I've had a couple of days to play around with the Photon Proton and am posting some of my initial reactions. I'll leave it to someone else to post technical information and beam comparisons with other lights.
My most frequently used lights are an HDS Ultimate 60, ORB NS Raw, and Fenix L1P, so the Proton is in good company. Physically, the Proton is the same length as the L1P but a notably thinner and a smidgen over 1/2oz. lighter.
Fit and finish is a significanty notch below these other lights. Screwing the cap on a Fenix L1P or HDS has the nice feel of a precision machined part, while the Photon cap is a bit difficult to screw on and has the feel of something that does not quite fit as well.
The Photon has a very different light distribution - it lacks the throw of the L1P or HDS which have a bright central spot surrounded by a well-defined, less bright circle. The Photon has a much larger central illuminated area with no rapid fall off or tightly-defined illumination area.The Fenix's central area is notably brighter, but for walking around, the larger illuminated area of the Photon is actually better in some ways.
A BIG difference here is the flexibility of the Proton which is a closer match for the HDS than the L1P which has only one light level.
I was especially interested in the Proton as an astronomer since I need a red flashlight to maintain my night vision while observing. The Proton is ideal here since it includes a red LED display as well and so eliminates the need to carry a separate Red LED ligth as I have been doing till now.
Operation is nice and simple: Press and release the button fairly quickly and the light comes on at full brightness. To dim it, press the button and hold it and the light steps down fairly smartly to a very dim level. After that point it moves into the special signalling modes (flashing at various speeds and SOS) which are probably more a novelty item than useful (unless you are the kind of person who has a tool in their car to cut through a seatbelt, and a fold-up ladder in the bedroom to escape in case of fire)...
Press the button initially AND hold it in and the light goes into red mode, starting out at minimal illumination and then brightens as the button is held down. When the light is turned off, there is a tiny glow from the LED's to act as a locator, although this dims pretty rapidly. The on button is on the side which is a bit less convenient as you have to hunt around to find it when compared with a bottom button (although once found, it is more convenient).
Compared with the HDS-60 - the light is not nearly as bright of course, and the HDS has four quickly accessible light levels while the Proton has to be manually adjusted to the desired light level. Then again , the proton is only 15mm across for most of the width vs. some 24mm for the HDS. The HDS is notably chunkier and heavier and of course runs on a C123 vs. the very convenient AA of the proton. The Proton is about 1cm longer than the HDS. And let's not forget the slight price differences too. The HDS is an expensive light at some 3 times the cost of the Proton.
So the Proton serves double-duty as both an EDC and also a night-observing light - no other light fits that category and for me, that makes the proton a winner.
I would have liked a more precision fit&feel to the light, although my Fenix suffers from the pushbutton flakiness that others have experienced, whereas my Photon has exhibited no such issues).
So the Proton does not make sense if you are just looking for the brightest possible AA light - the Fenix would fit the bill better there. But the flexibility of the Proton and the Red LED feature puts it in a different league anyway.
It won't supplant my NS Raw which is so small I can always carry it and which has an insanely bright burst mode that is dramatically brighter than the Fenix/Proton, and the Proton lacks the wide coverage of the HDS-60, but all in all this is an impressive light that holds its own well and running on regular AA batteries also puts it in a different class as well.
My most frequently used lights are an HDS Ultimate 60, ORB NS Raw, and Fenix L1P, so the Proton is in good company. Physically, the Proton is the same length as the L1P but a notably thinner and a smidgen over 1/2oz. lighter.
Fit and finish is a significanty notch below these other lights. Screwing the cap on a Fenix L1P or HDS has the nice feel of a precision machined part, while the Photon cap is a bit difficult to screw on and has the feel of something that does not quite fit as well.
The Photon has a very different light distribution - it lacks the throw of the L1P or HDS which have a bright central spot surrounded by a well-defined, less bright circle. The Photon has a much larger central illuminated area with no rapid fall off or tightly-defined illumination area.The Fenix's central area is notably brighter, but for walking around, the larger illuminated area of the Photon is actually better in some ways.
A BIG difference here is the flexibility of the Proton which is a closer match for the HDS than the L1P which has only one light level.
I was especially interested in the Proton as an astronomer since I need a red flashlight to maintain my night vision while observing. The Proton is ideal here since it includes a red LED display as well and so eliminates the need to carry a separate Red LED ligth as I have been doing till now.
Operation is nice and simple: Press and release the button fairly quickly and the light comes on at full brightness. To dim it, press the button and hold it and the light steps down fairly smartly to a very dim level. After that point it moves into the special signalling modes (flashing at various speeds and SOS) which are probably more a novelty item than useful (unless you are the kind of person who has a tool in their car to cut through a seatbelt, and a fold-up ladder in the bedroom to escape in case of fire)...
Press the button initially AND hold it in and the light goes into red mode, starting out at minimal illumination and then brightens as the button is held down. When the light is turned off, there is a tiny glow from the LED's to act as a locator, although this dims pretty rapidly. The on button is on the side which is a bit less convenient as you have to hunt around to find it when compared with a bottom button (although once found, it is more convenient).
Compared with the HDS-60 - the light is not nearly as bright of course, and the HDS has four quickly accessible light levels while the Proton has to be manually adjusted to the desired light level. Then again , the proton is only 15mm across for most of the width vs. some 24mm for the HDS. The HDS is notably chunkier and heavier and of course runs on a C123 vs. the very convenient AA of the proton. The Proton is about 1cm longer than the HDS. And let's not forget the slight price differences too. The HDS is an expensive light at some 3 times the cost of the Proton.
So the Proton serves double-duty as both an EDC and also a night-observing light - no other light fits that category and for me, that makes the proton a winner.
I would have liked a more precision fit&feel to the light, although my Fenix suffers from the pushbutton flakiness that others have experienced, whereas my Photon has exhibited no such issues).
So the Proton does not make sense if you are just looking for the brightest possible AA light - the Fenix would fit the bill better there. But the flexibility of the Proton and the Red LED feature puts it in a different league anyway.
It won't supplant my NS Raw which is so small I can always carry it and which has an insanely bright burst mode that is dramatically brighter than the Fenix/Proton, and the Proton lacks the wide coverage of the HDS-60, but all in all this is an impressive light that holds its own well and running on regular AA batteries also puts it in a different class as well.
