Sunwayman C10R Beam With Small Dark Spot!!

Just received a Sunwayman C10R light today.

The light beam is fairly smooth overall with a very slight yellow tint. But there is a small darkish spot in the middle of the beam. From searches here and elsewhere, no one seems to have mentioned the presence of a dark spot within the C10R's beam.

With the light beam shining at a wall from about 8 feet away, the dark spot is about 1 inch diameter. The light lens and emitter were examined closely as far as possible using a powerful magnifying lens, but nothing obvious was noticed that may explain the cause of this dark spot (no dust, no debris, and no damage found).

The light was then moved closer to and further away from the wall to see how the dark spot changed (if at all). It was found that the dark spot disappeared when the light was about 1 foot away from the wall, and then reappeared when the light was about 1 inch away from the wall. All this suggests the dark spot is caused by the reflector (shape and/or position) rather than by other causes.

Anyone else notice a dark spot within the C10R beam?

This sort of thing is a fairly normal deficiency in the design of some flashlights. I don't know if other C10R's exhibit the same behavior or if your light is defective, but a "donut hole" in the beam at close range is by no means an unusual compromise in flashlight design.

On a custom design I once did, I found that if the reflector that was designed for my particular LED......if it wasn't up tight to the LED, I'd get a dark spot in the middle of the beam pattern. I'd have to say that it's related to the position and design of the reflector.

Thanks for the comments.

Yes. The reflector is the main suspect here!

I have some other lights that have slightly dark spots/areas within the middle of their beams also. But these dark areas are usually much larger in diameter (about 1 foot diameter with lights at around 8~10 feet away from a wall). Also, the dark areas for the other light beams are usually more subtle and more diffuse compared to the more pronounced spot from the beam from the C10R.

Because of the unusual small spot size and its prominence in comparison to my other light beams, I initially thought there was dust or debris etc. causing this spot. But as mentioned in my first post, no dust, no debris, and no damage was found that could cause this spot.

Although the reflector is smooth and is without obvious blemish, it appears that the most likely cause of this spot is due to the reflector shape and position relative to the emitter.

This C10R spot is not a MAJOR issue, and although I did consider returning it to the supplier, the spot detracts very little from practical use, so I will probably keep this C10R.

Just wondering if anyone else has a similar spot in their C10R beam also?

Just checked my C10R's beam

Not such a thing (1 inch dark spot, from 8 feet)
Checked for dark spots, nothing appears from 2 inches up to 10 feet...

I received my C10R as well today. Just checked and there is no dark spot in the beam at all. If you are as close as 2.5" towards a wall the obvious donut hole starts to appear. But from 2.5" or more away there is nothing to see in the beam. Cool (very) little light!

Eric

Thanks for the feedback!

So it seems my C10R is "defective". I suspected that there shouldn't have been any dark spots or rings etc as I didn't notice any in online beam shots. Plus, there was no mention of any beam artifacts by online reviewers anyway.

I've had second thoughts about keeping this light. Contacted the supplier regarding refund (replacement/exchange is, apparently, not an option from this supplier). If I want another C10R I'll have to buy again (elsewhere).

No such spot in my CR10R. Even if there were (one inch dark spot over eight feet on a white wall) I hardly think it would be noticeable in the real world (ie,outside).

Thanks for the feedback.

Agreed. The spot would not be noticeable when used outdoors, especially when the light is used amongst trees, bushes etc. But the C10R was purchased for indoors use, and the spot then becomes more obvious and distracting. Although not a major issue, the (small) dark spot is still an issue.

As mentioned above, I've contacted the supplier for a refund. If no refund (or if no replacement sent -> unlikely given supplier policy of refunds only), I'll probably sell the light.

The C10R flashlight is not really needed anyway! I have, or soon will have, enough lights for my purposes. The purchase of the C10R was a semi-impulsive buy, as I liked the style, size, and the use of a switch near the bezel.

My C10r does not show any spot. :thumbsup:

Thanks for that!

The supplier has agreed to send a replacement flashlight. My light has been sent back and I hope to have another C10R within the next two weeks or so (and hopefully without any beam spots).

As an aside, some batteries, charger, and some other lights I ordered recently are (slightly) overdue for delivery!? Held up in customs? :sigh:

First, I realize this thread is nearly four years old. But I thought I'd mention that the light supplier (an eBay dealer- chingsumsum) DIDN'T send a replacement light as promised. After three months or so of waiting/promises I eventually asked for and got a refund.

In the end I didn't buy another C10R light. The refund was put to better use.

It was/is suspected that the C10R LED emitter itself was faulty.

Ah the Sunwayman C10R.

I like this light. I gutted mine and converted it to triple XPL HI, with Carclo 10507 optic, FET driver (Moppydrv firmware) and running on an 18500 cell. Max output on a fresh cell is around 2000 lumens ... 10x higher than stock.