# Smooth vs. Orange Peel Reflectors?



## ltiu (Aug 11, 2007)

Hi guys,

Just want to know your opinions and real-life experiences with regards to smooth versus orange peel reflectors. 

Pros and Cons of each?

Thanks.


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## FASTCAR (Aug 11, 2007)

IMO, not 1 smooth is decent.I like OP with a diffuser..but thats me.


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## Valpo Hawkeye (Aug 11, 2007)

Unless you NEED a real thrower, an OP reflector produces a much more uniform beam. For me, for most applications, a smooth beam is better than a little extra throw.


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## o0o (Aug 11, 2007)

Ditto.

For day to day stuff at low to medium distances (when beam quality is more important than quantity), I find a clean beam better than a long-throwing beam.

Thus, 99% of the time I prefer orange peel reflectors.

If I really need that extra throw, I'm really just better off with a more powerful flashlight or a spotlight instead.


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## Lightingguy321 (Aug 11, 2007)

Smooth reflectors normally allow for a slightly tighter beam, but the draw back is that if the lamp or light source is not placed in a specific spot in the reflectors focal area, the beam will end up with holes and artifacts. The orange peel reflectors allow for a beam that is very smooth and even, normally with a bright center hotspot and a diminishing corona.


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## liquidsix (Aug 12, 2007)

Beams that I've seen out coming out of a smooth reflector are pretty descent, there are some slight artifacts on some lights but that's about it. I guess it all depends on the manufacturer and how well they align the emitter. 

I haven't seen a smooth reflector light where the hotspot is too tight to make it usefull at close to medium distances, so it's good for the same applications as an OP light.


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## whc (Aug 12, 2007)

I am an OP or LOP kind of guy, don't need too much throw, and the OP reflectors gives a more smooth and flooty beam.

SM reflector it for more throw, and does not smoothen out the beam, good for hunting or safari.


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## ltiu (Aug 12, 2007)

whc said:


> I am an OP or LOP kind of guy, don't need too much throw, and the OP reflectors gives a more smooth and flooty beam.
> 
> SM reflector it for more throw, and does not smoothen out the beam, good for hunting or safari.



I hear these terms quite often:

MOP

LOP

What do these terms stand for?


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## pete7226 (Aug 12, 2007)

Think of the skin of an orange. Medium orange peel, Light orange peel. The texturing on the reflector that affects the beam characteristics, as opposed to a smooth, mirror like reflector (SMO), which has no texturing and throws farther.


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## PlayboyJoeShmoe (Aug 12, 2007)

Pretty much what they said.

The highest level of Orange Peel I have is medium. It tames a M*gcharger bulb nicely!

The nicest smooth I have is a Five Mega deep 2" which rocks with a wa01185 hotwire bulb.

No matter which sort of texture you use, it is ULTRA critical that the bulb wire is centered perfectly in the reflector!

I am another guy who values beam quality over absolute throw. I frost incandescent light bulbs to help in this quest.

For smooth reflectored LED lights I often use diffusing film on the lense. It really helps on M*gleds C/D.

It's ALL good!


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## shifty646 (Aug 12, 2007)

I generally prefer orange peel... Smooth reflectors make an ugly beam.
HDS is the only LED I've seen that has a great beam with a smooth reflector. It's actually incredible, maybe mine just has a perfectly centered LED....


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## Flying Turtle (Aug 12, 2007)

I much prefer a smooth beam, so OP is usually best. Two of my lights with great OP beams are the JetBeam C-LE and the Rexlight 2.0.

Geoff


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## LukeA (Aug 12, 2007)

I mostly use lights outside, so this SMO/*OP debate is moot to me. I really don't care.


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## selfbuilt (Aug 13, 2007)

LukeA said:


> I mostly use lights outside, so this SMO/*OP debate is moot to me. I really don't care.


Yeah, I have to say that slight rings in my beam don't really bother me for outdoor use. It was different in the days of cheap incans. We forget how bad they used to be - I pulled out an old fixed-focus 2D cell with SMO reflector from a basement box the other day, and just about gagged when I turned it on (hideous donut, and you could could park a truck in those rings!). :green: 

But I don't find any of the rings in my Cree-based lights noticeable outdoors, so I generally prefer to keep it smooth or LOP at most. Why loose throw if you don't mind the slight rings?


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## LukeA (Aug 13, 2007)

selfbuilt said:


> Yeah, I have to say that slight rings in my beam don't really bother me for outdoor use. It was different in the days of cheap incans. We forget how bad they used to be - I pulled out an old fixed-focus 2D cell with SMO reflector from a basement box the other day, and just about gagged when I turned it on (hideous donut, and you could could park a truck in those rings!). :green:
> 
> But I don't find any of the rings in my Cree-based lights noticeable outdoors, so I generally prefer to keep it smooth or LOP at most. Why loose throw if you don't mind the slight rings?



Yeah, I should mention that the rings I don't care about are from modern high-flux LED lights. I do take issue with rings/holes/serious artifacts from cheap incans. :sick2:


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## Oddjob (Aug 13, 2007)

I like a smooth beam so I prefer OP however, if the manufacturer can make a nice smooth beam without OP (like HDS) thenit does not matter. When I compare my McLux PD-S to my seoulmodded HDS the difference in throw is not great enough to sway me one way or the other. Basically whatever gives me a nice smooth artifact free beam.


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## VidPro (Aug 13, 2007)

on WHAT?
for incans it surely would clean up the mess that exists.
for Lux3 leds only smooth and properly MADE for that led, because there was little LOSS from the smoother reflectors, and made correctally, the beam looked great.

for these new Leds, the orange peel is a quick fix (IMO) that will allow it to work without any problems, no mater the type of led you stuff behind it. could come in handy when you change things again. also the new LED emitter patterns make things harder again for optic items.
how many lights does a good modification Resell?

Smooth whenever possible, even if the suckers have to re-tool thier whole line 
besides i aint never seen a ring, when i was actually using a light for anything other than a beamshot.


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## Bror Jace (Aug 13, 2007)

Another vote for orange peel ... even though I have precious few lights with them.

_" ... besides, I aint never seen a ring when I was actually using a light for anything other than a beamshot."_

Maybe that's true for you, but once I've seen a ring in a beam, I can _always_ see it whenever I'm shining the light at a large, solid object (like a building). This drives me nuts in an anal-retentive/OCD way.


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## PlayboyJoeShmoe (Aug 13, 2007)

My all around brightest usefull house light is a M*gcharger bulb running in what I believe is an M2 MOP reflector driven by six Rayovac hybrids.

It still has throw enough to see what I need to see around here.

Sure! When talking LUX I or LUX III leds a smooth reflector works well.

For Crees things are different. I have a Streamlight Tasklight 3AA that WAS an off center ugly tinted LUXIII. It now has a Cree. It has a reflector that has light orange peel down near the led smoothing out as it gets close to the lense. It does NOT have a very nice beam!

I have a Cree'd Madmax in a 2AA M*g that has a pretty decent beam using the deep smooth reflector and head from a dead M*gled.

And I have two DX Cree modules that have MOP reflectors designed for the Cree and have damn nice beams!

And I say yet again... if you can't get a LOP or MOP or ??? for your incandescent light try frosting the bulb. My M*gcharger has a WA01160 bulb with light frost CNTERED in the reflector. It has what I consider to be a marvelous beam!

And I have a slightly more frosted WA01274 in another light CENTERED and is has a nice beam. I MUCH prefer the overdriven M*gcharger bulb in the MOP however!


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## peterharvey73 (Apr 28, 2011)

Hi Selfbuilt, you prefer smooth reflectors.
Can I ask you relatively how much "loss in throw" does the OP orange peel reflector cause? Esp say in a Jetbeam RRT-2?
Or what is the relative difference in throw between smooth and orange peel reflectors?
Eg if OP reflectors only lose 10% throw, I wouldn't be too concerned.
However, if OP reflectors lose 30% throw - I would start to get a little worried!
Do you have any data on exactly how much throw it loses???
Many thanks...


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## jellydonut (Apr 28, 2011)

OP is good for getting a 'smooth' beam. Smooth means unfocused, diffused.

In the beginning, I too was of the opinion that OP was good and smooth was bad, merely because Surefires had OP and Maglites had smooth.

What I have since realized is this;

A smooth reflector focuses the light source better. (obvious)
You can always diffuse or defocus a focused light source, using a filter, if you really want to.
You can NEVER focus a light with an OP reflector. It is what it is.

If you have a light with a smooth reflector, you have the most throw possible from that size of light, and you can always diffuse it if you really want to. In other words, you have both a spotlight and a floodlight.

If you have an OP light, the beam is 'prettier', but you have less versatility.

This is my opinion, it's what I've decided on after almost a year here and about two dozen lights.  Now, my EDC has a smooth reflector and an XM-L. Sure, the beam isn't 'perfect', whatever that means. But it's much more useful than a 'perfect' 'smooth' beam, in my opinion.


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## z17813 (Apr 28, 2011)

My preferred reflector is one with very light orange peel, tends to be the compromise that I'm happiest to live with. It's always nice to have to option between reflectors though I understand it's not always feasible to accommodate every possible option that consumers may want.


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## rudy16 (Apr 28, 2011)

So how will the beam pattern compare in width at say 10-15 ft with an OP vs Smooth? Outdoors if it matters


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## AEHaas (May 1, 2011)

If your working distance is less than 20 feet an OP reflector is the only way to go, inside or out.

If you need a spotlight for long distances, buy a proper searchlight.

It all depends on the major function you require. You really need both. If you are searching at long distances, then you need a focused and bright light. But it will be a drawback if you try to use it close up where a lower level of diffused light is needed.

I am not sure a pinpoint, bright one or two cell AA light has a useful function.

aehaas


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