Wet blanket on the E01 party

[HKJ]

I have an L0D and the multi modes get in the way and annoy me all the time, especially since I only want the max mode and there is no way to reach it without the other modes. Also, in the medium mode, the PWM is noticable.

Your need a LiteFlux LF2X where your program both P1 and P2 to max.
Then your would have to twist between P1 and P2 many times, before seeing any multi mode behavior, and LF2X does not have a low PWM frequency.

 

[mudman cj]

I'm not sure this is the case. Vf is roughly similar, so emitted heat should be in the same ballpark. Rather, the improved efficiency of the GS manifests primarily as increased luminous output at the same power draw. (Which of course means that the emitted heat is slightly less - but this change is small in comparison to for instance 20 vs. 40 mA)
Of course, it's possible that the GS uses a more highly resistant plastic to embed the LED, but I doubt it. Nichia specifies the same longevity under the same conditions for the GS as for previous products.
I'm inclined to believe that they know what they are talking about when they specify the maximum recommended drive current as 20mA. That said, driving the LEDs at a higher current may, or may not, be a reasonable trade-off depending on ones preferences. But IMHO, it would be preferable to use power LEDs for such applications. For obvious reasons, 5mm LED have really, really bad thermal dissipation properties. Their redeeming qualities lie elsewhere.

Thanks for the comment. I hadn't realized that the Vf was about the same as previous versions. In that case, I think you are absolutely right.

 

[Illum]

I don't think Fenix makes Civictor.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/civictor_v1.htm

I know that we are talking about 10 lumens but both lights seem rather dim with an overly bluish tint and very little spill.

mmm, there seems to be plenty of spill to me:thinking:


5" from paper
very very faint hotspot if thats what your talking about

 

[milwaukeeblues]

I guess I just don't understand why people always want to change a light from its original intent. The E01 hasn't been out for a month yet and it's already getting a circuit change and an emitter replacement.

It's a lot easier to add features when you don't have to actually make the light. When you're not making the light, you don't have to deal with physical limitations, difficult choices, or the thoughtful balancing of components. You are pretty much free to want whatever you want.

This principle applies in all fields, not just flashlights. ;-)

-Peter

 

[EntropyQ3]

Got my black E01! Must echo what others have said, fit and finish is good, light is pretty much on par with the LOD-Q4 on low, hotspot is oval, beam is a little ringy against a wall, and tint changes depending on where you look, bluish in the middle.

Physical properties - great. Surface finish, thread feel, activation, low weight, small, grippy... damn near perfect.
Beam - not so great if you're used to AAA power LED lights.
Price/performance - great, unless you need a strong light in which case you should simply look elsewhere.

Lets not go overboard, the LOD-Q4 and its direct competitors are better lights in most respects except price (and PWM if you're sensitive), but in its niche, the EO1 is IMHO a very worthy product. Expecting it to offer all the features of lights sold at three or four times the price is hardly fair.

 

[Flashlike]

I received my new Olive E01 today, and I echo Don99's sentiments.
The fit and finish are nice, but the beam is rather sickly, IMO. I have no way of measuring the light output of mine, but I'm fairly confident that it is definitely less than the advertised output of 10 lumens. I'm guessing more like 6 or 7 lumens.
You should be able to find your way out of a closet with it, but that's about it.
Like others have said, the beam has a bluish center, too. Mine had quite the rings around the "hotspot", or more accurately described "warmspot"!
OK--enough of my complaining! I own some other Fenix flashlights and in general I think that overall their quality is quite good.

Well, I "fixed" my E01. How? I took a 3M Scotch-brite pad (not the super abrasive type, but the kind with the multi-stranded nylon) and pushed it into the reflector area working it around several times. Then I applied a small amount of cooktop cleaner to a small piece of cloth and polished the LED up a little bit. The beam has a much less pronounced hotspot and more useful flood.

I like the smoothed out beam now, and with the fantastic power regulation (https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2426558&postcount=10) this flashlight is going to be THE PERFECT "get up in the middle of the night" flashlight...

That is, unless I hear window glass breaking. Then I'm grabbing my Malkoff Mag3D or maybe even my POB HID!!!

 

[Don99]

...I took a 3M Scotch-brite pad (not the super abrasive type, but the kind with the multi-stranded nylon) and pushed it into the reflector area working it around several times...

How smooth did the reflector turn out? Pictures would be nice.

 

[Flashlike]

Using the 3M Scotch-brite pad didn't do all that much as far as polishing up the reflector. What it did is put sort a foggy (hazy) finish on the LED which helped to diffuse the light.
The beam doesn't have much of a hotspot now (although it never did), but has much more useable sidespill.
I can't stand a beam that has rings and artifacts, and this definitely took care of that.
Sorry--I haven't gotten into posting pictures yet.
I know a lot of people ask, "What did you expect for $15.00?". Well, I didn't expect a pocket rocket, but I was hoping for the light output to be closer to the advertised 10 lumens.

 

[Probedude]

So is the 10 lumen a 'spec' or an approximate output?
Any word on if this dimness (<10 lumens) a 'first run' problem that is going to be fixed?

Dave
(I have 2 on order)

 

[lengendcpf]

Try to be fair to Fenix.

Before you bought it, you should know.

It's not using those high power luxeon or cree leds.

Furthermore the price is on $15.

What more can you ask for?
.

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Try to be fair to Fenix.

Before you bought it, you should know.

It's not using those high power luxeon or cree leds.

Furthermore the price is on $15.

What more can you ask for?
.

Now that is something I can agree with. When using the E01 as it was designed for I find the light to be a flat out bargain. I can honestly say that this is the only light I own that will always be with me everywhere I go outside the house.:thumbsup:

 

[gunga]

Using the 3M Scotch-brite pad didn't do all that much as far as polishing up the reflector. What it did is put sort a foggy (hazy) finish on the LED which helped to diffuse the light.
The beam doesn't have much of a hotspot now (although it never did), but has much more useable sidespill.
I can't stand a beam that has rings and artifacts, and this definitely took care of that.

Good job.

I've been doing this trick on 5 mm lights for a little while but have not posted about it.

I usually do it to lights that allow access to the LED but glad to know it works well on the E01. I'm looking forward to getting mine.

I've found this works really well on SMJ leds too as their 4 die wires can lead to a pretty ugly hot spot.

I have 2 modded Gerber Infinity Ultras with GS led mods. 1 is scuffed up (as you mentioned, with a scotch bright pad) the other stock.

You do lose a decent amount of the little throw in the beam, but the spill is very bright and even, and it also smooths out the colours of the beam, blending it into a cool white tint.

Perhaps I'll try posting a thread with beamshots at some point. Not sure...

If what you want is a smooth floody tasklight, with even less throw, this is a great mod. I haven't decided ultimately which is the more useful beam, but the scuffed one is a much more pleasing beam.

 

[nikon]

So is the 10 lumen a 'spec' or an approximate output?
Any word on if this dimness (<10 lumens) a 'first run' problem that is going to be fixed?

Dave
(I have 2 on order)

The 10 lumen figure is a 'spec'. Fenix claims in their Features section..."Constant brightness:10 lumens".

Of the two EO1's I've received so far, I'd estimate one as three lumens and the other as five lumens. Neither one is as bright as my ARC CS.

 

[fluke]

Has no one put one on a light meter yet ???

I see a lot of claims about output but no real life figures, eyesight and logarithmic scale and all that!!

 

[Marduke]

Has no one put one on a light meter yet ???

I see a lot of claims about output but no real life figures, eyesight and logarithmic scale and all that!!

There is a good review in the review section which does a direct comparison with a Arc DS.

 

[mighty82]

The 10 lumen figure is a 'spec'. Fenix claims in their Features section..."Constant brightness:10 lumens".

Of the two EO1's I've received so far, I'd estimate one as three lumens and the other as five lumens. Neither one is as bright as my ARC CS.

I got my first E01 today, and it's much brighter than the E0 that was measured at 5 lumens. So i KNOW it's sigificantly brighter than that. I'm putting some pictures comparing the E0, E01 and the L0D reb 80 on low, into the "Fenix E01, any info?" thread now, so you can see the difference yourself.

 

[Probedude]

Furthermore the price is only $15.

I don't get this. Why is a product that doesn't put out published specs okay since it's only $15.00? $15.00 is a lot for a light out of China.

The Dorcy AA is sold by Walmart for ~$6.00.
Plenty of Romisen lights with more expensive emitters, more machining, more metal are sold for ~$15 or less, delivered also.

I can't imagine the bill of materials on this E01 to be significant to command the higher price. It's just higher because it is a Fenix. Even HAIII, how much more expensive could that be per unit when you're making > 1,000 pcs?


I'm not writing this to troll, but really now - $15.00 is not insignificant.
Dave

 

[Marduke]

How do you know it doesn't put out published specs? So far it's tested right where everyone expected it to. No surprises. It's brighter than what it was supposed to be brighter than, and dimmer than what it was supposed to be dimmer than. Again, no surprises.

 

[nerdgineer]

...there is evidence that they suffer from being driven at 40 mA...With a 20mA drive level there was 80% output after 1000 hours and 60% after 4500 hours. With a 40mA drive level there was 80% after 500 hours and 60% after about 1200 hours....

The evidence was indeed interesting. I've found other test results (clicking this downloads a pdf document which tied up my Firefox browser about 2 minutes to load - during which time it was "locked up" - so don't do it if you're going to mind the wait) which showed somewhat longer life for overdriven 5mm white LEDs, i.e. about 2000 hours to 50% at 50 mA. The difference might be the heat sinking of the test rigs, don't know. Just my 2 cents...

 

[mudman cj]

That looks to agree well with the previous source at least for a 20 mA drive level. Figure 10 shows 60% output after about 4500 hours (slightly extrapolated), just like the other data. It certainly does show less degradation when overdriven though. I will take that as good news for my Arc AAA P-DS. But the most interesting graph to me is figure 5, which shows that there is no good reason to overdrive a 5mm LED beyond 40 or maybe 50 mA. Above 60 mA the output actually decreases! Thanks for the link.