Firefly / Moonlight mode

[firiki]

Just wanted to follow up with the topic a bit with some recent use of the firefly mode. 

...

The light is a preon po ss which runs off 1 AAA cell.  As you can see the firefly mode is not bad at all.                                                                                                                                 

How many fireflies are there in there ? Thanks for the pic, Aloha

It is impressive, I though it would be much more dim. I'll admit to not having seen a proper firefly / moonlight mode in action, I'm just assuming how it looks.

[NutSAK]

I use low settings frequently on several of my lights, but I find that 1-3 lumens is dim enough.  I don't use the sub lumen modes, but it is good to know they're available in a SHTF situation.

If I'm looking for something in particular to preserve my night vision, I typically reach for a Gerber Infinity with a red emitter.

[firiki]

  I have read many a good thing about the Inifinity....



 

[PTRSAK]

I actually used the firefly mode on my Thrunite Saber last weekend. We were at a 4x4/Ride park and there was a wicked thunderstorm.
The power went off for a couple of hours and it was pitch dark.
Putting my AA Thrunite in firefly mode (0.1 lumens) and tailstanding it on the table next to a white wall provided enough light to allow the boys to keep drinking and swapping bullsmurf stories without worrying about tripping over anything on the way to the fridge for another beer.

Day,  er,  night saved by firefly mode.

[Aloha]

Forgive my bad photography as I was using my phone.  The 3 lights I used most are;
4 sevens Preon P0
Olight I2 EOS
Thrunite T10

I was thinking about what I use my firefly modes for most and what most would use them for.  I don't read by them as some say they do nor am I walking thru darkened places with sub lumens thinking it'll suffice.     

I did a little "test" to see how these firefly/low lumens staked up.  I tossed in a maglite solitaire and a el cheapo multi cell light just for fun.  I used a dropped SAK between my bed and wall as the subject I was trying to locate in a very dark room. 

Ok lets see how these lights located the object.

1st pic are the lights in their low lumen glory.

The 2nd pic is the lights all ready to go with their low lumen specs.

The last pic is the floor from my bed at 2ft with an object that has fallen which I need to locate.       

                                   

[Aloha]

The 4 sevens was up first and with just a phone its hard to tell but it did a great job.  The light is all flood so surrounding areas are lit decently and the object is by eye easy to find.

The Olight at that distance had no problem locating the object.

The Thrunite as well had no problem with its very low lumens lighting up the object. 

[Aloha]

Next up are the Solitare which when focused was not bad at all.

The El Cheapo is quite capable and runs off 4 LR41 cells stacked. 


Draw your own conclusions but for me low lumens are very capable when used like any tool in the right circumstances.   The incredible run times ( dont know about the mag or el cheapo ) could really come in handy in total lights out situations.  It's a shame I wasn't able to better show how great these low lumen lights really are.  The 4 sevens for example is a terrific light and does have a second mode that if needed.     

[Craiger]

I do like the firefly mode of my Thrunite T10S, and use it frequently for walking around the house after the family is in bed, checking on sleeping toddler etc. Also nice for the incidental pointed-at-your-face-on-accident times; I can look directly into the beam w/o discomfort. Insane run-times are a catch for me too. If nothing else, it makes you appreciate the M/H modes when you click up a notch and realize how bright the other modes really are.

My T10S also features a high-draw start, where a NIMH battery with only a bit of juice will fail to fire the light. Been in this pinch before, but have always been able to remove battery, pray, reinsert and able to fire it again.

Personally, I would prefer a regular low in addition to the firefly (FF/L/M/H), but Medium on the T10 is plenty of light and tested to 17 hours so I can't complain.

[firiki]

Wow! Thanks for the pics Aloha! They really help see things from a different perspective.

That Olight is bright, though at 2.5 lumens it feels like a low, compared to others with their sub-lumen settings?

The Thrunite is impressive! So is el cheapo, too! The 4Sevens seems OK, though it doesn't seem to have much flood. I get the feeling these firefly modes can't support much flood?

Now I need to compare runtimes 

[firiki]

I do like the firefly mode of my Thrunite T10S, ... Personally, I would prefer a regular low in addition to the firefly (FF/L/M/H), but Medium on the T10 is plenty of light and tested to 17 hours so I can't complain.

You know, you deserve a for mentioning this light... XP-G2 star, orange peel reflector, crazy runtimes, stainless steel construction  I need to look further into this one! I'd like a Low mode too but it's  just the way it is...


Many thanks 

[enki_ck]

I do like the firefly mode of my Thrunite T10S, ... Personally, I would prefer a regular low in addition to the firefly (FF/L/M/H), but Medium on the T10 is plenty of light and tested to 17 hours so I can't complain.

You know, you deserve a for mentioning this light... XP-G2 star, orange peel reflector, crazy runtimes, stainless steel construction  I need to look further into this one! I'd like a Low mode too but it's  just the way it is...


Many thanks 

[firiki]

Oh, rub it in my face, why won't you

[Etherealicer]

I need a Thrunite T10S...

[Aloha]

I need a Thrunite T10S...

I want one too even tho I have a NW and CW T1O 

[firiki]

I need a Thrunite T10S...

I want one too even tho I have a NW and CW T1O 

Did you know it can tail stand?   

It comes with a diffuser cone, too!

[enki_ck]

I need a Thrunite T10S...

I want one too even tho I have a NW and CW T1O 

Did you know it can tail stand?   

It comes with a diffuser cone, too!

And an extra switch, just in case.

[firiki]

I actually used the firefly mode on my Thrunite Saber last weekend. ...
Day,  er,  night saved by firefly mode.

The Thrunite Saber is a very interesting little light. Isn't it the one that can use either AA or CR123 cells?

Apparently it's floody. That's the only thing I miss on my EDC Fenix LD09, it's not very floody, but I can live with that.

How is the Saber on the 9 lumen setting, please? Is it enough for moving around in unknown terrain with confidence or you find yourself wishing it had an intermediate setting between Low and High? 

[firiki]

I need a Thrunite T10S...

I want one too even tho I have a NW and CW T1O 

Did you know it can tail stand?   

It comes with a diffuser cone, too!

And an extra switch, just in case.

You're not helping avoid temptation, not at all   

[N_N_R]

I sold my i3s with its 0.5 lumen and regret it now

Probably most people said it already, but yeah, the real reason for me to like it to check stuff at night... to plug/unplug batteries when I occasionally wake up in the dark and see they've charged... I don't really neeed to preserve my night vision or anything. I don't read at night and even at night I'd rather have something brighter for reading. But if I say, want to check the buttons of the remote... (for some reason I can't get used to the damn thing), it's kinda... close- up work ... and if it's brighter, the light will feel awful on my eyes. I may wanna wake up at night or later, before I go to bed, take notes or something... given the white paper I write on, it also reflects quite a lot of light back on my eyes... so yeah, the only purpose (apart from the really long run time you mentioned) I have for this is just to spare my eyes the unpleasant feeling of being blinded by my own light

[enki_ck]

I need a Thrunite T10S...

I want one too even tho I have a NW and CW T1O 

Did you know it can tail stand?   

It comes with a diffuser cone, too!

And an extra switch, just in case.

You're not helping avoid temptation, not at all 

Was that what I was supposed to be doing?

I got this Personal Shopping Assistant job figured out all wrong.



Better? 

Show content

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391001304939

[N_N_R]

*me first posting and reading everything else later*

Guys, don't bash the poor Solitaire, since I lack a firefly mode, I used the incandescent Solitaire for the things I mentioned above quite a lot!:D I must say it does a good job (I think I'd even opened a new thread somewhere on CPF about this)

[firiki]

I was being a wiseguy in the OP... Firefly modes definitely have their place in this world. It's why I'm looking for one, there are moments where not much more light is needed, especially with how clear light LEDs put out.

As for the Solitaire, I've no idea how its LED version fares but the incan version was the first light I got as a kid and I was utterly disappointed, both by output and battery life. Maybe that's why I have this preference for extended runtimes

[firiki]

Was that what I was supposed to be doing?

I got this Personal Shopping Assistant job figured out all wrong.



Better? 

Show content

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391001304939

I don't know anymore, mate, maybe it's me who has it all wrong  Thanks for the link, it doesn't help either!  Is XP-L newer than XP-G2?  

You're flashlight-savvy, could you answer one question? I noticed in that link that the T1OS's beam intensity is only some 810 candelas? Is this because of the orange peel reflector? My LD09 claims more than 2000 candelas and I can't really understand such gap Then again, I'm still trying to figure out how to use lumens and candelas to better understand what I'm reading. (I'm awful at math) 

[enki_ck]

I never understood the whole candela thing too much. Maybe some of our other flashoholics can help.

[firiki]

The only thing I know is a candela measures how much light is concentrated on a given surface... and that's not quite exact.

Quote from Wikipedia:

"In photometry, luminous intensity is a measure of the wavelength-weighted power emitted by a light source in a particular direction per unit solid angle, based on the luminosity function, a standardized model of the sensitivity of the human eye. The SI unit of luminous intensity is the candela (cd), an SI base unit."

Anyways, I'm getting the impression that the Thrunite T10S has your seal of approval? This is one promising flashlight, for sure! Are the Thrunites solid? 

  (in lack of such a smilie for torches/flashlights)

[dks]

Without boring people, Candela gives you the brightness in a small area, spot measurement (how bright is that point), whereas Lumen gives you the total light emitted.

It is easier to measure candela as you measure the light in a specific area, whereas for Lumens you need to collect, integrate, all the light produced and take a reading.

So, for example, using a zoom light, like a Sipik68, when the beam is tight, and you have a small spot the candela reading at the centre (the spot brightness) will be high. When you zoom out, and the light spreads the candela reading at the centre will be low.

Now, since the total amount of light produced does not change (you just concentrate/spread the beam), the Lumen reading will remain the same in both situations.

[firiki]

Thank you very much! You confirm what I suspected.

I have some LED bulbs for home illumination that put out 550 lumens but there was no indication of intensity on the box. My guess was this is normal since there is no reflector on them to focus the light. They light up a room perfectly well but they don't have much throw.

I suppose this means that an output of many lumens and few candelas indicates a floody beam (or perhaps a flashlight of lesser quality). Of course, few and many are vague terms; for example, 30 lumens can be painfully bright in complete darkness.

Hmm, getting more and more tempted by that T10S. So, should the real question be, how many lumens per candela?

[dks]

There are formulas for conversions, but since they are not directly related the whole process is complicated (Wikipedia has some information). I have seen some online calculators that make several assumptions and do the conversion.

Also with lumens, sometimes they give you the lumens that come out of the torch (the actual beam) and sometimes the ones that come out of the LED. As the light goes in various directions some will be absorbed and not come out of the torch.

The better makers will give you the out-of-the-front lumens, that are the actual ones you will use.
Some will also give the maximum theoretical lumens for a certain current to the led, that is usually higher than the actual current their torch utilises.

You also have the "Chinese" lumens that is the really high, theoretical at max current lumens many cheap Chinese makers/sellers claim. So you see the same light claiming 1000 or 800 or 600 lumens.
The actual useful lumens are usually 1/3 of the claimed "Chinese" lumens.

[firiki]

You just confirmed another suspicion of mine; that you don't know how something works for you until you've tried it! 

I'm trying to define my needs in numbers (candelas/lumens/minutes) but being no good at math the only way that's going to happen is by determining which torch(es) I like and why and then pray the manufacturer's claims for runtimes are half-honest. At least I can verify the actual runtimes! This means testing the same kind/brand of battery cells at least twice, repeat the process with another kind/brand of cell and so on...

What have I stepped into 

 

[dks]

I have some information on cheap torches in the review section, with some beam pictures that may give you some ideas