* U2 Donut Pics

After reading the other thread about the U2 Donut issue I figured I would post a few shots of mine in action. How does it look to you?
1. This on lowest power from approximately 3 feet away.



2. This is on lowest power from approximately 7 feet away.



3. Again lowest power from about 12 feet away.



4. Highest power from 12 feet away.





As you can see it got more noticeable the further back I went. The same effect happens on high power as you increase distance from the target. It doesn't bother me but it's not exactly what I would consider perfect.

I'm curious... Is your U2 better or worse than mine?

Re: Donut Pics

Mine's not as pronounced as yours.

Re: Donut Pics

at first i thought you ment this

:bump:

Re: Donut Pics

I thought this.

Thanks for posting those. Hard to believe, but mine was much worse than the worst one you posted. It was worse on the highest output than yours was on the lowest output. All these people saying "it's not so bad, only noticeable against a white wall" -- if they'd only seen mine they wouldn't say that.

I found it difficult, if not impossible, to get a decent digital photograph of the donut on mine. Here's the best I could get:

http://home.comcast.net/~tbower/donut.jpg

It's not really green like it appears in the picture. It's actually one of the whitest Luxeons I've seen. It does have an irritating donut, though. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to want to come out on camera.

I can clearly see the donut in your pictures. I can only imagine it must be worse in person. That would bother me a lot.

My donut hole is close to yours on a white wall, however
during regular use, I don't even see it. I am starting to
think that some people are making a bigger issue out of
this than it really is.

Just my thoughts........................ :thinking:

It's only noticable on a wall. When I use mine, I don't even notice it.

For what it's worth, if anything, my L4 looks significantly better that the above U2 beam shots at all distances.

Also, for what it's worth, at SF's prices, even though everyone may not be troubled by the hole, IMO everyone should rightly expect (and get) a near perfect light. Until the comments on this forum regarding the U2 are consistently good I would not consider buying one.

I think the donut hole on the U2 pictured is about average.
People just don't understand how bad it can be though, on my worst one it was pretty much like there was no light in the middle, it really looked like they designed a flashlight that produced a ring of light.

I love Surefire, all of my flashlights are Surefire - but they sure could and *should* do better for the money...

Numbers said:

Also, for what it's worth, at SF's prices, even though everyone may not be troubled by the hole, IMO everyone should rightly expect (and get) a near perfect light.

Click to expand...

Yeah, when I saw the pics I was wondering what the fuss was about until I remembered that.

onlinewarlord ... mine is a bit worse than yours, but I think overall this is what you can expect with a focussed 5W light.
What TheSteve describes sounds scary though ... :green:
bernie

TheSteve said:

...like there was no light in the middle, it really looked like they designed a flashlight that produced a ring of light....

Click to expand...

That's how mine was. Certain owners are not blowing this out of proportion. Rather there is huge unit-to-unit variation. Some lights have virtually no donut pattern; others look like a ring of light.

Surefire should send U2 buyers a Starbuck's gift card with those donuts. Mine is less pronounced than yours and while I'll agree it's not noticeable in everyday use, I know that it's there and it irks me that a high end light has such a defect. Imagine telling a non-flashie that you spent $270 on a flashlight and then admitting it has a problems!!

I hesitate to send it back to Surefire because it has such a nice white beam and who knows what they will return. I'll live with it awhile and probably send it back to SF when I'm in the mood for a gamble.

The good thing about this situation is that the U2 DOES have a lifetime warranty. Mine has a really nice white beam but in the middle it is only slightly faint (more noticeable on a wall or any flat surface...like a tractor trailer side in the dark)... other than that you have to look for it... but then with most things, you'll always see it more if you look for it. Yes it is somewhat irritating to spend the kind of money these cost for them to not be PERFECT. My wife is not a flashaholic, nor is she a gunsaholic.... Imagine me explaining WHY I need it, or justifying buying it...

"Wall hunting again, eh?"

Funny thing my "donut" is invisible in real use! :thinking:

I am thinking to buy a U2
Just a simple question..
Does the light turn momentary off when changing output levels?
Thanks

The U2 has a clickie and momentary is done by slightly pushing the clickie in.

Changing from on elevel to another will have no affect.

Lux Vs are expensive to buy, expensive to feed, and don't throw very well, but at least they often include free donuts!!

Delghi said:

I am thinking to buy a U2
Just a simple question..
Does the light turn momentary off when changing output levels?
Thanks

Click to expand...

Here's a thread with videos of the U2 cycling through its output levels:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=66714