Lowest low light level - comparative beamshots

I've not seen a comprehensive or representative comparison of the lowest of the low-level lights, and kind of alluded to doing one in the "Do you really use .02 lumens?" thread here in LED Lighting, so here goes.
An assortment of the current suspects, with the exception of Data's masterpieces in the Spy 005/ 007/ Tri-V family. They are in a league of their own, and can be set so low as to make the tritium locators look bright by comparison.

1. Ra Clicky, High CR-I version, rated at 100lm.
2. Sunwayman V10A with variable control ring.
3.Quark 1x123 with R5.
4.Jetbeam Ti TCR2 with variable control ring.
5.Surefire Titan T1A.
6.Original Surefire Titan with High CR-I Seoul P4, modded by JHanko.
7.Photon Freedom Micro.

First beamshot is the above list, but right to left... Ra to PF Micro in the above order.

This is not meant as a statement as to beam shape, tint, quality or focus. My camera was set to "Night Scenery" mode for all pictures except for the first one, so there was continuity for the beamshots. All lights were set to their lowest level with new batteries. All I was trying for here is to let folks see the minimum outputs from these lights to compare relative to their needs. The first two shots were from about a foot away. The last shot is my all time favorite daily user Titan from about 18" away from the target bottle- I use this every morning and night for getting ready for work, and midnight recon runs to the kitchen. With dark adjusted eyes, this is more than ample FOR ME for this use. My camera does not do this level of output justice, believe me... YMMV, comments and discussion are welcome!

Contenders-


All on lowest output levels-


Only the lowest four- Jetbeam, T1A, Titan, PF Micro.


My pet Titan-

Re: Lowest low level comparitave beamshots... Here.

Pretty cool--thanks for posting these!

Re: Lowest low level comparitave beamshots... Here.

Great job, Scout24! The levels are interesting - and almost as interesting are the beam tints and shapes. I know you love the that Jhanko Titan (rightly so), but I have to confess - for overall tint, shape, and even level - I'm lovin' that TC-R2

Thanks for doing this - very useful! :twothumbs

Re: Lowest low level comparitave beamshots... Here.

Thanks guys! Dan- The TC-R2 is awesome for me as a pocket EDC, super low right on up to 300lm. with nice tint and beam. Too heavy for my morning held-in-teeth use while getting ready for work, though. Maybe I should go for a SF Saint Minimus headlamp for that!:nana: Same super-low as the Titan and all... I'd never hear the end of it from Mrs. Scout... she thinks I geek out enough on lights as it is!

Re: Lowest low level comparitave beamshots... Here.

Very cool thread here. I thought the EX10 I had was low, til I got a mess of Ra lights, those were really low. Then I had Milky mod an L4 for me, and the low on that was reaaally low. Then I got a T1A, and that was suuuuuuper low. But I'm not sure if the L4 or the T1A is lower, I will have to check when I go off to bed in a bit. I really love my T1A though. I am with you Scout, it is bedside light extraordinaire. I don't see any light bumping it from that position for quite some time. :thumbsup:

Re: Lowest low level comparitave beamshots... Here.

Awesome, looks like that V20A is about on par with the Quark moon mode with a little more flood

Re: Lowest low level comparitave beamshots... Here.

I took some comparison beamshots with the Nitecore IFD2 showing the lowest output.

Photon Freedom Micro, Quark AA and ZebralightH51 on lowest output


Photon Freedom, PALight on Glow, Nitecore IFD2 on Level 2, a 10 Year old Tritium keyring


The 10 Year old Tritium keyring next to the Nitecore IFD2 on Level 1 aimed directly at the camera - now that is low!

Re: Lowest low level comparitave beamshots... Here.

It's pretty easy to see that the T1A is third from the left in the second pic, just look at that hole! I really love mine but when you put it close to the wall like that makes you wonder what the hell was Surefire thinking? Towards the end of it almost getting released, then delayed again you would have figured they would have gotten it perfect. Does anyone know if maybe they have fixed this by now?

How low can your light go?

After posting this video in the Peak subforum, i was wondering what is the absolute low that you can get your flashlight, any flashlight.

This video shows how low i can get my Peak Kilimanjaro 5 red leds, i have found that Peaks are great to mod with the little rubbery piece that QTC is to get inifinite variability, some lights are a bit temperamental with the QTC pills but not this Peak, not at all, just drop the pill in there and the rest you can see in the video:

Re: How low can your light go?

Sunwayman Ti 1X123 with dimmer ring, I forget the proper letters and numbers!
That light gets so low I can't see it unless it's totally pitch back.
Ive not needed it's lowest output yet but it's there if I do.

Re: How low can your light go?

I think what we're looking for here is a flashlight that only emits one photon.

.2 Lumens on a Milkyspit Expurgator

Re: How low can your light go?

My lowest light would be my Quark AA (High CRI-Mod). On moonlight mode on a half dead alkaline it would still be 5 lumens though. A long way from a single photon!

It is low enough, though, that the iPhone camera can compensate for the brightness when staring straight down the barrel.

Re: How low can your light go?

Like Sgt. LED im trying to find a practical use for a light level you can only see if you look close INTO the 5mm leds and even inside there they are dim but its nice to have all that range, talk about preserving night vision!

Re: How low can your light go?

Without question, my lowest low is on my Jetbeam TCR2. A candle throws more light. However it is much larger than my Peaks which are more easily carried and thus more utilitarian for me.
Currently, my favorite Peak is a SS El Capitan with a 90 degree head attachment. It fits perfectly in a belt pouch, from a Photon proton, with the head protruding just enough to turn on. The advantage of the 90 is that it allows me to set a brightness level and return to it, instantly, each time, if I so desire.

Re: How low can your light go?

Theres a good thread with beamshots of very low settings on lights: Lowest low level comparitave beamshots.

Re: How low can your light go?

That is a pretty personal question. oo:

Re: How low can your light go?

Well my RRT3 will do a single lumen

Other than that maybe a Maglite Solitaire... I'm pretty sure it makes the room darker when you turn it on... :ironic::devil::lolsign:

Re: How low can your light go?

My zebra light apparently does 0.16 lumens... Far too many!

Re: How low can your light go?

As many others have mentioned, the Jetbeam TCR2 goes pretty bloody low. I believe the ANSI rating on it was 0.001 lumens.

The deep red LED in my A2 goes below 1 lumen as well.