Xnova AA vs Ultra-G, ArcAAA, Dorcy 1AAA

The Xnova AA is a 1x AA 5LED "X5 lookalike" light that haveblue got directly from China for a group sell.

ref posts:

X5 lookalike with AAx1 [photos]

Inova X5 clones from China arrived...for sale

Overall comparison sizes -


Next to Mini-Mag 2AA


Lights directly compared -


Heads (& Tail) and Tubes -


The Xnova AA is fatter than either the Ultra-G or the battery tube of the Mini-Mag. It's probably the Xnova AA's fluting on the tube - but the body tube itself is pretty thick - significantly thicker than either the Ultra-G or the ArcAAA (as the comparative tube pic above shows) - so I would guess the Xnova AA is heavy duty as far as the body tube is concerned.

The Xnova AA has a Tail-switch screw-in for on - but it can be used as a push for momentary ON switch - from deliberate "play"/loose-torlerant in the screw threads.

The momentary ON feature only works for up to about 3/16th of a turn out from the on position (1/8th turn is probably optimum) which means it's probably NOT a good idea to have the flashlight that way in case of accidental turn ONs from such a small amount of turning - that kind of defeats the purpose of the momentary ON for a quick shot of light, if it really shouldn't be carried that way.

Beamshots
Xnova AA vs Ultra-G


Xnova AA vs ArcAAA


Xnova AA vs Dorcy 1AAA


The Xnova AA is noticably/significantly brighter than any of the 3 lights compared to - it is easier to see in these deliberately
-2 Stops UnderExposed beamshots
Xnova AA vs Ultra-G


Xnova AA vs ArcAAA


Xnova AA vs Dorcy 1AAA


Jug-shot /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
to show beam coverage/side-spill -


Those side-spill spikes at about 60deg out from the central beam (on protractor approx the 150deg/30deg markings) are significant -
holding the flashlight about 1" away from a wall one can easily see the halo circle of light -


This is not uncommon to exposed LED lights like the coin-cell LEDs - the most noticable I have being the 20 for $20 from CountyComm -


But even the premium Photon 2 or the Inova Microlight(solid body) are not guilt free:

Nice pics, and thanks for keeping the size managable. What I noticed in the pics doesn't relate to the Xnova. Its that the Dorcy doesn't look brighter than the Ultra-G and the Arc. I know all of my Dorcys have been noticeably brighter than the other two. Trying to capture what the eye sees is often a difficult task.

GREAT comparisons, thanks! love the bean amgle shots--VERY helpful.

also, are the 20 for $20 led's from countycomm recessed?
im not fond of exposed LED due to glare.

Bob

[ QUOTE ]
RonM said:
Nice pics, and thanks for keeping the size managable. What I noticed in the pics doesn't relate to the Xnova. Its that the Dorcy doesn't look brighter than the Ultra-G and the Arc. I know all of my Dorcys have been noticeably brighter than the other two. Trying to capture what the eye sees is often a difficult task.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the nice comments RonM.

Yes, indeed, since I'm only on dial-up - I am always very conscious of "bandwidth". Lots of times pictures help a lot in showing various aspects - afterall flashlights are used to aid our very seeing - but pics also eat up a lot of space. So they have to be sized small enough to be considerate - but large enough so one can still see clearly. Then picking a JPG compression that significantly reduces the file size - but does not degrade the image too much.

My compromise is about 450x337 pixels and using JPG compression of about 70% (or quality 7) - ending up with files mostly below 25Kb. Beamshots are very conducive to JPG compression - since there is very little detail - they can be as low as about 8-11Kb

re: Dorcy 1AAA vs ArcAAA, Ultra-G -
It's hard to compare the brightness between separate photos - that's why I paired lights so one can compare beams directly.

For direct comparisons between the Dorcy 1AAA vs ArcAAA and Ultra-G - please take a look at this linked thread:

Dorcy 1AAA #2 (vs ArcAAA vs Ultra-G vs Dorcy #1)

[ QUOTE ]
pedalinbob said:also, are the 20 for $20 led's from countycomm recessed?
im not fond of exposed LED due to glare.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry for being a bit late in replying to you pedalinbob, I wanted to take a few more pictures.

This is a VERY interesting point for me.

The 20 for $20 LEDs from CountyComm are actually recessed - not perhaps 100%, but pretty well as hopefully these pics show -


However the 20 for $20 LEDs exhibit this very noticable side stray emission - like this jug-shot and Halo shot -


and if you look at the head photo of the Xnova AA (in opening post above) - the 5 LEDs are very well recessed - one cannot feel the LEDs when touching the metal/holed bezel - there is even a small outer protuding lip/"hood" on the head. But as the Xnova AA Jug-shot (in opening post above) and this second Halo shot shows it also has very prominent side stray emission -



I think it is the characteristic of the domed LEDs - the side stray emissions emanate from the tip hemisphere, and the LED needs to be recessed/masked/hooded quite deeply to avoid this side stray emission.

I found this aspect fascinating - that I'll probably start another thread rather than make this one on the Xnova AA stray too far.

WOW!

you dont fool around!

thanks for the info--i was trying to determine whether to get the inexpensive 20/$20 or to go with the inova microlight. they both look pretty nice.

the inova costs $6, the others are $1...and i can give out a bunch of them.

again, thanks for the comparo!

Bob

Excellent info here - thanks!

[ QUOTE ]
pedalinbob said:you dont fool around!

[/ QUOTE ]

whaddya mean....
ask any fem..... ooops! wrong forum /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The 20 for $20 LEDs from CountyComm has to be one of the best value for money around. They are great for keeping handy around in various places - and especially for gifts to deserving people. I keep one in its package in my pocket just for such an event - and given away at least 6 ad-hoc that way.

Here's a linked thread on these that might be useful:
20 for $20 LED Lights

Getting back on topic
the Xnova AA (X5 lookalike) - was surprising because the 5 LEDs are very well/completely - recessed that I really didn't expect the side stray emission -
but there it was, and very noticable.

This might be regarded as a disadvantage since it may attract attention or distract.

But it also contributes to the overall light -
although the area between the main central hot-spot and the noticable halo/ring may seem like no light in contrast to those brighter parts -
there is some usable light - albeit dim - one can certainly still make out objects in that in-between area - so the overall coverage extends all the way out to that halo/ring.

This means that the coverage is actually (looking at the Xnova AA's jug-shot above) - somewhere around an extremely wide ~130deg!!! - that's useful - except of course the area between the hot-spot and halo/circle is really a bit too dim to see well by.

Thank you Vincent. I'm glad that I DID NOT BUY the Arc AAA since there is another (MUCH MORE) cheaper alternative. My sister is going to HK this June so I hope that she can stock me couple of those light from Ap Liu.

[ QUOTE ]
Mgz said:I'm glad that I DID NOT BUY the Arc AAA since there is another (MUCH MORE) cheaper alternative. My sister is going to HK this June so I hope that she can stock me couple of those light from Ap Liu.

[/ QUOTE ]

Glad you found this comparison useful - I haven't done any ranking and have allowed the photo comparisons to speak for themselves.

However if you are relatively new to Flashaholism - let me be clear -

The ArcAAA is a standing favorite at cpf - and for good reason - it is very well built - extremely small (about as small as one could wish for a single AAA light) with refined beam, good brightness and runtime. It was a winner of the cpf Lummies award.

At one time there was a mandatory ownership just for admittance to cpf (just kidding /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

But the point is the ArcAAA is a favorite among flashaholics and some are real experts here (unlike my amateurish dabbling) for a good reason. So please don't count it out until you've experienced one.

In the meantime may I suggest spending something less than $6 - if you have a local Wal-Mart and buy yourself a Dorcy 1AAA - this has got to be one of the best values out there.

I personally EDC it both at home and out of the house - mainly because of the convenience of the momentary ON tail-switch and overall acceptable/adequate quality - and being cheap to replace...... The Dorcy 1AAA is a budget favorite at cpf for good reason too.

Please see this comparison -
Dorcy 1AAA #2 (vs ArcAAA vs Ultra-G vs Dorcy #1)

Please read again my take of the Xnova AA in the opening post (I know it's a long post with lots of pictures) but I have some reservations of the tail-switch. As a momentary ON push switch - it is designed with play or looseness in its threads, and only works with less than 3/16th of a turn from the fully-ON position, and I regard about 1/8th turn as "optimum". With such little turning between momentary ON and fully-ON - I would NOT carry it that way for fear of easy accidental switch-ON.

I probably would carry it with at least 1/2 turn away from fully-ON - which would defeat the whole purpose of the ability to use the momentary ON for a quick shot of light.

Also note the Xnova is substantially bigger than any of the other LED lights I compared it to, and it is about 11% heavier than the Ultra-G - the heaviest light in the line-up.

The prominent stray side emissions is also a bother to me - due to its distraction and attracting attention.

However I still like the Xnova AA - it is very bright for a single AA light with good runtime and is very good value for money.

Were you able to find leds without all the sidespill?

[ QUOTE ]
greenlight said:
Were you able to find leds without all the sidespill?

[/ QUOTE ]

No...

I think it's the nature of the 5mm domed LEDs - the extraneous stray side-emissions are caused by the internal reflections/refractions in the pastic dome.

However there are some that seem to give off more than others like these Chinese LEDs in the Xnova AA and the 20 for $20 LEDs from CountyComm.

However masking or recessing the LEDs like in reflectors (ala Dorcy 1AAA) would tame/eliminate the extraneous stray side emissions.

i really like the xnova light, are the first light i have buy here on cpf /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif 1 with 3 leds and 1 AAA, 2 with 5 leds 1AA, 4 with 8 leds 1AA.

the large corona hurt my eyes so i have recessed the leds of 1-2mm and now is much better