Chris M.
Flashlight Enthusiast
OK, maybe not intended to be an Exclusive First Look, but in the everyday life of the Torch Reviews Site things like this don`t happen too often so please forgive me for milking it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
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With many thanks to Margaret Sanderson of Nectarine Limited, UK-based company who run about 103 web sites including http://oolights.co.uk , today I recieved the long awaited Inova X1. This isn`t intended to be a review, rather a first-impressions look. A full review will appear on the Torch Reviews Site hopefully within the next few weeks.
Fit & Finish are top notch as I expected, going on the X5. I wonder if the finish is HA3? Could be. It came in Inova`s usual fancy looking packaging with a "try it" hole in the front, and Duracell AA battery pre-installed so it was ready to go right away. Here, size compared to the X5:
...and a tatty CMG Infinity:
I was surprised at how bright it is. I`ll be the first to admit I`m skeptical about the practice of using a single 5mm LED and focussing it to produce a narrower spot to throw further. I guess the TurtleLite gave me a bad impression with its pinprick of white light that`s too dim to shine far and too narrow to use up close. But this one is nicely bright and not extremely narrow. It is quite narrow though:
Closer detail of that beam. It does look rather like the Moon, but kind of blueish-white with a bright blue edge surrounding it. Probably a prismatic effect as a result of the lens shape.
The camera smooths it out more than it is. It`s got minor swirls and the one side is a little dimmer than the rest, I guess the die in the LED isn`t prefectly centered and the rest is just down to surface imperfections in the moulding of the LED.
Brightness comparison next to an Arc AAA Premium Edition. The battery in the Arc isn`t brand new but is pretty fresh:
Though very bright, it has no side spill at all so is similar to the Docter Aspherilux light, but with a much smaller spot.
Here shown against my favorite "familiar" test target:
The packaging states it has a realistic 65-foot effective range. I would agree with that. This is a long-exposure shot of it shone at my shed, which must be more than 65 feet away from up here. Looks similar to how I see it with reasonably dark adapted sight. Maybe a little darker - should`ve used a lower F-stop setting....:
The glass lens has a classy, expensive looking Anti-reflective coating with a blueish tinge to it:
I`ve used it briefly to find my way round in here and think the spot is a little too narrow for my liking. The fact that there`s no side spill at all means things that shouldn`t be there can sneak up on you all too easilly without frantically swishing it side to side.
What its ideal uses would be, well I`m not sure. It`s very directional so could have covert uses. Red ones might be nice to use when astronoming - the light wouldn`t shine up and dazzle everyone, but it could be a bit bright overall. It doesn`t seem at all ideal for up-close work really, probably better at mid range illumination.
Electrical specs, well it uses just one AA cell and the current drain is about 130ma peak. The 5mm LED is sealed up in the end but could be getting 30-35mA? They say the burn time is up to 10 hours. I don`t know yet though if that`s flat-regulated or semi regulated like the Arc-AAA.
Overall I like it. The sharp-cutoff to the beam limits its usefulness and it is rather big compared to an Infinity Ultra (unfortunately I havn`t got one of those), but it is bright for a one-LED-er and the construction is first rate.
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If you want to buy one, and you live in the UK, you can get yours at http://oolights.co.uk for a very reasonable £26.95 assuming they havn`t sold out yet! They only had limited quantities with no more expected until mid October. And yes, it does come with a belt holster like its bigger brother.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
-
With many thanks to Margaret Sanderson of Nectarine Limited, UK-based company who run about 103 web sites including http://oolights.co.uk , today I recieved the long awaited Inova X1. This isn`t intended to be a review, rather a first-impressions look. A full review will appear on the Torch Reviews Site hopefully within the next few weeks.
Fit & Finish are top notch as I expected, going on the X5. I wonder if the finish is HA3? Could be. It came in Inova`s usual fancy looking packaging with a "try it" hole in the front, and Duracell AA battery pre-installed so it was ready to go right away. Here, size compared to the X5:
...and a tatty CMG Infinity:
I was surprised at how bright it is. I`ll be the first to admit I`m skeptical about the practice of using a single 5mm LED and focussing it to produce a narrower spot to throw further. I guess the TurtleLite gave me a bad impression with its pinprick of white light that`s too dim to shine far and too narrow to use up close. But this one is nicely bright and not extremely narrow. It is quite narrow though:
Closer detail of that beam. It does look rather like the Moon, but kind of blueish-white with a bright blue edge surrounding it. Probably a prismatic effect as a result of the lens shape.
The camera smooths it out more than it is. It`s got minor swirls and the one side is a little dimmer than the rest, I guess the die in the LED isn`t prefectly centered and the rest is just down to surface imperfections in the moulding of the LED.
Brightness comparison next to an Arc AAA Premium Edition. The battery in the Arc isn`t brand new but is pretty fresh:
Though very bright, it has no side spill at all so is similar to the Docter Aspherilux light, but with a much smaller spot.
Here shown against my favorite "familiar" test target:
The packaging states it has a realistic 65-foot effective range. I would agree with that. This is a long-exposure shot of it shone at my shed, which must be more than 65 feet away from up here. Looks similar to how I see it with reasonably dark adapted sight. Maybe a little darker - should`ve used a lower F-stop setting....:
The glass lens has a classy, expensive looking Anti-reflective coating with a blueish tinge to it:
I`ve used it briefly to find my way round in here and think the spot is a little too narrow for my liking. The fact that there`s no side spill at all means things that shouldn`t be there can sneak up on you all too easilly without frantically swishing it side to side.
What its ideal uses would be, well I`m not sure. It`s very directional so could have covert uses. Red ones might be nice to use when astronoming - the light wouldn`t shine up and dazzle everyone, but it could be a bit bright overall. It doesn`t seem at all ideal for up-close work really, probably better at mid range illumination.
Electrical specs, well it uses just one AA cell and the current drain is about 130ma peak. The 5mm LED is sealed up in the end but could be getting 30-35mA? They say the burn time is up to 10 hours. I don`t know yet though if that`s flat-regulated or semi regulated like the Arc-AAA.
Overall I like it. The sharp-cutoff to the beam limits its usefulness and it is rather big compared to an Infinity Ultra (unfortunately I havn`t got one of those), but it is bright for a one-LED-er and the construction is first rate.
-
If you want to buy one, and you live in the UK, you can get yours at http://oolights.co.uk for a very reasonable £26.95 assuming they havn`t sold out yet! They only had limited quantities with no more expected until mid October. And yes, it does come with a belt holster like its bigger brother.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
