joshconsulting
Enlightened
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2009
- Messages
- 640
Click on any image in this review to see the full size version
Note to posters: Before flaming me about the title, read the post. I realize this light isn't the farthest throwing or brightest LED, but I think as a combo of the two it certainly wins. I'm sure it's possible to build a hotwire with an IMR cell with considerably greater output and <8 minute runtime, but that hardly counts. And yes, those with smaller pockets might have problems EDCing the DBS
This light is a combination of the DBS body\head, a DBS MC-E lightly textured reflector, and a Nailbender SST-50 2.8A single mode WJ bin C3 color P60 dropin (yeah, that's a mouthful :duh2.
First, the raw numbers. I don't own a high end light meter or integrated sphere, and this light has never been directly tested, but very similar setups have been tested by both Big C and mrgman, so I would give these numbers a +-10%: 23-25k lux w/ 460 OTF lumens. An XPG DBS is around 18 lux, 300 OTF lumens. A R2 DBS is ~21k lux, 220 OTF lumens. A R2 aspheric DBS is ~65k lux, 140 OTF lumens. The thrunite catapult, a 2x 18650 light, is around 30k lux, 540 OTF lumens - but with a head and body far larger then the DBS, close to a maglight size and certainly not pocketable.
When I got the DBS, I stripped it down and meticulously cleaned and re-greased every part of it. I applied thermal paste in 2 areas - between the P60 pill and the reflector, and between the reflector and the body. The P60 pill to reflector is the main area of heat transfer, as the P60 pill does not touch the sides of the light. Applying AS5 in the threads really helped heat transfer - before, the pill would heat to 'too hot to touch' in 20-30 seconds, but I could comfortably unscrew it at over a minute with the AS5 on.
Beamshots:
First, the SST-50 in P60 dropin format:
Next, the SST-50 in the DBS, with the AKOray K-106 on the right side. This picture was taken at an equal distance and cropped equally so size of the hotspot can be directly compared to the SST-50 above, but I had to step down exposure to make the hotspot visible, so brightness cannot be directly compared. The AKOray is for reference; its hotspot is roughly equal to the SST-50 P60s in brightness, although it is much smaller:
According to my rough measurements, the hotspot on the DBS is around 1/7th the area, with a much brighter sidespill.
Here's some outdoor pics. The camera was on auto, so it's hard to compare brightness, but I never got a chance to capture P60 shots in manual.
Reference (daylight, approximate target areas circled in red):
SST-50 P60 (Note that it was foggy that night, the beam was 'fuzzier' then normal):
And finally, DBS + SST-50:
The 120' beamshot doesn't really do the DBS justice. Like I figured, the camera underexposed the image to the point where it looked like the P60, but with a smaller hotspot. Tonight is slightly foggy, though not nearly as foggy as when I used the P60. You can actually see the beam in real life, though (but not nearly as bright as it appears in this image).
This image is a much better representation. Thanks to the lights from the house, the camera exposed it much more closely to what it actually looks like.
If you don't like the single mode, you can get a triple or five mode driver from Nailbender; they only deliver 2.5A, but the difference is small so go for it if you want modes
It was a close choice between the smooth and the lightly dimpled reflector, but with a lux loss of 2-3k the lightly dimpled reflector eliminated some fairly serious rings around the hotspot.
Here are the links\prices for the various parts:
Flashlight body ($49): http://flashlightconnection.com/Der...V3/DBS-V3-Host-No-Reflector-or-Pill-p183.html
MC-E Light OP reflector ($20): http://flashlightconnection.com/Orange-Peel-OP-Reflector-DBS-p48.html
UCL lens 43.41mm x 2.89mm ($6.25): http://www.flashlightlens.com/str/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=ucl_lens
SST-50 WJ bin P60 dropin ($65-75): http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=248771
Total: $140-150 shipped w\ CPF discounts
Sorry for the somewhat scattered review, I had to write it in a short timeframe and I had to put a lot of information out there. If anything is unclear or you have questions, post away and I'll respond as soon as I can.
A big thumbs up for the many people who steered me in the right direction on this project :thumbsup:
EDIT: More pictures!
It's been really foggy the last few nights, a big contrast to the cold, crisp nights we're used to. Guess it's the warm weather, slight rain, melting snow, and 93% humidity
Distance in all 3 shots is around 90'.
The light looked really cool. The beam was a even line, and the sidespill made a really cool-looking 3d cone, especially when pointed upwards. I stepped up the exposure to show the sidespill in this shot.
The camera had a hard time focusing on the reflector close up, I did my best to show just how light the OP pattern was.
Note to posters: Before flaming me about the title, read the post. I realize this light isn't the farthest throwing or brightest LED, but I think as a combo of the two it certainly wins. I'm sure it's possible to build a hotwire with an IMR cell with considerably greater output and <8 minute runtime, but that hardly counts. And yes, those with smaller pockets might have problems EDCing the DBS
This light is a combination of the DBS body\head, a DBS MC-E lightly textured reflector, and a Nailbender SST-50 2.8A single mode WJ bin C3 color P60 dropin (yeah, that's a mouthful :duh2.
First, the raw numbers. I don't own a high end light meter or integrated sphere, and this light has never been directly tested, but very similar setups have been tested by both Big C and mrgman, so I would give these numbers a +-10%: 23-25k lux w/ 460 OTF lumens. An XPG DBS is around 18 lux, 300 OTF lumens. A R2 DBS is ~21k lux, 220 OTF lumens. A R2 aspheric DBS is ~65k lux, 140 OTF lumens. The thrunite catapult, a 2x 18650 light, is around 30k lux, 540 OTF lumens - but with a head and body far larger then the DBS, close to a maglight size and certainly not pocketable.
When I got the DBS, I stripped it down and meticulously cleaned and re-greased every part of it. I applied thermal paste in 2 areas - between the P60 pill and the reflector, and between the reflector and the body. The P60 pill to reflector is the main area of heat transfer, as the P60 pill does not touch the sides of the light. Applying AS5 in the threads really helped heat transfer - before, the pill would heat to 'too hot to touch' in 20-30 seconds, but I could comfortably unscrew it at over a minute with the AS5 on.
Beamshots:
First, the SST-50 in P60 dropin format:
Next, the SST-50 in the DBS, with the AKOray K-106 on the right side. This picture was taken at an equal distance and cropped equally so size of the hotspot can be directly compared to the SST-50 above, but I had to step down exposure to make the hotspot visible, so brightness cannot be directly compared. The AKOray is for reference; its hotspot is roughly equal to the SST-50 P60s in brightness, although it is much smaller:
According to my rough measurements, the hotspot on the DBS is around 1/7th the area, with a much brighter sidespill.
Here's some outdoor pics. The camera was on auto, so it's hard to compare brightness, but I never got a chance to capture P60 shots in manual.
Reference (daylight, approximate target areas circled in red):
SST-50 P60 (Note that it was foggy that night, the beam was 'fuzzier' then normal):
And finally, DBS + SST-50:
The 120' beamshot doesn't really do the DBS justice. Like I figured, the camera underexposed the image to the point where it looked like the P60, but with a smaller hotspot. Tonight is slightly foggy, though not nearly as foggy as when I used the P60. You can actually see the beam in real life, though (but not nearly as bright as it appears in this image).
This image is a much better representation. Thanks to the lights from the house, the camera exposed it much more closely to what it actually looks like.
If you don't like the single mode, you can get a triple or five mode driver from Nailbender; they only deliver 2.5A, but the difference is small so go for it if you want modes
It was a close choice between the smooth and the lightly dimpled reflector, but with a lux loss of 2-3k the lightly dimpled reflector eliminated some fairly serious rings around the hotspot.
Here are the links\prices for the various parts:
Flashlight body ($49): http://flashlightconnection.com/Der...V3/DBS-V3-Host-No-Reflector-or-Pill-p183.html
MC-E Light OP reflector ($20): http://flashlightconnection.com/Orange-Peel-OP-Reflector-DBS-p48.html
UCL lens 43.41mm x 2.89mm ($6.25): http://www.flashlightlens.com/str/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=ucl_lens
SST-50 WJ bin P60 dropin ($65-75): http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=248771
Total: $140-150 shipped w\ CPF discounts
Sorry for the somewhat scattered review, I had to write it in a short timeframe and I had to put a lot of information out there. If anything is unclear or you have questions, post away and I'll respond as soon as I can.
A big thumbs up for the many people who steered me in the right direction on this project :thumbsup:
EDIT: More pictures!
It's been really foggy the last few nights, a big contrast to the cold, crisp nights we're used to. Guess it's the warm weather, slight rain, melting snow, and 93% humidity
Distance in all 3 shots is around 90'.
The light looked really cool. The beam was a even line, and the sidespill made a really cool-looking 3d cone, especially when pointed upwards. I stepped up the exposure to show the sidespill in this shot.
The camera had a hard time focusing on the reflector close up, I did my best to show just how light the OP pattern was.
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