jaykiMy CPF thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=235490
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[General Notes]
1. My reviews are never so well organized. Some reviews will have missing info / photos / short / long etc.
2. Some of the lights are now very outdated and not available anymore or are updated with newer LEDs.
3. Some lights, I do not have anymore or are faulty or modded. So I cannot update some of them anymore.
4. I currently do not get any sponsorship nor special discounts from ANY online shop or companies. (as of SEP 2009)
5. If you have written a nice review in the Forums ection, I may move them here for better visibility for all.
Thank you and I hope what I do help others in their own flashlight decisions. =)
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Some extra information that would be useful in understanding my reviews:
[FYI]
- GITD silicone tailcap I mention throughout are all DX sku 5714 unless stated otherwise. (Orange ones are not GITD but are same size)
- Measurements are using my own DMM and Light Meter in near-identical controlled conditions. (Still assume around plus or minus 10% error)
Throw = Firing the center of the hotspot directly at the sensor from 1m away using fully charged batteries. (Close to initial peak)
Lightbox = My own cardboard box where I fire light in through a hole and measure the lux reading inside after 1 minute. (no direct light to the sensor)
There are 3 lightbot results over the time I've been reviewing. So please check before comparing it to other results:
OLD Lightbox - This is my initial cardboard box. Inside walls were grayish in color. Was left at work and someone threw it out as rubbish. =(
NEW Lightbox - This is my new lightbox I'm currently using. But I was firing the flashlight upwards.
NEW Lightbox2 - Same light box but now I'm just firing in straight into the hole. This results in far more consistent results every time.
[Output Photos]
1. Wall Shot - Taken in a near pitch dark room with lights firing at a white wall from around 40cm away. (F5.0 1/60sec ISO 400)
2. Kitchen - Taken in a near pitch dark room with lights firing at the back corner of my kitchen from around 7m away. (F2.8 1/25 ISO 800)
(I moved house in 2008 August so you may notice that the kitchen has changed for the newere reviews)
- The new kitchen shot with the above exposure settings look like this photo below when there is no flashlight turned on. Yup. Near pitch black. =)
[Runtime Graphs]
Light is shone on to the light meter's sensor from about 1 inch away.
There is a small camera lense in between to collect most of the light.
Current output of the light sensor is measured by my datalogging DMM.
Current output is close to the overal amount of light and not just throw.
So it is relatively comparable with graphs of other lights in my review.
But do take into account that my graphs may have up to 10% of error.
Just an FYI - Any reading of 0.005mA or higher is still quite useable.
It's enough to find a key hole or see stuff in very dark environments.
But please do not directly compare the output reading between flashlights.
You may find that the readings do not directly translate into light output/brightness.
This is due to different size spill/hotspot which results in loss of light.
[Batteries]
- Some tips/recommendations for some battery types.
- Primary battery usually means it is a non-rechargeable off-the-shelf battery.
- Never charge lithium batteries at more than 1C. (1 x capacity in mA)
- eg. 880mAh
RCR123A
Check out Raymond's RCR123A battery test thread.
Also RCR123A Battery Test Roundup by old4570.
RCR123A means it's rechargeable CR1213A battery.
This battery is also called 16340 due to its size.
RCR is usually charged to 4.2v and CR primary is 3.6v.
AA/AAA
If you use the lights very often and recharge often, get high capacity ones.
It should at least cost you about ~$5 for 2 AA or AAA if it's a decent battery.
LSD (Low-Self-Discharge) or 'Ready' batteries are better if you intend it as an emergency light. (Recyko, Eneloop etc)
Coz it holds around 80% of its charge even after not using it for a whole year.
Use a smart charger whenever possible also for best rssults.
Battery names in the form 18650/17670/16340/14500 etc actually means how big the battery is in mm unit.
- First 2 digits is the diameter of the battery in mm.
- Last 3 digits is the length of the battery in mm.
[Glossary]
OP Reflector = Orange Peel reflector. Also called a rough / textured reflector. It helps in smoothing out the beam so there's less of ugly rings or black holes / artifacts. But it results in less throw output.
EDC = Every Day Carry light. For most people, it means it fits in their desired jeans/jacket/bag pocket and it's their most often used light. A keychain light is also the same. For me, it's a small enough light which fits in my jeans pocket. =)
Forward clicky - It's a switch which turns on the light when half-pressed while the light is off. So you can simply tap the switch to light it up without needing to press it fully and turn it on permanently. Good for manual flashing signals and quick usage. It's also called a positive clicky.
Reverse clicky - It's the opposite of above. Generally what everyone would think a normal switch would do. You need to full depress the switch to turn on the light permanently. While on, you can do half presses to turn the light off.
Throw - The ability to throw the center hotspot a long way. The intensity or the brightness of the center hotspot determines how far it can light up things. Usually, higher the throw value means smaller the hotspot or a less bright spill. So it may not be as useful for short distances. Flashlights that use smooth reflecters generally have more throw than ones with OP reflector.
