Beam throw comparison, cheap torches

[dks]

Had the chance to take some throw comparison shots from one building to another.
The distance between them is about 300+m (me thinks...). The night was a bit misty/humid, unfortunately. As seen there was some light from nearby buildings etc.
I chose a few torches that have decent throw.
Full batteries (apart from, I suspect, the lidl led torch), Lithiums in all but the small Romisen and the Spotlight. Full power and optimum zoom. (more details on the torches can be found here: http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,35523.0.html)

All pictures were taken with identical camera settings, including ISO and were close to what I actually saw.

The tall building in the middle was the target (disguised).


The Torches:



LIDL LED torch (this actually throws the best, giving a laser like beam, though this was not clear here)


Romisen RCT601


Ultrafire C8


SA-22


Ultrafire WF501


Trustfire F25


Romisen RC-G2


Tank007 E09 (possibly the least throw)


LIDL  Halogen Spotlight

[enki_ck]

Nice test shots but you should have talked the tenants of that building into turning off their lights so we could see it better. I don't usually go for throw in flashlights. I prefer wider beams with more flow. But the TANK007 that I have are all good throwers. 703 in AA and E07 in AA format.

[dks]

It was quite funny. As I was about to start taking pictures half the flats on that building put their lights on..(maybe a TV break). I had to wait for some time for the lights to go off...

[Gareth]

very cool mate.  Thanks for sharing.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Good to see some real world comparisons

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[dks]

Personally I think they came out a bit rubbish, as posted.
When looking at them on the Netbook they look fine but on my Desktop most of them look identical (calibrated for printing pictures). Should have processed the photographs a bit but I did not want to actually change them and make them look different to what they were (very tempting to “improve” them).

Summarising (after a relaxing swim..) the LIDL led has the narrowest and possibly longest reaching (appears to) beam. The 601 has a very good throw and nice spill (good bike light), and the C8 is a step below, with a slightly worst beam pattern. The SA22, as expected does well, distance-wise. The other LEDs do ok, though the E09 is barely noticeable at that distance. The spotlight did better than I expected as at shorter distances it appeared to be beaten by the  601. However, it only lasts for 15 minutes and weights a Ton.... should have also tested the TR-3T6, though I do not consider it a thrower as such, just beastly.(another good bike light)

[dks]

Same settings for all torches here but not the same as previously, as I took some quick pictures without a tripod thus had to use higher speeds.

Romisen 601


LIDL spotlight (I think, 90% sure)


HID at (I think) 85W setting.


I will take some better ones with a tripod and taking some notes on the pictures.

[Schneider]

I don't see any real difference between the shots.  Maybe taking pictures in a dark street or park would be better. Thanks anyway.

[dks]

You should be able to see the difference in the last shot. A lot will depend on how your monitor is calibrated.

The idea is to show how far the beam goes so a street shot will not work as the spill will dominate the picture.

The pictures were taken without a tripod.

[Gareth]

The HID is definitely a lot brighter than the other two.

[dks]

The HID is definitely a lot brighter than the other two.

The idea was to show that the HID destroys the "winner" of the previous comparison.

I now I need some better shots with a tripod. 

I need to find a clear night when I really have nothing better to do than go on a roof and annoy people, to take some nicer pictures. 

These are taken in the suburbs but there is still a lot of light about and the distances are quite large so the pictures cannot be that good, especially if I am holding the camera and the torch at the same time (and worrying about people complaining; you do not expect someone to be shining a torch through your bedroom window on the 8th floor). Maybe I will just drive into a forest one night.

[Gareth]

I did wonder how well you got on with your neighbours.