Major disappointment!
I ordered 2 Inova T4 to use in my job. I needed an intense light source for some imaging work, and a self-contained, rechargeable power source was desirable. To date I had been using my personal gear, but it was time to get some official lighting components for my lab. For a narrow spot light, the Inova Tiros based lights have always been one of my favorites. I didn't have time to build a custom source, or do extra research, so I fell back to a trusted brand.
The good:
The design and manufacturing quality of this light is top notch. The body is large by LED standards, but the light weight makes it an easy back-pocket carry. The reflector is a very good design, and looks to be machined from solid aluminum. The surface has a haze to it, presumably for increased diffusion. It still says Made in USA on the box.
The bad:
It has a surprisingly wide spill beam, with a total cone angle of about 45 degrees. Then there are 2 concentric hot spots. The outer one diverges at about 15 degrees, and has a nicely faded edge. The inner one is square, blotchy, more yellow, and diverges at about half the outer. Outdoors at night it is not too bad, as long as you don't let the hot spots fall on anything too nearby. Indoors it is unpleasant. For my photo application, well, I have a problem on my hands. I can start adding optics to get to where I need to be, add diffusers to smooth things out (waste light) or maybe buy a couple of old XO3 to get the job done. Please note that this is my own specific problem for my "spotlight" need at work. As a flashlight using consumer, well, I have no use for a hot spot in my light, let alone 2 of them.
The ugly:
Nasty yellow light! I haven't used an incandescent light for years, but I could swear that I have one now. I will dig out an old Maglight and compare colors. Maybe I have been using LED and short arc xenon (and sunlight) too long. I realize that lighting color preference is an individual thing, so this may just by my own aversion to tungsten filaments. As a reference point, I hate the "soft white" type of fluorescent bulbs. Bright white is better, and "daylight" spectrum is best (if it really is close to a daylight balance).
There is also the issue of power settings. There are 2: wide open, and instant headache flicker. The low setting pulses at about 90 hz, with a roughly 15% duty cycle. That means it is completely off 85% of the time. I realize that this is a standard trick on old or cheap LED lights, but the T4 does not fall into either category. I tried to use it outside at night, and I thought it was terrible. There is no chance of dark-adapting with that hot spot around. Kicking it into low is freaky if you move around at all, with multiple images of everything. My solution was to shut it off and light up a Fenix P3D (Q5) on low or medium (no flicker). On high (not yet turbo) the Fenix offers better visibility than the T4 on high, save possibly at long distances (the Fenix diverges faster). On the other hand the T4 has more heat sink area, so I am quite comfortable running it continuously.
But more good:
I peeked inside, and the T4 looks to be pretty modular. I love the LED board that is heat-sinked on the forward side, and held in place by beautiful, removable, screws! The power supply is also a separate module, and connects to the LED board with spring loaded pins. Upgrade or repair seems feasible.
Overall:
I like the light, until I turn it on. The beam pattern is a "tweener" compromise that will not satisfy my need for a spot light, or a working flood light. The yellow color is just added unpleasantness. The center hot spot makes it a good light for long range viewing, although I suspect that most of the light is actually in the spill beam. I really believe that this is a good light, with a crappy LED. I don't mean a single instance, because the light that I have been describing is the better of the two. I think that whatever LED is in use is just a poor match for a housing of this quality.
gerG
I ordered 2 Inova T4 to use in my job. I needed an intense light source for some imaging work, and a self-contained, rechargeable power source was desirable. To date I had been using my personal gear, but it was time to get some official lighting components for my lab. For a narrow spot light, the Inova Tiros based lights have always been one of my favorites. I didn't have time to build a custom source, or do extra research, so I fell back to a trusted brand.
The good:
The design and manufacturing quality of this light is top notch. The body is large by LED standards, but the light weight makes it an easy back-pocket carry. The reflector is a very good design, and looks to be machined from solid aluminum. The surface has a haze to it, presumably for increased diffusion. It still says Made in USA on the box.
The bad:
It has a surprisingly wide spill beam, with a total cone angle of about 45 degrees. Then there are 2 concentric hot spots. The outer one diverges at about 15 degrees, and has a nicely faded edge. The inner one is square, blotchy, more yellow, and diverges at about half the outer. Outdoors at night it is not too bad, as long as you don't let the hot spots fall on anything too nearby. Indoors it is unpleasant. For my photo application, well, I have a problem on my hands. I can start adding optics to get to where I need to be, add diffusers to smooth things out (waste light) or maybe buy a couple of old XO3 to get the job done. Please note that this is my own specific problem for my "spotlight" need at work. As a flashlight using consumer, well, I have no use for a hot spot in my light, let alone 2 of them.
The ugly:
Nasty yellow light! I haven't used an incandescent light for years, but I could swear that I have one now. I will dig out an old Maglight and compare colors. Maybe I have been using LED and short arc xenon (and sunlight) too long. I realize that lighting color preference is an individual thing, so this may just by my own aversion to tungsten filaments. As a reference point, I hate the "soft white" type of fluorescent bulbs. Bright white is better, and "daylight" spectrum is best (if it really is close to a daylight balance).
There is also the issue of power settings. There are 2: wide open, and instant headache flicker. The low setting pulses at about 90 hz, with a roughly 15% duty cycle. That means it is completely off 85% of the time. I realize that this is a standard trick on old or cheap LED lights, but the T4 does not fall into either category. I tried to use it outside at night, and I thought it was terrible. There is no chance of dark-adapting with that hot spot around. Kicking it into low is freaky if you move around at all, with multiple images of everything. My solution was to shut it off and light up a Fenix P3D (Q5) on low or medium (no flicker). On high (not yet turbo) the Fenix offers better visibility than the T4 on high, save possibly at long distances (the Fenix diverges faster). On the other hand the T4 has more heat sink area, so I am quite comfortable running it continuously.
But more good:
I peeked inside, and the T4 looks to be pretty modular. I love the LED board that is heat-sinked on the forward side, and held in place by beautiful, removable, screws! The power supply is also a separate module, and connects to the LED board with spring loaded pins. Upgrade or repair seems feasible.
Overall:
I like the light, until I turn it on. The beam pattern is a "tweener" compromise that will not satisfy my need for a spot light, or a working flood light. The yellow color is just added unpleasantness. The center hot spot makes it a good light for long range viewing, although I suspect that most of the light is actually in the spill beam. I really believe that this is a good light, with a crappy LED. I don't mean a single instance, because the light that I have been describing is the better of the two. I think that whatever LED is in use is just a poor match for a housing of this quality.
gerG
