keychain lights

[BugLightGeek]

I was wondering which keychain light is brighter, the CMG O-4 or a Photon II or III?

I looked on Craig's website and saw individual shots, but no comparison between the O-4 and a Photon.

Anyone??

 

[Badbeams3]

Let`s see...one uses a Nachia powered by 2 2016`s...the other uses a Nachia powered by 2 2016...hope this helps.

I prefer the Photon three for the differant power levels.

Ken

 

[BugLightGeek]

unfortunately, no...it doesn't help.

Probably because I'm not familiar with those batteries.

Any additional info?

 

[Spork]

they are the quarter sized 3 volt batteries that go in watches. they are more expensive than running a arc unless you buy them in bulk. they also dim out very quickly. its a poor battery even for a led flashlight in my opinion. I've yet to see a coin cell light with even half the quality of a arc. I tried them for a while but came back to my arc. my advice would be dont watse your money on the coin cell lights or batteries.

Chris

 

[BugLightGeek]

ok. Thanks for the battery info. And, I realize an Arc would be better than either an O-4 or a Photon, but, I was asking which was brighter just between the O-4 and either a Photon II or a Photon III

Right now, I'm just saving my pennies for my first Arc. Then, I'll have to agonize over what color to get although I'm leaning toward a Turquoise one...

 

[Spork]

the p2 and p3 are equal on the highest setting. im guessing the 0-4 would be about the same. i know my p2 was driven directly from the batteries so it couldnt get any brighter and was still dimmer than my arc after just a short time of use. I would go for the white arc. i had turquoise and didnt think it was that much brighter. also with white you can see colors much better which i think is important.

 

[ChrisA]

brightness of both lights is virtually identical... both use the same leds and batteries.

chris

 

[Spork]

oh and im not trying to tell anyone what to buy

I used to have a lot more lights than i do now. i thought having a mini collection was really neat but now all i care about is the best ones and I see the others as wasteful.

 

[BugLightGeek]

I wonder how many of us "Chris's" there are on here

Thanks for the info on the keychain lights.

I read somewhere that the turquoise is perceived as brighter by the human eye than white because of the wavelength...plus, I want to get other colors than white/blue-white than I have...although my LuxeonStar ElektroLumens 3D blaster is kinda green around the gills....sweetly bright though

 

[ChrisA]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> I wonder how many of us "Chris's" there are on here <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

LOL !

 

[BugLightGeek]

Just for kicks though, I did just visually compare my Infinity (with a Lithium AA cell) and my O-4 and the O-4 is brighter and has a longer throw than the Infinity. And, realizing I had a Lithium AA in my Infinity, I put in a regular AA and

the beam was noticeably dimmer. Yuck!

 

[Spork]

that is strange everyone posting with the same name. I have the eternalight ravn I turn on once and a while when im bored. its a multicolor flashlight with some neat features. wouldnt be my first choice in a emergency but still is a useable flashlight.

 

[BugLightGeek]

We are missing a post by one other "Chris" though...on the topic, of course, to make it legit

 

[Chris M.]

Yay, let`s confuse everyone else reading this. It`s almost as bad as all the Dougs we have on here....

On topic? Er.....well I have a white photon 2 and an 04 round here somewhere so I could take a side-by-side shot and post it later? I`m not sure how good (or otherwise) the batteries are but I`ll give it a go when the sun goes down. Camera`s a bit upset again at the moment but a thump in the right spot usually gets it settled long enough for one or two pictures....

 

[Quickbeam]

Speaking of Dougs... Hi guys!

I have time for 1 quick post: CMG O4 and Photon 2 white both produce 14 Lux at one meter. They are the same brightness, use the same LED and the same battery. The Photon is smaller in overall size. For more comparisons, see here:
http://thelightsite.cruxial.com/reviews/lux_charts.htm

 

[BugLightGeek]

Alright. Thanks Chris M (and all the other Chris's)

A beam shot would be most appreciated if you can get your camera to cooperate. Speaking of cameras, do you beam shots with a film or digital camera? I have a digital camera that I'd like to take some beam shots with but am not sure of the best settings/white balance/iso/shutter speed/aperature settings...any advice? Or, should I start a new thread on beam shot advice?

Quickbeam/Doug, thanks on the post as well. I had seen that a long time ago so it was nice to be reminded of it.

 

[Chris M.]

All my pictures are taken using an old video camera hooked to a PC capture card, I don`t own a digital cam. I couldn`t help regarding settings sorry, it`s got its own little quirks, not like a stills camera at all. I set it up live using the Win-TV window, it has auto white balance, manual focus and gain. Your best bet is just to experiment with various settings and see what works- get familiar with what your camera will and will not do.


Anyways. One beam shot for you sir:

The CMG wins here- this could be down to three possible things.
1. The photon`s batteries could be more run down.
2. The LED in the Photon could have suffered some degradation of the phosphor. It has been used significantly more often than the 04. In fact I`ve hardly used the CMG light at all.
3. The 04 could have a slightly better brightness rank of LED. I seem to recall it was always an impressive little one next to other single LED lights so this could be the answer. No idea if they`re all this way though, such is the very variable nature of white LEDs.


My 04 is one of the first release, they have different battery contacts now, and possibly use the latest improved Nichia LEDs. But then, so do the Photons so they are probably pretty closely matched. The 04 is bigger than the Photon but has the advantage of being properly waterproof (not just splash proof like the Photon 1 / 3 appears to be)while still having a constant-on feature too. I believe they also cost less (retail) and you have a choice of bosy colour. The rubber back half of the body also makes it rather nicely bite-able for the occasional hands free operation. I think the design is also less prone to turning on if it were sat on while in a pocket.

Now that I think of it, it`s actually a pretty tidy little(ish) light. I think I`ll replace the turquoise Photon on my keychain with it for a bit. See how things go.....