fyrstormer
Banned
Re: TNT SingLED modules for Surefire incan E-series - E1E, E2E, E2D
I've tried E-series LED drop-ins and I never liked them. Too much light was lost as pure flood, because the reflector is designed to redirect side-emitted light from an incandescent bulb, whereas a LED has a very different emission pattern. A flashlight with such a small bright hotspot should also have a small corona around the hotspot, rather than a wide dim flood. At close range where the flood is useful, the hotspot is blindingly-bright, and at long range where the hotspot is useful, the flood is too dim. The only reason the E-series can get away with having a tight hotspot + wide flood with no corona is because it was so dim to begin with, so the hotspot is never blinding in the first place.
I would be interested to see this drop-in made with a LED that has a side-emitting optic installed. (like this: https://www.luxeonstar.com/fraen-11mm-side-emitting-lens) This would direct most of the light towards the reflector, so it could produce a tighter beam, instead of a super-wide beam with a tiny hotspot in the middle.
I would buy one of these drop-ins and install the side-emitting optic myself, but I think the pedestal would need to be shortened for optimal focus. I don't have the machining skill to modify the pedestal, and I would probably destroy the drop-in while trying to remove the LED before I could even try to change the length of the pedestal.
I've tried E-series LED drop-ins and I never liked them. Too much light was lost as pure flood, because the reflector is designed to redirect side-emitted light from an incandescent bulb, whereas a LED has a very different emission pattern. A flashlight with such a small bright hotspot should also have a small corona around the hotspot, rather than a wide dim flood. At close range where the flood is useful, the hotspot is blindingly-bright, and at long range where the hotspot is useful, the flood is too dim. The only reason the E-series can get away with having a tight hotspot + wide flood with no corona is because it was so dim to begin with, so the hotspot is never blinding in the first place.
I would be interested to see this drop-in made with a LED that has a side-emitting optic installed. (like this: https://www.luxeonstar.com/fraen-11mm-side-emitting-lens) This would direct most of the light towards the reflector, so it could produce a tighter beam, instead of a super-wide beam with a tiny hotspot in the middle.
I would buy one of these drop-ins and install the side-emitting optic myself, but I think the pedestal would need to be shortened for optimal focus. I don't have the machining skill to modify the pedestal, and I would probably destroy the drop-in while trying to remove the LED before I could even try to change the length of the pedestal.
Last edited:
