I took a few photos tonight of the following: Fenix P3D Rebel, Fenix T1, Surefire C2 w/Malkoff M60, and the Eagletac M2. This is the first time I've taken photos of my lights at night, so I don't know if the settings on my camera were consistent for all the shots. I used the "auto" setting with no flash, so I'm assuming the camera adjusted differently for each shot. In my attempt to avoid this, I focused the lens using the same object and lighting before actually snapping each photo, but I'm not sure if that ensures that the camera settings remain the same? If someone can provide tips here, I'd be open to trying again. I'm using a Nikon D50.
In the pictures, you'll notice the top of a very small Japanese Maple at the bottom of each shot - that little tree is only about five feet in front of me, and I hope it helps depict the intensity of the spill. The first group of trees/bushes following is about 100 feet away, and then the final tree in the background is about 225 feet. By the way, I just walked off the distances, so don't hold me accountable to the exact measures.
Fenix P3D Rebel
Fenix T1
Surefire w/Malkoff M60
Eagletac M2 Warm
I like the idea of the control ring, but I expected it to be smoother/easier to turn with my thumb. Don't get me wrong, it's not difficult to turn by any means, but it definitely feels a little tight. Granted, this might be a positive in the sense that a slight bump or rub won't inadvertently change my light setting, and overtime, this ring might actually loosen up a bit from normal usage. I haven't tried the clicky, so I can't weigh in on that yet. I wanted to use the ring control for a few days before switching.
I agree with the previous posts that it's just way too easy to go straight to strobe with the control ring. It would be so nice to have the strobe as a "left" turn, and leave the low, med, high, turbo setting to the right turn. This is really my only complaint with the light.
I'm looking forward to the diffuser kit - I think it will make the light even more versatile and useful in different situations. For $140, I would actually expect Eagletac to make a diffuser a standard offering with the light, but hopefully they'll price them fairly.
Overall, I'm impressed with the M2. It's definitely heavier than I expected, but man, this thing puts out the light. The warm tint of the neutral LED version is a really nice tint at night. Compared to my stock 3D Mag, it's a slight bit more white, but I'm impressed that we now have LED's that offer this warm of a tint. I would have probably gone with the P7, but since I have a Legion II on the way, I wanted to see how useful/different the warm tint is when camping/hiking (or messing around in the garden at night).
