Man I love SF L1's beam pattern

I didn't quite like it at first because of the no spill, and it still sucks for up close work, but outdoors it rules. Even at distance 20 feet away the benefit is apparent. Spill isn't useful anyway since I can't see anything with it, the large hot spot make spot things very easy. Even the low setting can project a very good hot spot over distance, and high is almost comparable with a 200 lumen light.

If this is the cree L1, I'm right there with you. (Actually, I like it indoors as well, although it isn't a great reading light!) I can't believe how far the light carries, and this extra "tight" beam easily out-throws several lights I love, (120p / 2008 Inova T1,) both of which I think are probably brighter overall. I find this is my best light for any long distance use. This said, I don't have any of the powerful "throw heavy" lights I hear about on CPF. But when I use the L1, I can hardly imagine needing more light.

Actually I love better the beam of my new E1B because it's tighter and has a nice creamy color versus the L1's slightly greenish one.





The fact however that with the Backup you are compelled to start even if briefly with the high level makes L1 CREE the preferred one.

I wonder if the e2d driver operates like the e1b (high and then low)?

Shoot it does, nice. Does anyone have the old luxIII and the new cree? how do the beams stack up?

RyanA said:

I wonder if the e2d driver operates like the e1b (high and then low)?

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You mean the E2DL ?
Yep- high first, low second.

Man, Surefire even does multimodes right.

now it only someone could get them to up the amperage on the drivers

jzmtl said:

I didn't quite like it at first because of the no spill, and it still sucks for up close work, but outdoors it rules. Even at distance 20 feet away the benefit is apparent. Spill isn't useful anyway since I can't see anything with it, the large hot spot make spot things very easy. Even the low setting can project a very good hot spot over distance, and high is almost comparable with a 200 lumen light.

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Get a F04 beamshaper, you'll see what is a good indoor light! If there is one of those store near you, you can get SF parts/flashlights for a good price:

http://www.rnicholls.com/en/about/location.php

heh...i'm still waiting for a light at about half the price(about $60) that uses optics like surefires but can also run properly/fit rechargables such as AA/rcr123...I love the nice focused beams they put out but i dont see why there arent much/any others that use optics instead of reflectors

RyanA said:

Shoot it does, nice. Does anyone have the old luxIII and the new cree? how do the beams stack up?

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Yep. I've got both.

The Lux3 beam is more square. It does throw well for a 1.1 / 22 lumen light, though. I leave a beamshaper on the Lux3 version permanently--beam is great then. The cree version has a more round beam--more what I'm used to seeing. I do not use a beamshaper on it (I have, but prefer the throw).

I use the older L1 almost every night to check on my kids. With a beamshaper, the low output is perfect for navigating the house (or yard) without disturbing others.

The Lux3 beam is more square. It does throw well for a 1.1 / 22 lumen light, though.

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And it runs foreeeeeeever on low.

You want to see a poor L1 beam? Check out the early red ones. Very different than the white version of the same generation, very ring-y and uneven. I am very tolerant of beams that don't look good on a white wall but these are something else (I have two of them). Still a great light, but...

jzmtl said:

I didn't quite like it at first because of the no spill, and it still sucks for up close work, but outdoors it rules. Even at distance 20 feet away the benefit is apparent. Spill isn't useful anyway since I can't see anything with it, the large hot spot make spot things very easy. Even the low setting can project a very good hot spot over distance, and high is almost comparable with a 200 lumen light.

Click to expand...

Finally I doin't feel so alone any more with my admiration for this beam. I wouold never have thought that an optic would flat out kill the reflectors, but here it is.

Although there is plenty of spill ... it is just concentrated where your eyes actually look and not elsewhere (wide and pale).
While my KL5A is brighter than my E2DL on my white wall, the E2DL yields much better results outside, despite the not so pretty beam.

bernie

My L1 and E1B have greats beams for medium range outdoor use. For close up, not so great, but slip on the F04 and now it's great for closer range use.

I may have to send my L1 to Milky one of these days to see what he can do with it. I'd like to keep the optic, but have more output on high, and maybe a lower low. Maybe a Cree Q5 or R2 driven at 1A in there, if there is enough heat sinking. That should produce around 200 lumens out the front, maybe more, due to the efficency of the optic. I'd imagine it would be over 6,000LUX (if not over 8,000) which would be awesome for a small light.

KiesslingRe: Man I love SF L1's beam pattern
Quote:
Originally Posted by jzmtl
I didn't quite like it at first because of the no spill, and it still sucks for up close work, but outdoors it rules. Even at distance 20 feet away the benefit is apparent. Spill isn't useful anyway since I can't see anything with it, the large hot spot make spot things very easy. Even the low setting can project a very good hot spot over distance, and high is almost comparable with a 200 lumen light.


Finally I doin't feel so alone any more with my admiration for this beam. I wouold never have thought that an optic would flat out kill the reflectors, but here it is.

Although there is plenty of spill ... it is just concentrated where your eyes actually look and not elsewhere (wide and pale).
While my KL5A is brighter than my E2DL on my white wall, the E2DL yields much better results outside, despite the not so pretty beam.

bernie

Wish I could agree about the "spill", I find limited (if any) "spill", thus making the light pretty much useless to me (sits in my light box next to my E2L, another useless light to me). I wasn't going to comment in the topic thread, but I just don't get how people call the "spill" useful or "plenty". I guess it's just me. My .02 FWIW YMMV

Spill is only useful where your eyes actually make use of the photons that are flying through the air.
The only moment where a very broad spill is useful is for close-up work or the like. In medium distances or the typical "it is dark outside" scenario a broad spill will just vanish into nothing, especiall when in contrast to a hot hotspot.
This way, the SF optic does not waste photons in limiting the spill angle, which is one reason for the exceptional performance of those lights outside, th eother being the broad hotspot making a cone of light that illuminates your field of vision just fine.

There is actually plenty of spill present around the spot, it fades quickly into nothing though.

Of course I admit that this optic won't solve all problems of the illumination world ... and all is subjective.
I would not read a book with it, for example. I would not hunt white walls either.

It is outside where this one shines.

bernie

LOL, that was an interesting read Kiessling, I enjoyed that (but not sure I agree with it). Sometimes things that might need to be seen are not "in the hotspot" or near. What a good "spill" allows is for those things to be seen or at least noticed.

If you look at a room being Illiuminated by a "floody" light (such as an L4 or Malkoff M60F) and then the same with a TIR light, it becomes "all to clear" as to the down fall for me (I realize not all people feel the same) of a TIR beam.

But I do enjoy the comparing of our likes and dislikes, as to flashlights, and I do realize that differences is what makes the world go around! My .02 FWIW

supposedly the new l1 beam is more diffused. I saw some pictures of the old vs the new l1. The new one seemed to have a sort of frosted lens, could that be the mechanism for the diffusion? I wonder if it can be removed.

I have also learned that sometimes spill can hurt your ability to see long distances, depending upon atmospheric conditions. When it is hazy or foggy the spill only serves to increase the amount of light that is reflected back to your eyes off of things other than the intended target. It's like flipping your brights on in a blizzard or fog. These are some of the situations where an optic or an aspherical lens are advantageous.

my L1 Cree 1A boost driver ( right ) vs P1D CE Q5
no green tint but pure creamy white with some vanilla tint,
and it's for sale :naughty: