SST emitter Beam profile Question.

[Scuderia]

Hi,

I've a few lights that uses SST emitter. I'm a little puzzled on the variations in beam profile. Is it solely dependent on the reflector dome's width, depth and finish or emitter position? The I've posted these beam shot comparison in another thread, hope you guys can shed some light on this as I'm not too happy with the beam of the Raptor 3. From the pictures below, you can clearly see the rings and the more prominent clover shape around the hotspot. The Catapult V1 has the nicest beam among the 3. I just want to understand what to look out for when buying another light with this emitter. Any inputs will be greatly appreciated.

CATAPULT V1

SR90

RAPTOR 3

 

[John_Galt]

No offense intended, but... Can you really notice these beam variations outdoors? No, then what's the problem?

The SST series have very large, square dies. That, combined with a hemispherical dome, and a round reflector is bound to cause some artifacts, as can barely be seen here.

 

[lebox97]

"square peg, round hole"
seems to apply here...


I have seen ring effects/clover leaf/artifacts with all of the large LED lights, some more so than others.
A perfect beam you will not find -
a more textured reflector would help smooth things out so-to-speak, but then you lose the throw/LUX advantage.

Tod

 

[Sgt. LED]

It's all the things you mention at once.
1 and 3 could possibly be made better by putting the led further into or backing it out of the reflector a very small amount. 2 Looks to be the reflector alone but I can't say for certain.

Beamshots are hard to use as a diagnostics tool and imperfections in the beam of a light that's in the thrower class is very common reguardless of emitter. You either get used to it or try OP reflectors that reduce your throw a large amount. I would be pleased with any of those three light personally. Especially 3, it looks like it would really throw a good distance and 2 is very bright!

 

[kengps]

One of the things you will notice outdoors is the difference in gradient between the V1 and the Raptor 3. I didn't like the M2S's beam profile at all. The RRT-3 reflector looks the same as M2S. You get a searing hot-spot, then nothing off the side of it. With the V1 you can actually see something at distance other than whats in the middle of the hot-spot. The catapult uses a deep reflector. So do the Dereelight reflectors. They are really nice profiles much like the Catapult. Of course you give up a little bit of throw for extra gradient. But I found the lack of it a total deal-breaker for me with the M2S. Plus the really wide, shallow JetBeam reflectors have very wide side-spill that will light up your immediate surroundings ruining your ability to see far down-range. The Catapult and DBS put the light all out in front of you, not surround you with it. I'll never buy another shallow reflector, throw light, like the Jet-beam. Seems to me a thrower shouldn't have such super-wide spill. If you want that get a flood.

M2S left, DBS right. Both SST-50. Notice how the M2S goes from hot-spot to side-spill, with nothing in-between. Because of exposure you can't see that the DBS has a continuation of the gradient into the hot-spot, ending with a hot-spot smaller than the M2S.

M2S....sucks

DBS...sweet.

 

[Scuderia]

Thanks for the input. Having paid a premium price for it, my expectations might have been set too high. I've seen copies that has beams that are far worse off than mine.
When buying a Corvette, you won't want it to be outperformed by a Corolla rite?

I agree with kengps, I've used the raptor 3 for spearfishing last night, the spill was too weak to punch through the water after the roll in. It might not be the correct tool for that application, I believe JB could improve on the reflector design, introduce a brighter corona around the hotspot like the one on the catapult or TK40, and widen the usability in different applications. Based my observation, the catapult can throw further than raptor 3 but at less than half the price. If the reflector is not build for flood, and its throw is shorter than the catapult's... It makes me wonder.:thinking: