Brightest Handheld LED ever? Mr. Bulk 6D SN2 w/UCL

I just received my Mr. Bulk 6D Space Needle II with UCL. I installed a set of 6Ds with ~80% battery life left and the light meter registered an amazing 8,790 Lux! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif This is the brightest handheld LED (or incandescent for that matter) I have ever tested. The previous champion was my Streamlight SL-20X at 7,500 Lux at its best.

The only thing I had handy for comparison was my Inova X5T. I know, not a fair comparison and I feel bad beating up on the X5. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Here are some pictures. I will post more comparison pictures tonight with some stronger competition even though they really aren't much competition.

Again, Mr. Bulk raises the bar, his own bar. All hail.

SWEET! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Look at that perfectly round beam!

i think the intretech 5x5w light would be brighter[/b] but this can definately throw a spot!!!

very nice light /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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Rothrandir said:
i think the intretech 5x5w light would be brighter[/b] but this can definately throw a spot!!!

very nice light /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Doh! Forgot about the Inretech Mega.

I can't wait to run with the 6D SN tonight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

you're one crazy guy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

i just noticed that i forgot to end the {/i](oops)

Brighter than a Blaster V with 6C's? Bill

Oh, I can believe it... Those crazy W2 5W LSs can do some mighty things...

And the reflectorized hotspot will almost always be brighter than an optics-based hotspot...

What Choua said...

Re: Brightest Handheld LED ever? Mr. Bulk 6D SN2 w

Yowza!

Re: Brightest Handheld LED ever? Mr. Bulk 6D SN2 w

Do the 5WLS's get whiter or bluer than that? My SNII has the same color as your 6D SNII. While not anywhere near puke green of some LSs, I perfer a blue/violet tint.

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Bullzeyebill said:
Brighter than a Blaster V with 6C's? Bill

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a good question, I'm not sure as I don't have a Blaster V...yet. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

it should be a good deal brigher because it uses mag a mag reflector as opposed to 30mm optics.

also, mr b uses specially selected emitters...it would be impossible for elektrolumens to do this for his company.

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Rothrandir said:
it should be a good deal brigher because it uses mag a mag reflector as opposed to 30mm optics.

also, mr b uses specially selected emitters...it would be impossible for elektrolumens to do this for his company.

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I thought a 30mm collimator would be brighter, more focused than a Mag reflector...please correct me if I'm wrong and tell me why. Thanks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

i haven't seen a 30mm in person, but i have a hard time believing it would outhrow a mag reflector on teh 1w level...

as with all optics though...it doesn't perform that well with the 5w. it is more of a flood beam than a spot, and has a donut-like shape to it.

Believe me, the 30mm Collimator is the real deal. I was out in the dead of night with a bunch of different flashlights and my Blaster II+ was holding its own against incandescents 2-3 times brighter. Everyone thought my Blaster II+ was a 5 watt LS, they could not believe it was only a 1 Watt LS. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I wonder how the 30mm collimator would work with a 5 watt LS...

[ QUOTE ]
Rothrandir said:
mr b uses specially selected emitters...it would be impossible for elektrolumens to do this for his company.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmm, taking this line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, that would mean...

S4, the 30mm optics just loses too many photons out either near the tip of the LS itself, or through the sides of the acrylic collimator to throw out a brighter light than a reflector... If you think about it, a reflector potted right to the base of the LS would reflect possibly more than 95% of the light out the business end. Light that doesn't get reflected, would still be exiting the front through direct-out. But a collimator mirrors the die of the LS, and that die is projected through the sides to the front. Light that is reflected off the cone side of the collimator will usually never make it out the front. In the star w/optics, the plastic holders were there to keep some spill light through the sides of the NX05s from escaping...

From everything I've seen, if both LSs are truely equal, and one is placed in a 30mm collimator, the other in a mag reflector, the mag reflector based LS will be guaranteed to create a higher lux reading than the collimator based LS...

I have Elektrolumens' Blaster VI with the 30mm optics, and Mr Bulk's Space Needle... Both have a 5W LS in them. The Blaster VI, I believe, sports a V3-ranked LS. And the SN is a U3 ranked LS... Well, both are equally bright, putting out well over 120 lumens, but the hotspot of the SN could not be beat by the Blaster VI... I consistently get higher Lux readings from the SN...

Response to FalconFX

Thanks for the info Falcon. My question, why utilize a 30mm collimator then? I'm not trying to put anyone on the spot here, I'm just trying to understand the logic behind each mod, thanks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I can think of one advantage of the 30mm collimator, it's fixed, no adjusting. I like a fixed light point.

Re: Brightest Handheld LED ever? Mr. Bulk 6D SN2

The problem with the Mag reflectors is, they don't "defocus" too well... A Mag reflector is still a mag reflector... You're bound to get some rings when you defocus the beam... Plus, you have to place the LS perfectly in the middle to get a great beam. Too little off and the beam comes off cross-shaped and ring-laced...

Thus, comes the 30mm optics. In a 1W LS, it creats a good central hotspot with a nice, focused dropoff flood beam immediately around the spot. In a 5W LS, it's an overflowing flood, simply because of the sheer output of the LS, and it has a square secondary spill that easily lights up a closer ranged path... And although you also get the spill light with the reflector, the mag reflector does not produce a wide enough hotspot for some applications, while its spill isn't nearly as intense as the 30mm optic.

Some people like the reflector because it throws an awesome beam; carries quite well... Others like the 30mm optics because it's smaller than the reflector, and throws a similar beam, but with better spill light...

Maybe Wayne J or others using 30mm optics can compare it more to a reflector and elaborate more on it, but this is what I've gotten out of using both...