Fenix Digital L1D CE Q5 - Does It Deliver Enough Light?

I've searched the forums and have only come up with graphs, runtimes
and beam shots at close distances. I was looking for some distant beam shots.

My question is this.
For someone who delivers pizza for a living (my friend) can this
light deliver enough light from his car shining on a house to see the
house address clearly at 35 to 100 feet or so?

If it can will it only do it on turbo mode or will high mode work?
Thanks for any input.

LBD said:

I've searched the forums and have only come up with graphs, runtimes
and beam shots at close distances. I was looking for some distant beam shots.

My question is this.
For someone who delivers pizza for a living (my friend) can this
light deliver enough light from his car shining on a house to see the
house address clearly at 35 to 100 feet or so?

If it can will it only do it on turbo mode or will high mode work?
Thanks for any input.

Click to expand...

The L1D is bright, but it's not a thrower. You'd want a dedicated thrower for a job like that.

Marduke said:

The L1D is bright, but it's not a thrower. You'd want a dedicated thrower for a job like that.

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Thank you for the information. I really did not know.
The Dereelight CL1H V3 will work fine for him then.

LBD said:

Can this light (Fenix L1D Q5) deliver enough light from his car shining on a house to see the house address clearly at 35 to 100 feet or so?

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I have this flashlight and would say, that a distance of 35 to 100 feet is absolutely no problem for a Fenix L1D Q5. And I have the OP reflector. It should be even better with the smooth version (SMO). There is no need to buy a thrower for a 100 feet distance.

But your friend should buy Eneloop AA cells for it and a NiMH AA charger. An alternative mini-thrower in Fenix-size would be the JetBeam JET-1 Pro. :thumbsup:

A Dereelight is bigger, more expensive, uses special cells (18650 or one model CR123A) and can be used for targets > 300 feet. Naturally it would also work fine for targets < 300 feet. :huh:

CandleFranky said:

I have this flashlight and would say, that a distance of 35 to 100 feet is absolutely no problem for a Fenix L1D Q5. And I have the OP reflector. It should be even better with the smooth version (SMO). There is no need to buy a thrower for a 100 feet distance.

But your friend should buy Eneloop AA cells for it and a NiMH AA charger. An alternative mini-thrower in Fenix-size would be the JetBeam JET-1 Pro. :thumbsup:

A Dereelight is bigger, more expensive, uses special cells (18650 or one model CR123A) and can be used for targets > 300 feet. Naturally it would also work fine for targets < 300 feet. :huh:

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Well thank you very much for confirming this for me.
I will also take your advise on the Eneloop AA cells.

I have both DBS V2 & CL1H V3 and I thought it would be overkill
for his purpose. Also the L1D seems somewhat pocketable and
more suitable for his needs.

LBD said:

My question is this.
For someone who delivers pizza for a living (my friend) can this
light deliver enough light from his car shining on a house to see the
house address clearly at 35 to 100 feet or so?

Click to expand...

I am a private hire cab driver in London, and I struggle with the L1DCE Q5 WC (Its modded from a P4) at 55 feet on turbo, P2DCE is fine (Using The Same L1DCE Head).

HTH

I can tell you that, for his mix of needing to read addresses on boxes in the car and also addresses on houses out the window, the SureFire A2 is the clear choice here. There's no "mode selection" to worry about, just press gently for in-car and press harder for outside. The color rendition of the incandescent main beam more than makes up for the lower lumen output. 35-100 feet away is cake with this beam.

Take it from someone who's done it - the simple interface and excellent pairing of the light sources is a perfect fit for this role, and it's exactly why every other light I have gets passed over in favor of the A2 when it comes to in-car use. I find that my P3D on turbo - all 215 lumens of it - has been the first light to approximate the usefulness of the A2, and even then the color leaves something to be desired.

I use an LED light for most EDC tasks, but the A2 seems likely to remain my go-to car light. Gentle on the eyes for maps, effective on houses outside. It's utterly fantastic, relatively inexpensive, and SureFire will fix anything that ever goes wrong with it.

Edited to add: Don't forget the A2 has a -marvelous- pocket clip. Convenience! The Jet-I Pro (R2) is also a fantastic thrower, and has a similarly fantastic clip, if you don't mind having to deal with recharging 14500s from time to time, and blowing your eyes out when using it in the car. Its "low" beam is 60 lumens. Far too much for reading tiny pizza box labels and in-car maps at night.

Maybe a modded RC-G2 would suit his needs(this driver with the modes shorted and this LED, NiMh batteries recommended)?

It it a pretty throwy 1 AA light but you'll need to modify it to get some good throw.

What light does he use now?

The L1D should work.

fluke said:

I am a private hire cab driver in London, and I struggle with the L1DCE Q5 WC (Its modded from a P4) at 55 feet on turbo, P2DCE is fine (Using The Same L1DCE Head).

HTH

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Yes it does help. You use this light for similar reasons that I described.
Thank you for your reply.

Gunner12 said:

Maybe a modded RC-G2 would suit his needs(this driver with the modes shorted and this LED, NiMh batteries recommended)?

It it a pretty throwy 1 AA light but you'll need to modify it to get some good throw.

What light does he use now?

The L1D should work.

Click to expand...

He uses an Inova X5 I believe (older model) 5 leds 2 cr123's.

LBD said:

Yes it does help. You use this light for similar reasons that I described.
Thank you for your reply.

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I used to use a Coast Led Lenser modded by Jay (FlashCrazy) which did the job very well and ran on 3 AAA's.

But now I use a 6PBK with a single mode Dereelight Q5 WC Smooth dropin and it amazes me every time I fire it up, works at up to 300 feet effectively if your eyesight is good enough.

But my latest addition to the car (Since a nice customer removed my 6P, now recovered) the Regalight WT1 Q5 WC with the smooth reflector, still outstanding at well over 300 ft.

If the X5 works for him at this task, then the L1D should be fine.

I'd still take something throwier like the Olight T15(which is surprisingly cheaper). 8% off coupon at Fenix Store is "CPF8".

Gunner12 said:

If the X5 works for him at this task, then the L1D should be fine.

I'd still take something throwier like the Olight T15(which is surprisingly cheaper). 8% off coupon at Fenix Store is "CPF8".

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The X5 was a gift for him over a year ago and he does not know the various other lights out there (I'm learning too). It could be brighter
for his nightly use though.

Thats why I asked if the L1D would work for him.
I don't own a Fenix (yet) but liked this model from what I've read.
1 AA cell is nice.
Just did not know it's brightness for his kind of use, delivering pizza's.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyways, you guys know your stuff and I thank everyone for your
opinions.

I gotta get some sleep. This stuff is addicting! :tinfoil:

how does he read the numbers from his car now? the X5 is all flood, and even worse, its an older version, meaning not that much light output.

let me see, 100ft is about 30 meters...i would say the L1D wont have a problem hitting that, but it wont be very bright, cos its not a dedicated thrower. Even a stock MAG 4-5D focused to as spot as possible would do better. its a car right? maybe a cigarette socket powered HID is indicated..:huh:

Crenshaw

The Fenix L1D-CE is (of course) a one-cell flashlight.


Even with quality rechargeables, you will find that

High-mode and Turbo-mode are virtually identical.


That's 'cuz one cell simply doesn't have the "energy"

to drive the flashlight at Turbo-mode brightness.



For that, you're gonna' need the 2-cell version. (L2D-CE)


Hope this is helpful.

I have both models, and they are indeed wonderful flashlights.

:twothumbs


Oh, and Welcome to CandlePowerForums !

:welcome:
_

I would highly recomend a light like the SureFire E1B for a job such as this. all of it's power is concentrated into a tight beam perfect for reading addresses at 100 foot.
No matter what light you get you want somthing which has a nice tight beam with not a lot of sidespill.
Yaesumofo

Crenshaw said:

maybe a cigarette socket powered HID is indicated..:huh:

Crenshaw

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We want to light up the house, not burn it down!

LBD said:

Thats why I asked if the L1D would work for him.
I don't own a Fenix (yet) but liked this model from what I've read.
1 AA cell is nice. Just did not know it's brightness for his kind of use, delivering pizza's.

Click to expand...

Again, the Fenix L1D Q5 should work on a distance of 100 feet - but naturally only in combination with good NiMHs, Eneloop for example. I have a L1D Q5 with an OP reflector. Especially if you choose the Fenix with the SMO (smooth) reflector from Fenix-Store.com.

But to be on the safe side for up to 200 feet, you can buy the mini thrower JETBeam JET-1 Pro, which can use Eneloop AA too. There should be no big price difference. The size is the same. :thumbsup:

CandleFranky said:

Again, the Fenix L1D Q5 should work on a distance of 100 feet - but naturally only in combination with good NiMHs, Eneloop for example. I have a L1D Q5 with an OP reflector. Especially if you choose the Fenix with the SMO (smooth) reflector from Fenix-Store.com.

But to be on the safe side for up to 200 feet, you can buy the mini thrower JETBeam JET-1 Pro, which can use Eneloop AA too. There should be no big price difference. The size is the same. :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Thanks again for your suggestions.
100 feet would be the longest I can think of from street to front of
house.
Most in the area he delivers to would be in the 50 foot range or less from the road I'm thinking.
That JETBeam JET-1 Pro looks mighty nice.
Heck I may just have to buy one for myself.

Do you EDC either one of these 2 lights?
Just curious if either are easy on the pockets.

Masque said:

Edited to add: Don't forget the A2 has a -marvelous- pocket clip. Convenience! The Jet-I Pro (R2) is also a fantastic thrower, and has a similarly fantastic clip, if you don't mind having to deal with recharging 14500s from time to time, and blowing your eyes out when using it in the car. Its "low" beam is 60 lumens. Far too much for reading tiny pizza box labels and in-car maps at night.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Your the second person to recommend this
light (Jet-I Pro)

This is a good forum and I can easily see how a person can quickly
become broke buying all these lights.
I'm not greedy, I just want one of each