Beamshots - Arc AAA - 3/4W Arc AAA - L2P - Peak Caribbean - Nuwai ALX233C

Killed off part of a dinner break at work in the "dark" room again to throw together these quick beamshots. They're a bit better at showing a few things, and are a nice progression showing what you can see from low power setting all the way up to a quality 3 Watt light, and steps in between. Also tossed in a white lab coat to provide for more realistic color comparison on the beamshots. Lights were about 16' away from the lab coat.
All lights except the 3C Nuwaii ALX-233C were running on fresh Lithium batteries. The ALX-233C was running on 5000 maH NIMH.

Just havin' fun and using up bandwith.

holly crap that 60 ma pic is terrible compared to a stock AAA-P,.
a few hrs ago i just ordered a 30 ma version, i need to rethink, i want my low with runtime like a AAA-P and similer output and a short time high like your showing .75W using a 60 ma would kill my run time

Keep in mind that these are digital photos and might not accurately represent what the eye sees. I don't have a 3/4W Arc yet, but from what I've seen of low-level beamshots (Arc AAA, Jil Intelli on low, CR2 Ion on low), digital cameras are rather poor at representing the amount of light the flashlights are actually putting out and how much the area gets lit. Look at the Fenix shot. We all know that the Fenix doesn't project an isolated cone of light, yet that's how it looks in the picture. What we actually see is a bright, tight spot, a somewhat dim spill, and everything else in the room is dimly illuminated with reflected light (but looks pitch dark in the picture).

I'm certain that the 3/4W mod puts out plenty of light and isn't "too low".

Nice shots. Thanks.

Very nice!! Thanks for taking the time to do this. I wish more people would take the time to share photos.

I wouldn't worry to much about the low setting on the ARC. Keep in mind that what you are seeing is at a distance. You wouldn't normally use the low setting on a light for "far away" work. It's perfectly fine for what it was intended. I don't think there's a huge difference in "perceived" output between the 30ma & 60ma settings. I have another one on order with the 30ma low, and when it arrives I will post some "close-range" comparisons. Until then, here's a few from other posts that may ease your fears:

This shows that the 60ma setting surpasses the low setting on a CR2-Ion, and nobody complains about THAT little beauty's low setting:



And this one shows you how weak the original ARC AA light is at that distance - and it's running on a lithium battery too! It also has a bigger reflector to help it disperse it's little photons. If you use any light past its effective range you're not gonna see much.



These "comparison" beamshots can be deceiving in that to keep them fair, you must maintain the same camera setting for every picture. If you choose a setting which allows the low power beam to show exactly what the human eye sees, then the differences between the higher powered beam's pictures will not be very easy to see, as they will all tend to saturate or "wash out" the pictures. If I get time, I'll do another set in the next few days with the camera set for lower power lights.

Very nice beam shots. I have a MM L0P and was wondering how it might compare to the MM ARC. Your post gives me some idea now, thanks!
Regards,
Greg

Great beam shots. The target is good for showing both spill and throw.

Lebkuecher said:

Very nice!! Thanks for taking the time to do this. I wish more people would take the time to share photos.

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting these shots Randyo.

Great to be able to see how they compare, thanks Randyo!

Andrew

Randyo,

Just a quick question, is it ok to use rechargeable C cells for the alx-233C?
I have the light and wants more runtime on high setting for extended campiong and fishing trips. I like this light for outdoor use.

Cheers,
Randy555