Disappointing Max on Fenix P1D CE

Hi,

I just recently recieved my P1D in the mail and it seems the first two modes are almost identical. Since the first is supposed to be about 70 lumens and the second 130 I would have thought there'd be a noticable difference? There's almost none.

Have I got a dud? Or perhaps it's the battery? The battery is new from a sealed box however one of the 40 in the box was leaking so maybe it's the batteries that are the problem?

Any ideas?

Cheers,

PB.

PS oh yes and the beam seems to not be solid. It seems to have 2 faint lines running horrizonatally in the beam (most noticable on low). like this (||) with the lines being the edge of the spot and the dark patches though very faint.

Many people have said the same thing about the similarity in brightness between medium and high. If you switch from medium to high while shining the light on something close up, the difference will be more obvious. Twice the lumens translates into less than twice the perceived brightness. I hope that makes sense. After a while it is easier to see the difference.

If you look at the led I believe you will see the source of the lines. They are being projected.

Ok thanks. If they're as similar for everyone else as they are for me I'd wonder why they bother with Max at all. Half the run time for no noticeable difference in brightness seems silly. hmmm actually thinking about it I remember seeing a utube vid on one and I'm sure the difference was noticable in that.. I might find and watch it again.

PayBack said:

Ok thanks. If they're as similar for everyone else as they are for me I'd wonder why they bother with Max at all. Half the run time for no noticeable difference in brightness seems silly. hmmm actually thinking about it I remember seeing a utube vid on one and I'm sure the difference was noticable in that.. I might find and watch it again.

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yes, it is so silly that there is no difference for the high and low brightness level ,because if in that way, there is no different for two levels,and 130 lm should be not the max one now, you can search the similar price but much brighter one and easy operation.as you konw, that the Cree LED one wat can be 100lm for 350mA current,which means the LED become brighter and brighter,so more convenience for personal habit,more choice for personal use

test it in different conditions, you'll find different batteries will show u otherwise, in total darkness, it's more noticeble, but yes, some units do show minimal difference in modes, it makes me wonder why the modes are there.

A low and a twist high would be sweet. or a low (3), low (25), med (70), twist turb (120++).. they would be noticeble differences in brightness, and also easier to distinguish what light level u need. It would also battle novat4c for EDC title.

fenix with a < 3 lume mode,. and better thicker even threads. would be unstoppable, especially with q5's and OP's now... that would pretty much gridlock flashlights.

TBH I have yet to try in total darkness and the utube vid showed a definite difference in brightnes though I suspect a camera picks it up better. Every torch seems to look amazing on camera.

Ensile you say "some units" show little difference in modes. Does that mean some are better than others and it's the luck of the draw? If so I might end up getting another one in hope of getting a good one. Waste of money I know but I keep buying torches I don't need anywa so....

olight001 said:

yes, it is so silly that there is no difference for the high and low brightness level ,because if in that way, there is no different for two levels,and 130 lm should be not the max one now, you can search the similar price but much brighter one and easy operation.as you konw, that the Cree LED one wat can be 100lm for 350mA current,which means the LED become brighter and brighter,so more convenience for personal habit,more choice for personal use

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I must admit that I've read this several times and still can't understand what you mean.

TigerhawkT3 said:

I must admit that I've read this several times and still can't understand what you mean.

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Oh good. It's not just me then

"I must admit that I've read this several times and still can't understand what you mean."

-AND-

"Oh good. It's not just me then."

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FYI, and no personal attack intended by this Post, English is NOT OLIGHT's first language; Chinese is. Tina's English is probably much better then most of us can speak or write Chinese.

Tina, on behalf of my fellow CPF-ers, i'd like to offer an apology if any offense or hurt was caused, they were unaware that english is not your first language: zhen de dui bu qi. shi zai dui bu qi.

-

PayBack, if you use your P1D CE in total darkness and point it at something 150 feet away you will notice the difference between the levels which is not too apparent at a short distance. If you light a very near white wall you will not be able to tell the difference.

Handlobraesing said:

From the way you describe it, you're using an alkaline battery. The P1D draws a large amount of current and alkaline batteries don't do well with this kind of use.

You HAVE TO use rechargeable or lithium AA to get maximum performance in pretty much all high powered one or two AA powered flashlights.

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The P1D CE uses CR123A, not AAs.

A similar problem (albeit with all levels the same) occurs if a 3.7v RCR123 cell is used. In this case though these sound like primaries (unless the OP has 40 RCRs!)

PayBack said:

Have I got a dud? Or perhaps it's the battery? The battery is new from a sealed box however one of the 40 in the box was leaking so maybe it's the batteries that are the problem?

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This is an easy one to check - try a different battery

Handlobraesing said:

From the way you describe it, you're using an alkaline battery. The P1D draws a large amount of current and alkaline batteries don't do well with this kind of use.

You HAVE TO use rechargeable or lithium AA to get maximum performance in pretty much all high powered one or two AA powered flashlights.

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Huh? It uses a CR123.

robm said:

This is an easy one to check - try a different battery

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Yeah I did, albeit a slightly used one from my Bushnell... same result.

Maybe just a perception thing then?

I tend to rely on a light meter to measure small differences in output (less than 100%) - eyes can be deceiving, and adapt very, very quickly

Art Vandelay said:

If you are outside and trying to see something far away, the difference is much more apparent.

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Agreed. I had the same difficulty discerning the difference with both my P2D and my Lumapower M1 on high vs. low in my out of the box "shine at the wall tests". However, once outside or lighting up distant parts of a dark basement, the difference was very apparent.

By the way . . I like your screen name Art! I almost missed it.

robm said:

The P1D CE uses CR123A, not AAs.

A similar problem (albeit with all levels the same) occurs if a 3.7v RCR123 cell is used. In this case though these sound like primaries (unless the OP has 40 RCRs!)



This is an easy one to check - try a different battery

Click to expand...

Oops, I always have the L1P and P1D confused as far as what takes what battery. Good catch.

Yes, the difference between 70 and 130 lumens is not much for our eyes...

Myself and another were PM'ing each other about the UK 4AA eLED Zoom which switches between 1/2 watt and 1 watt settings. Both he and I, outside, have to pay very close attention to make sure that we have it on the 1/2 watt mode (I am cheap, and I want longer runtime as the default, not "full" power"--especially when our eyes can barely see the difference).

In human factors, our eyes (and ears) are "logarithmic based sensors" because they need to work in such wide range of conditions. For example, we can perceive images in a scene with, roughly, a 10,000:1 brightness range (full sun to deep shadows).

A 2:1 difference in light is hardly anything. A 10:1 difference in light--the brighter one will pretty much "bury" the dimmer one.

In the end, the nice thing about multi-level LED flashlights is that you can choose the level/runtime that works best for you--based on conditions.

-Bill

Not to say that there is not an issue with your P1D-CE... The "Turbo" setting does draw a lot of current for the size of the light and single cell battery. If there is an issue with either the electronics or the battery, you may not be getting the light levels you should be... It is difficult from a keyboard to tell which the issue is--expectations, or actual functional problem with the light/battery. -BB

PPS: Oh, and the "lines"--do they align with the wires on the LED Die? Sometimes, the reflector projects the LED image onto a wall--wires, square die shape, etc. (similar to lens based lights too). An Orange Peel reflector is nice because it "fuzzes up" the image so everything is smoothed out--at the expense of a slightly less bright "hot-spot". Some vendors have different levels of Orange Peel so that people can have a beam that matches their needs/desires (Fenix is now offering light OP reflectors now). You can also put a piece of magic tape or other etched plastic on the front lens and do it yourself (make it removable if you want flood and spot from the same light). -BB

I agree with Art Vandelay, try it outdoors and you will see how different the Max mode is from Med. Indoors pointed to a close wall the difference is less evident.

Luigi