Lumapower M3 Focusability - Disappointing

When I heard you could adjust the M3 from wide angle beam to a narrow beam for great throw, I thought, "Wow, what a great feature!" But the truth is, the width of the beam does not change at all. It is just like the old cheap lights where you loosen the head so that the emitter (used to be bulb) is drawn back behind the reflector. All it does is in the M3 is reduce the intensity of the hot spot.

Without the ability to widen the beam, I feel I was misled. I'm returning it, but I'm still out shipping both ways plus restocking fee. Anyone else unhappy with the M3's "focusability"? Anyone happy with it?

Phredd

How about getting one of the TurboForce heads?

Hmmm, I think that bug should be highlighted. I have one, and am happy with the beam as is but the focusing is a non-feature to me.

(I had some finish issues but Lumapower took care of it.)

Okay, back to topic. The focusing feature is BS at best. It does widen the hotspot but the threading is so loose that the reflector is practically falling off before there is any affect. A good example of this done quite well is the minimag led. It manages to focus without a donut hole and is well designed.

As for widening the overall beam, I'm not sure if that's possible with the usual construction techniques. I think you can only expect a widening/softening of the hotspot with the "move the reflector" focusing method.

I'd try some teflon tape on the threads, but that doesn't last for repeated focusing...

Honestly, I think someone needs to design a flashlight with true focusability, using compound optics similar to a camera lens -- that way the image of the beam itself can be scaled, rather than simply de-focusing a reflector and ending up with a donut hole, or defocusing a single lens and ending up with tons of chromatic aberration.

Dobbler said:

How about getting one of the TurboForce heads?

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That looks cool, but that would give me an even more focused beam, not flood.

gunga said:

It does widen the hotspot but the threading is so loose that the reflector is practically falling off before there is any affect.

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Maybe you're right. It seemed the hot spot was getting weaker, but I didn't notice the spill getting brighter.

2xTrinity, optics would be great. That would really change the size of the entire beam. I wonder if it's possible without adding considerable length.

Phredd