Fenix LD20 hole in the middle of the hotspot?

I have a hole in the middle of the LD20R5 beam. Is this normal? Does anyone else have the same problem?

Any photos of the beam shot? Sounds like the infamous donut hole.

While it's not an LD20, I did had a (new stock w/ black clip) PD31 w/ a small donut hole.

How close to the wall are you shining it? Does it do the same thing outside in real world use? At about 5 inches and under, my $200.00 HDS T200 clicky does it also. Not too many things I can think of for using it that close to the wall for though. Real world outdoor use, I don't see the hole.

yes. Mine had a dark pin hole (not donut hole) right in the middle of the beam which was noticable at any distance. Frankly, the LD20 was one of the worst lights I've ever owned. I don't know what makes everyone gravitate to this light. The tint is horrible, the beam is horrible, it loses low mode on Alkaline cells, only high mode works on Energizer ultimate AA cells, it lacks a forward clicky, it has a funny shape that makes it not very comfortable to hold (compared to other lights), and the output is nothing to write home about.

Sounds normal to me. Most of the lights I own have this at close distances.

My one had a donut hole from 1 yard/metre onwards (instead of when it IS close). Close range is the only time it had an okay beam.

My LD20 R5 also has a mild doughnut hole, it's visible at any distance. It seems like the hotspot is a tiny bit darker than the area around it but still brighter than the spill. It only bothers me when I'm starring at white walls, in real use it's not a problem

I know flashaholics are obsessive about doughnut holes and tints, I've not been a flashaholic long enough for my expectationts to get ridiculously high

How close are you shining the beam at? A beam shot would be nice.

If you are only shining it closely, I think it would be gone is use at longer distances

Mine has this pinhole too. I think it has to do with the SMO reflector of the "R5" model. I think the Q5 version has an OP reflector which cuts down on this.

I own a Fenix TK12 R5 with the same "problem". AFAIK it's the same for all XP-G R5 with SMO reflector.

Beamshot (just the spot):

(95 lm, ISO 400, 1/125 s, F 8.00, 2 m from wall)