looking for small flashlight

roran1234 · May 1, 2010

I have a friend who's a camera guy and he needs one to be able to look into his camera down the lens, so not too bright. The light also needs to be relatively small, like the fenix lights I suppose. Price range areound $35 with charger rechargeable batteries and the light it's self.

What can you suggest? I was hoping to buy from deal extreme too.

Thanks in advance!

LED_astray · May 1, 2010

Small, not too bright, reliable...?

How about the Fenix E01 and spend the rest on batteries? It'd be a little bit of work, but I'd search out Eneloops and a compact single channel charger. (If you think he wouldn't bother to recharge, then a couple packs of Energizer Lithium AAAs.)

It doesn't come from DX, and you don't say where you are, but it should fit your budget from a local supplier. I consider that an advantage.

roran1234 · May 1, 2010

LED_astray said:
Small, not too bright, reliable...?

How about the Fenix E01 and spend the rest on batteries? It'd be a little bit of work, but I'd search out Eneloops and a compact single channel charger. (If you think he wouldn't bother to recharge, then a couple packs of Energizer Lithium AAAs.)

It doesn't come from DX, and you don't say where you are, but it should fit your budget from a local supplier. I consider that an advantage.

Canada, Ontario in the GTA to be exact, forgive me what is a Eneloop? I'm guessing a battery of some sort.

Thanks.

glockboy · May 1, 2010

itp upgrade AAA @ CPFMP dealer corner.
Preon @ 4Seven.

roran1234 · May 1, 2010

glockboy said:
itp upgrade AAA @ CPFMP dealer corner.
Preon @ 4Seven.

4seven.ca only has 4seven's own lights?

kingofwylietx · May 1, 2010

No, www.4sevens.com has several mfg's flashlights.

pwatcher · May 1, 2010

How about a Maratac AAA - 3 levels, including a nice 1.5 lumen low, and fully customizable by owner!

tucolino · May 1, 2010

+1 on the fenix e01.

and you can find this little one in dx.just look for sku 13006.
also.i been using the gp recyko, instead of eneloops for aaa size batteries.
their also ldr and i´m having good results with them.

roran1234 · May 1, 2010

tucolino said:
+1 on the fenix e01.

and you can find this little one in dx.just look for sku 13006.
also.i been using the gp recyko, instead of eneloops for aaa size batteries.
their also ldr and i´m having good results with them.

Would you do me a great favour and link me to the batteries? I'm having a tough time finding them! So a charger and batts? gonna look for the fenix now. Thanks!

Mockingbird · May 1, 2010

pwatcher said:
How about a Maratac AAA - 3 levels, including a nice 1.5 lumen low, and fully customizable by owner!

Fully customizable - interesting. Could you elaborate?

hyperloop · May 1, 2010

Hi and :welcome:

everything can be found here (click this link)

roran1234 · May 1, 2010

hyperloop said:
Hi and :welcome:

everything can be found here (click this link)

Thanks for the welcome, however the link you sent me blows the $35 budget. I would buy the light there but then I would need batteries AAA and a charger for $15.

Plus they most likely don't offer free shipping so then even more $$$

JCD · May 1, 2010

roran1234 said:
I have a friend who's a camera guy and he needs one to be able to look into his camera down the lens, so not too bright. The light also needs to be relatively small, like the fenix lights I suppose. Price range areound $35 with charger rechargeable batteries and the light it's self.

What can you suggest? I was hoping to buy from deal extreme too.

Thanks in advance!

You're asking a lot, considering your budget.

You're looking at ~$20 or more for Sanyo Eneloop cells and a charger, shipped. Rechargeable batteries require an up front investment in order to offer savings in the long run. Getting started with decent quality rechargeables for only $20 is cheap.

That leaves you around $15 for the flashlight. Considering your friend is a "camera guy," he's going to need a light with a fairly high CRI value (i.e., a light that will illuminate colors accurately) and a smooth, clean beam profile. That's a TALL order.

The problem with buying stuff from DX is that consistency of quality isn't always there. Sometimes you can find good stuff for cheap. Other times, you end up with junk that looked cheap on the Web page, but in reality was overpriced due to its poor quality.

Realistically, your friend is going to have to increase his budget, or at least forego the rechargeable cells to begin with (even then, $30 shipped isn't much of a budget for a light well suited to photographic lighting). If he doesn't, the money he spends on a light is likely to be wasted.

mcnair55 · May 1, 2010

I would go the ITP A3 route because it has a decent low,the EO1 would be to bright for looking at the lens,you need a decent low for that or alternative would be Stylus penlight or something like it if primary use is for camera lens work.

Forget about a charger,he would never be using the light long enough to warrant the extra costs,bang some Lithiums in it and he will be fine.

If on the other hand he has more uses the above suggestions could well me fruitless.

Plenty of good vendors on here with coupon codes to get some members discount.

roran1234 · May 2, 2010

JCD said:
You're asking a lot, considering your budget.

You're looking at ~$20 or more for Sanyo Eneloop cells and a charger, shipped. Rechargeable batteries require an up front investment in order to offer savings in the long run. Getting started with decent quality rechargeables for only $20 is cheap.

That leaves you around $15 for the flashlight. Considering your friend is a "camera guy," he's going to need a light with a fairly high CRI value (i.e., a light that will illuminate colors accurately) and a smooth, clean beam profile. That's a TALL order.

The problem with buying stuff from DX is that consistency of quality isn't always there. Sometimes you can find good stuff for cheap. Other times, you end up with junk that looked cheap on the Web page, but in reality was overpriced due to its poor quality.

Realistically, your friend is going to have to increase his budget, or at least forego the rechargeable cells to begin with (even then, $30 shipped isn't much of a budget for a light well suited to photographic lighting). If he doesn't, the money he spends on a light is likely to be wasted.

So if I bought just a Fenix E01 from DX would the quality be there? or do I need to buy from a Canadian Vendor?

If I could get a link or two it really really helps.
what about $45 I think that's his max.

Thanks,
Ollie

JCD · May 2, 2010

roran1234 said:
So if I bought just a Fenix E01 from DX would the quality be there? or do I need to buy from a Canadian Vendor?

If I could get a link or two it really really helps.
what about $45 I think that's his max.

Thanks,
Ollie

I reread your opening post. I'm not sure I understood it correctly.

You said, "he needs one to be able to look into his camera down the lens."

Is your friend wanting to use the light in his photography, or is he wanting to examine his camera with the light when not taking pictures?

If he is wanting to use the flashlight for lighting while taking pictures, his most economical option will probably be a small incandescent light with a diffuser. The diffuser will give him a fairly smooth beam, and the incandescent lamp will give him good color reproduction. (If by chance he can find an incandescent light with a smooth, even beam without requiring a diffuser, that would be even better.

Generally speaking, LED emitters with a high CRI value (i.e., that will reproduce colors accurately) are not going to come cheap, and will most likely be out of your friends budget. Unless your friend typically only photographs blue objects, inexpensive LED lights won't be well suited for the task.

I'm not sure if Eneloop rechargeable cells will work well with most incandescent lights. I don't use AA or AAA cells with my incan lights, so I have no experience from which to draw.

If your friend is wanting to use the light to examine his camera when not taking photographs, there are many options suitable to the task.

As I understand the forum rules, linking to retailers' pages in posts is a big no-no, except in the Good Deals forum of CPFMarketplace.

roran1234 · May 2, 2010

JCD said:
I reread your opening post. I'm not sure I understood it correctly.

You said, "he needs one to be able to look into his camera down the lens."

Is your friend wanting to use the light in his photography, or is he wanting to examine his camera with the light when not taking pictures?

If he is wanting to use the flashlight for lighting while taking pictures, his most economical option will probably be a small incandescent light with a diffuser. The diffuser will give him a fairly smooth beam, and the incandescent lamp will give him good color reproduction. (If by chance he can find an incandescent light with a smooth, even beam without requiring a diffuser, that would be even better.

Generally speaking, LED emitters with a high CRI value (i.e., that will reproduce colors accurately) are not going to come cheap, and will most likely be out of your friends budget. Unless your friend typically only photographs blue objects, inexpensive LED lights won't be well suited for the task.

I'm not sure if Eneloop rechargeable cells will work well with most incandescent lights. I don't use AA or AAA cells with my incan lights, so I have no experience from which to draw.

If your friend is wanting to use the light to examine his camera when not taking photographs, there are many options suitable to the task.

As I understand the forum rules, linking to retailers' pages in posts is a big no-no, except in the Good Deals forum of CPFMarketplace.

It is for examining not for lighting.

JCD · May 2, 2010

roran1234 said:
It is for examining not for lighting.

In that case, his $35 budget should be sufficient. The Fenix E01 might be just one of many lights that should meet his needs. I suspect the biggest danger is finding something that is too bright.

pwatcher · May 2, 2010

Mockingbird said:
Fully customizable - interesting. Could you elaborate?

come to think of it, I was probably recalling the programability of LiteFlux AA and AAA lights, and not the Maratac.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/240639

march.brown · May 3, 2010

If the light is only going to be used for checking camera settings as opposed to lighting paths etc , a much smaller keyring type of torch could be used.

The Energiser Hi-Tech LED Keyring torch would be ideal ... It is available on a certain E-site for about £3-59 ... Apparently it is 14 lumens and will run for 30 hours continuously on two CR2032 batteries ... it can clip onto a set of keys or anything else as it comes fitted with a nice spring clip.

I have one on each of my keyrings and they are great for lighting keyholes and watches etc.
.

looking for small flashlight

Newly Enlightened

Newly Enlightened

Newly Enlightened

Flashlight Enthusiast

Newly Enlightened

Enlightened

Enlightened

Newly Enlightened

Newly Enlightened

Newly Enlightened

Flashlight Enthusiast

Newly Enlightened

Enlightened

Flashlight Enthusiast

Newly Enlightened

Enlightened

Newly Enlightened

Enlightened

Enlightened

Flashlight Enthusiast

Similar threads