Saturday, August 5, 2017

Lights

Been busy between school and work, but that goes without saying, doesn't it? Working part time and covering (at least summarily) thermodynamics, geometric optics, special relativity, and quantum mechanics in five weeks will do that.

Anyway, recently I've been having fun looking at flashlights so I figured I'd post some of my findings and interests here.
This will basically be a short list of  my favourite lights and comments for my future reference as well as anyone that finds it useful.

Listing roughly from least to most powerful, but don't skip directly to the end of the list, each of these has it's own niche.

160 lumen water resistant USB rechargeable keychain light. ~$40. Point of interest is primarily the option of white, red or UV light from one light. Most other multi-output lights are much larger


240 lumen USB rechargeable keychain light. ~$35. High CRI is the main attraction here, as well as decent output. If higher output is more important than colour rendering, there is a non-CRI version as well ($30). I personally prefer the versions before 2017, but the base functionality remains.

Convoy S2(+)

This light is available in a number of different configurations. If you have any interest in customizing your light, this is a good place to start. (Too many varieties to link, but I got mine from fasttech.com)
Basic 18650 tube light, typical max 395-853 lumens, depending on driver configuration.
Primary attractions for this light are its low price (Usually approx. $20) with decent quality and customizability. The warm tint options and price are the things I really like about this light. 
Not waterproof, but somewhat water resistant. What do I mean by that? I mean that when put in water, it fills up with water but keeps working.

Nitecore P12/MH12
Lumping these together because they're essentially the same flashlight with or without USB charging.
1000 lumen 18650 tube light. 4 modes + disco modes (strobe, SOS, beacon)
There's not really that much to say about these, they're nice lights that do a good job. One thing I do appreciate about my MH12 is the thermal regulation and heatsinking.. I can set it to high and not worry about it burning me if I touch it. I can even wrap my hand around the head even after it has been on a significant amount of time without discomfort.
The MH12 has USB recharging built into the flashlight, but with reduced waterproofing.
MH12 ($85)        P12 ($60)

The next two models are listed in order more by continuous output than peak.

Emisar D14 Quad
(Image from toykeeper.net)

This is a neat little hotrod light. 3000-4000 lumens peak, with some selection of  Nichia or Cree LED's, as well as multiple finishes. I think the most notable feature on this light is its custom open source firmware, and the most innovative feature of that software being the configurable thermal ceiling. The ramping brightness is nice too. ($40)

Manker E14 II
This is fairly similar to the previous light, but with USB charging. Other points of difference are the firmware (which is pretty good, but without thermal configuration or battery check) and slightly lower peak output. These lights are really neat, but generate a lot of heat and step down to approx. 1000 lumen range after about 30-60 seconds. ($65)

Convoy C8. 

There are enough models that I'm not going to link to any particular models. Approx. 1000 lumens, 1x18650. Cheap but decent light with lots of throw. Can be configured with warm or cold tint LED's or anywhere in between. ($20)

{Nitecore EC models}
These have dual batteries, so good runtime, and a one-piece body for good thermal dissipation.
There are various models here as well, so no link. ($50-$150)

This flashlight looks to be a very handy multipurpose light when something a little larger is an option. White, red, green, blue, and UV in one light.
Dual 18650 design, still a handy size. Approx. 2000 lumens (white)

Headlamps:
(Different enough I figured I'd give them their own section)

Wowtac A2/A2S
If you need a cheap headlamp that's actually probably pretty good, look here. For the price of the dim plastic ones you can get at Home Depot you can actually get a right angle metal light with a USB rechargeable 18650 battery. 550 lumens for the A2, and about double that for the A2S
A2 ($20)        A2S ($30)

1000 lumen headlamp a cut above the wowtac. The primary attraction for me is the warm tint option.
Approx. $55.

End notes, I am not affiliated in any way with anything mentioned above other than that I own some of these lights and have ordered from some of these companies.