Olight S10 Baton (XM-L, 1xCR123A/RCR) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO and more!

[tallboybass]

So I got my RCR123A's in, is it theoretically brighter with them, as opposed to the CR123A? They show about 4.2v after being charged. Guess I can't really see a difference, was hoping for a bit more brightness. Thanks CPF!

 

[blackFFM]

I wonder if the s10 will get an update with an XM-L2 and a tint that is not green.

 

[tallboybass]

I wonder if the s10 will get an update with an XM-L2 and a tint that is not green.

That would be VERY cool! Also, if they could keep the moonlight setting out of the memory, it would be nice. Still, a great light as is.

 

[AmperSand]

Yeah pretty cool indeed

*resized*

 

[tallboybass]

WOW, AmperSand...Nice!! Is your beam a more neutral color?

 

[AmperSand]

Well the Ti ver is a neutral (5000k) emittet anyway, but i didnt care for how yellow it was (think cat pee). Wasnt anything like my other neutral lights.
So i grabbed a few XM-L2 U2 binned emitters from cutter to give it way more output (few bin jumps there) and move away from neutral on this one.
Boy was I annoyed when I got another cat-pee yellow hue. Its not the emitter either, i tested it before installing it.
Put the 5000k XM-L T6 in my nitecore d10 and in there its one of my best tinted neutrals, second only to my Xeno E03 with nichia 219.
Have a feeling the tint problem may stem from the AR coating on the lens.
Will have to do some testing when I get time.
Either way the tint is a LOT better than before and a bump in output too.

 

[selfbuilt]

Boy was I annoyed when I got another cat-pee yellow hue. Its not the emitter either, i tested it before installing it.Put the 5000k XM-L T6 in my nitecore d10 and in there its one of my best tinted neutrals, second only to my Xeno E03 with nichia 219.
Have a feeling the tint problem may stem from the AR coating on the lens.

That's an interesting speculation, given the generally perceived "green" tints on this model (including the neutral white versions). The S10 and S20 do have among the most prominent AR lens coatings I've seen (as illustrated by my pics and commentary about the purple fringing at the spillbeam periphery). It is certainly possible that this is accentuating the greenish tint overall .... Would be interesting to compare with another lens in place (i.e. without the coating).

 

[AmperSand]

That's an interesting speculation, given the generally perceived "green" tints on this model (including the neutral white versions). The S10 and S20 do have among the most prominent AR lens coatings I've seen (as illustrated by my pics and commentary about the purple fringing at the spillbeam periphery). It is certainly possible that this is accentuating the greenish tint overall .... Would be interesting to compare with another lens in place (i.e. without the coating).

I just confirmed it.
Took lens out, without it in its a lovely white tint, while turned on, I put the lens over it by hand. Instant cat pee.
Perhaps all the bad press about tint issues has been nothing more than an overdone AR coating.

 

[AmperSand]

Taken with galaxy s3 camera.
Whitebalance: daylight
ISO: 800

Sorry not the best shots, but shows pretty much the comparison of tint change.

With lens:

Without lens:

Resized also.. sorry Norm

 

[AmperSand]

Another update.

Using the lens from my thrunite archer 1c, retains the tint colour of having no lens. Definately the AR coating. Simple lens swap will make a LOT of people happier with their purchase.

 

[LiteHead]

OK. I want to remove the lens on mine (maybe carry it with no lens and just be more careful). But there isn't enough lip on the bezel to grab with pliers. I don't have the special tool to go into the notches. Any suggestions on how to get the bezel off?

 

[AmperSand]

Press it into the palm of your hand hard and twist. Or do the same thing on a rubber surface.
Mine was pretty easy to get apart.

 

[Norm]

Or do the same thing on a rubber surface.

The back of a mouse mat works well.

Just ordered a shiny TI neutral version after playing with mvyrmnd's TI, hopefully it's not too warm

Norm

 

[Bumble]

where do we get a new lens from to swap on the s10 ?

 

[LiteHead]

I did what you guys suggested with a mouse pad. With a lot of pressure I got it started. However, after removing the lens I did some white wall testing holding the lens in front, then not. The difference in my particular S10 is not nearly as significant as the posted pics show. Probably just mine. I then held the lens over my PD30 (same size lens on it, no real green tint problem), there didn't seem to be a green tint added to the beam of the PD30, just a slight purple tint in the spill. Same with the PD32UE.

So, I put it back into the S10. I guess this is one of those "your mileage may vary" things. Wish they'd put a T6 XM-L2 in the S10. I'd buy another if they did.

 

[Bumble]

I did what you guys suggested with a mouse pad. With a lot of pressure I got it started. However, after removing the lens I did some white wall testing holding the lens in front, then not. The difference in my particular S10 is not nearly as significant as the posted pics show. Probably just mine. I then held the lens over my PD30 (same size lens on it, no real green tint problem), there didn't seem to be a green tint added to the beam of the PD30, just a slight purple tint in the spill. Same with the PD32UE.

So, I put it back into the S10. I guess this is one of those "your mileage may vary" things. Wish they'd put a T6 XM-L2 in the S10. I'd buy another if they did.

oh sorry to hear that.. mines a way different tint without the lens.. its even a lot better on the low mode.

 

[selfbuilt]

I just confirmed it. Took lens out, without it in its a lovely white tint, while turned on, I put the lens over it by hand. Instant cat pee.
Perhaps all the bad press about tint issues has been nothing more than an overdone AR coating.

I just experimented with mine, and I can confirm it does make a difference - but the effect is not huge.

To confirm, I brought in a pair of fresh eyes - Mrs Selfbuilt. Without prompting, I took the removed lens and repeatedly passed it in fron the beam (on med, which is fairly green on my sample). When I asked if she saw a tint difference, her immediate response: the lens makes the spill look more purple and the hotspot look more green.

Again, the effect is not huge - but it is enough that a naive pair of eyes picked it up immediately. It therefore stands to reason that the pronounced AR coating is indeed a signficant contributing factor to the generally green-shifted perception. Thanks for the heads up AmperSand.

P.S.: It's hard to see the effect on Hi - try it out at Lo or Med (depending on the background light levels around you).

 

[AmperSand]

I had to either take comparison pics or compare against another light to notice the difference. Although the biggest indicator was when I pushed the lens back against it while it was on.
Keep in mind on my sample I had already swapped to a premium tinted xm-l2.
Also the diff between the tint of the original xm-l while in my s10 compared to how it looks in my d10 is very different which is what made me question it all to begin with.
Guess YMMV with this one but in my sample it was quite significant across 2 different LED's and was also tested on the Ti model only

 

[xevious]

Using the lens from my thrunite archer 1c, retains the tint colour of having no lens. Definately the AR coating. Simple lens swap will make a LOT of people happier with their purchase.

This is rather spectacular! I wonder how many other lights may be suffering from yellowish tints due to the AR lens coating.

I just picked up a new S10 for a really good deal. I am LOVING this light. The UI is superb in my book. The big problem with memory is that sometimes you may leave the light on high and then not want to start in high--the S10 allows you to override with moonlight. Also, the moonlight is just about spot-on for what I use. Lastly, lock-out is achieved by barely a quarter turn. This is excellent, because water resistance is not compromised.

Anyway, I've never seen such a small 1xCR123 light, let alone one with such a well thought out UI. I hope Olight keeps this as a staple light in their line-up. A few more emitter choices would be nice. And I sure hope they wise up about the AR coating problem.


Incidentally, anyone know what the lens diameter is and where is a good source for a quality replacement?

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: Olight S10 Baton (XM-L, 1xCR123A/RCR) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO and

I think the S10 and S20 are special cases. The AR coating is much more pronounced than on other lights I have tested.