More powerful 1x CR123 from fenix?

Is it likely that we will see new led's in the single cell lights? It would be nice to have a PD20 upgrade with more lumens. We have come a long way since the original P2D CE, i am wondering if the progression will continue.

On a side note but still related, what is the best LED right now that could go in single and double cell lights? Is there anything better than the Q5 or R2 ?

techwg said:

On a side note but still related, what is the best LED right now that could go in single and double cell lights? Is there anything better than the Q5 or R2 ?

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Not really. I'm sure someone will say the MC-E or P7 is brighter, but they are no different than just 4 typical XR-E's or P4's put together

When it comes to the future of Cree bins, you have to take into account the amount of difference/gain in lumens between each bin. Let's take a look at the Cree bin guide:



So we're currently at Q5 (and in a few rare instances, R2) and the chart shows what we can expect in the future all the way out to the R4 bins. What's the final net difference for the flashlight user? We know the Fenix L0D, for example, uses the Q4 emitter and is rated at 75 lumens, so what if we dropped a Q5 into it? According to the chart, the difference between the Q4 and Q5 bins is right around 7%, so extrapolating from that (7% over 75 lumens) the finshed L0D Q5 would put out 80 lumens, or five lumens more than the Q4.

"Is that good?" Well not really, and here's why - the human perception of light is logarithmic; meaning that as the pupils of your eyes adjust to a brighter light, it requires a greater leap in lumens for you to perceive a difference. Generally speaking, a light must be about 20% brighter than what you're comparing it to before you even notice a change. That means our new and improved L0D would have to put out at least 90 lumens to even marginally distinguish it from the current model.

What if we took it to the extreme and went into the future to acquire a prototype R4 emitter for our L0D? Again going by the chart numbers, the R4 is 30% brighter than the Q4, which would give you a grand total of 98 lumens - just barely enough of an output increase to note a difference. (By comparison, most people complain that the Medium and High output levels on the P1D are too close together - yet the High mode is nearly 90% brighter!)

Well i love my PD20, the brightness modes are good for my needs (unlike the mode configuration on the PD30...) what i love is i can use medium for 90% of what i need, and i LOVE the throw i can get on turbo mode, however its never enough.. I am looking to get more brightness.

See, i use my light for close/medium range illumination but i love throw. Now the problem is if i buy a purely throwing light, and a seperate for close work, well thats just too much to carry. If i only carry a thrower i risk making the light less useful at close range like trying to walk using a laser pointer to light your path. If i get something to floody then i cant see worth a crap ahead of me. So if there is no way to get more throw withought sacrificing the close range usefulness, then the only thing i can come up with is have more lumens to throw at what i can already see, to make it more effective at the outer reaches of the beam that i am already used too.

techwg said:

the only thing i can come up with is have more lumens to throw at what i can already see, to make it more effective at the outer reaches of the beam that i am already used too.

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You can also use any higher-output flashlight with the same beam profile. The JetBeam Jet III ST comes to mind; same Fenix beam profile, but a higher high at 225 lumens, a lower low at 2 lumens, more than twice the runtime at the same output level, infinitely-variable user-settable modes, Type III HA, etc.

StarHalo said:

You can also use any higher-output flashlight with the same beam profile. The JetBeam Jet III ST comes to mind; same Fenix beam profile, but a higher high at 225 lumens, a lower low at 2 lumens, more than twice the runtime at the same output level, infinitely-variable user-settable modes, Type III HA, etc.

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eh, only problem with user settable modes is you have no idea about runtime. I like my modes to be set that way i can gague roughly how long i have left. Sounds like if thats the case, it has memory, and memory drains battery. I dont buy lights that have any kind of memory because i dont want my batteries trickle draining away when im not using them.

We've been plateau 'd on the Q5 for 12+ months now. Currrent processes are hitting the ceiling, it'll likely be at least another year before we see any newer technology coming out in LEDs by my uneducated guess. We may see another step up in bins from Cree/ SSC. Not sure what may come from Osram. Not betting anything on LumiLEDs currently.

LightWalker,

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