StefanFS
Flashlight Enthusiast
LumaPower MRV - Beamshots & Runtimes! UPDATED!
At last "IT" arrived in the mail.
A group photo. From the left: LumaPower D-Mini, Dereelight CL1H with 6-mode dropin, Eastward YJ U2 style and last the MRV.
Same order as above. The business ends.
To switch levels turn the plated light engine in relation to the body. Clockwise to go to high from low, and counterclockwise to go from high to low. Don't tighten it too much clockwise, that could loosen the switch mechanism. A soft click indicates the switch between levels.
The extreme reflector with GITD o-ring between bezel and lens.
Tailcap with aggressive cutouts. Very nice to use and easy to click.
Two shots to show the different textures, HA vs plating.
Tailcap with reverse onestage clickie installed. Note the treated threads on the battery tube.
Light engine and head taken off.
Head with light engine taken off as a unit from the battery tube.Also shown is GID switch cover, spare o-rings and the momentary push switch (screw on for constant light).
LumaPower D-Mini on the left, MRV on the right. @ 2 meters. Both on one 3.7 volt LiIon. F/2.8, 1/200 s, ISO 100. Waaaay underexposed and taken in daylight. Better shots will come later, from various sources no doubt.
The GITD o-ring in the bezel.
This is how the underside of the light engine looks like when you screw out the plastic retainer for the mode switch. Under the plastic cover there is a switch with a resistor on the board. On the switch there is a small spring with a brass contact resting on it, the same brass contact you see when you disassemble the light engine from the battery tube. That makes contact with the brass contact screwed down into the battery tube. When you tighten the tube clockwise against the light engine assembly it puts pressure on the switch and when it clicks it bypasses the resistor for high mode.
This light is like no other. I think you need to hold it to understand that. It will momentary blind you if you look into the lens and CLOSE YOUR EYES before you turn it on. The plated light engine looks very nice in real life, it's not mirror shiny. More like machined and semi polished stainless steel. HA is a sort of gray green that is very handsome on this light.
Throw Lux @ one meter:
· 18650 x 1 on high: 10100 Lux
· 18650 x 1 on low: 5700 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on high: 11500 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on low: 5900 Lux
(In the table presented by LumaPower Lux @ one meter are:
18650 x 1 on high: 16900 Lux
RCR123 x 2 on high: 20100 Lux
I not totally clear on whether LumPower is stating throw Lux or total output. 16900-20100 Lux in throw seems outrageous @ 1 A even considering the larger reflector. My guess is that these figures reflect total output, especially since the MRV have a large and bright spill area which is much brighter than the D-Mini.
As a comparison, my D-Mini with an Cree Q2 dropin led engine driven at ~1.3 A produces 12600 Lux in throw.)
LumaPower have announced that the throw Lux figures published earlier are from Engineering Samples with a much tighter hotspot and less spill light than current versions. The current version of the reflector is in the light reviewed here. The new reflector have more useful spill light and throw numbers are in the range of 10000 Lux and up depending on cell/s used.
My conclusion
This is a magnificent flashlight. Very nice. Very high quality in my opinion. Construction is very well done and the light is rugged, it feels massive in the hand. It's possible to disassemble it completely, save for the light engine internals, and all parts fit together snug and tight. No loose threads or other inconsistencies in construction. It's very bright with excellent throw capability, and at the same time it produces a bright and large spill area.
I'm very picky with my equipment, but I can really recommend this light to anyone who wants a good flashlight in this size and class.
The only two weak points would be the mode switching assembly under the light engine, part plastic and a delicate switch, and the GITD o-ring between the bezel and the lens. The o-ring should be kept in place by a ridge in the bezel to stay in place securely when the bezel is tightened down. It takes a fair bit of abuse to compromise the GITD o-ring, you have to overtighten the bezel quite a lot to get the o-ring to pop out. The mode switching assembly also needs to be abused to stop function as intended, if you overtighten the battery tube hard, clockwise, against the light engine one of the switch retaining parts can come loose. What happens is that the low mode disappears until you take the battery tube off and tighten the relevant part down again. The light still functions, only the mode switching is affected. But, you need to abuse the light quite a bit for this to happen.
Now some real life beamshots.
All nightshots are taken with an 8 second exposure time. Also note that the sky doesn't go totally dark this time of year in Sweden. The 8 second exposure time is very close to what I saw with my bare eyes when I did this. I took my likely throw candidates, the spotlight was just for fun, but I found that it had its place in this.
From the left: D-Mini on RCR123 LiIon, MRV on 18650 LiIon, 5 D Mag with Mag halogen bulb on alkaline, "2 Million CP" Spotlight 6 Volt.
Throw Lux: D-Mini 7800 Lux. MRV 10150 Lux. 5 D mag 14000 Lux. Spotlight 33000 Lux.
The first setting.
The end of the road is 100 meters away. Composite picture first, then the individual shots.
The second setting.
The treeline is 200 meters away. Composite picture first, then the individual shots.
MRV bonus image, probably a bit over 100 meters. Very nice.
About the distances involved in this, they are known. Both by official map and by measurement. Here is a nice sat/air shot of the area.
Two shots just to show how "perfect" the MRV hotspot is. Why use white walls for hunting when there are rune stones standing around. Second shot shows the corona around the hotspot. There are no rings that I can see in the MRV beam.
MRV. 1 m. F/5,6 1/50 s.
MRV 1 m. F/2,8 1/30 s.
Inscription on the stone, literally: Inga had this stone inscribed for Aslak her Stepson. Age on the stone is +1000 years.
Runtimes on RCR123, 18650 LiIon & CR123A
Runtime with RCR123 on the high setting. 25 minutes of 100%, then it shuts off. If you let the cell rest for a few minutes it will come on again for a minute or so. Expect much better runtime with primaries since they hold much more mAh than RCR.
RCR123 on low. 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Runtime with AW 18650 LiIon 2200 mAh. 3 hours and 15 minutes to 50%. Usable light up to 4 hours and thirty minutes. Expect low to have at least 12-15 hours runtime, I'll do that one when and if I have time for it.
This is the result from Energizer CR123A primary cells. MRV on high. about 53 minutes to 50%.
I went one step further with this review. I disassembled the light engine to get the driver pcb out from my MRV. Before I disassemled it I desoldered the positive lead from the led in order to get milliAmpere readings to the led. They are as follow, with the stock driver circuit and fresh cells:
On AW 18650 LiIon:
- Low 410 mA
- High 830 mA
On two RCR123 LiIon:
- Low 410 mA
- High 1190 mA
On two CR123 primary cells:
- Low 410 mA
- High 1190 mA
The space in the driver compartment is: 7.2 mm in height. The driver pcb is 17 mm in diameter. Including the brass contact ring the pcb is 18.85 mm in diameter to fit the depression in the light engine.
A magnified picture of the stock driver.
The backside of the stock driver. This miniature click switch is what changes the mode when you turn the body, it's what makes the soft click when you turn the battery tube to go low or high.
This is a picture of the led mounted in the light engine heatsink. It's glued to the heatsink with some spongy thermal epoxy, it's a very thin layer of it under the mini star that holds the Cree emitter.
See post #120 for modification with new AMC7135 driver.
See post #133 for modification with FluPic.
See post #169 for CREE X RE Q5 WG bin installation.
Stefan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 2007-08-23
I have received another MRV, this is the new version with dark brown hard anodized finish and dark chrome on the light engine heatsink.
Fit, finish and build quality are very good, better than the previous version. Flawless anodizing, better threads, stiffer spring in the midbody switch mechanism. The glow in the dark lens o-ring is held in place more securely than on the first version. Output is up a bit from the first version, likely due to the CREE Q2 used in this version. Driver seems to be the same model that is used in the first version MRV.
Finish is very good. Here beside the first version.
Anodized and deeper threads on the new version.
Output is slightly higher on 18650. Definitely higher on CR123 and RCR123.
Old version. Throw Lux @ one meter:
· 18650 x 1 on high: 10 100 Lux
· 18650 x 1 on low: 5700 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on high: 11 500 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on low: 5900 Lux
New version. Throw Lux @ one meter:
· 18650 x 1 on high: 11 300 Lux
· 18650 x 1 on low: 7200 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on high: 14 350 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on low: 7100 Lux
· CR123A x 2 on high: 14 400
· CR123A x 2 on low: 7100 Lux
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further beamshots with the MRV will be in a new thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...57#post2105757
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At last "IT" arrived in the mail.
A group photo. From the left: LumaPower D-Mini, Dereelight CL1H with 6-mode dropin, Eastward YJ U2 style and last the MRV.
Same order as above. The business ends.
To switch levels turn the plated light engine in relation to the body. Clockwise to go to high from low, and counterclockwise to go from high to low. Don't tighten it too much clockwise, that could loosen the switch mechanism. A soft click indicates the switch between levels.
The extreme reflector with GITD o-ring between bezel and lens.
Tailcap with aggressive cutouts. Very nice to use and easy to click.
Two shots to show the different textures, HA vs plating.
Tailcap with reverse onestage clickie installed. Note the treated threads on the battery tube.
Light engine and head taken off.
Head with light engine taken off as a unit from the battery tube.Also shown is GID switch cover, spare o-rings and the momentary push switch (screw on for constant light).
LumaPower D-Mini on the left, MRV on the right. @ 2 meters. Both on one 3.7 volt LiIon. F/2.8, 1/200 s, ISO 100. Waaaay underexposed and taken in daylight. Better shots will come later, from various sources no doubt.
The GITD o-ring in the bezel.
This is how the underside of the light engine looks like when you screw out the plastic retainer for the mode switch. Under the plastic cover there is a switch with a resistor on the board. On the switch there is a small spring with a brass contact resting on it, the same brass contact you see when you disassemble the light engine from the battery tube. That makes contact with the brass contact screwed down into the battery tube. When you tighten the tube clockwise against the light engine assembly it puts pressure on the switch and when it clicks it bypasses the resistor for high mode.
This light is like no other. I think you need to hold it to understand that. It will momentary blind you if you look into the lens and CLOSE YOUR EYES before you turn it on. The plated light engine looks very nice in real life, it's not mirror shiny. More like machined and semi polished stainless steel. HA is a sort of gray green that is very handsome on this light.
Throw Lux @ one meter:
· 18650 x 1 on high: 10100 Lux
· 18650 x 1 on low: 5700 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on high: 11500 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on low: 5900 Lux
(In the table presented by LumaPower Lux @ one meter are:
18650 x 1 on high: 16900 Lux
RCR123 x 2 on high: 20100 Lux
I not totally clear on whether LumPower is stating throw Lux or total output. 16900-20100 Lux in throw seems outrageous @ 1 A even considering the larger reflector. My guess is that these figures reflect total output, especially since the MRV have a large and bright spill area which is much brighter than the D-Mini.
As a comparison, my D-Mini with an Cree Q2 dropin led engine driven at ~1.3 A produces 12600 Lux in throw.)
LumaPower have announced that the throw Lux figures published earlier are from Engineering Samples with a much tighter hotspot and less spill light than current versions. The current version of the reflector is in the light reviewed here. The new reflector have more useful spill light and throw numbers are in the range of 10000 Lux and up depending on cell/s used.
My conclusion
This is a magnificent flashlight. Very nice. Very high quality in my opinion. Construction is very well done and the light is rugged, it feels massive in the hand. It's possible to disassemble it completely, save for the light engine internals, and all parts fit together snug and tight. No loose threads or other inconsistencies in construction. It's very bright with excellent throw capability, and at the same time it produces a bright and large spill area.
I'm very picky with my equipment, but I can really recommend this light to anyone who wants a good flashlight in this size and class.
The only two weak points would be the mode switching assembly under the light engine, part plastic and a delicate switch, and the GITD o-ring between the bezel and the lens. The o-ring should be kept in place by a ridge in the bezel to stay in place securely when the bezel is tightened down. It takes a fair bit of abuse to compromise the GITD o-ring, you have to overtighten the bezel quite a lot to get the o-ring to pop out. The mode switching assembly also needs to be abused to stop function as intended, if you overtighten the battery tube hard, clockwise, against the light engine one of the switch retaining parts can come loose. What happens is that the low mode disappears until you take the battery tube off and tighten the relevant part down again. The light still functions, only the mode switching is affected. But, you need to abuse the light quite a bit for this to happen.
Now some real life beamshots.
All nightshots are taken with an 8 second exposure time. Also note that the sky doesn't go totally dark this time of year in Sweden. The 8 second exposure time is very close to what I saw with my bare eyes when I did this. I took my likely throw candidates, the spotlight was just for fun, but I found that it had its place in this.
From the left: D-Mini on RCR123 LiIon, MRV on 18650 LiIon, 5 D Mag with Mag halogen bulb on alkaline, "2 Million CP" Spotlight 6 Volt.
Throw Lux: D-Mini 7800 Lux. MRV 10150 Lux. 5 D mag 14000 Lux. Spotlight 33000 Lux.
The first setting.
The end of the road is 100 meters away. Composite picture first, then the individual shots.
The second setting.
The treeline is 200 meters away. Composite picture first, then the individual shots.
MRV bonus image, probably a bit over 100 meters. Very nice.
About the distances involved in this, they are known. Both by official map and by measurement. Here is a nice sat/air shot of the area.
Two shots just to show how "perfect" the MRV hotspot is. Why use white walls for hunting when there are rune stones standing around. Second shot shows the corona around the hotspot. There are no rings that I can see in the MRV beam.
MRV. 1 m. F/5,6 1/50 s.
MRV 1 m. F/2,8 1/30 s.
Inscription on the stone, literally: Inga had this stone inscribed for Aslak her Stepson. Age on the stone is +1000 years.
Runtimes on RCR123, 18650 LiIon & CR123A
Runtime with RCR123 on the high setting. 25 minutes of 100%, then it shuts off. If you let the cell rest for a few minutes it will come on again for a minute or so. Expect much better runtime with primaries since they hold much more mAh than RCR.
RCR123 on low. 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Runtime with AW 18650 LiIon 2200 mAh. 3 hours and 15 minutes to 50%. Usable light up to 4 hours and thirty minutes. Expect low to have at least 12-15 hours runtime, I'll do that one when and if I have time for it.
This is the result from Energizer CR123A primary cells. MRV on high. about 53 minutes to 50%.
I went one step further with this review. I disassembled the light engine to get the driver pcb out from my MRV. Before I disassemled it I desoldered the positive lead from the led in order to get milliAmpere readings to the led. They are as follow, with the stock driver circuit and fresh cells:
On AW 18650 LiIon:
- Low 410 mA
- High 830 mA
On two RCR123 LiIon:
- Low 410 mA
- High 1190 mA
On two CR123 primary cells:
- Low 410 mA
- High 1190 mA
The space in the driver compartment is: 7.2 mm in height. The driver pcb is 17 mm in diameter. Including the brass contact ring the pcb is 18.85 mm in diameter to fit the depression in the light engine.
A magnified picture of the stock driver.
The backside of the stock driver. This miniature click switch is what changes the mode when you turn the body, it's what makes the soft click when you turn the battery tube to go low or high.
This is a picture of the led mounted in the light engine heatsink. It's glued to the heatsink with some spongy thermal epoxy, it's a very thin layer of it under the mini star that holds the Cree emitter.
See post #120 for modification with new AMC7135 driver.
See post #133 for modification with FluPic.
See post #169 for CREE X RE Q5 WG bin installation.
Stefan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 2007-08-23
I have received another MRV, this is the new version with dark brown hard anodized finish and dark chrome on the light engine heatsink.
Fit, finish and build quality are very good, better than the previous version. Flawless anodizing, better threads, stiffer spring in the midbody switch mechanism. The glow in the dark lens o-ring is held in place more securely than on the first version. Output is up a bit from the first version, likely due to the CREE Q2 used in this version. Driver seems to be the same model that is used in the first version MRV.
Finish is very good. Here beside the first version.
Anodized and deeper threads on the new version.
Output is slightly higher on 18650. Definitely higher on CR123 and RCR123.
Old version. Throw Lux @ one meter:
· 18650 x 1 on high: 10 100 Lux
· 18650 x 1 on low: 5700 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on high: 11 500 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on low: 5900 Lux
New version. Throw Lux @ one meter:
· 18650 x 1 on high: 11 300 Lux
· 18650 x 1 on low: 7200 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on high: 14 350 Lux
· RCR123 x 2 on low: 7100 Lux
· CR123A x 2 on high: 14 400
· CR123A x 2 on low: 7100 Lux
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further beamshots with the MRV will be in a new thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...57#post2105757
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last edited:
It will be interesting to see more independent results!
