Throw & Spill Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

[StefanFS]

The contestants are the following. Tiablo A8 with Cree Q2 driven at 830 mA. LumaPower MRV with FluPic and Cree Q5 WG driven at 1200 mA. 3D Mäglite with SSC P4 USXOH on a copper sink driven at 1000 mA. LumaPower D-mini with Cree Q5 driven at 1000 mA. LumaPower D-mini with Cree P4 and stock driver. 5D Mäg with Mäg halogen lens bulb.

Throw Lux @ one metre and cell type. Throw readings were done just before departure.

• Tiablo A8: 16 010 Lux. AW 18650 LiION.
• MRV with Cree Q5 & FluPic: 17 100 Lux. AW 18650 LiION.
• 3D Mäg SSC P4: 13 200 Lux. Varta NiMH cells.
• D-mini with Cree Q5 @ 1000 mA: 13 300 Lux. AW RCR 123.
• D-mini with Cree P4 and stock driver: 7900 Lux. AW RCR 123.
• 5D Mäg with halogen bulb: 12 900 Lux. Minamoto NiMH cells.

Location

The location is a mountain lake and the distance is 220 meters. Fog is rising from the lake so the beams are quite visible. No spill is visible since this is over water. It's all about throw. All shots are 8 second exposures at f/2.8.

A solid performance from the Tiablo A8, as always.

The new Cree Q5 WG are astonishing. This MRV was crushed by the A8 before the MRV was upgraded to Cree Q5. Now it's brighter and throws further when compared to the A8.

The Mäg with an SSC P4 is exceptionally bright, but it doesn't really cut it with this competition. The SSC is driven to max spec.

The D-mini also excels with an Cree Q5.

The stock D-mini is very powerful for it's size. But not comparable to a D-mini with Cree Q5 and a higher drive current.

This shot shows (in my opinion, at least) that incan lights aren't that much better at cutting through fog.

Stefan

 

[StefanFS]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

I decided to try my best to show how these high powered throwers behave in a more "enclosed" setting. To show that they have, in my opinion, a very useful and bright spill area for a variety of tasks.
The setup has changed in the following way: I ditched the 5D Mag for this, it was useful for extreme throw shots. This time I had access to two Tiablo A8, one totally stock and my modded Tiablo A8. The modded Tiablo produces 27 000 Lux in throw @ 1 m.

The two locales I used could just as easily be an alley or a street since there's vegetation on the sides. All shots are 8 second exposures, f/2.8.


The first shoot. Down a lawn and over the house. Distance is 50 m to the house and 95 m to the trees where the hotspots are seen.

Second shoot. Up a driveway, 40 m to the garage.

The point of this exercise is to show how these lights behave in such a setting, not to compare them to other lights known for their flood/spill capability.
Stefan

 

[LukeA]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Is an aspheric mag a part of the 'others'?

 

[StefanFS]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Is an aspheric mag a part of the 'others'?

Depends, if I can get one at a reasonable price/shipping cost it will. I going to run these beamshots for a while.
Stefan

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

I was wondering if you had considered doing lux measurements at more than 1 meter? I have noticed focusing issues at one meter with some of my higher powered Cree'ed and Seoul's light, so I am now doing lux at 6 meters and using the inverse square law to acquire a one meter reading. Worked very well with a Seoul'ed VIP with a 3" reflector that had an obvious donut at one meter and was giving me a reading of 14,000 lux. I moved back to 6 meters and noted that the beam was converging better, and took a reading. Corrected to one meter my lux figure was 42,000 lux.

Bill

 

[johnny13oi]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Would a MagLED 2D modded with a U-bin SSC P4 throw like your 3D Mag SSC P4? I know the output would drop after a few minutes but would it be relatively the same in the beginning?

 

[AFAustin]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Thanks for those nice shots, Stefan. Your Q5'd MRV is impressive!

I wonder if Tiablo or LP (or someone else) will be first to offer a Q5 upgrade module.....

 

[Kid9P]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Did you upgrade the D-mini to a Q5 yourself??

 

[StefanFS]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

I was wondering if you had considered doing lux measurements at more than 1 meter? I have noticed focusing issues at one meter with some of my higher powered Cree'ed and Seoul's light, so I am now doing lux at 6 meters and using the inverse square law to acquire a one meter reading. Worked very well with a Seoul'ed VIP with a 3" reflector that had an obvious donut at one meter and was giving me a reading of 14,000 lux. I moved back to 6 meters and noted that the beam was converging better, and took a reading. Corrected to one meter my lux figure was 42,000 lux.

Bill

Yes I have. I scratced that thought because one metre readings gives me an inclination of what the light can do, and it seems to be a relatively established practice. It's not a science, I use it as a pointer. I also think the margin for error increases with Lux readings at longer distances.
Stefan

 

[StefanFS]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Would a MagLED 2D modded with a U-bin SSC P4 throw like your 3D Mag SSC P4? I know the output would drop after a few minutes but would it be relatively the same in the beginning?

I have no idea. This one has a copper heatsink I made (painstakingly) for this particular light with a driver that feeds ~990-1000 mA to the led. It drives the SSC P4 to it's max performance. If you are talking about dropin "bulbs" I doubt that you will get that kind of output. You need to know the leds binning, forward voltage and what current the driver sends to the led.
Stefan

 

[johnny13oi]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

I have no idea. This one has a copper heatsink I made (painstakingly) for this particular light with a driver that feeds ~990-1000 mA to the led. It drives the SSC P4 to it's max performance. If you are talking about dropin "bulbs" I doubt that you will get that kind of output. You need to know the leds binning, forward voltage and what current the driver sends to the led.
Stefan

Oh sorry yeah I don't know about all that but very nice lights indeed.

 

[Kraid]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Depends, if I can get one at a reasonable price/shipping cost it will. I going to run these beamshots for a while.
Stefan

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=167979

 

[StefanFS]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Oh sorry yeah I don't know about all that but very nice lights indeed.

Sorry about that. You need something like a Malkoff dropin for this. Or you buy an aluminium heatsink, an SSC P4 and a driver and do it yourself. I'll mail you a driver for free, just send me a PM. But you have to buy a heatsink and an emitter, thats ~$20 combined. Can be found here:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=164414
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=160483

Stefan

 

[Nitro]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Stefan,

Nice shots! :thumbsup:

Can you give details on how you Q5'd your MRV?

I'm thinking of buying either an MRV or Tiablo, but I'm on the fence as to which one.

Thanks.

 

[StefanFS]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Stefan,

Nice shots! :thumbsup:

Can you give details on how you Q5'd your MRV?

I'm thinking of buying either an MRV or Tiablo, but I'm on the fence as to which one.

Thanks.

I popped the plastic cover, drilled a little hole at the edge and lifted. I filed the star down to fit. I then filed down the underside of of the cover and used it to center the star and waited for the epoxy to set. Just make sure you don't get any shorts on the star when you file it down. It's the same procedure with the Tiablo A8, they are similar in construction. Here are som pics on the MRV Q5 swap:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2099577&postcount=169
Stefan

 

[Nitro]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Is that a permanent mod to the MRV, or can it be returned to normal?

 

[StefanFS]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Is that a permanent mod to the MRV, or can it be returned to normal?

I used a few percent of heatsink compound in the Arctic Alu. epoxy to make it softer, so I can take the emitter out when the fabulous R4 bin arrive. Some say that it doesen't get so hard when you do that.

 

[Nitro]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

I used a few percent of heatsink compound in the Arctic Alu. epoxy to make it softer, so I can take the emitter out when the fabulous R4 bin arrive. Some say that it doesen't get so hard when you do that.

R4, any estimate when that should arrive?

 

[Beer]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

Wow, the beam shots look great!

But where is that lake...I may take my next vacation there. :naughty:

 

[BGater]

Re: Throw Beamshots! MRV, Tiablo A8, D-mini, SSC P4 M@g and others!

StefanFS: I have an extra aspheric to fit a Mag C/D head (ordered 2) if your in need of one. If the shipping is within my small budget I will send it no charge. Let me know if interested.

Bryan