Is this a normal A2 beamshot?

I recently purchased an A2 and I have some questions. I had it sent back to surefire to replace a bad bulb, but now that I have it back it doesn't seem any brighter to me. I'm pretty sure my E2e with fresh batteries puts out more light. Is this normal? I heard people saying their A2's were brighter than the claimed 50 lumens. It doesn't seem so for me. Also, after I got it back form SF, this is what my beamshot looks like:


and here it is again, overexposed to show the 'flairing' around the outside of the beam.


Notice how the beam gets dimmer then brighter near the outside. Is something wrong with my A2? I really don't want to send it back to SF again, but I don't like it the way it is. This does not seem like SF beam quality, and my E2e is better than this A2 in brightness and beam quality.

It doesn't look like the light is being held square to the wall...

Is this the case?

The light is straight, but I had the camera shooting at an angle. Either way, that's exactly how it looks in real life. I've made sure that I wasn't holding the light crooked. What you see is what I see.

50 lumens is pretty conservative. Mine feels more like 60+ with a very symmetrical beam.

SCblur,

You're right, the A2 beam is not as nice a beam as the E2 when comparing beam patterns on the wall. The E2 just has such a smooth beam. Remember the A2 has three large holes in the reflector which produces a dark ring in the beam. Your A2 beam pattern looks pretty normal. You may be able to adjust it a little by rotating the lamp in the bezel; try lining the filament up with one of the LEDs or with the clip and see if that helps. If you are careful, usually the lamp will stay exactly were you place it.

The E2 is going to win against the wall, but if you take both of them out in the woods and run them for 45 minutes, you'll appreciate the A2 for what it is worth. Give it a little time and some outdoor use before you decide to trade it in.

The A2 incan beam is affected by the three LED holes in the reflector. This is probably what you are seeing in the wall test. In use I do not notice this.

The regulated incan is a thing of beauty. Yes, the E2E is better for about 10-15 minutes, but after that no contest.

Dito to 78CJ5 ... this is important to asses a beam on a white wall correctly.

My A2 has also zones of a little higher brightness at the outer rimes of the beam.
And knowing how SF rates their lumen numbers (which is very conserrvatively), I am relatively sure the A2 put sout more than 50 lumens, but of course the E2e will also put out more than 60lm with fresh batteries and can well be brighter.
Incan lamps can vary in "whiteness" which will also play an important role to the perceived (but not real) brightness.

Got a comparison pic to the E2e with fresh batts in perfect orientation?

bernie

In addition to the above comments, you appear to be inside the focus distance for the A2. (Too close to the wall for the beam to properly form.)

Reshoot it at 10 feet and post that, and I can give you a better idea.

OK, I just checked mine at about a foot and it looks just like yours, but at 4 feet it looks good, and at 8-10, it smooths out a lot and looks great. There is a slight halo, even at 10 feet or so, but it is very smooth.

Bill

SCblur said:

I recently purchased an A2 and I have some questions. I had it sent back to surefire to replace a bad bulb, but now that I have it back it doesn't seem any brighter to me. I'm pretty sure my E2e with fresh batteries puts out more light. Is this normal? I heard people saying their A2's were brighter than the claimed 50 lumens. It doesn't seem so for me. Also, after I got it back form SF, this is what my beamshot looks like:

and here it is again, overexposed to show the 'flairing' around the outside of the beam.

Notice how the beam gets dimmer then brighter near the outside. Is something wrong with my A2? I really don't want to send it back to SF again, but I don't like it the way it is. This does not seem like SF beam quality, and my E2e is better than this A2 in brightness and beam quality.

Click to expand...

Those beamshots are near identical to the one's my A2 puts out, It's the same distinct beampattern.

My red A2 is not quite that bad, but my yellow-green A2 is getting there.

I never noticed until this thread. I never use the incan beams on anything closer than 10-15 feet. Are you sure it is a problem?

Maybe there is some minor misallignment with the lamp assembly?

Scott

bwaites said:

In addition to the above comments, you appear to be inside the focus distance for the A2. (Too close to the wall for the beam to properly form.) Bill

Click to expand...

I didn't even think of this. It seems most plausable.

Same with my A2. I feel kind of weird that I never noticed it. I'm sure the reason I never noticed is because the A2 high setting is way too bright for close-up work. bwaites has it right about focus distance.

I own the A2 and for SF IMO it was innovative a first step in dual mode lights sort of a jack of all trades, but there are better lights out there made by SF and others, I basically use my A2 when discretion is needed, such as an overnight flights when the airline cabin is dark, but the LED's leave much to be desired for. I also am not crazy about the incan beam either but in all I would not part with it.

cobra-ak said:

the LED's leave much to be desired for.

Click to expand...

If you have coloured LEDs, sanding them makes a world of difference.

I own 3 A2's with white LEDs. If I hold them around 1 inch from a smooth white surface I can kind of see a very dim version of what you have in your pics. But at that distance I also see the weird pattern from the reflector holes that kind of looks like a radioactive symbol, with the dark area surrounding that. At 4 inches or more it is very difficult for me to see a darker area. Anything beyond 1 foot and it rivals any P60 (G2 or 6P) that I have ever used. Your's definetly looks different than the ones I have.

I never use the incan closer than 5 or 6 feet, so as long as it was good there and beyond I wouldn't worry about it.

I have always been amazed just how smooth the beam on the A2 (mine) seem to be. Of course it could be my eyes, but I would think I could see what you are showing in your pic if it was that distinct.

Red

This has all been helpful. I noticed that my lamp assembly is quite off-center, but all my attempts to center it have failed. Now I am left wondering if the Lamp assembly itself crooked, or the bezel. I have a new lamp on order right now, so as soon as it arrives I will try it. If I have the same problem with that one, then I might be calling SF. I'm okay with a beam pattern that gets brighter near the outside, so long as it isn't crooked. If a new lamp fixes that, I can deal with it. Otherwise, for as much as I paid for this light, I might have to do something about it.

From what I understand, I believe Surefire mounts lamps in the assembly crooked on purpose to adjust the beam to ensure that the filament is centered in the reflector. If it's just the glass envelope that's crooked and the filament is centered, I wouldn't worry about it.

I wouldn't say that the bulb is mounted "crooked on purpose" - rather the filament is what is centred (focused) and the filament may not be centred within the bulb.