Question about CMG Infinity's brightness

[Margelatu]

Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

Hi all! I was wondering if anybody had a chance to compare the brightness of the CMG Infinity with that of an ARC LE in "moon" mode. If the brightness is comparable, then the CMG might not be as bad as I got the feeling from reading some threads here.

 

[GlockDoc]

Re: Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

UPS has promised my Arc-LE this week, so I can't comment on it till then.

I do have an Infinity and it has enough light to read by. It has enough light for other uses provided it gets dark enough and your eyes have adjusted. It is a good light.

When you hear these guys talking about the CMG not being bright enough you need to remember that for most of us the ideal light would be smaller than the Arc, have the beam of a landing light and run forever on a set of batteries

 

[John N]

Re: Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

I find the CMG is bright enough to read by and do nearby tasks. However, I think it's a bit weak to walk outdoors, or such.

The one cool thing about it is the runtime is long enough on a cheap battery that you can use it without any guilt.

I was using it last night to read by after my wife was ready to sleep for example.

The form factor can be a tad awkward at times.

The Arc AAA on the other hand is much brighter - It gives enough light for reasonable outdoor use. I basically think of it as having about the same output as the Photon.

The other interesting thing is the Arc is a very friendly form factor. It's small, light, easy to be held in your mouth which is handy when you have your hands full.

That said, a clip for the Arc (ala CMG) would be very welcome. I'll have to shop for a pen clip that fits.

I haven't experienced moon mode yet so I'll have to see what that is like. I don't have the LE as my initial thinking was that I was going to hack it apart and didn't want to do that with an LE. I'll probably move to an LE for everyday carry.

-john

 

[arab]

Re: Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

John N said
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
I was using it <CMG INFINITY> last night to read by
<<SNIP>>
The Arc AAA on the other hand is much brighter
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sometimes the AAA is too bright! When I use it for reading, the reflected light bounces off the book and goes everywhere. I then revert to using my PAL light in medium mode instead - keeps herself happy!

According to the Light Technologies web site http://www.lightechnology.com/history.htm, the PAL uses a "Current Controller" to vary light output. Presumably this means it doesn't reduce light output by pulsing. I've seen the circuit board, and although it is way too big for an AAA, could a miniturised version be created for an AAA-form factor light that allowed light output to be varied according to needs?

Peter, I know you are a bit (

) busy at the moment, but I'm sure such a light would have a great gadget value and would sell like hot cakes! Having said that, it would have to be done reliably; my photon 3 has a gadget factor at least 10 times better than my AAA, but it's currently somewhere on the Atlantic ocean - either going to, or coming back from LRI for repair

Whereas my PAL light, although boring to look at, has all the gadgets and it just keeps on working

Now, if you could just combine the gadget benefits of the Photon 3 with the reliability of the PAL in the form factor of the existing AAA ...

 

[geepondy]

Re: Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Margelatu:
Hi all! I was wondering if anybody had a chance to compare the brightness of the CMG Infinity with that of an ARC LE in "moon" mode. If the brightness is comparable, then the CMG might not be as bad as I got the feeling from reading some threads here.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

To answer your question, the CMG Infinity is brighter then the Arc LE in moon mode.

 

[OrBy]

Re: Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

i have both a white arc le and a inf blue green. i would say the brightness is close when not even in moon mode (just eyeballing it) BUT the arc is focused and the inf has a very wide beam. for doing common tasks when you already have night vision i like the inf better (the color keeps your night vision better) but when you need to see color to tell what your doing when working on somthing or when you do not have night vision yet - nothing beats that arc! each have really good points to each other and with both of them being so small i see no reason to cary both as i do.

 

[K Horn]

Re: Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by OrBy:
i have both a white arc le and a inf blue green. i would say the brightness is close when not even in moon mode (just eyeballing it) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You are comparing apples and oranges. You really need to stick to the same colors when comparing. There is a difference on how the eye perceives colors.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Re: Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

I have both ARC LE white and Infinity white. I compared both with fresh batteries and of course I noticed the difference, BUT it wasn't a huge difference. Now the practicality factor: I keep my ARC LE on my keys; therefore, I rarely use it. My Infinity is next to my bed and always have some reason to use it... goin to the bathroom at night, looking for stuff in my closet, not waking up my girlfriend, etc. Even better, I wear the lanyard with my infinity while it's still on to act as a lamp, kinda like a makeshift handsfree device (but, of course you could do this with the arc as well.)
I realize the infinity is a great light to have if you live in a less developed country prone to blackouts/brownouts (who knows the difference). I wish I had a light like this when I was staying in my grandmothers house overseas. It was either candlelight or some cheap rayovac flashlight.
I love my ARC, it is very bright. But when it comes to night tasks to preserve night vision, survival kits(with 10 year shelf life lithium batteries), 41 hour runtime, the Infinity is excellent and it serves its purpose.
Another thought: you could keep the Infinity in a survival kit with lithiums and buy 2 Arc LE's... one for your keys and one to use around the house. For urbanites, AAA batteries are not hard to come by anyway.

 

[geepondy]

Re: Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

The Infinity is a great light for survival mode and more importantly peace of mind for preparedness for a survival situation. Whenever I got hiking, I throw the Infinity in the backpack, just in case something should happen that would require me to spend a whole night on the mountain. However I find the Arc AAA much more useful in real life. I have never been in a situation where I had no other light around and needed more then the five hours plus light the Arc offers. But again, referring the poster's orginal question, wouldn't everyone agree that the Arc (white) AAA in moon mode is dimmer then an Infinity with less then dead batteries? In moon mode, the Arc is really dim, just bright enough to see directly in front of you in completely dark situations althoug still better then no light.

 

[Margelatu]

Re: Question about CMG Infinity\'s brightness

Thanks a lot for all the replies. It looks like there will be a CMG Infinity in my near future. I love my ARC LE, but I'd like to keep it on my keychain and use the Infinity around the apartment, for reading in bed and stuff like that. The long run time on a battery is a big plus and since the "moon" setting of the ARC is acceptable for me, it seems like the CMG will be great.

By the way, are all Infinity's anodized nowadays, or would I have to ask specifically for a second generation model? Is the battery rattle still a problem?