Outer ring around the beam?

I noticed that there is a faint ring around the outer edge of the beam coming from my Shining Beam I-mini XP-G R4 NW. Is this fairly normal? Not that it's a big deal; after all, the beam is bright with a slightly warm tint. I was just curious.

Danielight said:

I noticed that there is a faint ring around the outer edge of the beam coming from my Shining Beam I-mini XP-G R4 NW. Is this fairly normal? Not that it's a big deal; after all, the beam is bright with a slightly warm tint. I was just curious.

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I'm a noob, but I read that rings may be a characteristic of a smooth reflector. At least that's true with the lights I have. None of my lights with orange peel textured reflectors have rings.

***update: I just looked up your light, and it has an orange-peel reflector according to the website, so I was just proven wrong. Maybe someone else can chime in???

TK41 - Smooth - definite rings
LD20 - Smooth - slight rings
PD32 - Smooth - slight rings
PC10 - Smooth - slight rings
XT11 - orange peel - no rings
TA21 - orange peel - no rings

The only thing I can think is that the outer ring is caused by the smooth outer rim of the reflector itself. Again, not a big deal, but I was just curious in light of the fact that flashlight aficionados seem to include rings as part of their overall beam evaluation.

Sometimes the ring is an artifact that you might see on a wall shot at close range, but at further distances, outdoors, etc, its not visible.

Its really a question of degree.

I wouldn't worry about a faint ring, especially if everything else is good with the light. It's pretty typical with the light lottery. Maybe the LED is a fraction of a millimeter too high or low in the reflector, causing the ring. If you can get into the head maybe you can screw the pill in or out a tiny bit to improve the beam.

Geoff

I would not really worry about it myself. I have a light that has a black doughnut hole around the center beam. Now that's bad!

I agree that it's not a big deal. The reflector is OP, but the top rim looks smooth (maybe where the OP texture quits). I probably won't risk taking the thing apart to adjust it (unless I get adventurous after the novelty of this being a new flashlight wears off!). :naughty:

TEEJ said:

Sometimes the ring is an artifact that you might see on a wall shot at close range, but at further distances, outdoors, etc, its not visible.
Its really a question of degree.

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Interestingly enough, the outer ring is more noticeable outside when shining it on the ground. It's like a "Saturn" ring around the main part of the beam. Hotspot itself is fine, and the beam color is a nice neutral white.

Put a light coat of glass frost on the lens and call it a day...my $.02