DBS V3 with an R2 or DBS V3 with an MCE + Aspheric

gav6280

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As per title, looking for a powerful thrower at reasonable money and like the looks of the DBS, but unsure if i should go for an R2 or MCE+Aspheric and leave it slightly defocussed.

What do you think?
 

TITAN1833

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+1, MC-E's don't focus well and, as a result, the light doesn't travel as far.

Correct :twothumbs think of four emitters in one! the light has to spread,with a single led it's gradual yes! it spreads but more evenly :twothumbs on the other hand four emitters! each one will spread in it's own direction resulting in more often a halo of light ;) and leaving a very big dark void in the middle
 
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droeun

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Been debating whether I should get the aspheric for my DBS - let me know how it works out for you!

XRE R2:

aspherical_xre_beam.jpg


MCE:

aspherical_mce_beam.jpg
 
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MarkIAlbert

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JMO the R2 DBS is a great thrower and more practicable in real use than a MCE with aspheric :D

I actually have both the DBS and the Aspheric, both running MC-Es with 2x 18500.

While I took the DBS out trick-or-treating with the kids to keep the road lit up (The DBS with MC-E is a great balance between throw and flood), I did pull out the Aspheric version when the kids got too far afield. Not only did it light them up at 250+ yards away, the cross-hair pattern caused by the MCE in the aspheric made for an excellent signalling device (as in "kids, slow down so dad can catch up")

Also, if you already have the aspheric head loaded with an MCE, Allan will send you a tailcap, and body tubes (inexpensively) so you can have your choice.
 

TITAN1833

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Ok so you have a Aspheric that throws 3000' hmmmm take along your night vision binoc/goggles :green: the thing is: yes it will throw but that's it TBH I prefer single led's and yes I've had some MCE Aspheric type lights"not my thing" :p YMMV some like them very much and why not ;)
 

gav6280

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Are there any pictures of the R2 non aspheric vs the MCE with aspheric using the same target and at the same distance so its clear to see the diffrence in lighting power?
 

MarkIAlbert

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Ok so you have a Aspheric that throws 3000' hmmmm take along your night vision binoc/goggles :green: the thing is: yes it will throw but that's it TBH I prefer single led's and yes I've had some MCE Aspheric type lights"not my thing" :p YMMV some like them very much and why not ;)

Bottom line, if you have a decent light collection and you don't have an aspherical, the Dereelight is a good choice. The key thing is that an aspherical is really of limited use - good for signaling and identifying things far away only. I suppose if you needed to blind somebody close up, the aspherical would do a good job of that as well.
 

jahxman

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I have both the DBS V3 with an MC-E pill, and one with an R2 pill. The aspheric head lives on the R2 and the MOP reflector head on the MC-E.

I've tried the MC-E with the aspheric, and it basically gives you the worst of both worlds - makes the light into just throw, but much less throw than with the R2. THe surface brightness of the emitter is what makes the difference here, and the MC-E just can't compare with the XR-E R2 for surface brightness and focusability.

Using the MC-E with the MOP reflector I have a very good medium range thrower/flood that lights up a good wide area out to about 150 yards. A very useful, general purpose BRIGHT light.

With the R2 and aspheric head I have a crazy thrower with no spill that lights up a small spot out to several hundred yards (far enough that you would need binoculars to see the detail of what it is lighting up). It doesn't throw as far as my DEFT, but if you weren't comparing them side by side it's just about as impressive. That said, it is obviously of limited use - only useful for applications where throw is all that matters.

I have an MC-E pill for my DEFT, which does a much better job with the MC-E because of the secondary lens that pre-collimates the light from the MC-E, and also because I have a frosted aspheric lens that blends the light from the 4 dies and makes a more useful, wider beam out of it. The DBS aspheric loses a lot of the MC-E output because of the lack of a pre-collimating lens, and the throw is just not that good with the MC-E.
 

Matt7337

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I don't mean to drag this thread off topic, but I ordered a DBS V3 (R2 WC) and some accessories off the Dereelight website the other day a d the site now says all the DBS V3's are sold out now. The last time that happened was when the V2 was phased out and the V3 brought in. Does this mean that the V4 is on it's way or do you think they just ran out of them?

Where do you guys get your Aspherical heads/ lenses for the DBS from? I'd like to try one on my new R2 powered V3.
 

droeun

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I don't mean to drag this thread off topic, but I ordered a DBS V3 (R2 WC) and some accessories off the Dereelight website the other day a d the site now says all the DBS V3's are sold out now. The last time that happened was when the V2 was phased out and the V3 brought in. Does this mean that the V4 is on it's way or do you think they just ran out of them?

Where do you guys get your Aspherical heads/ lenses for the DBS from? I'd like to try one on my new R2 powered V3.

V4 would be sweet - You can get the Aspheric from Dereelight's website, or from Jay at flashlightconnection.com
 

Matt7337

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Yeah thanks guys - I only noticed the aspherical lens on the page after I typed that reply, and I couldn't come back here to edit my post saying I'd found it because I was posting from my phone and my train went into a tunnel :ohgeez:

I really hope my V3 gets here soon because a) I paid for fast shipping and b) I reeeeeaaaaallly want it. I've been procrastinating about buying a V2 or V3 since I bought my first high performance light, and my DBS V1 (Purchased from the marketplace) is fantastic, so the V3 should be awesome :)

I love how Dereelight flashlights are modular! I'm going to get a couple of options for the new V3 once it gets here and I decide what I want. What I'm getting is a 3SD R2 WC but I'd like to try the aspherical lens so I may build another head for it to have as an option.
 

stallion2

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Are there any pictures of the R2 non aspheric vs the MCE with aspheric using the same target and at the same distance so its clear to see the diffrence in lighting power?

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/216262

i was looking for pics also and found the link above, its the V2 being shot w/ both an R2 and MC-E but should still give you a precise idea of what to expect in the V3.
the great thing about Dereelights is the ability to easily swap pills. flashlightconnection.com still has several different varieties of the V3's w/ different emitters. the two MC-E versions are marked down so you could get one of those and a separate R2 emitter. that would be cheaper than getting one w/ an R2 and then buying an extra MC-E pill.

i placed an order there today for the DBS V3 w/ an MC-E pill, 3 mode. i also ordered an R2 pill (WG bin), the aspheric head, an SMR (since the MC-E version comes w/ an OPR standard) and an extension tube for a 2nd 18650. you did mention "reasonable money" and this isn't the cheapest way to go (unless you consider the fact that you'll basically have 4 lights, but can only use one at a time). you can get a Tiablo A9 ($60) plus the aspheric head ($35). i did that earlier this year and was happy w/ it.
 
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