My Quick NiteCore D10-EX10 Review

[Kid9P]

Great comparison pics with the Novatac.

Were both lights on HIGH by the way?

If not, can you tell me which is brighter ON HIGH of the two?

Thanks!

Ray

 

[SaturnNyne]

Great comparison pics with the Novatac.

Were both lights on HIGH by the way?

If not, can you tell me which is brighter ON HIGH of the two?

Yes, those shots were on high for both lights. The EX10 is clearly, but not tremendously, brighter than the NovaTac based on side by side comparison of both spot and spill intensity (I didn't do any semi-formal bounce tests, but I didn't feel there was any need to confirm what I was seeing, it looked pretty cut and dry). Don't take this as definitely confirming any brightness claims though; based on a few informal comparisons, I now believe my 120P is just slightly short of 120lm, probably closer to 100-110lm.

I also took a comparison shot with the EX10 on low, but I don't think it's very useful to anyone else since I left the 120P on my normal secondary mode rather than trying to make them comparable. If you're curious about the output on low, my quick observations based on comparison with a Ra Twisty is that it's somewhere around 1 lumen or perhaps slightly lower, but it was just a quick comparison and I didn't bother trying to nail it down precisely. Basically, it's no HDS in the extreme low end, but it is quite impressively and usefully low.

 

[SunnyQueensland]

Thanks for taking the time to supply all this info... :thumbsup:

 

[Spackle]

Changing the background from grey to white will GREATLY improve the readability. As a former instructor, printing out charts with grey background (the default) instead of white earned a 5 point deduction in my grade book after the first week.

The gray background is the default for a reason. It is the best background to use most of the time. I don't know were you get that a white background will *GREATLY* improve readability. What do you base this on?

 

[Marduke]

The gray background is the default for a reason. It is the best background to use most of the time. I don't know were you get that a white background will *GREATLY* improve readability. What do you base this on?

Microsoft does a lot of wonky stuff by default, very little of it is with any GOOD reason.

Gray background is actually AGAINST graphing standards (along with Excel's rectangular, non-square plots). If you ever try to publish a graph as part of a larger publication, reviewers will immediately reject any plot with a shaded background, both because of set standards and readability issues. Having had to grade approximately 8000 (nearly all Excel) plots/graphs the past few years, I can confidently say that white gives VASTLY better contrast to view data points and lines.

 

[applevision]

Guys, this is an awesome thread--thank you!

Okay, I need y'all experts to summarize for me... I am going to get a D10 I think--which batteries should I use? E2s? Eneloops? Or should I invest in some AWs and a charger? I think I'd like to get rechargeables so I don't have to keep throwing batteries away, but I want to get execellent performance from this light.

Many thanks!

 

[LA OZ]

AW + Charger would be ideal for the D10 but the start up cost you have to consider. The next best thing is to pair with Eneloops.

 

[ToeMoss]

This interface brings uncertainty into my life I am not sure I'm ready for. One through nine, no maybes, no supposes, no fractions. You can't travel in space, you can't go out into space, you know, without, like, you know, uh, with fractions - what are you going to land on - one-quarter, three-eighths? What are you going to do when you go from here to Venus or something? That's dialectic physics.

 

[applevision]

Thank you, LA OZ.

I might just have to do the AWs...

 

[Imothep]

Hi guys!

I just got my first D10 today and I love it, but one thing drives me crazy:

There are fingerprints on the led lens, you can clearly see them on low.
Does anybody know how to disassemble the reflector head for cleaning purposes? I doubt that this has any effect on the output, but i hate knowing its there.

 

[Marduke]

Are you sure those are not silicon lines under the epoxy dome of the LED? They are fairly common in Cree LED's.

 

[Patriot]

It's really hard to tell from that picture. I do see some fuzziness but I can't tell if it's silicon lines or something sitting on the exterior of the LED dome.

In any case, that would be fairly annoying. Hopefully someone will be able to post some lens removal instructions.

 

[Imothep]

Well, its definitely on the outer side of the epoxy dome. That is clearly visible when I slighly move the flashlight while watching the led.

I tried to make two more pics but since I don't have a macro lens they are not as good as they could be.

 

[Patriot]

These are just quick shots I took last night for my own reference and I had no intention of sharing them, but since you asked...

I have a few NovaTac/EX10 comparison shots here.

The EX10 is using an RCR, 120P is on a primary. I don't think the brightness difference was quite as big as it appears there, but it was noticeable.

Those shots are just fine! Thanks for posting them. From my perspective the difference in output is substantial. With only have two pics to judge from, the difference could be 20-30 lumens. The hot spot is wider, brighter, and the corona is more intense throughout. That's one great thing about pictures, sometimes they reveal what the eye cannot.

 

[greenlight]

I look at this light a bit different. It is a 3 stage light, with only a single medium stage being adjustable. The other 2 stages are fixed, Max Hi; and Min LOW. The big disappointment for me is that you lose the memory of the adjustable setting when you access the fixed settings. Whether you want it or not, the last fixed setting accessed replaces the adjustable setting in the memory. For the user who wants his light to quickly come on in Max or minimum every time, this would seem to be a quick and convenient way of setting one of these fixed stages into the memory. For the user who wants to access his user defined setting most of the time, this is only convenient until he accesses one of other 2 stages. He then has to reset his adjustable stage.

That's a valid consideration.

 

[Ty_Bower]

There are fingerprints on the led lens, you can clearly see them on low.
Does anybody know how to disassemble the reflector head for cleaning purposes?

Don't try. Anything you do will almost certainly make it worse. You'll end up with specs of dust in there, or worse yet you'll accidentally touch the reflector. Then you'll have fingerprints on the reflector - until you try to clean that too, and strip off the mirror finish.

Leave it alone. It isn't affecting the output in the slightest bit. Too many well-intentioned reflector cleaners have walked away in tears... :mecry:

 

[4sevens]

Well, its definitely on the outer side of the epoxy dome. That is clearly visible when I slighly move the flashlight while watching the led.

I tried to make two more pics but since I don't have a macro lens they are not as good as they could be.

Imothep, I'm sorry your light. It shouldn't affect the output noticably.
Please contact our customer service department and our technicians will give
it a good cleaning. I have spoken to NiteCore and this won't happen again.
They are appreciative of this feedback - they do not see this as a complaint
but rather a great opportunity for improvement!

 

[yaesumofo]

Why is the next best thing Eneloops?
Personally I find their performance rather poor.
Just because a battery comes charged and holds a charge for a while longer than a "stock" NimH cell doesn't make it better IMHO.
A good Sanyo 2700 mAh AA Nimh cell is a better battery IMHO. It's capacity is much higher. The rated number of C/D cycles is greater for a stock NiMh cell than an eneloop.
While they are a great marketing package I have yet to find any advantage to Eneloops...Yet.
I have an open mind about it though.
In my use of AA Nimh cells I always get better (MUCH) with my 2700 mAh sanyo cells.

I suspect there are better batteries than the Sanyo's but I don't own them.
Yaesumofo

AW + Charger would be ideal for the D10 but the start up cost you have to consider. The next best thing is to pair with Eneloops.

 

[Imothep]

Imothep, I'm sorry your light. It shouldn't affect the output noticably.
Please contact our customer service department and our technicians will give
it a good cleaning. I have spoken to NiteCore and this won't happen again.
They are appreciative of this feedback - they do not see this as a complaint
but rather a great opportunity for improvement!

Well, thanks for the help, but I'll wait for the second D10 I ordered. One of them will be a present for my father and since he doesn't care about fingerprints, he will get this one. :devil:

 

[SunnyQueensland]

Well, thanks for the help, but I'll wait for the second D10 I ordered. One of them will be a present for my father and since he doesn't care about fingerprints, he will get this one. :devil:

You could be waiting a while, mine has been man-handled as well... It is not enough to change my opinion however, it's still a great light. :thumbsup:


Received mine in Brisbane, Australia this afternoon. That's fast. :naughty: