dim light with no hot spot? (for reading)

[adrianmariano]

I'm looking for a light that doesn't have a strong hot spot to use for reading. I tried out my Arc and my Fenix L1D (on low) and while it's possible to read by the light of either, the hot spot is kind of annoying.

I need a light that uses AA or AAA, and prefer a clicky switch. I'm planning to mount the light on loc-line, so I don't want a head lamp.

I've seen the Zebralight recommended for reading, and notice that it's described as having a beam with no hot spot. I'd prefer something less expensive. It also seems like the right angle design of the Zebralight might make mounting appropriately more difficult.

Any other lights out there that are all flood, without a strong hot spot in their beam, and not too bright for reading?

 

[Marduke]

Bottlecap diffuser + D10 or Proton Pro

 

[Flying Turtle]

The Photon Rex makes a good reading light. I use it often. At reading distances the beam is diffuse enough and the shape, because of the linear arrangement of the LEDs, good for lighting the pages. The variable brightness gets things just right. Only problem might be the funky charging arrangement, which works well, but requires a bit more attention.

Geoff

 

[jupello]

You could just make a diffuser for one of your old lights and they would give nice smooth beam for reading. People seem to have made DIY diffusers from stuff like different bottle caps, tapes, films, papers..

 

[jahxman]

I clip either my LiteFLux LF2X or my Arcmania MJP extreme III to my cap, and remove the bezel so that the emitter is exposed with no reflector.

I can adjust the light level however I want with either of these, and without the reflector there is no hot spot.

I suppose you could do something similar with any light that lets you operate it with an exposed emitter (i.e. candle mode) and lets you adjust the emitter output to your liking for reading. :thumbsup:

 

[Kilovolt]

The new LiteFlux LF2XT is quickly becoming my favorite reading light: the hotspot is not too pronounced and it melts very well into the spill. You can adjust the output as low as you wish.

 

[apontes]

There has been a recent thread on this same topic: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=234058 (is that how you link a thread?)

Personally, I use a Zebralight, with the headband when at home or clipped to a shirt or jacket when not. Other headlights can be used the same way. The key is finding the right intensity and/or tint.

The usefulness and flexibility of the Zebralight more than compensate for the price, imo.

 

[yalskey]

I agree... use a Zebralight.

It's crude, but you could put a small piece of Scotch Magic Tape over the lens to defuse the light even more... because that tape is like a frosted window.

I love Zebra lights. Plus they won't get too hot if you have them on a low setting.

 

[NonSenCe]

i actually thought i would never say this... buy an mini maglite. the led version. 2aa batteries. and you can screw the head totally off and its all flood after that. and about 3 hours of light.

i cant recall other lights with led built into body. there are few. (i think there was ultrafire or something like that cheap led light too)

like said the scotch tape or white tape over lense or any diffuser works charms with most lights. some manufacturers have diffusers for sale too.. but little DIY goes a long way.

( but also my 1st vote would be zebralight with warm tint: h501w but its out of pricerange)

 

[GPB]

Princeton Tec has a 4 x AAA light with 3 LEDs in the head that isn't very bright and has no hotspot to speak of. It does however run for days at a time and would be perfect for reading. It's 100% waterproof and even kid proof. It doesn't have a switch though, it is turned on by screwing down the bezel.

the light is called the "Attitude". Their website claims it's 30 lumens, but it's so dispersed that I'd have guessed it was half that.

 

[hyperloop]

i just got my Zebralight H501 last night and its low mode is perfect for reading in a queen sized bed without disturbing my sleeping spouse. No issues with adjusting the light to shine on the pages.

Note: you may want to get the H501W if you prefer a warmer tint for reading.

Its worth the money, get it

 

[loanshark]

I've got it! Gerber Infinity Ultra with a piece of bottle cap or scotch tape or my favorite is a small piece of paper towel over the emitter. The paper towel gets rid of the purple and leave you with a beautiful white flood. Great runtime and the light can be had for $10-20...

 

[jahxman]

I haven't used it for this purpose yet, but my JetBeam JET-1 Pro IBS would work really well for this - with the bezel/reflector off the emitter is still recessed a bit in the body, so the pure flood emitted comes out at about a 60% angle - just about perfect to illuminate both pages of a large book at a distance of 15-20 inches.

Also the two-way clip means it is easily clipped to a cap, and you can adjust the light level to anything from a very low low to very bright high (probably too bright for reading at that distance in the dark.)

No sticky tape or messing with paper or other diffusion methods - just unscrew the bezel, pick your light level and go.

So - pure flood, no hotspot, nice white tint, AA (or 14500), reverse clicky switch, adjustable as low as you might want for reading, and clippable to a cap for hands free illumination.

 

[adrianmariano]

Thanks to everyone who has suggested lights so far. Thanks apontes for the reference to the previous thread. That thread is the source of my original idea of the Zebralight. Pretty much the only other possibly suitable light suggested in that thread is the LiteFlux. That's why I started a new thread.

Photon rex doesn't look appropriate. It's weird form factor seems like it would complicate mounting. It's tiny battery must give it a short life, and the weird charging method would be a major nuisance. I'm expecting a minimum of 20 minutes of daily use.

Princeton Tec has a 4 x AAA light with 3 LEDs in the head that isn't very bright and has no hotspot to speak of. It does however run for days at a time and would be perfect for reading. It's 100% waterproof and even kid proof. It doesn't have a switch though, it is turned on by screwing down the bezel. .

How easy is this light to turn on and off? The light is intended for my 7 year old and she says the twisty lights are difficult to turn on and off. I'd like it to be operable one handed, which is also a strike against twisty lights. Some clickys have switches which are very stiff and also problematic for 7 year old fingers, so that could be a gotcha. Note that this is intended to be a permanent single use installation, so flexibility to other applications is probably not significant.

Several of the lights suggested so far look like potentially good options (the Gerber Infinity, the MiniMag LED) except that they are twisty.

Now I have to admit that the Nitecore D10 looks nice, but it's $59. If I'm going to spend that much and then still have to monkey around with bottlecaps and scotch tape...why not just get the Zebralight which appears to be the overwhelming favorite at the same price. Photon Pro was also suggested but it's $79 and doesn't even have a low mode. LiteFlux looks nice. But it is better than the zebralight for this application? Price seems to be comparable.

JetBeam appears to be $79, so that's more than the Zebralight. Arcmania MJP extreme III appears to be far beyond what I want to spend. (I couldn't really find any info on this other than someone sold one "cheap" for $130.) I might be able to persuade the wife that we should get the Zebralight...but something that costs $130? Forget it!



I experimented with scotch tape diffusers on my Fenix and Arc. I found that it made the beams a lot more even---particularly the Arc which has a very sharply defined hot spot---but they still had a definite hot spot. I guess more diffusion would make it more even. I didn't have any bottle caps available to try. I need a solution that's reasonably permanent, so scotch tape, or a paper towel won't cut it. But the bottle cap might work. As I noted above, though, it doesn't seem sensible to get a $60 light that needs fiddling with bottlecap. If you know of a $15 light that needs this sort of fiddling, that might make sense. The tendency I've observed is for the cheap lights to have one brightness setting...and it's probably too bright for reading in the dark.

One possible exception: AKoray K-106. This one appears to have three individually settable modes and it's $20. Any comments on its suitability for reading after application of some sort of diffuser? (I read in reviews on dx that it was hard to operate the switch.)

Questions for zebralight users. Is the clicky switch easy to use? What is the sequence of brightnesses? If someone shines this light in your face how annoying is it?

 

[juplin]

Aspheric lens is one of the best solutions for reading lights because of the uniform beam pattern, appropriate beam angle of 60 ~90 degrees, and no lumen loss due to diffuser.

I take two modded aspheric lens versions of LF2XT and LF2 SSC P4 as examples.
The light in the left is the aspheric lens version of LF2XT modded by my friend, and the light in the right is the aspheric lens version of LF2 SSC P4 modded by myself.

The beam patterns of these two modded aspheric lens versions are basically full-moon-like circles with substantially identical brightness throughout the circles.

 

[adrianmariano]

Aspheric lens is one of the best solutions for reading lights because of the uniform beam pattern, appropriate beam angle of 60 ~90 degrees, and no lumen loss due to diffuser.

That's interesting. Now "aspheric lens" tells me what the lens is NOT, but it doesn't tell me what the lens is. Where do you get this lens and how much do they cost? Is this a simple mod to execute?

 

[juplin]

That's interesting. Now "aspheric lens" tells me what the lens is NOT, but it doesn't tell me what the lens is. Where do you get this lens and how much do they cost? Is this a simple mod to execute?

The dimensions of the aspheric lenses used in the modded LF2XT and LF2 SSC P4 are: 12.5 mm (diameter) * 4 mm (height) * 1 mm (peripheral edge). I got these lenses from my friend, but I think you can do some sourcing in your side in accordance with the dimensions if you desire to mod with lens. Modding is easier for LF2 SSC P4 by simply fixing the aspheric lens in the head shell, while it is relatively hard for LF2XT since you will need a head shell shorter than the original shell to install the aspheric lens.

 

[kiwicrunch]

One possible exception: AKoray K-106. This one appears to have three individually settable modes and it's $20. Any comments on its suitability for reading after application of some sort of diffuser? (I read in reviews on dx that it was hard to operate the switch.)

Questions for zebralight users. Is the clicky switch easy to use? What is the sequence of brightnesses? If someone shines this light in your face how annoying is it?

I have the K-106 and the Zebralight H501w.

The Akoray is substantially larger which makes it hard to position/clip, and even with a diffuser the beam wouldn't be as good as the zebralight for reading (ZL being warmer and, well, just a beautiful flood). The ZL also has accessories (clip- which is on a sleeve allowing the body to rotate, and headband) which give more positioning options.

The ZL's clicky is very easy to use (an electronic button rather than mechanical switch). Sequence is low-med-hi. I wouldn't want any light in my face, but that said the Zebralight's would be better than most, as the low is truly dim and just right for reading. Note though that since it throws a very wide flood, the light covers a wider than most and has a greater tendency to get in eyes. I think though that this is a good quality for reading.

I would strongly suggest the zebralight.

 

[GPB]

The princeton tec light is very easy to turn on and off despite being a twisty. I can use it with one hand but my kids generally use two hands but don't have any trouble. I have 4 PT lights that have the same bezel ( 1 attitude and 3 blasts ) that the kids use when its flashlight bath night. ( turn out all the lights and throw all the waterproof lights in the tub with bubble bath.....it may not sound like much, but when you are 7 and 4, its big fun ! ) They don't have any trouble with the light at all.

 

[loanshark]

The fenix e01 can be easily mounted to many things. Has an incredible regulated runtime for its size/ battery... But it is a twisty. It's an easy twisty with the knurling IMO... A bit of 220 grit sandpaper to the nichia pays off with a buttery smooth beam....