Long Range Beamshots.

[Spoonrobot]

Here's the first installment of my planned long/medium/short range beamshot threads. I will add beamshots for any new lights I acquire using the same set-up so comparisons can be made and a general idea of different beam types can be seen and discussed.

The lights I currently own that I consider "Long Range" throwers. All lights are run with new batteries tested to 100% on a ZTS battery tester.

(L-R) D-Mini, Inova XO3, Lowe's Taskforce 2C Cree, Pentagonlight L3 W-Bin 5 Watt, and a Surefire weaponlight using the same lamp assemblies (MN15, MN16) and turbohead (KT4) as the M3T.

The set-up and target area shown during daylight.


The target is an electronic dartboard at 45 yards, temperature is @60 degrees with low wind and high humidity.

First up is the D-Mini using the orange-peel reflector.


Inova XO3, This light was considered a throw monster a few years ago. Now it's considered long obsolete.


Lowe's 2C Cree; I am very suprised at how well this threw in comparison to everything else.


Pentagonlight L3 W-Bin 5 Watt.


Surefire MN15 Lamp. 125 lumens for one hour. This light obviously blows everything else I own out of the water but LEDs are quickly catching up.


Surefire MN16 Lamp. 225 lumens for 20 minutes. I use this lamp for emergencies when exploring, it is so satisfying to fire up.


That's it for now, I will add more as I get 'em.

[prime77]

Those are great Spoonrobot. I like the "standard" set up for comparing all the lights. That Surefire MN16 lamp should help in an exploring emergency.

[Spoonrobot]

Those are great Spoonrobot. I like the "standard" set up for comparing all the lights. That Surefire MN16 lamp should help in an exploring emergency.

It's really something else. I ran it for a little under a minute getting the light set up and the picture taken, by the time I turned it off the head was hot to the touch and the batteries were quite warm. I can't imagine what running a hotwire Mag or HID light would be like.

[prime77]

Hey Spoonrobot, I'm a little bored tonight and thinking of doing some outdoor beamshots like yours. I have a camera that can be put on different settings. What settings do you use to get some good shots?

[Spoonrobot]

Hey Spoonrobot, I'm a little bored tonight and thinking of doing some outdoor beamshots like yours. I have a camera that can be put on different settings. What settings do you use to get some good shots?

Short answer: Fiddle with the settings until the picture looks just like real life. 


Long answer: It really depends on the Camera. For the above shots I used a Nikon FinePix Z5 set on night mode.

Night mode automatically holds the shutter open long enough to take clear shots of distance beams but this mode is not something universally found on point/click cameras and only really serves to compare beamshots under the exact same conditions. Certain cameras also tend to wash out incandescent lights to pure white and LEDs to blue when actual tints are different to the eye. Try out the night mode on your camera first and if it washes out the beam or makes it look like a poor representation of the real light use the method below.

Now, what I used to do before getting this camera was set the options to Manual and then adjust the Exposure setting up or down until it looked right to my eyes. Most beam shots I took this way were done at -2/3rds exposure but the settings vary by camera. My last digi-cam had settings from -5.0 to +5.0, this cam only does thirds to -2 and +2. By using the manual mode you get a slightly more realistic beamshot but this really only matters if photographing ceiling bounce shots to compare output or photographing floodier beams at a distance. When photographing certain LEDs I will also use this method in conjunction with white balance adjust to get the most accurate representation of tint.

If you really want the best representation of the beam use the manual+exposure, but if you just want some comparison pics try the night mode on your camera.

You probably already know this but long exposure times make it almost a requirement to use a timer and a tripod for the pictures.

Good luck! Post them when you're done!

[jzmtl]

That pentagonlight looks like something to be found in home depot's stair post section. 

What's the ball thing at base of tree?

[prime77]

Short answer: Fiddle with the settings until the picture looks just like real life.  Smiley


Long answer: It really depends on the Camera. For the above shots I used a Nikon FinePix Z5 set on night mode.

Night mode automatically holds the shutter open long enough to take clear shots of distance beams but this mode is not something universally found on point/click cameras and only really serves to compare beamshots under the exact same conditions. Certain cameras also tend to wash out incandescent lights to pure white and LEDs to blue when actual tints are different to the eye. Try out the night mode on your camera first and if it washes out the beam or makes it look like a poor representation of the real light use the method below.

Now, what I used to do before getting this camera was set the options to Manual and then adjust the Exposure setting up or down until it looked right to my eyes. Most beam shots I took this way were done at -2/3rds exposure but the settings vary by camera. My last digi-cam had settings from -5.0 to +5.0, this cam only does thirds to -2 and +2. By using the manual mode you get a slightly more realistic beamshot but this really only matters if photographing ceiling bounce shots to compare output or photographing floodier beams at a distance. When photographing certain LEDs I will also use this method in conjunction with white balance adjust to get the most accurate representation of tint.

If you really want the best representation of the beam use the manual+exposure, but if you just want some comparison pics try the night mode on your camera.

You probably already know this but long exposure times make it almost a requirement to use a timer and a tripod for the pictures.

Good luck! Post them when you're done!

Thanks, I went out and took some and I think they turned out good. They look just a little brighter in the shots than in real life, but are good are good to compare.  My incans came out nice and good, yellow not white and the tints of the LEDs turned out good also. Some of the lower output lights have a washed out look but are still passable. I will post all 11 lights in just a bit.

[Spoonrobot]

What's the ball thing at base of tree?

 

It's an electronic dartboard re-gifted to me that served as a target. Darts never really captured my fancy and I figured the contrast would be easier to see at a distance (not so much).

Some of the lower output lights have a washed out look but are still passable.

I had that problem too, I'm still re-working my close range shots because they came out so poorly.

[Spoonrobot]

Not having worked in a little over a month and with almost nothing to do I woke up way too early this morning and trekked out to my favorite creepy bridge to take a beamshot or two of my new light.

Coming out of HongKong under the SolarForce name the T7 Q5 is a multi-level, 2x123A light. Featuring 8 different levels, strobe, SOS, and the seldom seen 3-button user interface.



The T7 first then the D-Mini with smooth reflector. The T7 has a much wider beam but throws almost as far as the D-Mini due to significantly more lumens coming out the front*.



*Not a direct comparison, of course, since the D-Mini is a one-cell light and has the older P4 Cree LED.

[NutSAK]

That's one I haven't seen.  It looks pretty neat--like Fenix meets VB-16.

How are you liking that one?  What is the UI like?

[Spoonrobot]

That's one I haven't seen.  It looks pretty neat--like Fenix meets VB-16.

How are you liking that one?  What is the UI like?

As my first Q5 light it's very impressive, good throw and excellent spillbeam. With the excellent brightness and multi-modes I can get through 99% of my needs with this light as opposed to the 60-70% that the D-Mini was fulfilling.

The UI is the main reason I bought the light. It's a very simple 3-button system and doesn't suffer from excessive tailcap clicking to get to the level I generally use the most (high).

The tailcap switch only has two functions, press once and the light comes on high. A quick half-press and the light goes into strobe mode.

The two red buttons control the light level. Overall there are 8 levels but the first 6 are all clustered around the top 50% of output so usefulness is somewhat cluttered. I don't think most users really need the choice between 150 or 140 lumens.
 
I generally only use the highest/lowest and 2nd lowest levels, the others are a typically a waste for me but this light is one of the few multi-mode lights that always activates on high so it was close to my ideal light. The clickies under the red switches have a very positive tactile and audible feedback.

The low is very low and is good for preserving night vision but I do wish there was slightly more spread between the levels and less levels overall.

Runtime is good with @2 hours to 50% on high mode.

I would buy this light again, I guess that's a good summation of how much I like it.

Selfbuilt over at CPF did an excellent review here if you want to see all the numbers and graphs. Link.

[NutSAK]

I generally only use the highest/lowest and 2nd lowest levels, the others are a typically a waste for me but this light is one of the few multi-mode lights that always activates on high so it was close to my ideal light. The clickies under the red switches have a very positive tactile and audible feedback.

The low is very low and is good for preserving night vision but I do wish there was slightly more spread between the levels and less levels overall.

I'm always concerned about preserving night vision also.  For this reason, I prefer lights that activate in low mode, or have a mode memory.  Don't you find that lights that always activate on high detrimental to this concern?

[Spoonrobot]

Nah, if I'm preserving my night vision chances are that I have the time and inclination to turn the light on in my pocket and then drop the levels before using it. That or I just add a low red light to my carry when I think I might need it.

On the other end, when I typically use my EDC flashlight I am looking at/for something in the distance and like having an instant-on-high that lets me see what's out there quickly and easily.