Did I get a bad D10?

So i just got my NiteCore D10 Golden Dragon Plus (I think its a GDP, it has no markings on the light or the box to say if its a Cree or a GDP) from 4sevens.com.
Its a great light, don't get me wrong, but I'm disappointed in the brightness. I have a plastic 2xAA Coleman Cree rated at 50 lumens that is just as bright. My Surefire A2 Aviator on bright is about the same brightness as well and my Surefire G2 (rated at 65 lumens) is defiantly brighter then the D10.

The D10's 130 lumens should be 2x as bright as my G2 and certainly brighter then my Coleman. Did I get a bad D10?

Eli

If you have got it switched to 'high', it should appear very bright indeed. My D10 GD is significantly brighter on high than my L2DQ5 on high (non turbo mode).

Do you have a fresh battery?

Good luck

James....

If you got the GDP the LED should look like the one on the right. The one on the left is the Cree version:



As far as brightness, what kind of battery are you using? You'll want a 14500 lithium ion for full brightness. If you are putting in a less than fresh akaline it may not be that bright (I've actually never bothered trying akalines in mine). If you don't have 3.7v lithium 14500's, try a fully charged NiMH. Also make sure you tap and hold for full brightness, or push and hold to ramp it all the way to full brightness. The GDP version has less total output than the Cree Q5 version as well.

to Elicriffield --


Welcome to CandlePowerForums !

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WadeF said:

If you got the GDP the LED should look like the one on the right. The one on the left is the Cree version:



As far as brightness, what kind of battery are you using? You'll want a 14500 lithium ion for full brightness. If you are putting in a less than fresh akaline it may not be that bright (I've actually never bothered trying akalines in mine). If you don't have 3.7v lithium 14500's, try a fully charged NiMH. Also make sure you tap and hold for full brightness, or push and hold to ramp it all the way to full brightness. The GDP version has less total output than the Cree Q5 version as well.

Click to expand...

How did you take such a beautiful photo. What mode is your camera set to?

I don't have a D10 but I do have an EX10 and on its high setting it is roughly on par with my Novatac 120P on high. I don't have my G2 or A2 on hand but my EX10 puts out more light than my G2L. Of course, these are all my own perceptions based on my eyes and are not calculated using measuring equipment.

Are you sure you have your D10 on high? Maybe try a fresh set of batteries to see if it makes a difference? Also, due to the way our eyes perceive light, 130 lumens will not look twice as bright as 65 lumens.

If you are not satisfied with your D10, contact 4sevens and let him know about your concerns with the light. I'm sure he'll figure out a way to make things right.

Thanks for the great picture WadeF, It looks like i do in fact have the D10 GDP. I do have it set on High, double click and HOLD jumps it up the the brightest setting, and i did try it with a couple different fresh alkaline batteries.

I'm thinking that mine must have low output.

Eli Criffield

elicriffield said:

Thanks for the great picture WadeF, It looks like i do in fact have the D10 GDP. I do have it set on High, double click and HOLD jumps it up the the brightest setting, and i did try it with a couple different fresh alkaline batteries.

I'm thinking that mine must have low output.

Eli Criffield

Click to expand...

What tint is the light? Is it green, or yellow, or cool white? Have you tried any NIMH batteries? Also, the GDP version has about 600 less lux than the Cree version. If I remember right, the GDP version worked best on 14500 batteries while the Cree worked well on both Alkalines and 14500. Do you have any 14500 batteries to try?

elicriffield said:

So i just got my NiteCore D10 Golden Dragon Plus (I think its a GDP, it has no markings on the light or the box to say if its a Cree or a GDP) from 4sevens.com.
Its a great light, don't get me wrong, but I'm disappointed in the brightness. I have a plastic 2xAA Coleman Cree rated at 50 lumens that is just as bright. My Surefire A2 Aviator on bright is about the same brightness as well and my Surefire G2 (rated at 65 lumens) is defiantly brighter then the D10.

The D10's 130 lumens should be 2x as bright as my G2 and certainly brighter then my Coleman. Did I get a bad D10?

Eli

Click to expand...

How are you determining brightness? The hot spot on the G2L is much more intense than the side spill, which may make it appear brighter. I don't own the GDP, but I hear that the beam is nice and soft, without an intense hotspot.

Lumens are very difficult to determine with the eye. I'm not doubting your claim, but what are you doing to compare beams?

snowlover91 said:

What tint is the light? Is it green, or yellow, or cool white? Have you tried any NIMH batteries? Also, the GDP version has about 600 less lux than the Cree version. If I remember right, the GDP version worked best on 14500 batteries while the Cree worked well on both Alkalines and 14500. Do you have any 14500 batteries to try?

Click to expand...

The tint is a cool white. I haven't tried a NIMH battery, i don't have a 14500 battery. Tonight I'll try to take some beam shots and upload them tomorrow.

Eli Criffield

ja10 said:

How are you determining brightness? The hot spot on the G2L is much more intense than the side spill, which may make it appear brighter. I don't own the GDP, but I hear that the beam is nice and soft, without an intense hotspot.

Lumens are very difficult to determine with the eye. I'm not doubting your claim, but what are you doing to compare beams?

Click to expand...

I'm shooting them on a wall about 20 ft away in total dark. The Coleman for example seems to have a brighter spot and even a bigger and brighter spill. The opposite wall seems brighter (but not by much) with the Coleman then with the D10 also. Maybe I'm just expecting to much. I'll take some beam shots tonight and upload them.

Eli Criffield

The Coleman may beat it if you are only using an akaline AA in the D10. To really bring the D10 to life you should try a 14500, but that involves getting a charger, the 14500 batteries, etc, which maybe more than you want to get into. Even then, the D10/EX10 aren't pocket rockets and aren't going to blow away the 115 lumen Coleman.

These are some really quick beam shots of my EX10 GDP on an AW R123, and my Coleman MAX 3AAA white/red/blue 115 lumen:

EX10 GDP:

Coleman:

elicriffield said:

The tint is a cool white. I haven't tried a NIMH battery, i don't have a 14500 battery. Tonight I'll try to take some beam shots and upload them tomorrow.

Eli Criffield

Click to expand...

I think a 14500 battery will solve your problem. The info states 130 torch lumens MAX, meaning with a 14500 battery. Using an AA battery is probably closer to 105-110 lumens IMO. So, if the Coleman is 115 lumens and it is slightly outperforming the D10 on an AA, that sounds about right. Also, if the Coleman is like WadeF's (using 3 AAA batteries for 4.5v total) and you are using 1.5v in a D10, with almost the same brightness. Pretty good IMO. With a 14500, the D10 should be brighter.

However, you said your Coleman uses 2AA and is rated at 50lumens, right? If that is the case then you may need to contact 4sevens and see as it may be a under-powered emitter. Try comparing them at 1M, the Coleman may have better throw and may be throwing you off. Hope this helps!

Here are some beam shots i took tonight. They are about 15 feet away. At 3 feet the coleman (its a 2x AA plastic cree model rated at 50 lumens on the box) looks about the same or maybe a little brighter then the D10.

All Shots taking at F2.8 1/60


This is the Coleman 2xAA Plastic Cree



This is the Surefire A2 on High


And this is the NiteCore D10 GDP on a fresh alkaline



So what do you think, Is that about how they should look?

Eli Criffield

The D10 looks brighter to me. The hotspots look equal but the spill looks better on the d10. Can you retake those pics at around 1/30 of a second with f2.8? I think that will help determine it a little bit better.