E1B and L1 questions

After hearing discussion of various degrees of 'frosting' on L1's, I was wondering if people are noticing the same thing on the E1B. Also, do you think Surefire is using the same emitter in both, since output on high seems to be so close? Thanks for any comments!

Sorry, realized I should have posted this in the LED forum instead.

I had an L1 and it was slightly "frosted". My E1B is clear.

Can't answer your question as far as the emitter goes.

Both my Cree L1 and my E1B appear very clear with no hint of frosting at any angle.

Interestingly enough, the lens shell on the head can be turned, and I've found that if turned all the way down, the beam is a bit ringy.
But when turned out about 1/2 turn or so, the beam merges into a very nice, solid bright spot with nice fuzzy edges.

Zenster said:

Both my Cree L1 and my E1B appear very clear with no hint of frosting at any angle.

Interestingly enough, the lens shell on the head can be turned, and I've found that if turned all the way down, the beam is a bit ringy.
But when turned out about 1/2 turn or so, the beam merges into a very nice, solid bright spot with nice fuzzy edges.

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Does the 1/2 turn apply to both lights?

How tight are the hotspots on these lights for close range work (about 15 feet)? Are they useable with enough spill - on high and low - or do you have to move the light around much to be effective?

Numbers said:

Does the 1/2 turn apply to both lights?

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Nope. The L1 appears to be unmoveable. It's just the E1B that I can turn a bit.
I'm guessing that I could continue turning and the E1B head would come apart, but now that it's got a really pretty beam, I see no reason to mess with it any more.

LedZep said:

How tight are the hotspots on these lights for close range work (about 15 feet)? Are they useable with enough spill - on high and low - or do you have to move the light around much to be effective?

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I wouldn't call either of these lights a "floody", but the hotspots are nice and useable for most occasions.
My WAG is that the centerbeams are about 2-1/2" feet in diameter at 15 to 20 feet.
However, for my personal uses, I leave a diffuser on the E1B pretty much all the time while I use the L1 as is for when I want to little light that will throw a bit.
With the E1B/diffused, I can light up my whole back yard in a nice even glow, plenty bright enough for anything going on out there.
With the L1 as is, I can light up a neighbor's front yard at 150 feet... easy.

Thanks Zenster -
without the diffuser, would the E1B throw further than the L1?

My L1 is out thrown by my E1B by a significant margin, about what I think the 20 lumen difference in output would equate to. The window on my L1 is slightly frosted and the window on my E1B is crystal clear.

-Evan

LedZep said:

How tight are the hotspots on these lights for close range work (about 15 feet)? Are they useable with enough spill - on high and low - or do you have to move the light around much to be effective?

Click to expand...

I would not consider the E1B a floody light or a light with a lot of spill for close up work. Where I think the E1B comes into its own is around 15 yards and further out. The spot opens up into a nice spill of light giving what I believe is a much nicer effect than the soft spot and spill you get with other lights. This is why my E1B puts more light on targets out to 20 to 50 yards than my brighter P2D Q5. But up close out to 20 yards the P2D puts more light in front of you. It has something to do with the optics in the E1B. The E1B is a great little light if your looking for it's features.

Bill



Bill

Hitthespot -
Would the E1B light a useful area at short range (up to about 25 ft) on the low setting, or is it just a dim spot with little spill?

LedZep said:

Hitthespot -
Would the E1B light a useful area at short range (up to about 25 ft) on the low setting, or is it just a dim spot with little spill?

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Well that sepends greatly on what lighting conditions are like. If it was really dark and you were outdoors than low would still be just a dim glow on an oblect. If indoors in low lightconditions the low is like a dim circle of light on the objects, and in both settings spill is a dim haze of light. The high setting though would be a nice maybe two foot wide spot of nice white light. As hitthespot said the E1B really does come into it's own at around 20 yards in the dark, it's like a small powerhouse LED spotlight in a small 4inch HA-BK package :naughty:. If you are considering getting this light than I would say yes, it will be money well spent. :thumbsup:

-Evan

LedZep said:

Hitthespot -
Would the E1B light a useful area at short range (up to about 25 ft) on the low setting, or is it just a dim spot with little spill?

Click to expand...

It does have some spill but I would call it a dim spot with little spill on low. If your looking for a flood type light and a Surefire I understand the L4 is very nice. I'm looking at picking up a KL4 for my E2e.

Bill

LedZep said:

Thanks Zenster -
without the diffuser, would the E1B throw further than the L1?

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First reiterating that both my E1B and L1 have perfectly clear lenses (without an added diffuser), it looks to me that they both have similar beams on their high settings.
While the E1B is rated at higher lumens (80 to the L1's 65), I have to say that, while I can see the difference when I compare the two side by side at the same time, separately, they look the same.

I consider the E1B and L1 to be almost identical other than their significantly different UI.

I just got a F04 diffuser and it makes the L1 and E1B's beam much more useable for close range use.

WadeF said:

I just got a F04 diffuser and it makes the L1 and E1B's beam much more useable for close range use.

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Can someone post photos showing the before and after effect of an F04 diffuser on a TIR type light, e.g., L1 or E2L Cree?

Thanks.

parnass said:

Can someone post photos showing the before and after effect of an F04 diffuser on a TIR type light, e.g., L1 or E2L Cree?

Thanks.

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Someone probably could, but I think it would end up being a bit misleading.
A diffused L1 or E1B would show up (probably) a bit dimmish in a pic. However, that wonderful glow with absolutely no hot spot at all is really a joy to see and use.

I say that because all the emphasis put on "throw" around the forum leads people to overlook other great capabilities of some of these lights.
So the "average" CPF'er will look at a diffused E1B compared to the undiffused L1 and immediately rush out and buy the L1 because it will look much brighter in a photo.

But put a diffuser on any single-cell Surefire and walk out into your back yard at night and prepare to really enjoy what you see (even my lil' ol' E1L at 30 lumens is plenty bright with a diffuser to light up the back yard).

Really no reason for anyone with a 1" diameter bezel light not to own the F04 diffuser. Its really useful for lighting up an area.

CandlePowerForumsUser said:

Really no reason for anyone with a 1" diameter bezel light not to own the F04 diffuser. Its really useful for lighting up an area.

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One photo is worth a thousand words. What I want to know is:

Does the F04 widen the angle of the light from a narrow beam to a flood?

Or does it smooth out the artifacts but maintain the same beam geometry?

Thanks.

parnass said:

One photo is worth a thousand words. What I want to know is:

Does the F04 widen the angle of the light from a narrow beam to a flood?

Or does it smooth out the artifacts but maintain the same beam geometry?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

It makes the beam into a total flood with no discernable hot area.
Whatever area you point it at just "glows" mostly uniformly within the entire spread of the light, tapering off a little at the edges.