Best beam quality?

I know everyone's view of what's best is different but what light do you think has the best beam quality and what is different about that beam?

Are there any aspherics that are better than other's? Are there any OP reflectors that do substantially more than others? Perhaps certain TIR optics provide the best beam quality. There are at least more differences or the potential for more difference among TIR optics I would think.

A good beam to me would be a 8 degree hotspot that gradually diffuses to a little spread and then the spread gradually diffuses to darkness.

As opposed to a hotspot with a hard edge going to huge spill with a hard edge going to complete darkness.

Also, my (limited) experience with aspherics is that the beam quality is not good and even with a flood you are in darkness for several feet until the flood kicks in. A flood with an aspheric is really just a large spotlight.

TIR seems to at least offer the potential to reduce the intensity of the spill and maybe blend the edges but I haven't been around enough TIR optics to have a lot of experience here either.

That's why I'm more or less throwing out an open ended question to get the experience of others as to what the best beam is or what the various options are.

Malkoff M60 still IMHO has the best beam quality I have ever seen. its a small-ish spot surrounded by a wall of flood. There are no rings and theres no abrupt circular cutoff to the far sides.

McGizmo reflectors offer the best beam quality I have ever seen. You get a decently wide hotspot and good spill with a real smooth transition between the two. I have never seen a perfect transition on any lens or TIR lights, there are always rings or hard transitions. Even my Malkoff M60, as much as I love it, has a few rings at 1 meter. TIR is excellent at making throwy lights in any given size package but doesn't seem to have good transition between hotspot and spill.

The Fenix TK40 has my vote as the best beam quality for my personal use. It has a nice tight hot spot that smoothly transitions into a large diameter spill. I hardly ever have to move my TK40 around to illuminate a large area, yet the hot spot is tight enough and throws far enough in order for me to target specific objects if I want to.

The TK40's beam has absolutely no artifacts like dark spots, rings, etcetera. It has forever spoiled my definition of a "perfect beam pattern" which, before I bought my TK40, I thought did not exist at all.

kramer5150 said:

Malkoff M60 still IMHO has the best beam quality I have ever seen. its a small-ish spot surrounded by a wall of flood. There are no rings and theres no abrupt circular cutoff to the far sides.

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How do some designs avoid that abrupt circular cutoff to the far sides?

I understand where the hotspot is coming from...the reflector and the spill is the light coming straight out of the emitter that doesn't hit the reflector but how do you avoid the sharp edge to the spill?

gcbryan said:

I know everyone's view of what's best is different but what light do you think has the best beam quality and what is different about that beam?

Are there any aspherics that are better than other's? Are there any OP reflectors that do substantially more than others? Perhaps certain TIR optics provide the best beam quality. There are at least more differences or the potential for more difference among TIR optics I would think.

A good beam to me would be a 8 degree hotspot that gradually diffuses to a little spread and then the spread gradually diffuses to darkness.

As opposed to a hotspot with a hard edge going to huge spill with a hard edge going to complete darkness.

Also, my (limited) experience with aspherics is that the beam quality is not good and even with a flood you are in darkness for several feet until the flood kicks in. A flood with an aspheric is really just a large spotlight.

TIR seems to at least offer the potential to reduce the intensity of the spill and maybe blend the edges but I haven't been around enough TIR optics to have a lot of experience here either.

That's why I'm more or less throwing out an open ended question to get the experience of others as to what the best beam is or what the various options are.

Click to expand...

I used to make a diffused aspheric for the DEFT that was buttery smooth. No artifacts whatsoever.

gcbryan said:

How do some designs avoid that abrupt circular cutoff to the far sides?

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The only way to avoid that with a reflector is with a diffuser placed on the very front of the light. An OP reflector will not stop that. Otherwise some TIR optics can achieve this depending on the host.

saabluster said:

The only way to avoid that with a reflector is with a diffuser placed on the very front of the light. An OP reflector will not stop that. Otherwise some TIR optics can achieve this depending on the host.

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That's what I was thinking. I have some inexpensive TIR optics from DX and I was surprised to find that they seem to do a decent job of that. They have a small collaminating lens directly over the hole for the emitter. I think they just redirect more of that light to the reflecting surface and thereby reduce the intensity of the spill so you don't notice the edges anymore.

I didn't know if there was any other approach however.

Why aren't more asperics used with XR-E emitters since they aren't that efficient in reflectors other than deep reflectors due to the more narrow beam angle?

Also, why aren't there more diffusers out there. I'd think every light would come with a removable diffuser.

Depends on your intended use I suppose.

I like the idea of a flood type of beam having zero hotspot or fade, just being a circle of light which is entirely evenly spread with a sharp cut off.

Any pictures of lights like this? (without diffusers)

On this topic, I always wondered why most OP reflectors seem to be quite random, non-symmetrical ripples?

I notice the reflectors used by Elektrolumens are symmetrical, much more designed looking, which to me would make sense, and in any case appeals to my OCD mindset.

It's funny - when I first read your post, I had the exact same thought as the first two posters: Malkoffs and McGizmos. I'll echo these suggestions, but after thinking about it for a little while, I'd also add the Ra.

Interestingly, I never really liked optics until I discovered the Malkoffs....but whatever Gene's done with his optics is amazing. The M60 really provides an incredibly useful beam - it's one of those things you just have to see to appreciate. For some reason, I really don't notice the transition between hotspot and corona; I just notice that everything is properly illuminated. (In fact, it reminds me a bit of what I liked about McGizmo's XR19-PD: a very useful combination of throw and spill. And while we're on McGizmos, here's a shout out to the McLux III PD, with its beautifully tuned reflector.)

I should probably mention that I generally prefer short- to medium-range beams (though you could probably figure this out from my recommendations), so take my advice with a grain of salt. None of those three lights are throwers. What I've found is that for the vast majority of times when I need a flashlight, it's for short and medium range tasks - and that's where these lights shine. When I need a thrower, that's usually *all* I really need...so the beam doesn't need to be any useful combination of throw and spill - it just needs to throw like crazy. As a result, the most useful combination to me is something like a Ra or a Malkoff paired with a dedicated thrower like a DBS or DEFT.

Hope this helps!

- FITP

The best beams I have experienced are Fenix TK10, Fenix TK30 and Quark 123/2AA. All of them practically without any artifact.

Regards, Patric

Quark Lights!

AA or 2xAA, the beam shape is perfect!!

gcbryan said:

How do some designs avoid that abrupt circular cutoff to the far sides?

I understand where the hotspot is coming from...the reflector and the spill is the light coming straight out of the emitter that doesn't hit the reflector but how do you avoid the sharp edge to the spill?

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I think that ring is caused by the rim of the bezel obstructing the light. How Gene gets light smoothly out the front without bezel obstruction is beyond me. Its a very unique beam pattern though, I can't think of any other lights that possess this characteristic. Its like walking around with a wall of flood, with a hot spot in the middle.

Oh... and I never really noticed Malkoff rings being that I only have used them outdoors in the field, 20+ yards out on average. I should go back and edit my comment.

gcbryan said:

Why aren't more asperics used with XR-E emitters since they aren't that efficient in reflectors other than deep reflectors due to the more narrow beam angle?

Also, why aren't there more diffusers out there. I'd think every light would come with a removable diffuser.

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Because aspherics really are best suited for ultimate throw. Most of the time you need up close illumination. It's merely a numbers game. There are a tremendous amount of different diffuser materials out there. Why don't more companies supply them with lights? I don't know. Cost probably.

FlashInThePan said:

...but whatever Gene's done with his optics is amazing.

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He didn't do anything special other than grab an off the shelf solution and put it in his product. Anyone has access to those TIR optics. I am surprised more companies don't use those instead of reflectors. I like TIRs better myself.

FlashInThePan said:

What I've found is that for the vast majority of times when I need a flashlight, it's for short and medium range tasks - and that's where these lights shine. When I need a thrower, that's usually *all* I really need...so the beam doesn't need to be any useful combination of throw and spill - it just needs to throw like crazy. As a result, the most useful combination to me is something like a Ra or a Malkoff paired with a dedicated thrower like a DBS or DEFT.

Hope this helps!

- FITP

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I couldn't have said it better myself.

I will vote for the following:

NovaTacs - the beams on my 85T's are flawless
Incendio v1 - mine has a nice warm beam with no rings
Wolf Eyes Q5 P60 drop in - best I've ever seen in a drop in for my 6P.

Federal LG said:

Quark Lights!

AA or 2xAA, the beam shape is perfect!!

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quarks are have flawless beamshapes.

+1 for the Quarks.

f22shift said:

quarks are have flawless beamshapes.

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I agree, all the Quarks I have handled and owned have fantastic beams.
I had one Novatac, but sold it to a friend who wanted it very badly. It also had an excellent beam.
The new Malkoff M61, with a reflector designed by McGizmo, is one of my very favorite new lights and has a perfect beam to kill for.

uknewbie said:

Depends on your intended use I suppose.

I like the idea of a flood type of beam having zero hotspot or fade, just being a circle of light which is entirely evenly spread with a sharp cut off.

Any pictures of lights like this? (without diffusers)

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Here is a picture like that


CREE Q5 flashlight