Has anyone owned the Jetbeam SF-R26 . It is kinda new and not much about them on the net . Battery junction has a sale on them right know and I was considering buying them for Christmas gifts . They come with a USB cord , built in charger and a 18650 protected cell . Seem to be safe enough for new users . Thanks.
Jetbeam SF-R26
- Thread starter pennzy
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I bought the Jetbeam SF-R28 once. I think its similar. I did not care for the SF-R28 for a couple of reasons that I cannot remember exactly. I ended up sending it back. One issue for me was I do not like outputs that go backwards. That is they drop with each of the mode button presses. I like them to advance. I think I did not care for the feel of the mode select switch. I seem to remember it being real mushy and not tactile enough for me. And then I'm not that big of a fan of on board chargers.
You're probably better off getting an opinion from someone that actually owns one. I saw that BJ had them on sale for Black Friday.......but even that did not tempt me. Sometimes I think the sale items are lights that aren't selling as well and inventory might be kind of high.........just a thought. But nonetheless, the Jetbeam Jet I MK is probably my favorite single AA light when it comes to a price to performance ratio........so I'm not totally against Jetbeam.
You're probably better off getting an opinion from someone that actually owns one. I saw that BJ had them on sale for Black Friday.......but even that did not tempt me. Sometimes I think the sale items are lights that aren't selling as well and inventory might be kind of high.........just a thought. But nonetheless, the Jetbeam Jet I MK is probably my favorite single AA light when it comes to a price to performance ratio........so I'm not totally against Jetbeam.
Thanks for your opinion . For what reason are you not a fan of on board chargers ? Extra weight or complication ? I also have the I MK and carry it on my key chain . Great value . My only thing with the SF-R26 is it goes from high @ 1000 or so to medium @ 250 . Seems pretty far spacing . My interest in it as a gift is it comes as a complete package and every one has a phone charger with them now a days . With the protection built in , it also should be safe for inexperienced users .
The built in charging thing probably goes along with my lines of trying to keep it simple. But I suppose there really isn't anything wrong with them. It's really just a personal choice. Mode spacing is also important to me. Let's see: the mode spacing on the SF-R26 is 1200/250/100/10. You won't notice as big of a difference between 250 and 1200 as you will between 10 and 100. If changing just one of the outputs I would elect that the 100 lumens to somewhere around 60. Also I'd change the 250 to something like 350 and the 10 to 3 or 4 lumens. It's hard to find perfect mode spacing in lights though. Probably because everyone has different tastes.
The deal is that our eyes perceive brightness in a more logarithmic fashion rather than linear. In other words 20 lumens is twice as bright as 10 lumens but you your eyes won't see it that way. Since the LED will get pretty hot at the 1000 lumen + level, most XP-L / XM-L2 lights will have a step down after a few minutes. I don't see the highest mode as a usable option to just leave it there but more as a momentary spotting type of action. Thus the next level down is the one that would be used the most if needing constant max brightness out of the light. Therefore it makes sense to have the 2nd level down low enough that you don't have any thermal problems but high enough that its taking advantage of the LEDs capability. I'm not really a moonlight mode guy but I do like a fairly low low level in the 3 lumen area. Then it looks very proportional to go from 3 up to around 30 lumens. Basically 10 times the lumens looks like twice the brightness to our eyes if I remember correctly. So 3/30/300/3000 would be great. But of course the XP-L can't hit 3000 lumens so you just design it to its max capability and use the 300 level when needing a constant high output. That is my ideal mode spacing but it may not be someone else's.
Mostly I end up looking over the specs of a light and if the price is right will buy knowing that I can turn around and sell it for a small loss if I don't like it. You check out the specs and operation on paper, but its not until you get it into your hands that you know if you're going to like it or not. Sorry ramblin too much. Hope this helps.
The deal is that our eyes perceive brightness in a more logarithmic fashion rather than linear. In other words 20 lumens is twice as bright as 10 lumens but you your eyes won't see it that way. Since the LED will get pretty hot at the 1000 lumen + level, most XP-L / XM-L2 lights will have a step down after a few minutes. I don't see the highest mode as a usable option to just leave it there but more as a momentary spotting type of action. Thus the next level down is the one that would be used the most if needing constant max brightness out of the light. Therefore it makes sense to have the 2nd level down low enough that you don't have any thermal problems but high enough that its taking advantage of the LEDs capability. I'm not really a moonlight mode guy but I do like a fairly low low level in the 3 lumen area. Then it looks very proportional to go from 3 up to around 30 lumens. Basically 10 times the lumens looks like twice the brightness to our eyes if I remember correctly. So 3/30/300/3000 would be great. But of course the XP-L can't hit 3000 lumens so you just design it to its max capability and use the 300 level when needing a constant high output. That is my ideal mode spacing but it may not be someone else's.
Mostly I end up looking over the specs of a light and if the price is right will buy knowing that I can turn around and sell it for a small loss if I don't like it. You check out the specs and operation on paper, but its not until you get it into your hands that you know if you're going to like it or not. Sorry ramblin too much. Hope this helps.
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I tried to get interested in BJ's sale and just couldn't find anything that I was interested in. SWM has kind of disappointed me with their new releases the past couple of years. I still have a Sunwayman V11R that I probably will never sell. A lot of their new lights have a low mode that is way too high in my opinion. Also I'm not a big fan of the single side tactile switched lights. Those are lights where the on/off switch doesn't carry the current that powers the flashlight. They are a switch that interfaces to the microcontroller........so they are a one switch does it all. The one advantage to them though is that you can program the microcontroller to take the switch input to mean a lot of different ways it works. (ie: single click, click and hold, double click, double click and hold, etc). Also there is a slight parasitic drain on the battery and anything at 30uA and lower is fine but I never know what they are going to be until I get one and measure it. I just prefer a tail cap on/off switch either the reverse clicky for mode selecting or a separate mode select switch in conjunction with a forward tactical switch. I just like the mechanical on/off switch. Again that is personal preference and the side switched lights like the Nitcore MH20 are very popular. One exception to my preference is the Olight H1 Nova and the Fenis HL50........both have the single electronic tactile switch control. But it is what it is and I like those headlamps a lot because they are so small........and also because they are NW 
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Being new to this . I'm learning to discern colors and appreciate NW . In your opinion , which budget light would you recommend that would be good for moderate throw and a good amount of spill . Possibly a Convoy C8 or M1 ? I don't need extreme ratings and appreciate value over everything else . I've got the pocket light size covered with the S2+.
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I'm not that familiar with the C8 or M1. I don't know that much about them. Based on price I think they are PWM controlled and based on the linear 7135 chip. I tend to focus on higher end current controlled lights that I believe to be more efficient......and utilize some type of switching power regulator.
One light that is pretty good for the price is the Atactical A1 and A1S. You can pick them up on Amazon. They are actually made by Thrunite. The low isn't low enough for me but they have really good reviews.
One light that is pretty good for the price is the Atactical A1 and A1S. You can pick them up on Amazon. They are actually made by Thrunite. The low isn't low enough for me but they have really good reviews.
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I have the Atactical A1S and so far I like it . In fact , here is a link to my tread about it in budget lights :
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?441430-Atactical-A1S&p=5158962#post5158962
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?441430-Atactical-A1S&p=5158962#post5158962
That is funny.........you already have it :thumbsup:. If there are any Thrunite lights that you like, they have a 20% off for Christmas thru Jan 5.
