Unhappy with Surefire beam pattern

Hello all,

I just recently picked up a new E1L to replace an L1 which I had lost. The beam on this thing is full of artifacts. Good Hotspot, but I have dark rings around the hotspot before the spill and disgusting green rings at the outermost part of the spill. I have noticed this in a lot of the TIR lights I have owned, but this one is much worse.

So my question is, has anyone contacted Surefire with a beam issue, and what does Surefire do about it? I am getting tire of buying $150 to $200 dollar lights when I could get a better beam pattern out of a $60 streamlight.

I can't answer your question but I look forward to the replies as, I'm in a similar situation with a recently purchased EL2 AA, except the hotspot sits off-centered on the edge of the cornea. I'm not sure whether to return the light or accept it as "the nature of the beast".

I got an E1L second hand, arrived yesterday. I don't see any green in my rings, but I do see a hint of yellow around the hot spot and in the halo ring. All in all I'm happy with it, if your upset with yours I'd totally email Surefire, they stand behind there products. If you want a beautiful beam, the Surefire TIR isn't what I would suggest, I'd suggest an hds, or Sunwayman for a beautiful beam

I buy Surefire for durability and warranty, I bought the E1L (and E1B, and LX2) cause I like the throw for the smallish reflector size.

I just read in another thread that whatever surefire does is gods gift to man and infallible, you must be mistaken. /irony

You could compare your E1L with another specimen. I do have the 1st gen E1L and the output is just like you reported but I appreciate the light and it doesnt bother me and my wife has been edc'ing the E1L for many years now.

CarpentryHero said:

I got an E1L second hand, arrived yesterday. I don't see any green in my rings, but I do see a hint of yellow around the hot spot and in the halo ring.
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This is very common with many LED lights. David from 4sevens once explained the physical reason for the tint shift in LED beams. It has something to do with parts of the (originally blue) light travelling through the yellow phosphor at different angles. These different angles result in a different thickness of phosphor they have to pass and so they add more or less yellow to their beam.

I am also unhappy with my E2L-AA beam and now know I'm not the only one. I do only notice the rings indoors and close, as soon as the beam is stretched out beyond 10ft or so my eye is no longer drawn to the imperfections. I can't justify asking for a return on the light because it truly does not affect functionality, and I do like the beam outdoors. I'm taking it as natural of the E-Series, and as long as it works everytime as it should I'm keeping it.

BIG45-70,

When you pay that much for a light, you've earned the right to scrutinize the small stuff and that's why surefire HAS TO stand by there name after a product has been sold, and should either send you out a new one or refund you of the light you have now. As a soldier, I have been issued the Surefire 6P incan, and on more than several occasions has the tail switch not eworked the moment I pressed to turn it on. So after much research and trying to keep within my budget, I ended up with the olight m20x which I was quit happy with and never had problems turning the actualdamn light on. Superb light! But as of now, I have become a light junky and have opted for the Klarus XT11. There are really good lights out there for half the price, and as I see it, you should NOT be having any problems with the lights quality at $100 + dollars.

SPC smith

The light functions perfectly and throws extremely well. Sorry but a few rings in the beam don't affect function and is not a problem when in use unless your white wall hunting.

I do appreciate a nice beam and look it malkoff or nailbender for those.

BIG45-70 said:

The light functions perfectly and throws extremely well. Sorry but a few rings in the beam don't affect function and is not a problem when in use unless your white wall hunting.

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What he said. "Beam" quality isn't really a big deal in the scheme of things. Unless you're using it for photography. But, the rings, etc. are almost a given with the TIR lens. You want a nice beam? Get a U2 with a glass lens, that way you can remove the artifcats yourself (by cleaning the glass).

Take the light outdoors/into the woods, and use it, and see how bad the artifacts are.

ev13wt said:

I just read in another thread that whatever surefire does is gods gift to man and infallible, you must be mistaken. /irony

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Please feel free to provide a quote from another thread if you think it's applicable to the current topic.
However, if on the other hand you are baiting / trolling, please feel free to exit the current thread.
Regards,

If you want a perfect beam, get a Surefire with an Orange Peel reflector. Compare your $60 Streamlight to your E1L, which one has more throw, adjusted for size? That is where to TIR excels.

I wonder how the TIRs beam quality has improved over the years.

My E2DL is a bit ringy, not very noticable in use outdoors, while my Invictus is very clean at short/medium range indoors.
My E1L does seem better than the E2DL, maybe I just got a less than perfect E2DL? Or the brightness highlights the rings more.

Even a textured reflector doesn't always have perfect beam quality/consistancy. Still better than a stock m@g

Comparing my E1L with the KL1 head single mode, to the LX2 200 lumen. The Lx2 beam is way better, hotspot is round and I didn't see much in the way of rings ( wish I hadn't traded it some days) where as the E1L has a ringy beam, square hotspot and a yellow darkening around the hotspot. I really like how efficient the TIR is at hurling light. I don't mind a ring in the beam. (I doNt mind square beams either)


If your unhappy with your e1L and they wont replace it. Have MilkSpit mod it into the light you want it to be

NOREAT said:

If you want a perfect beam, get a Surefire with an Orange Peel reflector. Compare your $60 Streamlight to your E1L, which one has more throw, adjusted for size? That is where to TIR excels.

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This here is right on the money. Brother you have chosen the wrong kind of light if you are all about beam pattern. TIR optics, and aspheric lenses are great for throw, and also for magnifying any imperfections in the lght coming out of the LED.

Of course, I haven't seen the beam pattern to comment - there may be something wrong with the light (optic misaligned or something). You could always try Surefire's tech support - they might replace the light for you, but depending on how bad it is, there's just as much chance that the light that you get will have as bad a beam pattern as what you got.

If you think your beam pattern is bad, take a look at my new Gen 5 L1 Blue:





It's a bad pic, which actually makes the beam look better, but that square grill that you see, that's the image and shape of the spot. Surefire have come a long way with their newer TIR optics for sure.

Kestrel said:

Please feel free to provide a quote from another thread if you think it's applicable to the current topic.
However, if on the other hand you are baiting / trolling, please feel free to exit the current thread.
Regards,

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Sorry, I did add the /irony to make sure that it is not to be read as a trolling statement. But I understand that it was quite borderline. No harm intended! I just wanted to make EZO smile when he read my post here.

The thread in question is here: We where discussing the pros and cons of surefires latest 4 way joystick / pushbutton tailcap switch.
Page 3: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?336981-I-feel-like-weve-reached-peak-LED-for-pocket-torches.-Batt-LED-efficiency-maxed-out./page3

No worries, carry on folks.

I'd venture to say that Surefire probably will roll their eyes at a complaint about the beam pattern. If the LED is GROSSLY off center I could see them issuing an RMA, but for the intended purpose of their lights (law enforcement & military) I would imagine they aren't concerned with beam perfection.