P60 LA Quality = Oblong?

I'm thinking about getting a SF P60 light like a C2 to accompany or maybe even replace my E2e, because I find the E2e a bit small to hold and want a little bit more throw. My main problem is though, every beamshot I've ever seen of the MN03 is absolutely flawless in its ability to create a perfect circle hotspot and diffused spill beam, but I've heard and seen a lot of P60 lamps with oblong beams (in stuff like reviews and beamshots), which is making me worried. Is this normal, or a common occurance? Is this an issue of quality? I'm thinking that since a P60 LA comes with the reflector, while an MN03 does not, there is more room for error at Surefire with the P60 lamps because they need to build more of them.

I have the E2e-HA and the G2 with a P60 in it. Other then the spot being a bit larger with the P60 I really can't tell much differance between the two.

I'd like to know too... I just got a G2 and the beam is horribly oblong. Will SF replace these if you complain?

Peter

To play the game as others here do : buy a SL Scorpion.........

If you are not happy with your product, you should talk to SureFire 800 828 8809 to see what they can do to help.

The P60 beam and others from SureFire are often less than round because the filament is not a point source. SureFire's reflectors aim to collect and focus as much light as possible.

Not all P60's have perfectly round beams. SureFire says their beams are free from flaws and dark spots etc - SureFire does not say all beams are round.

I hope this helps?

Al

Size15s: Could you explain the "point source" thing? How is this different involving the P60 and the MN03?

Plus, the "...not all P60's..." thing kind of scares me too. Is this supposed to suggest that Surefire's products aren't consistent? I mean if you're going to pay $15 for a lamp from a premium brand company I would think the last thing on your mind should be "am I going to get a bad one?"

Think of it as a "widescreen beam"!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

2 of my P60's are perfectly round, one is oval. I think it's luck of the draw.

The one that came in my G2 is slightly oval. I find it of no major consequence.

I think I like my PM-6 better though.....

I have 3 lights with P60's and they all have perfect round coronas. My M3 has a pronounced oval shape.

I should think law enforcement would like this for picking out subjects head to foot.

Rich

I had a P90 that had an oblong hotspot...called up SureFire, they apologized and sent me another LA...same thing though! I accept it now...

Ditto what Al said about the filament not being a good "point source"!

The P60's that came with my 6P and my dad's 6P were both a little bit oblong. If held still, it's hard to tell, but once your rotate the light, you can see that it's somewhat oval. However, it's not a major problem, IMO, and it doesn't bug me. My P61, on the other hand, is perfectly round.

basically the reflector of the P60 gathers more light and focuses it into the beam, hence the shape of the filament (which isn't round) is reflected in the beam. the E2e's beam is round, because it doesn't gather as much light as the P60's reflector. imagine a P60 beam, with the protruding sides of the oval beam cut away, and that is basically what an E2e beam is /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

what the P60's have in common, is not the shape of the beam but rather, the optimal focus for every bulb that comes with a P60.

HKG11: you can't go wrong with the C2. i have one myself and i very much prefer it to the E2e for a number of reasons /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I have found considerable variation in the roundness of Pxx LA's I've owned. The only consistency is that the P9x beams tend to be more oblong and the P6x beams tend to be close to round.

It bothered me at first, but I've become used to it.

I have also become used to the slight unevenness of the wider hot spot on the Wolf-Eyes 3.7 V LA that I run in a SF D2 with a Li-Ion.

I have a G2 Nitrolon (the CPF-50 special) and it has a slightly elliptical (tadpole shaped) beam, and it doesn't bother me a bit. I'd compare it with a pair of G2Zs, but I think the cleaners made off with them late last year when I was away. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif :toliet: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

I just got a G2 and it has a horribly oblong beam. Ive gotten used to it though. Sometimes its actually kinda helpful.

[ QUOTE ]
hawkhkg11 said:
...Plus, the "...not all P60's..." thing kind of scares me too. Is this supposed to suggest that Surefire's products aren't consistent? I mean if you're going to pay $15 for a lamp from a premium brand company I would think the last thing on your mind should be "am I going to get a bad one?"

[/ QUOTE ]

hawkhkgll,

Those inconsistencies used to bother me until I found through experience that they really didn't matter in actual use. The important thing, as chamenos rightly points out, is that Surefire lamp assemblies are perfectly focused. That is the critical issue because it means that you are getting the optimum beam from your light. Surefire deliberately chose to produce a beam that was the best compromise between flood and spot. Exact shape can almost never be controlled because of filament inconsistencies plus fractional relationship anomalies between filament and reflector, which, when enlarged hundreds of time by the projected beam almost guarantees a somewhat imperfect result. Also, as Al points out, the more a filament departs from being a "point source" the greater the potential for variation.

Sometimes through very strict quality control and/or advanced design, filament position, size and orientation within the bulb envelope can be precisely controlled and the resulting beam can be virtually perfect. The M6/HOLA is an impressive example of this. I don't know how they do it, but to see it for the first time can be almost overwhelming.

Brightnorm