Dual purpose light

[ragweed]

Hmm.. I have never been in an upscale restaurant where you could not see the food clearly even by candalight.

 

[ninemm]

Yes, that is my concern. Some of the lights I have been seeing, would be too bright in this kind of setting. How bright is the Ra on at a low setting? (assuming there is more than 1)

The icand mini-mag is about right for the situation, but it drops to quickly. So, I am looking for something that puts out a steady stream of light without dropping after 5 mins like the mag. & if possible, a high, so I can switch it out as my EDC

I don't have an incan mini mag to compare side by side, but the lowest setting of the RA Clicky I believe would be less bright than the mini mag.

With the RA you have 4 levels and you can customize the brightness of each one. They are accessed by different button pushes. So, single click and release could give you a barely glowing .3 lumens or anywhere up to 100 lumens. Then there is double, triple click and click + press hold that would be any level of brightness you choose.

 

[carrot]

If the E2e is still too bright then the E1e is perfect. I just dug it out and it is excellent. Being around 3.0v it should be similar to the Mini Maglite in output on fresh batteries but will sustain that output for much longer.

If the E1e is not an option, then I would look at a UK penlight like this one on NiMH batteries.
http://brightguy.com/products/UK_2AAA_Penlight_S.php

 

[prof student]

Did you miss the application? Color rendering is useless if one is blinded.

Yes, I am not looking to blind someone, lol. I alreayd have a SL Strion, but that may be too bright. If the plates weren't white & reflecting the brightness of it, I'd stick with that. But, such is not the case.

93 is the highest posted CRI # available for an LED that I know of. Output is going to take precedence because if the output isn't right then the question is moot.

Although if 93 wont cut it, the mini/micro mag will have to do becuase it is the only incan around with a low enough output.

So, is there a light with a 93, that has a dim/low output so as to not blind? The 93 is the closest to incand?

Thanks.

 

[prof student]

Hmm.. I have never been in an upscale restaurant where you could not see the food clearly even by candalight.

Well, you can see the food, but not clearly the temp/color of the steak when you cut into it

 

[carrot]

Although if 93 wont cut it, the mini/micro mag will have to do becuase it is the only incan around with a low enough output.

You are wrong and ignorant. There are a lot of pocket dive lights that are incandescent and far superior to the Mini Maglite while still maintaining a similar output level.

Also, the Surefire E1e is an excellent pocketable size, and well-suited to the task. I recommend it highly. At 15 lumens it is certainly not too bright and will be excellent for the OP's needs.

 

[Ragiska]

you have to ask yourself, would you rather it have a high CRI and be yellowish like an Incan, or have a color temperature (CCT) closer to that of natural sunlight instead?

high CRI doesn't equal a "natural" color rendition if you are also missing the CCT

 

[computernut]

A black E2E-BK with MN02 lamp and a F04 diffuser. Great colour rendition, not too bright, and the diffuser makes a wonderful beam with no hotspot. The matte black body is classy rather than military looking. You could go with an E1E-BK with a LF bulb but the runtime will be less.

 

[carrot]

Here is another light that the OP might choose, though not nearly as nice as the E1e.

http://www.tek-tite.com/src/product_info.php?id=791

In the OP's application, CR123 is the preferable power source since it maintains a similar output over time without the usage of a regulation circuit.

Since they can be had rather inexpensively online from various dealers (such as Lighthound and 4sevens), there is no issue of procurement.

 

[ninemm]

You are wrong and ignorant. There are a lot of pocket dive lights that are incandescent and far superior to the Mini Maglite while still maintaining a similar output level.

Also, the Surefire E1e is an excellent pocketable size, and well-suited to the task. I recommend it highly. At 15 lumens it is certainly not too bright and will be excellent for the OP's needs.

I didn't think of the E1 That would probably be a good choice as well. Slightly more compact than the RA Clicky. The beam is more concentrated, but I don't think that would be too much of an issue.

 

[prof student]

Here is another light that the OP might choose, though not nearly as nice as the E1e.

http://www.tek-tite.com/src/product_info.php?id=791

In the OP's application, CR123 is the preferable power source since it maintains a similar output over time without the usage of a regulation circuit.

Since they can be had rather inexpensively online from various dealers (such as Lighthound and 4sevens), there is no issue of procurement.

Does a flashlight exist with AA? Basically, I like how LED regulate the light & you get the exact same amount of light wether you turned it on or 2 hours later (of course depending on the setting). That just doesn't happen with the Maglites. I would feel a little bit better if using AA batteries & discarding them, though they still have power left but not for incand, then the 123's. But, that's me. Of course like many of you, I would like to get as much run time & juice from my batteries to begin with, lol.

 

[ninemm]

If you went with the RA Clicky. You could get rechargeable 123s and not worry about throwing them out for a long time. You would be investing more $$ up front, but saving money in the long run if you plan on using the light frequently.

 

[ypsifly]

As a Chef who has plenty of experience in dark dining rooms I would say go with the E1e. A diffuser would be a great help IMHO, less focused light bouncing off of plates and silverware.

 

[carrot]

Does a flashlight exist with AA? Basically, I like how LED regulate the light & you get the exact same amount of light wether you turned it on or 2 hours later (of course depending on the setting). That just doesn't happen with the Maglites. I would feel a little bit better if using AA batteries & discarding them, though they still have power left but not for incand, then the 123's. But, that's me. Of course like many of you, I would like to get as much run time & juice from my batteries to begin with, lol.

The only production regulated incandescent light is the A2. Since there are no other regulated incans, there are no AA-based incans that are regulated. You should definitely stick to CR123 in this application. Even the better Xenon-based incans (as compared to Krypton Maglites) as offered by Pelican and UK cannot offer better runtime since the output is directly related to the discharge curve of the battery. CR123's have a discharge curve that is very close to being flat, so they are perfect here.

 

[325addict]

I can also highly recommend the E1E. Although not regulated, the problems you encounter with the mini mag are due to alkaline batteries when you use these. Lithium-based batteries have a much steadier output, and will go on till the last mAh of capacity is used, then suddenly the light will die completely within a very short time.

You can also try to use the mini Mag on NiMH batteries. These also have a much steadier voltage than alkaline batteries. Just try it, and you'll see!!

Timmo.

 

[rickypanecatyl]

Great thread - I realized I didn't know there was a difference between CRI and the temp color ... anyone know how the new warm 3-3,100k quarks compare to the incans?

I don't have any wisdom on what color light would help you see your steak color the best... I too am wondering in addition to CRI and color temp what would be a good number of lumens to come on at to be sufficient without blinding the customer. (The surefire "powerful enough to temporarily blind and disorient a tipping customer" slogan need not apply here).

Style wise though, I think in your application I would be going for a (2) tripple A, reverse clicky that came on with the first click in the correct mode. I imagining a sliver or black colored 2 battery preon with a warm led, set to come on at ?12 lumens but with knurling. (Knurling as I wouldn't want to ever drop in on a customers plate ). For your application I think the long, thin "pen shape" light would be elegant ... easy to pull it out of a breast pocket (I'm visualizing trying to pull a 2X CR123 light with tactical bezel thats fallen sidewise in your pocket out. You're holding a steak next to a frumpy, wealthy British customer and saying just a moment please. Meanwhile the tacticle bezel has "grabbed" the inside of your pocket and doesn't want to slide out. You set the plate down because you need 2 hands. Now it just looks like your struggling with a severe case of jock itch and your sophisticated British customer is thinking no on the steak!)

 

[mikra]

But, would the Ra w/ high CRI be too bright for this?

No, the Ra can go from 0.07 to 100 lumen.

It is famous for the very low low mode.

http://www.ralights.com/?id=ClickyHighCri

 

[Mikeg23]

Yes, I am not looking to blind someone, lol. I alreayd have a SL Strion, but that may be too bright. If the plates weren't white & reflecting the brightness of it, I'd stick with that. But, such is not the case.

This makes for an excellent point of reference, as long as it is an Incan Strion... Your Strion is not regulated, but because it uses a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery it gives you a very consistent output until the battery runs dead. Lithium Primaries work very similarly, as far as giving a consistent output until they're dead.

As a point of reference a Surefire E2e (MN03 bulb) is close to the same output as your Strion, except the Strion has more throw where the E2e has more of a flawless beam.

So the E2e with MN02 bulb (which is called an E2O) is dimmer and the E1e dimmer yet. I think with a diffuser either would be dim enough for you and you can remove the diffuser to carry when your not at work.

Also you could look into making you Surefire rechargeable down the road when you get sick of throwing away batteries. The lumens factory EO-E1R running on one protected AW17670 is the same brightness as a factory E2e. I would guess the Lumens factory HO-E1R running on a protected RCR123 would be similar to the E2O or E1E

 

[Dude Dudeson]

Obsessing over tint or CRI for this application is just nuts.

That's my opinion anyway - I literally could not begin to count how many light sources I've used over the years to gauge how my meat is cooked.

Maybe I'm just that good with meat though...

 

[prof student]

As a Chef who has plenty of experience in dark dining rooms I would say go with the E1e. A diffuser would be a great help IMHO, less focused light bouncing off of plates and silverware.

Yeah, I've used my strion a few times. Way too bright & greater reflection comming off the snow white plates. Great for looking under the table, or if the power goes out, but overkill when shinning food on the plate.

Does anyone know of a cheap diffuser for either the Strion or E1?