SureFire FM34 beam shaper

Hi anyone have any beam shots of how this light diffuser looks in action or real life? I have not seen any with my own eyes as of yet and I am very interested in purchasing one. Just from the general first hand glance it looks awesome on the light it's self..
The main reason I want one is this will fit on my pentagon light x2 seeing that the bezel is 1.25 inches same as surefire 6p or there abouts and this is approx a 72 lumen light and will not flood on the fly with out having to take it apart and adjust the reflector/bulb seat.. so I want a good flood but not to totally loose my light from the cover sucking it all up .. at any rate this would be the number one choice for me as far as bad a$$ looks go even if it wont work that well as a flooder for close up work.. thanks for any replies in advance.. Jeff

anyone?

Not sure how well it will work on an LED, but I have an FM64 for my M2 (also fits the U2). It works kind of like the Borofloat lens by softening the hotspot and allowing more of the brightness to blend into the spill area of the beam. I'd guess the perceived output would appear less bright as well, with throw distance reduced.

Take a plastic grocery bag and put it over your light. That how it works. Maybe the beamshaper is a little less diffusing. If you like that, get the beamshaper.

It's very useful to have some flood, I like mine.

jeff,

It will work exactly as you suspect and you will absolutely love it. I have one on EVERY Surefire that I own. A cheaper alternative for experimentation purposes is the F-24 "flipup" beamshaper for the 1.25" head series. It is "quicker" and "easier" to use as well as slimmer in profile, but you are right - it is not as "sexy" looking. When you get the FM-34 (not necessary on the F-24), you MAY have to carefully "shave" down the height of the catch on the body (and possibly also the cover), to allow the cover to operate a little easier. Be very careful and test repeatedly because the tolerances are very tight. I use a Swiss Army knife metal file to do this, but a nail file would work just as well. In opening the cover, the easiest technique seems to be the squeeze method - squeeze the cover hinge and the catch towards each other, using the cover hinge as an anchor-point of leverage as you apply force to the catch. I primarily file the body catch down (and a little on the cover if needed) until I can slide my thumb over the catch, open the cover with thumb only, and pivot the cover under the flashlight one-handed. At that point, I have filed enough. Be very careful. There is a fine line between filing enough and filing too much. Test often. Enjoy.

Hope this helps.

C3-BK with P90 Lamp Assembly:

FM34 off (flipped up):


FM34 on (flipped down):

wow thanks for the input .. and pics .. looks like I will go with the fm34.. I need to find some pics of them on the lights with the cover opened up to see exactly what ya mean about filing and how they clasp open and closed .. thank ya though ,, you guys are great! Jeff

Here are some pics of the FM34 mounted on a 6P:

Very nice pics!

Well, I have to admit, I think the beamshapers are the next best thing (if not better) than a dual output light. Suddenly a light too bright to read with, becomes useful. I think it's much more useful than the magcharger focusing (well, defocusing system). There is no doughnut hole, just smooth prefect light.

duplicate post.

But also, on an 9AN, the beamshaper gives the light 3 useful settings (because the 4th, low without a beamshaper, is a big useless doughnut).

The 9AN uses the FM1x BeamFilters (also used by the M3).


You could always swap out the low beam bulb for an LED...

Hmm, sounds good. Have you tried it and is the "doughnut" hole still there?

The beam is far more pleasing...

Thanks, now I have my next project.