I'm glad the question came up. I had to think about it then look around. (Hey, I thought I put a Carclo in that light...it's an NX05...where's my other Carclo...hmm...and this MadMax mini-mag has an LP in it?...I don't remember doing that)
Anyway, I'm pretty sure I've got them straight.
NXO1 - Business end or "photon exit surface" concave with a nipple in it. Recessed lip.
NXO5 - Business end flat with recessed lip.
Fraen LP -Business end has a whole in it. Lip not recessed.
Carclo 6 degree. Business end is flat. Lip is not recessed. This optic is shorter than the others. My favorite.
Of course, there are other differences but I figured these design elements would be the most easily identified.
Check out the beams in the
Otics shootout!
and the
Optics review-Carlco Precision and others threads.
I hope this was of some help.
- Jeff
***EDIT***
Gee I thought I could take my time on this answer.
The one on the left in AvroArrow's picture is indeed a Carclo 6 degree.
The NX01 is newer than the NX05 but it's not new. It's the mystery optic because Fraen won't claim it. It is sought after because the hotspot is more intense than NX05 and LP and it still has sidespill. The Carclo 6 degree doesn't have much sidespill. All the light goes into a square beam with a good central hotspot.
I saw a while back where someone used an NX01 with a Cree and it looked OK. The only Crees I have are in a custom and a mod I don't want to take apart or I'd check it out. I'm curious what the Carclo Fiber Optic would do. Never worked well with Luxeons.
Hey Shifty!