Old vs. New Photon II's; color choices

Old vs. New Photon II\'s; color choices

I'll ask you knowledgeable folks.

I've read in this forum that there are two kinds of Photon II's available. The older, wide-beam version and the newer, narrow-beam version. Is there any way of telling these apart, other than using them?

Also, I already have the white and red colors. I want the turquoise, blue, and green colors. Which one should I get next? Is there any reason I should NOT get any of those colors? Rants and raves are welcome.

Craig (Photon II junkie)

Re: Old vs. New Photon II\'s; color choices

I just got the photon II from Hosfelt last week in Turquoise. I don't have any other photons, but this Turquoise one is really bright for its size. I was impressed when I first tried it. The light also has a nice broad beam which is pretty uniform. The color itself is alot like a Christmas light color. It's nice. I can definitely recommend this color.

Re: Old vs. New Photon II\'s; color choices

Thanks for replying, Guy. Do you have Photon II's with any other colors you care to comment on?

Re: Old vs. New Photon II\'s; color choices

I have the red, green and white. They don't make the "old" white anymore, so if you get one it is OLD stock. I like the green with a single 2032 for long battery life, it also isn't to bright so you can see, but it won't kill your night vision. With the standard 2 2016's in the green it is pretty darn bright.

Brock - http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/led.htm

Re: Old vs. New Photon II\'s; color choices

The only other colered LED light I have is the Infinity in Green. As mentioned by Brock, this color is great for your night vision, and is typically consider to be the second brightest color next to the Turquoise (this could depend on the product line, but is a good general rule). I really like the design of the Infinity a lot more than the photon, but it is just not nearly as bright. I wish CMG would work on improving the brightness of their Infinity lights, rather than launch another photon II knockoff.

Re: Old vs. New Photon II\'s; color choices

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Craig:
Thanks for replying, Guy. Do you have Photon II's with any other colors you care to comment on?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



Here is a representative picture of the visible light Photons so you can get an idea of the beam configuration. Some of the colors are a little screwy in this picture; digital cameras don't handle some colors of monochromatic light very well. Notably, the green, aqua, and blue didn't come out in their true colors. The rest are OK.



This is the "old style" wide-angle white Photon. The bluish ring you see is actually about 2/3 of the way out; the flashlight's beam extends far from the target and splatters all over the surrounding walls.
Beam width is approximately 50° to 60°.



And this is the beam configuration of the UV Photon. Notice that it is much narrower than any of the others. I've seen two figures for this: 5° and 10°. I'd guess it's somewhere between the two.

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net

------------------

Re: Old vs. New Photon II\'s; color choices

Hmmm. Good question.

My purchases.

1) I got the blue Sapphire. Wow. What a light. But, then I saw the photons and HAD to have one. Gave the Sapphire away after 2 weeks. Didn't like no on/off switch.

2) Blue Photon II. I loved it. You don't usually see a blue light around. Very much a novelty. Very bright. I tried to use it to read at night and it just made most text invisible.

3) Ordered the Green Photon II. Wow. Really bright. Nice even color. Fills a room with enough light to walk around. Gave this to my wife. (so she wouldn't complain about the money I spent). Pretty slick huh?

4) Turchoise was next!! Wow again. I loved this color. It replaced the blue on my keychain with this. Couldn't stop playing with this photon. More usable at nice. But, suddenly I got bored with it and missed the green. So, in the middle of the night, I swapped my Tuchoise for the green one again. I just can't get over how much I love the green one. Not as usable for reading but great.

5) Ordered a couple of super bright LED's to try and make the blue photon a "white" photon. BIG mistake. Nearly destroyed the photon. I do not recommend trying to bend an LED into the shape required to fit into a photon. If it's not absolutely perfect, it will stay on all the time or not work at all. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. TRUST ME.

5) Now I have to get the white because I hear so much about them. And, I can't make my own!! Very usable wide beam. Will light up a room. I keep it on a necklace type chain. And, will on occasion wear it. I keep this one right on the nightstand.

6) Got the Brinkman from Walmart. Added lithium batteries to it and now it sits waiting for me in my glove box. Nice usable beam. NOT for walking thru the woods but good enough for task work. Hey, only 12 bucks.

That's my sad story of LED addiction.

Re: Old vs. New Photon II\'s; color choices

Craig,

I think the "old wide" vs. "new narrow" is mostly referring to the white Photon II, which did change quite a bit in that regard.

But, that said, all the "new" Photon II's seem to have brighter LEDs, sometimes with slightly different beam characteristics from the old LEDs. I believe a factory representitive would tell you that, "We are constanting upgrading our products in order to please you, our customers."

I personally have brought every colour they make, and unless you need the "true colour" ability of the white light, I think the Turquoise can't be beat. It seems the brightest to me, and not so "mono-chrome" as most of the other colours. I beleive I even see fairly good colour renditions, especially if I already know what I'm looking for. For maximum brightness, and even better colour rendition, I've velcro-ed an Orange and a Turquoise back to back so I can turn on one, the other, or both. Very true colours, signaling versatility, and security (I wear this attached to my moto-riding suit).

My two cents worth! -Thomas