U2 Donut

What exactly is the undesireable "donut" shaped beam from the older versions of the U2? Is it just a big contrast between the center, brighter, portion of the beam and the spill, or is it less bright in the center donut hole?
Thanks in advance-
JJ

Less bright in the center...

JJH said:

What exactly is the undesireable "donut" shaped beam from the older versions of the U2? Is it just a big contrast between the center, brighter, portion of the beam and the spill, or is it less bright in the center donut hole?
Thanks in advance-
JJ

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The Doughtnut Is actually a good thing. It means the LED Is perfectly Centered.
It depends what Kind of "Donut" you get. Some are hardly noticable and some are just HUGE. A U2 that has a "Donut" will have more throw than a U2 without or a barely noticable "Donut".

The hole is not as bright as the surrounding spill. Still need to find more about the Wonders of the "Donut"

I actually really don't like u2's with donuts, it makes it terribly hard to shine around fast, contrast in birghtness really screws up your vision.

65535 said:

I actually really don't like u2's with donuts, it makes it terribly hard to shine around fast, contrast in birghtness really screws up your vision.

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Hmmmm. Are you joking, or just mentally related to the location in your profile ?

M I K said:

Hmmmm. Are you joking...

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I don't believe he is joking. I find that when I use a light with a pronounced donut, I tend to mistake the donut for a real object, especially when the light is panned about. I think it has something to do with the slightly less bright (aka dark) spot being seen in my peripheral vision, and it gets mistaken for movement.

Either way, donuts are annoying. I'm willing to tolerate a small one in an otherwise great light, but the big ones get sent back.

When my L4 had a donut, before it's trip home to SF for a fix, it definitely drove me nuts. As Ty_Bower said, you sometimes mistake it for 'something' out there. It's distracting, to say the least. The 'fix', BTW involved un-centering (I doubt that's a word) my emitter. Oh well, it works.

I must have been fortunate when I purchased my U2. The donut in my beam is barely noticable. The donut effect of my L2 and L4 is more noticable, but it's a soft and broad transition and I've never mistook the darker spot for an object. I was surprised to hear a couple of you describe it that way because I haven't experienced the "object" effect.

Patriot36 said:

I've never mistook the darker spot for an object. I was surprised to hear a couple of you describe it that way because I haven't experienced the "object" effect.

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Boy, I'll second that! I have a couple U2s that each have tiny donuts. I mean I have to carefully look for them on a white wall to see them. Outside? Forget it, there is nothing there. I've never even seen any other U2 donuts outside. Maybe I've never seen a real donut.

voiding the warranty of the light usually works best.

The "donut" is a result of the LED being in focus, not because it's centered. I prefer it slightly out of focus for no dark spot. It does reduce throw a bit but I like a floody beam anyway. Unless the spot is very pronounced, it doesn't bother me much.