review here. People like myself that are considering buying one could definitely use more reviews to read through.
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kramer5150
Flashaholic
They are by no means state of the art, or anything really earth shattering. I think they are vapor deposited Aluminum, onto an aluminum substrate... like 99% of the lights discussed on CPF. I find they are robust/durable enough to perform the task at hand. So if thats all you ask for, you will be satisfied.
I don't think the reflector is the weakest link with a typical $100 spotlight, The charging systems, ignition, SLA cell capacity and fuse protection are all areas to address before the reflector and optics. Most do not even have fuse protection... which boggles my mind. IMHO of course.
If you are a white wall artifact hunter, avoid this sub forum all together and stick with hand held flashlights.
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Illum
Flashaholic
"Quality Reflector"
The Sunforce HID appears to be physically the same as the 10 million CP model, the word quality should not be used in the same sentence. The light might perform well, but this is in spite of it's quality.:shakehead
OTOH I was able to see and handle an older model yellow Sunforce on display and the materials didn't seem as cheap, go figure.
PS I have read all of those reviews, thanks.
"Quality" = "free of surface imperfections"
it spoke nothing of materials:candle:
kramer5150
Flashaholic
"Quality Reflector"
The Sunforce HID appears to be physically the same as the 10 million CP model, the word quality should not be used in the same sentence. The light might perform well, but this is in spite of it's quality.:shakehead
OTOH I was able to see and handle an older model yellow Sunforce on display and the materials didn't seem as cheap, go figure.
PS I have read all of those reviews, thanks.
Its very rare occurrence when two CPF members have the exact same definition of the word "quality".
cccpull
Enlightened
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Common sense is all you need when it's so obvious. If you were to pick up a Maglite flashlight and compare it to a plastic $2 flashlight, you could see there was a quality difference because of how obvious it would be.
The reflector works, although it did have imperfections and the metal was too thin to call robust. Even the weight of the unit was too light for it's size, felt loose and hollow, it would creak when picked up, the top slider switch was sloppy, too.
I believe the Sunforce HID "Bluebeam22" reviewed was the older model with the side switches, as it appears on the box. It's possible the light was made cheaper when it was "improved" to the newer model.
BTW I'm not a "white wall artifact hunter", I was looking for a really bright light to have, use and enjoy, as in this forum "LOL" can also mean, "Lots Of Light".
Thanks for the heads-up, but I won't need to avoid this sub-forum, I've gotten lots of good information from it.
DM51
Flashaholic
It's not always obvious. A stock Maglite reflector is plastic ...
cccpull
Enlightened
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There are also $2 flashlights with metal reflectors. My point was more along the line of comparing quality when it's so obvious even a kid could tell the difference.
kramer5150
Flashaholic
... and has a very pronounced doughnut hole when set to anything but a tight spot beam. I like mags but the OEM reflector is not really what I would consider "quality".
Locoboy5150
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I just got my Sunforce 25 mcp HID light today and though it may have a cheap and cheesy reflector, whatever...I honestly do not care. All I know is that the reviews on it posted here in CPF are 100% accurate. Though I have not tested mine out to a mile as others here have, it throws and throws and throws. It has a tightly focused pencil beam (as tightly focused as 12 V spotlights go) that I can imagine goes for a mile as others reported here.
So, debate about whether the reflector in the Sunforce is cheesy or not. I stand by what I said before and the proof is in the light that comes out of it and I can see the light with my own eyes tonight. That's all the proof that I need in terms of the quality of the reflector and the light overall. As so well stated before by someone else, "it's so obvious." Yes, obvious indeed.
Debate about it here while I go light up some clouds tonight with my new HID! :wave:
So, debate about whether the reflector in the Sunforce is cheesy or not. I stand by what I said before and the proof is in the light that comes out of it and I can see the light with my own eyes tonight. That's all the proof that I need in terms of the quality of the reflector and the light overall. As so well stated before by someone else, "it's so obvious." Yes, obvious indeed.
Debate about it here while I go light up some clouds tonight with my new HID! :wave:
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