Intentional Hazing of LED in Petzl e+LITE

I just noticed something interesting about Petzl's update of their super-compact "e+LITE" headlamp. I am posting it in this forum, rather than the headlamp forum, because it really is about LEDs.

The e+LITE has three white LEDs (5mm), plus one red LED (3mm). In the old version (which came with a non-retractable fabric strap), the red LED was clear plastic, and threw a decent beam. Not a mega thrower, of course, because it is red and tiny and underpowered. But the beam was shaped in the normal way by the plastic of the lens.

Then I bought a new e+LITE in the 2013 edition, which has a retractable head-strap. Nice feature! But I sent it back, because the red LED was damaged--or so I thought!

The plastic of the lens had a milky white haze. It light up, but with a diffuse, wide-angle flood. Less over-all output. And no throw whatsoever--even in the dark, it hardly registers on a wall 3 meters away.

So I sent it back, and got a replacement--which has the same milky haze on the red LED!

Then I started looking around at youtube videos, and also still photographs around the web.

Sure enough: they all have this milky haze. You can see it in an earlier thread, although no one commented on the difference there:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...l-e-lite-zip&p=4093886&viewfull=1#post4093886

Notice the milky look in the close-up next to the coin. Then look two pictures further down, where you can see the newer version (with milky haze), and the older version (with clear lens, and the old non-retractable head-strap).

So this is kind of interesting, I think. Petzl must have decided that people want the red light to be dimmer and very, very diffuse. I suppose if you are with other people in a tent, then the old, throw-y red might have hit them in the eye and ruined their night-vision, whereas the newer, diffuse red is much easier on other people close to you.

I wish they had done it by re-working the circuit to drop the current a lot--then they would have improved the run-time. Instead, they just zapped all of the LEDs to make the plastic hazy.

I'm sure some people will think it's an improvement. I can't decide yet, myself.

Still--interesting to see a major manufacturer solving a problem in this way.

Just got an email from customer service at Petzl, confirming that this is by design:

"The current version of the E+Lite has the fogged red LED to give a more diffuse lighting pattern over previous versions. Any E+Lite with the zip headband will have the fogged red LED.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask."

Again, I wish that they had tweaked the circuit to lower the current or spec'ed a different LED with a wider throw. But I can see why they wanted the diffuse pattern, and at least I know that my light is not defective!