Focusable LED flashlights.

psychofart · Oct 19, 2009

hi, i'm new in forum.

just wanted to know- apart from maglite and led-lenser, which other LED flashlights have 'variable' focusing capability. preferably- tactical/military/tough ones with small batteries-AA/AAA/18650/123/14500 etc.

thank you

Dan FO · Oct 20, 2009

LensLight

hyperloop · Oct 20, 2009

Fenix E20, Romisen RC C6 II are the only 2 that spring to mind .

selfbuilt said:
Of course, if you are looking for a very bright "economical" single-stage 2AA light with a focussing feature and decent build quality, then the Fenix E20 is for you

the quote above is from this review. the light is currently available from 4sevens at $38.00 before the "CPF8" discount code.

cheers.

EDIT: you could probably find a few on Dealextreme, kaidomain or a few of the others but i wouldnt recommend those IMHO. I personally own an LED Lenser P5, surprisingly bright using a 1.2v NiMH AA (beamshots here)and an LED Lenser P14 (4xAA) which is very bright!

Lynx_Arc · Oct 20, 2009

I think dorcy makes some also

carrot · Oct 20, 2009

Focusability is not considered a terribly important feature amongst LED light manufacturers. There will always be an optimal focal point and anything beyond that will waste light output.

flatline · Oct 20, 2009

carrot said:
Focusability is not considered a terribly important feature amongst LED light manufacturers. There will always be an optimal focal point and anything beyond that will waste light output.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. My understanding of optics might be fuzzy (it's been a long time), but the idea of an "optimal" focal point doesn't make sense. The focal point is calculated based on the size of the projection you want at a given distance.

So are you saying that manufacturers have decided how big a hot spot customers want at a given distance and are designing their lights for that? Or are you saying something completely different?

--flatline

carrot · Oct 20, 2009

Optimal focal point for efficiency. At least with reflectors, if you raise or lower the reflector, you will end up wasting light output in some form or another. Or you will end up with an ugly donut hole. Lenses might work, but most (all?) focusable lens lights don't produce a beam that most of us find optimal.

yellow · Oct 20, 2009

I have this here: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14450
and for the price (and for "ususal" DX-Standards) it is really great, even the threads are ok.
A perfect light to get an info on this focusing head thing as well as aspherics.

In use it gives what I expected:
the fully focused aspheric outthrows any of my reflectored lights, but anything else than full focus is totally useless.

Sorry, thats my point of view. As I dont need throwers, asphericals stay just a gimmick in my arsenal.

bigchelis · Oct 20, 2009

You have to know how focused you want it because you can get an XR-E R2 focused with an Tir optic or a Aspheric type of light. Both are very different and you may do a search to see what you want.

Please also mention price range, throw, spill needed, and any other piece of info would be helpfull.

I see someone already mentioned the lenslight, but at $150 dollars it is inexpensive due to the quality and robustness of it. However if you were after a throwy type of light the Lenslight IMHO will not have much of it due to its tiny size. I have found the DX (could be unrealible) 18650 zoom light to offer way more throw than the LensLight.

I am having Miky build me a Surefire L1 (small) focusable Tir Optic R2. It will be reliable and dependable for any purpose. It focuses with the stock optic and will have 220ish plus out the front lumens. Again, the price for the entire build plus the light is not for the faint of heart or newbie.

bigC

UpChUcK · Oct 20, 2009

:welcome:

The Duracell Daylights are focusable but maybe not too "tactical/military". The 2C, 2D and 2x123 are actually pretty bright but the "focusing ability" leaves something to be desired.

I have the 2C and 2xAA.

qwertyydude · Oct 20, 2009

I really like my DX C78 led lenser copy. It's actually quite bright and is my edc.

TorchBoy · Oct 20, 2009

yellow said:
I have this here: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14450
and for the price (and for "ususal" DX-Standards) it is really great, even the threads are ok.
A perfect light to get an info on this focusing head thing as well as aspherics.

A have the C30 3xAAA version - it's great! - and I see there's a CR123A version as well.

psychofart · Oct 20, 2009

bigchelis said:
You have to know how focused you want it because you can get an XR-E R2 focused with an Tir optic or a Aspheric type of light. Both are very different and you may do a search to see what you want.

Please also mention price range, throw, spill needed, and any other piece of info would be helpfull.

I see someone already mentioned the lenslight, but at $150 dollars it is inexpensive due to the quality and robustness of it. However if you were after a throwy type of light the Lenslight IMHO will not have much of it due to its tiny size. I have found the DX (could be unrealible) 18650 zoom light to offer way more throw than the LensLight.

I am having Miky build me a Surefire L1 (small) focusable Tir Optic R2. It will be reliable and dependable for any purpose. It focuses with the stock optic and will have 220ish plus out the front lumens. Again, the price for the entire build plus the light is not for the faint of heart or newbie.

bigC

staying within $100 would be good, but can go up to 150. also, dc-dc driver ckt is preferred than resistor based ckt, more versatile with high capacity batteries(am i right?).

i'm more interested in throw than spill. but i'm not expecting much from a 'small' light like the types i mentioned.

and another thing i just remembered, does anyone make 'candle-mode' like the maglite?

sol-leks · Oct 20, 2009

I really love my fenix e20.

sol-leks · Oct 20, 2009

qwertyydude said:
I really like my DX C78 led lenser copy. It's actually quite bright and is my edc.

Hadn't seen this before, looks neat! Thanks.

sol-leks · Oct 20, 2009

UpChUcK said:
:welcome:

The Duracell Daylights are focusable but maybe not too "tactical/military". The 2C, 2D and 2x123 are actually pretty bright but the "focusing ability" leaves something to be desired.

I have the 2C and 2xAA.

I've been very interested in these lights too, especially the 2C version. So what is wrong with the zoom? I think I heard it doesn't really change the beam much right?

HitecDrftr · Oct 20, 2009

What Duracell attempted to do (and was technically successful at) was to avoid the "donut" that appears somewhere in the focusing transition. Problem is, a 3:1 (spot to flood) ratio just isn't enough for most people to consider it a "useful" focusing function. If they could manage true "throw" capability (Say a 10:1 ratio) it would be neat.

Still like their 160 lumen lights though.

-Hitec-

sol-leks · Oct 20, 2009

ah, gotcha. Yeah 160 lumens aint too shabby for a light under 30 bucks. Also I like that they are available in C and D cells which is uncommon.

Paul Baldwin · Oct 21, 2009

Hi,
the C-78 is very good for the money but the Romisen RC-29 is even better! Very well made, forward clicky, has a Cree Q5 and a better design for heat dissipation if you want to push the led harder. The only thing I prefer is the X2000 and C-78's one handed zoom function. The RC-29 needs quite a few twists to move from flood to zoom. This could be beneficial in some situations though.

Paul.

sol-leks · Oct 21, 2009

Paul Baldwin said:
Hi,
the C-78 is very good for the money but the Romisen RC-29 is even better! Very well made, forward clicky, has a Cree Q5 and a better design for heat dissipation if you want to push the led harder. The only thing I prefer is the X2000 and C-78's one handed zoom function. The RC-29 needs quite a few twists to move from flood to zoom. This could be beneficial in some situations though.

Paul.

I was hoping Romisen made a AA version of the RC-C6. Where do u buy this light I dont see it on dealextreme.

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