Some beam shots

English_Mart

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 15, 2005
Messages
60
Location
UK, Midlands
Here we go, a bunch of beam shots, distance is only about 60ft so the pics don't really show how well the throwers of the group can throw. All pics taken with my Nikon D100 DSLR in manual setting. All have been cropped and not nescessarily equally so be carefull judging how wide the hot spots are. Also bear in mind that these are my first attempts at beam shots, hopefully the exposure was equall for all pics.

I think these pics clearly show how the FM 3" head intensifies the beam and this would be a lot more obvious at distances several times further away.

The C3 with P91 actually is a lot brighter than it looks in the picture but if I'd exposed correctly for that light and maintained that exposure for the rest they would have been too blown out (as you can see with the final pic)

The MagCharger even in its stock form has a nice tight beam and I always liked this torch, but unfortunaley for it, it is now way out gunned by my othe mag based torches with super bulbs. The MagCharger will be getting the MagC60 upgrade when the WA group buy comes through.

First up the Surefire C3 with a P91 lamp and Pila cells

Surefire%20C3%20with%20P91%20lamp%20and%20Pila%20cells_filtered.jpg


Next up the MagCharger in stock form

Stock%20MagCharger_filtered.jpg


Next up is a mag 6 D cell body with Nimh cells WAllll 880 lumen bulb and stock head

Mag%206%20D%20cell%20880%20lumen%20bulb%20stock%20head_filtered.jpg


Next up the same 6D set up but with a FM 3" head

Mag%206%20D%20cell%20880%20lumen%20bulb%20FM3%20head_filtered.jpg


Next up is my FM widebody with Pila 168A cells a WA1185 bulb and a stock head

FM%20widebody%20with%203%20168A%20Pilas%20WA1185%20bulb%20and%20stock%20head%20b_filtered.jpg


Next the same set up as above but with a FM 3" head

FM%20widebody%20with%203%20168A%20Pilas%20WA1185%20bulb%20and%20FM%203%20head%20b_filtered.jpg


And finally I think this is probably a Thor lamp sold here in the UK around 3.75 MCP, I put a different bulb in it so it could be more or less??

3.75%20MCP%20Thor_filtered.jpg


So these are my torches, and what do I think of them? Well I really like the C3 with the P91 head and rechargeably cells, a really bright small torch with a very nice smooth beam, obviously not a thrower but I use this for the work I do which involves detailed inspections of the interiors of rented properties.

The Magcharger, I've always been impressed with this torch and its only let down by the quality of its beam, but when focused tightly and being used for its throw capability this is not an issue. In due course I'll treat it to a LOP reflector, UCL glass and bulb upgrade. Having its own charging cradle is a big plus for me also.

The 6D mag body with nimh's and FM 3" head is visually a monster and I really like it for that, but you do feel a bit conspicuous with it. The beam is pretty smooth given the size of the bulb filament. Light output and throw is a lot more than the MagCharger the beam is more intense and covers a bigger area and there is much more usefull spill. I've yet to find out what the run time is with the 6 9500ma Nimh cells, should be pretty good though. I'd never bother using the stock head (even if it could stand the heat) now that I've experienced the FiveMega 3" head.

The FiveMega widebody with Pila 168a cells FiveMega 3" head and WA1185 bulb. Well this is a work of art! the light is fantastic, its more like a 2MCP lamp. I like the stubby, chunky form and aggressive look, it balances well in the hand and isn't too heavy.

Regards, Martin
 
Nice beam shots! Cannot say I regret buying the FM 3" head, it is very nice indeed, but it is on the heavy side. Nice to see that the Pilas and the 1185 works out so great, have just ordered me some of those adapters, now I just have to get some Pilas if I can afford them this month. I have also asked Fivemega if he can make some Pila adapters that runs 3 x 2 168A Pilas, i.e. 3 parallel sets of 2 in series. That should give you 7.4V and 6000 mAh -> lots of lumens for a very long time.

Sigbjoern
 
Congratulations! great pictures and thanks for sharing with us.
As per upgrading the Magcharger, I don't think that a Carley LOP or the Fivemega reflector will fit in the Magcharger, and you need the small hole for the lamp not the big one like in the Fivemega. Your best bet is the original one that came with the light, when you put an 1160 in there the intensity of the lamp is soo big that clean up almost all the artifacts.
The UCL is also a bad choice as the 1160 will cook a halo in the center of the lens. The original is the proper one as is mineral crystal.
Juan C.
 
Juancho good point about the lens. As for the reflector I'm aware of the hole size difference, I've asked FiveMega if he was going to make a reflector for the MagCharger and I think he said he was going to at some point, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Thanks for posting these beamshots. It's much easier to compare the beams the way you did it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Britt
 
Thanks for the shots. I really like the set up of the pictures that way. Seems the FM 3" head really makes a difference.
 
Top