DX X2000 focusable P4 - beamshots - stay away from this

I got the 18650 version
- Focusing mechanism is friction-based, sliding to and fro, can stay on the level I choose but the mechanism will not last I think
- LED has a very ugly purple tint
- Output is very poor even at max focus - see beamshots vs Ultrafire WF-600 Q2 (about 10m range)

Verdict: not worth the money, stay away from this light

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3283/2741415456_832a736c9a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/2741414096_1bc50a9ae9_b.jpg


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Thank you for the advice and for the beamshots...indeed the tint is not the best one. I was 80% decided to buy a CR123 version quite soon

radu1976 said:

Thank you for the advice and for the beamshots...indeed the tint is not the best one. I was 80% decided to buy a CR123 version quite soon

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how many lux at 1 meter ? no ideas ?

thx

doesnt look that bad, do you have longer distance shots?

thanks.

I think everything is ok. Aspheric is always bluer than the reflector.

I have the RCR123 version of the X2000
The lens is not made of glass but of plastic.

Initial lux readings at 1m with my cheap luxmeter using a fully charged RCR123 are 10,000 at max. focus and 700 at full flood setting.

Runtime plot using the full flood setting:


In max. focus setting I see only approx. half the light output.
I don't know how good my lightbox is but I think most of the losses must be in the X2000 itself.
But even with these losses the "hotspot" is astonishingly bright when fully focused. But there is also only very small sidespill, I'm not yet sure if the light is really usefull.

The full flood setting is quite good for indoor use and as closeup worklight.

I just disassembled my X2000.
It was quite easy after I managed to unscrew the bezel ring by pressing it against the sole of a shoe.
With the plastic lens removed I could screw out the pill and then slide off the head from the battery tube.

The emitter on the star board is held in its place by the stainless steel disc and the white plastic ring
Heat can only be transferred via the rim of the star.

The contact board seen below the resistor has a diameter of 20mm.

Lots of space around the battery because they use the same diameter for the 3xAAA, the RCR123 and the 18650 version.

what are the lens diameter btw, i have some nice lenses from kd here, a simple exchange and a emitter mod could maybe make a good light out of this

You are evaluating an aspheric thrower indoors on a white wall?... :shakehead

I dont think anyone buys an aspheric thrower for its color tint, or beam perfection against a whitewall.
Take it outside and see how far it throws, that would play more to its strengths. It might make a good Q5-mod candidate. The adjustable aspherics I have owned were VERY useful close-range, when adjusted to flood.

Although the lack of any heatsinking could spell trouble, unless the emitter is driven at a lower level.

Nos said:

what are the lens diameter btw, i have some nice lenses from kd here, a simple exchange and a emitter mod could maybe make a good light out of this

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The diameter including the flat rim is 28.5mm. The rim is 1.6mm thick.
The convex part of the lens has a diamater of approx. 21mm.
Central thickness is 8mm. Back side of the lens is flat.

Tohuwabohu said:

The diameter including the flat rim is 28.5mm. The rim is 1.6mm thick.
The convex part of the lens has a diamater of approx. 21mm.
Central thickness is 8mm. Back side of the lens is flat.

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Thank you. :thumbsup:

I looked at these X2000's on DX but the only one that interested me was the one with the twist zoom feature (sku 14230) and it only seems to be available in 3-AAA format. I avoid that battery format and the slide zooming mechanism just seems like a poor design IMO. I'd like one of these with the twist mechanism and either 1 or 2-cr123 or 2-AA battery tubes.

gratewhitehuntr said:

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What do you mean?

I meant that I was going to order one, just like the guy above me said he was about to do

until he read this

therefore

kramer5150 said:

You are evaluating an aspheric thrower indoors on a white wall?... :shakehead

I dont think anyone buys an aspheric thrower for its color tint, or beam perfection against a whitewall.
Take it outside and see how far it throws, that would play more to its strengths.

Click to expand...

Excatly, longer distance shots please

I agree that the flood is quite good indoor - very large and smooth. But the max focus is just pathetic. Sorry for the crappy beam shots as I don't have a tripod yet. They were taken at the same shutter speed and exposure, again the X2000 and the WF-600 Q2, target is a tree-top at about 40m.
The projected die of the X2000 P4 is obviously larger and less bright than the WF-600 hotspot.


WF-600 Q2

Larger version


X2000 P4

Larger version

NickBose said:

I agree that the flood is quite good indoor - very large and smooth. But the max focus is just pathetic. Sorry for the crappy beam shots as I don't have a tripod yet. They were taken at the same shutter speed and exposure, again the X2000 and the WF-600 Q2, target is a tree-top at about 40m.
The projected die of the X2000 P4 is obviously larger and less bright than the WF-600 hotspot.

Click to expand...

That's the post I was waiting for (and somewhat expecting). Thanks.

I got my CR123 version today. Yes, the light feels quite cheap but I can't see the reason why the focusing mechanism would/could fail anytime soon. The light is not waterproof.

I measured the current with my cheap DMM and got about 0.6A with full battery. Then i decided to take the light a part and noticed that there's no driver at all. There's just a series resistor limiting the current to the led.

I thought why not to add better driver for it and try to improve the heat sinking. Unfortunetely there isn't room for the better heatsink on the pill, so I just added some thermal grease to edges of the star. If the led will burn it will burn .

I had a Tiablo A9 driver left from my previous A9P7 mod so I decided to use it. I know, it's not the best driver for single cell but it was the best I had.

The positive contact extrudes quite lot on the A9 driver so i had to do some modifications to tailcap so the R123 battery will fit. I removed the first retaining ring from the tailcap and grinded that extruding plastic off from the second retaining ring. That metallic cup is also gone.
This modification gave enough room for the battery and the tailcap will close completely.

Wow this sucker is quite bright and throws quite well. It throws almost as good as A9 and the hotspot is bigger, there's no spill tho. I'll try to take some beamshots today.

I begin to like aspherical setups more and more.

It looks like one could cut a circular piece out of a sheet of copper and epoxy the star to it for increased heatsinking. Of course you would have to cut a notch for the LED leads to go through.

There is a new modeal out. "X2000 Flood-to-Throw Zooming Glass Lens Cree P4 3-Mode LED Flashlight (1*CR123A)" that has a circular spot.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15160