my thoughts on my new sst50 light.

[bigfish5]

Monday i received my mg p-rocket. I must say it is a very sturdy and handsome light. Well built for sure. I went with the "nuetral" version. Everything about the light is good except i am a little dissapointed in the output. Now with that said i am no expert. I have owned about 6 high end led lights. This light has a yellow beam. I would think it was more warm than nuetral. I understand that it has a very big hotspot and that disperses the light and all but it just doesnt seem all that bright. I ran a little test tonight , not scientific mind you ,but a test. I thought. hey if this thing is putting out 500otf lumens then it should light up the whole swimming pool. Well with the combination of the yellow light and the output it didnt do that good of a job " holding light in about a foot of water". I got my old eagletac t100c2 that claims an output of 220 lumens and it lit up the whole pool. Now some of that is probably because of the 'WHITER" light, and maybe some because of the tighter beam.


I guess what i learned tonight is i like the whiter , brighter light, Maybe this p- rocket isnt as bright as it should be, i am using an aw 2200 mah 18650, if i had it to do over i would buy this light but i think i would go with the white and see if the output was more impressive. Overall i have to say this is a handsome and well built light though, make no mistake there.

 

[PayBack]

Yup which is why I went for the 6500k version, to me they LOOK a lot brighter than the warmer versions, even when they're not.

However from what I've been reading here, I believe not only does it look like you lose some lumens, you actually do.

 

[MichaelW]

Is your lens/window dirty?
Someone said that the reflector comes out, and then you can clean (or replace) the lens. I haven't attempted that, yet.

Is there anodizing left on the body contact?
Is the inner spring bent?
Was your 18650 charged up?


4500K is pretty much smack dead in the center of neutral-white.
Transmissibility in water isn't the same as air. Blue is better, when you are submerged in water.


Check out this thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=279285

 

[bigfish5]

The more I think about it the more I think something must be holding this light back. What does " is there anodizing left on the body contact? Mean?". I apologize
but can someone explain exactly where that is. I have never had to tweak any of my lights.

Is there any other thoughts of what might be
keeping this light from top output. And explain like you are talking to a total newb. Cause I seem to be. Thanks

 

[Vesper]

How does it look out of water in comparison? The neutral tint and the more diffuse beam pattern might be deceptive as to how much light is actually being throw out the front. Haven't seen many beam shots (or any come to think of it) on the MG so it's hard to tell for sure yet.

 

[bigfish5]

Well out of the water it just
doesn't seem all that impressive either I'm afraid. I had an eagletac that ran on two cr123a,s. It claimed somthing like 280 lumens. I gave that
light to a friend "like a dumda@&". That eagletac had a big hotspot with lots of spill. It seemed alot brighter than this light. I am not trying to flame mg's light , I just have a hard time believing this is in the ballpark of 500 OTC lumens. So I am wondering if something is not quite right.

 

[bigfish5]

I used a cotton swab to clean the inside of the lense. It came out clean and the glass looks clean, so I don't think that is it. Where do I look for the anodizing problem?

 

[cgonko]

I think you need to keep in mind a few things: this light has a relatively small reflector compared to the size of the led. The reflector is actually smaller in diameter than my Olight M20 which has an R2 led. Generally, the smaller the reflector the floodier the spot and beam. The floodiness of the beam is also greatly affected by the size of the die: the bigger the die the floodier the spot will be compared to the same reflector with a smaller die. Next, if you were to take a look at your old eagle-tac spot on high and the MG on high right next to it, I'd bet you'll notice how much bigger the spot is on the MG, and that the spot is only slightly dimmer. Think about how much more light the MG is actually putting out the create a spot over twice as large but almost as bright. Just imagine how much brighter the MG spot would be if you could "squeeze" all that light into a smaller spot. Yes, I can tell that my M20 easily out throws the MG, but I can also tell the MG puts out more light overall. Moreover, your eye does not perceive brightness in a linear fashion. In other words: twice as many lumens from one flashlight to the next does not mean your eye perceives that light as twice as bright. That's why if you have a flashlight with two settings (80 lumen low/medium, 240 lumen high) you do not perceive the "high" as three times brighter than the "low/medium". You could confirm the brightness of the MG by doing an unscientific ceiling bounce test. For example, if I point my MG at the ceiling but look at the floor, I can tell the room is very noticeably brighter overall than if I do the same thing with my M20, in spite of the M20's smaller spot being brighter than the MG's. I am by no means an expert, but if you search the forum you'll find many similar threads from people far more knowledgeable than I.

 

[kramer5150]

Couple key points...
It NEEDS an IMR 18650 cell to get the most out of it. Non-IMR cells cap out at ~2.5A, which is hardly enough for that emitter.

Yes a light that small with an LED die that big is going to be all flood. Ceiling bounce is the ONLY way to compare the output of 2 lights with shuch different beam profiles. Shining lights across they yard is not an accurate way to evaluate lumen output differences.... and can mis-lead the observer completely.

 

[bigfish5]

I am using a "aw 18650 2200mah". Is that battery capable of 2.8?

 

[Sgt. LED]

Dude drop in 2 primary cells and see if it's any different.

Fastest way to know if it's your battery and you can see it with your own eyes.

 

[TooManyGizmos]

It's a 3 mode , Lo-Med-Hi light . (with memory)

~
Are you half-taping the button to set it on HIGHest output ?


( Don't FLAME me / it's happened recently that someone didn't realize he had a 3 level light )
~

 

[CM2010]

bigfish5,ive got the same light and my thoughts are similar to your own.

The beam does look yellow and it does seem to lack in output,i'm using a brand new 2600 AW18650 in mine.

 

[herbicide]

The operative word here being 'seems' - a ceiling bounce clearly shows the difference in total output, as opposed to hotspot intensity.

With a ceiling bounce, my P-rocket (700lm neutral, on 18650/17670 and primaries) beats everything but my UF WF1000L, whereas my minimag w/TL-3, Quark 123^2, Quark 123 warm, Fenix T1 and (disturbingly) SF KL1 (4th gen) all have more intense hotspots.

 

[bigfish5]

The ceiling bounce test shows
that it is putting out quit a bit of light. I think it must be
the nuetral color. Where on this forum do you go to sale a
light?

 

[Painful Chafe]

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/forumdisplay.php?f=123

 

[notsofast]

The marketplace is where one sells lights and parts.

It is separate from CPF and requires registration and sign-in even though you are signed in on CPF.

 

[Sgt. LED]

How much? I'll buy it.

 

[bigfish5]

Make me an offer that includes shipping.

 

[Art]

What light is that?
I recently received my Download Pocket Rocket SST 50 and I also get not much throw with it but you can clearly see that it puts out a lot of light.
I can only measure more less 3000lux at 1m but a ceiling bounce test beats most of my lights , leaving only the M2s in front of it.
Still a T100C2 throws a lot further but it cant light up a room.

The SST50 with a small lens I believe it will not throw more then 20 to 40mts but it will light up everything until there.

I use only flat top AW 2600 or IMR... the both give more less the same output.