I need help finding a new light painting flashlight

williaty

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 19, 2010
Messages
99
1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?
Mail order or in person, doesn't matter.

2) Budget: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest! :)
I'd like to stay around $50 but I would go up to $90 if it really was demonstably better than anything I can get in the $50 range.

3) Format:
Hand held cylindrical flashlight

4) Size:
Length doesn't matter. Smaller diameter is better. I'm using this to inject light into the end of fiberoptic wands. Their acceptance area is about 3/4" (19mm) in diameter. The head of the flashlight should be about this size.

5) Emitter/Light source:
LED

6) Manufacturer:
I'd prefer to buy a pre-built ready-to-go flashlight but I'm willing to hear quick and easy ideas about assembling one.

7) What power source do you want to use?
18650 unless you can give me a really good reason not to.

7a) If you have selected a rechargeable option
Separate stand along charger is OK

8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need?
Something in the range of 1k lumens continuous is recommended by other people doing similar work. So I need a light that will output that kind of power and not melt itself if I use it continuously for an hour.

9) Flood vs Throw
Super, super throwy in the category of narrow beam or even turbo head. The things I'm going to be injecting light into predominantly accept on-axis light. Any photons that count as spill or flood are just wasted and turned into heat. As an example, in these tools, my ancient 2xAA Fenix LD20+ is just as bright as my Sportac 1.2k Lumen Nichia triple P60 in a 9P host because the Sportac is so floody. Even with a 10x output advantage to the Sportac, it doesn't get any more light into the fiberoptic than the weak LD20+

10) Runtime:
60 +/- 15 minutes

11) Durability/Usage:
Minimally important. It's not going to have a hard life but if I drop it in a puddle from 3' off the ground I'd like it to survive.

12) Switch Size, Type, and location (choose all that apply):
BIG switch. Side about 1/3rd of the way down the body would be a little better than a tailcap, but I can live with either. I'd like something easy to operate with numb hands and/or gloves, so no really fiddly dials or anything. No twisties.

13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection.
Multiple levels with a repeatable UI. Meaning I want to be able to deliberately put it back to the same output time after time. Dials or sliders are crap at this. Toggling through output levels is much more repeatable.

14)Material/Finish/Coating
Cheap.

15) Water resistance IPX 4 or 7

16) Storage conditions
In house for true storage, will get baked in the car on shoots when it's not being used.

17) Special features
A stable-frequency strobe at max output mode is very desirable but not required.



Any good leads? One popular light for this use is the Eagletac D25LC2 Tactical but it was recently changed so that the strobe mode isn't constant frequency so it's less desirable for this kind of work. I'm just trying to see what else is out there.
 
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degarb

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 27, 2007
Messages
2,036
Location
Akron, Ohio
I am not getting that you need only the 60 minutes runtime, nor the handheld part. I can't do anything in less than 10 hours; and anything not worn is out. As far as runtime goes, I have found the lights that claim they can go 4 hours, the drivers overheat around 1h45 minutes. Most amc7135s are driven to cook the driver, way beyond the design, imo.

If merely some inspection light, just beware, I have seen lights that could show the studs behind drywall. I would call fowl, on any inspection light lighting surface much beyond 2k lux, while the applicator should go 2 to 4 times that.

I would insist on top efficiency, all the way around. None of this NiMH, 100 lpw, poorly heatsinked, non ar junk, they sell in stores. True switching buck driver, at a 2p18650 configuration, only. Care will be needed to keep weight down.
 
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Keitho

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
781
Location
CO, USA
Awesome pictures.

A small flashlight head with a lot of throw puts us in the area where we would want an optic (as opposed to a reflector). The larger the reflector diameter, the better the light is all focused. There is a thread here that suggests some optics-based smaller-diameter throwers, none of which look very enticing to me: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?436607-Small-thrower

So, the best I can think of from my experience is a smaller-diameter, reflector-based light. Some LED naturally put more of their light forward (less spill). A cheap one to try would be a Convoy S2+ with an XP-L HI LED. The OD of the light is 24mm, but the reflector dia is close to your 19mm request. Available in a couple of tints from mtn electronics and many other retailers. As a side note, the diameter of an 18650 cell (18mm) will mean that not too many flashlights with this cell will have a outer diameter less than about an inch (24mm).

Another that I've used Zebralight; the SC600w IV HI seems to have about the same beam intensity as the optics-based lights above (about 20K cd is what I'm reading, but I don't particularly trust the internet...). Probably slightly more efficient on runtime than the Convoy at most light levels, maybe slightly more throw, definitely more expensive.

Another option is to accept a larger reflector head, and know that the larger head is going to put more light into the 19mm entrance to your fiber optic acceptance area. An Emisar D1 is a cheap way to try it out to see if it is workable. A more dedicated thrower like the Acebeam L16 (I'd actually recommend the L16vn from skylumen instead) would be another option if that strategy was workable.

A third option would be a zoomie. The lens on a zoomie might focus the light best for you. I don't use them as flashlights because I prefer a different beam pattern; but, for your use, it might fit the bill. Something like the Haikelite HT08vn might be a place to start a comparison.

Hope that helps, even though I haven't said anything definitive!
 

xdayv

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 15, 2014
Messages
2,037
Location
Philippines
Nice photos... I would just like to add that for photographic lighting, the Nichia 219B or 219C LEDs are preferred for better skin tone rendering, so this might be considered to your equation. But with the light painting application and effects you are using, for this purpose, any cooler temperature LEDs will suffice. Good luck Sir.
 
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