Various beamshots

061006 edit - added Auroralite minimag hotwire kit beamshots =) unfortunately the gym was locked tonight and i couldn't get in to make those shots, but i did manage the corridor shots.

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Well, I've just added my most recent aquisition, Mac's Mini-HID (3x17670 flavor) to my regular beamshot pics. Pretty much no comparison in terms of brightness to all of my other lights, but FWIW, here they are, alongside a few other lights for those who are interested

On the left: ISO64 || "Daylight" white balance || f4.0 || 4s, 2s, & 1s || about 30 yards to copier machine.
On the right: ISO 64 || "Daylight" WB || f4.0 || 1s, 1/3s, 1/10s || about 4 yards to bike.

Edit: Also did a constant-on runtime test, with the batteries on their 2nd charge cycle, I got 1h 11m 09s, which isn't too bad at all But I got a lot less runtime on my first cycle, where I had switched the light on and off quite a few times as I played with it. Perhaps the ballast sucks quite a bit of juice out of the batteries when you turn the light on

Auroralite mm-hotwire kit spot focus:


Auroralite mm-hotwire kit wide 'focus':


Pila GL4 (old 195 lumen version):


SF A2:


Mini-HID Tight Focus:


Mini-HID Wide Focus (relatively):


SF U2 2xCR123:


HD45 WWOT:


SFIII:


and just for kicks,
Pila GL4 & 2 SF A2s:

Awesome beamshots!
looking at your beamshots some months ago helped me decide to get a HD 45(I had a U2) and I love it so, I should thankyou

Ian

:goodjob:

Is the bulb in the Pila GL4 the 300 or 550 lumen?

Ian: You're most welcome! Always glad to help folks spend their mon..err "make wise purchasing decisions!" By the way, have you seen my beamshots for the SFIII yet? :laughing:

iNDiGLo: This is actually the very old GL4, with the 195 lumen lamp. It still outdoes my other lights (apart from the HID) in terms of brightness but I suppose its age is beginning to tell. I got my eyes on the new GL4, but it'll be some time before my piggy bank fills up again

Glad you enjoyed the shots & thanks for looking

Somy

If you had to pick between U2 and HD45, what'd be!

Hi Lips =)

You know, I actually no longer have the HD45 but still have the U2, so I guess that's the short answer

I guess that I found the HD45 just a little bit too big for my tastes. Especially after getting the SFIII, which I found more useful, the HD45 got used less and less--when I needed a Lux5 light, I'd reach for either the U2 or SFIII. So well, the HD45 is really a nice light but I just didn't use it enough, so I traded it off. But it took two very good lights to push it out! =)

Descriptively, the U2 affords a nice 6 levels, and a beam profile right on the borderline between flood & throw. Its 6 levels are the clincher for me, as its low is low enough and its high is also high enough.

The HD45 throws farther, and has still has a good wide spill, but the spill is dimmer. The HD45's strong suite is that it runs on 18650s without any difference in brightness and has a monster runtime, especially on low. But the low is too bright for my tastes.

The SFIII gives about the same profile as the HD45 since it uses the same curve, but has a much wider spill (I think due to the cut down reflector), and has an indiscernable useable difference in throw in a smaller size. It's the size of the SFII that clinches it for me, and now that I've got 17670s, it's become even more useful. It's only minus is that I don't have the 2-stage Kroll mod for it. But I'll fix that in good time

OK

Just bought a HD45

I see a U2 in my near future. Worried about getting a bad donut, bad tint and bad tailcap though...

Man I gotta sell something! Thanks Somy Nex

Hey Lips =)

PM sent!

That SFIII is awesome!,
with the difference in reflector size it really gives the HD45 a run and seems to have a better tint, I missed out on one a while ago, (latter luv 5 with reflector). Kinda looks like I might try and get one soon.

I have a HD45 XX1T on the way ,so I will see how that goes against my WW0T

thanks again,
Ian

P.S. I had a U2 then got a HD45 but now only have the HD , I wanted that monster throw and have grown to love the HD and live with its larger size and twisty, just my 2 cents

Ian

Now that you mention the twisty, that might've been another reason why I opted for the U2 over the HD45... i'm no twisty or clickie fanatic, but now that I think more about it, i really didn't like the fact that i couldn't operate the HD45 one-handed. perhaps the threads needed to be worked in a bit more, but it really was just a bit too difficult for me. the U2 can be operated one handed, although level changes will take some agility but that wasn't a problem for me. and of course my flavor of SFIII is just a single-stage Kroll clicky

But that SFIII is indeed a very nifty light! if you look at the beamshots, it is true that its beam profile is pretty similar to the HD45 (since their reflectors are following the same curve). but while it clearly loses out a little in throw, it makes up for that in flood with its 'wide angle' beam that makes the HD45 (no slouch in spill either) positively tunnel-vision-y. It even rivals the flood of my GL4, which is still my widest angle light, but not by very much!

Finally, congratulations on your 2nd HD45 purchase! I'd definitely like to know how your two HD45s compare =) I've heard non-picture, 2nd hand accounts, and SS Wayne has said that the W-bins were high achievers and the difference with the X-bins was less than expected. I've almost pulled the trigger on an X-bin HD45 twice, and I wanna know what i'm missing out on!

Cheers,
Terence

Great Job on the beam shots. Try that Mini-HID with a Textured reflector and it will also throw out a nice wall of light.


Mac

Thanks Mac!

I definitely need to look into some textured reflectors. Do you think the dual function reflectors sold by Fivemega here will work or do you have any in stock?

Somy Nex said:

and SS Wayne has said that the W-bins were high achievers and the difference with the X-bins was less than expected. I've almost pulled the trigger on an X-bin HD45 twice, and I wanna know what i'm missing out on!

Click to expand...

I'll hopefully get it this week and will see if it was worth the premium over the WW0T

If its not that great, I think I am gonna try a 'WTB SFIII Lux 5' in custom B/S/T

thanks, Ian

Oct 6, 2006: added beamshots of the Auroralite minimag hotwire kit (also in first post)

Auroralite mm-hotwire kit spot focus:


Auroralite mm-hotwire kit wide 'focus':