My First LED light, CMG Infinity Ultra

I have a Photon Microlight II on my keychain but it is used almost exclusively to find key holes, etc... so this is my first "larger" LED light intended to replace my series of Mag lights for around the house maneuvering.

First - I admit that I bought the CMG because my ARC LSH-P is on backorder and won't arrive for another week or so and the CMG is the only light (other than a Rebel since Wally World is sold out of the Dorcy AAA) available locally in a bricks and mortar shop. I've now added an ARC AAA (red) but that is still in transit. So, I needed a fix and this was the best choice!

My initial impressions - it is well made and machined. It is larger than I expected, but that is compared to a solitaire so I'm not sure that is fair. I am carrying it today without much notice, but I've got Friday casual khakis on so my thoughts might change with with a suit. It throws off a pretty good amount of light, with decent throw. Since this is my first LED light, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. It has less throw and hot spot than I'd ultimately prefer, but I recognize that the purpose of this light was EDC and use around the house (I almost always have a light in a pocket at home - checking on my son, taking the dogs for a walk, coming to bed after my wife has gone to sleep, etc...) and I wanted a decent light with a longer runtime than the other incandescents I've used. I used it as a reading light last night and it really was too bright for that purpose, but otherwise was quite effective and the spill light walking my dog was nice.

I'm a little disappointed as the beam appears to my eye to be distinctly bluish, but this is the first white LED I've seen (my Photon is blue) and obviously compared to my maglights or pelikan mightylight/3c lights which are yellow, anything would appear differently. It will be interesting to compare the color with the ARC LSH-P when it arrives. For instance, I used a light every morning to find stuff in my closet, and the CMG beam color made my black shirt appear somewhat navy blue. This may take some adjustment.

Certainly it is light weight and I am looking forward to using it and seeing how the runtime compares. Since a lot of my use is at night around the house I suspect the red ARC AAA may replace the CMG in my pocket most of the time as it will keep my night vision, allow me to move about without stubbing my toe or stepping on toy trucks, and not disturb my wife when she's asleep.

Anyway, I'm sure it will find a role in my collection, even if it becomes a leave it in the car light!

Anyone's thoughts on what to expect from an LED and if my first impressions are typical are welcome!!!

Salud.

Try this test with an Infinity and a Solitare:

1) put both lights in you pants pockets.
2) put pants in washing machine using your choice of soap and fabric softner.
3) Allow to spin dry and transfer to dryer.
4) Tumble dry with heat for 30 minutes.
5) remove flashlights and examine.

The Mag will be totally destroyed.
The Infinity will still work and will also be clean.

Get used to that bluish tint, you'll see it a lot. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Easier said than done.

HesNot, like you I started with a Photon II and then got an Infinity Ultra. It's a good, solid light. All the 5mm white LEDs cast a blueish light, but in varying degrees.

I find that no matter what I buy I always want something "just a little bit brighter." When you get your Arc LS you'll probably start thinking about 5 watt lights...

Start saving for a SF L4 - Very white and very bright.
And then an L5, and then an L6, and then........

Tom

My Infinity Ultra is also fairly bluish. However, I still prefer that over the yellow of an incandescent.

Welcome to the LIGHT side......do you have a second mortgage yet?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif

You'll find luxeon based lights like the Arc LSH are very nice, even smooth beam and generally more white than standard 5mm leds. Unless you get a crappy binned luxeon, but with the Arc's they make sure they put in good ones. But there will be times when it's too bright, and your Ultra will come in handy. Like reading things up close. That's the reason I'm going to buy one.

All the 5mm led I have are a bit bluish.
If you ever get a dog urine green, what some companys call white, 1w led, you'll prefer the blue/white a lot more.

Second mortgage - I need one! OK - since then I have received my LSH-P and an ARC AAA cpf edition, to add to my ARC AAA red and CMG Infinity Ultra. Not surprisingly, the LSH-P is really in a league of its own (and a price to match...). The red AAA has its uses and I do find it helpful around the house late at night as it is the least disruptive to my wife, son and dogs who are usually asleep. The real comparison is the ARC AAA and the Infinity Ultra, and at least in my samples I have the following observations:

1. The ARC has a rounder, fuller beam, but it is slightly dimmer and equally blue. Since this is a premium AAA I am surprised the beam isn't noticeably wither than the Infinity Ultra, I must have gotten a pretty good Infinity.

2. The Infinity has a less perfect beam but is brighter with more sidespill and consequently still useful for around the house tasks (not to mention runtime and lithium availability) but it admittedly is not in my pocket as much as the AAA due to the size difference.

Next on the list - one of either: (1) an opalec newbeam for one of my M@Gs or (2) a Pelican M6 incandescent just to have one incandescent with real throw.

HesNot,

I've got a AAA Arc,Infinity Ultra and two AA MiniMags with Newbeam conversions and all are superb and all have specific uses. I usually keep the Arc on a neck lanyard and on me all the time at this time of year.(Dark winter nights in UK) The Ultra is kept for emergency home lighting in the event of power cuts and in case I loose my arc. The Newbeam equipped MM's are used for dog walking and general duties including emergency lighting.

Although I have two KL1's I tend to restrict them for rare occasions when a lot more light would be required. I suppose if I'm honest I find the economy of Alkaline powered LED's better than Lithiums for everday use. I really love my surefire lights and bought them as tools to use. However, I know in everyday use there is a strong possibility of loss and I prefer to limit that posibility as much as I can.

At work I use a Black Surefire incandescent G2 in a V70 holster. The back up and emergency light being the Arc AAA.

I have found that this is a great combination, LED and incandescent and with the advantage that if I do loose the G2 (which is the cheapest Surefire to replace) I will not grieve as much.

Hopefully when the anticipated KL5 bezel is available I will (eventually) be able to use it on my M2. Until then I wish you all the best with your LED's and hope you enjoy them as much as I do.


Doug

The Ultra is nice. Better than the regular infinity. You will soon learn all the ins and outs of 5mm LEDs and Luxeon Star LEDs.

Get used to the bluish/purplish tint of good 5mm White LEDs. It is a characteristic of Nichia LEDS, which are the best ones. It is a result of the interaction of the emitter color and the Phosphor material.

For every purpose, there is a flashlight.

You're already past the initial assumption of every new flashaholic-to-be: that they'll need only ONE good light.

Now, get your credit card out and go for the Surefires, especially the incredible L4.

I do realize it is more a function of the luck of the draw -
but both my Ultra-Gs are less blue than the single (plain) CMG Ultra and the single ArcAAA I have/had.

See beam shot comparisons:
ArcAAA vs. Ultra-G

CMG Ultra-G vs. Ultra

I really like the blue tint pretty well and (I know it's a buzzword type of thing, but still, my own independant testing has led me to believe that) the slight bluish tint seems to improve contrast a fair bit (at the expense of color clarity).

Doug

I just ordered the 2AA/3 123 battery tube from tadgear along with a 1 123 pack. With this and the E2e and KL1 you can use One-Two or Three 123s or two AAs.

My first non-coin cell light was the CMG Infinity.
While the Arc AAA and LSH go with me, the CMG's see plenty of use at home and outdoors. They are my lender lights.

The Opalec is nice if you already have a Mini Maglight, but I haven't used mine in forever since it's inbetween the pocketlights and the 1W LS lights.

I get way much more use out of the little LED's and even the LSH than the high-powered incandescents.

I'm pretty happy with the original Infinity, which is about half as bright as the Ultra/-G, and the battery lasts much longer. I have an Ultra-G too and it's also a nice light.

The reviews i've read put the Infinity Ultra at considerably dimmer than an Arc AAA.

An Arc AAA is about the same brightness level as a Dorcy 1AAA. (Dorcy brighter at beginning, Arc brighter later on)

Is it worth it buying this light at 3x the cost to be able to use AA cells? (A consideration for me since AAAs are expensive for the people i want to give this to)

Or should i just wait until last week of Nov to see if they get the Dorcy 1AAs in walmart? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

I like my Dorcy 3LED 1AA. Two minor gotchas: it's not totally waterproof (tail-cap can allow water entry when depressed) and the cheapo rubber grip tends to slide backwards when you hold it tactical-style with your thumb on the tail-cap. The warmth of your hand loosens the rubber. Other than that, it's great. Brighter than an Arc, love the switch and I use it 90% of the time. Arc AAA sits on my keyring, just in case.