# Looking for small H.I.D. with serious throw!



## andylondon (Jun 19, 2008)

I currently own a Wolf Eyes 10W 123X H.I.D. I like the smaller compact size of this light, but need more throw. Can anyone suggest a small H.I.D. with super throw?


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## Patriot (Jun 19, 2008)

Microfire and Wolfeyes still seem make the smallest HID lights but they all have OP reflectors. To get more throw you'll either need to get a light with more power, a light with a smoother reflector, or both. When you increase power it normally means a larger battery and therefore a larger light. There's no free ride. The question is, what size light is still going to be acceptable?

A couple of suggestions:

The AE lights all have very good reflectors and narrow beams. The Xe20W is still relatively compact but will produce more light and throw farther than what you're currently using. 

If you absolutely have to keep it tiny, then I'd suggest the Mac's mini or mini-mini HID. They're small but will have great throw due to the high quality electrical components and more obviously,the excellent reflector.

The other small light pick would be the Jil Eznite 10W hid. These also have many of the features that a custom has including the best electrical components and the best reflector available. The light body has some awesome machining and the beam can be collimated by the user of optimum throw.

Of these lights the 20W will provide the most impressive output and throw will the other two will still be a big upgrade from what you're using now.

Good luck.


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## rizky_p (Jun 20, 2008)

how about the one from Litemania small and has SMO reflector. 

http://www.litemania.com/front/php/product.php?product_no=540&main_cate_no=&display_group=


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## FILIPPO (Jun 20, 2008)

mac's mini HID with FM's Deep reflector? :devil:


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## andylondon (Jun 20, 2008)

Patriot36 said:


> Microfire and Wolfeyes still seem make the smallest HID lights but they all have OP reflectors. To get more throw you'll either need to get a light with more power, a light with a smoother reflector, or both. When you increase power it normally means a larger battery and therefore a larger light. There's no free ride. The question is, what size light is still going to be acceptable?
> 
> A couple of suggestions:
> 
> ...


 

I would like the H.I.D. to be smaller than my Wolf Eyes 10W 123X. I saw the Mac's Mini, which looks quite nice, but i'm not sure if this unit is still available. Do you have any other suggestions on mini H.I.D.'s preferably with a smooth reflector?


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## Patriot (Jun 20, 2008)

andylondon said:


> I would like the H.I.D. to be smaller than my Wolf Eyes 10W 123X. I saw the Mac's Mini, which looks quite nice, but i'm not sure if this unit is still available. Do you have any other suggestions on mini H.I.D.'s preferably with a smooth reflector?




Yes, the Jil Eznite was the other one. The poster after me also mentioned it and provided a link. Because of the size of light and requirement for a smooth reflector you've pretty much limited yourself to one of these two lights, which is fine because they're the best.

Microfire makes a series of smaller 10W HID's called the Terminator series, https://www.fenix-store.com/index.php?cPath=63

but they're not up to the quality standards of a Mac's mini or the Jil Eznite. Unfortunately the both of these lights are a little difficult to get a hold of. You'd have to watch the CPF Market Place and keep an eye on the Customs and Mods forum to find one. You might also send CPF member BVH a PM and see if he is still interested in selling his Eznite. He made mention of it a while back.


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## ampdude (Jun 20, 2008)

I'd like to see more compact sized HID's. Unfortunately, it seems like right now the money is in crappy little LED lights with their pathetic blue output and not in R&D for handheld HID's. I'd love a mini with 4200K output, but at this point it seems like we're lucky to see any at all. :sick2:


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## Patriot (Jun 20, 2008)

Well, there are many warm LEDs now and many of them are less blue than the Solarc or even my AE lights....but I get your point that you'd like to see more Compact HID light choices. I would also


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## Patriot (Jun 21, 2008)

Andy, if BVH isn't interested in selling his EZnite, I think I may have found another. Just PM me or post here.








testing editor.........


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## BVH (Jun 21, 2008)

I'm interested in selling but was waiting for the replacement collimating screws to arrive. PM sent to Andy.


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## rizky_p (Jun 21, 2008)

ampdude said:


> I'd like to see more compact sized HID's. Unfortunately, it seems like right now the money is in crappy little LED lights with their pathetic blue output and not in R&D for handheld HID's. I'd love a mini with 4200K output, but at this point it seems like we're lucky to see any at all. :sick2:



I dont think LED is crappy at all and not necessary blue. Nichia has an extreme CRI LED, i read about it at CPF somewhere...


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## IMSabbel (Jun 21, 2008)

I wont argue against the throwing power of HID-lights.

But look at a hid spectrum, and seriously argue against the colour rendition of leds afterwards...


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## LuxLuthor (Jun 21, 2008)

FILIPPO said:


> mac's mini HID with FM's Deep reflector? :devil:



+1


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## Patriot (Jun 21, 2008)

EDIT. post removed after seeing the color temp of the new Cree.


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## andylondon (Jun 21, 2008)

Thanks guys for all your help! I'm reading up on the Mac's mini and Jil Eznite, as these seem to be my best options. I'm leaning towards the Mac's mini as i understand that the head of the Eznite is fragile.


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## karlthev (Jun 21, 2008)

Fragile head? Yup, if you drop it. I'm going to get back on my project and get a bumper up front that'll solve the fragility issue. I just try to make sure I don't drop any light---more than I have to!:devil:



Karl


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## ampdude (Jun 21, 2008)

For years I've been using leds and incan at work at night and I still say they're crappy. :laughing:

I was using an R2 Cree dropin for a few months and just got so frustrated with the weak ghostly blue output (compared to incan) I sold it.

Anyways back on topic,

4200K handheld HID!!


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## LuxLuthor (Jun 21, 2008)

andylondon said:


> Thanks guys for all your help! I'm reading up on the Mac's mini and Jil Eznite, as these seem to be my best options. I'm leaning towards the Mac's mini as i understand that the head of the Eznite is fragile.



If you look at a Mac mini, I highly recommend some of the Pachmayr "Pac-Skin" in 5 x 20 size--perfect fit for MagD. Otherwise those little suckers are sometimes hard to hold onto....not to mention the comfort temp in cold winters.


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## ampdude (Jun 21, 2008)

LuxLuthor said:


> If you look at a Mac mini, I highly recommend some of the Pachmayr "Pac-Skin" in 5 x 20 size--perfect fit for MagD. Otherwise those little suckers are sometimes hard to hold onto....not to mention the comfort temp in cold winters.



Hey thanks for the link. I've been using skateboard tape for years. 

I didn't even know they made that.


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## artec540 (Jun 22, 2008)

Patriot36 said:


> Yes, the Jil Eznite was the other one. The poster after me also mentioned it and provided a link. Because of the size of light and requirement for a smooth reflector you've pretty much limited yourself to one of these two lights, which is fine because they're the best.
> 
> Microfire makes a series of smaller 10W HID's called the Terminator series, https://www.fenix-store.com/index.php?cPath=63
> 
> but they're not up to the quality standards of a Mac's mini or the Jil Eznite. Unfortunately the both of these lights are a little difficult to get a hold of. You'd have to watch the CPF Market Place and keep an eye on the Customs and Mods forum to find one. You might also send CPF member BVH a PM and see if he is still interested in selling his Eznite. He made mention of it a while back.



Hi Patriot 36,

After reading this string and researching the Jil Eznite, I found a couple of sources in Korea which will sell it using Paypal and will EMS to the US. I'm not sure of the rules here about giving e-mail addresses of such sources (though I know I've seen some) and since I don't want to earn the wrath of the moderator, I'll just offer to answer pms if anyone wants the addresses.

From what I've read it looks as though the Eznite should meet my perceived requirements for size and throw better than anything else I've found. The makers seem to be a bit proud of it ($400 to $475 apparently), but not nearly as bad as the established flamethrowers ($2500 etc). I've ordered one and it should be here by the end of the week.

Am I going to kick myself when it gets here?


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## Patriot (Jun 22, 2008)

andylondon said:


> Thanks guys for all your help! I'm reading up on the Mac's mini and Jil Eznite, as these seem to be my best options. I'm leaning towards the Mac's mini as i understand that the head of the Eznite is fragile.




Karl already touched on the "fragile head" and like him, I don't believe it's fragile at all. The front edge of the bezel has a sharply machined stainless ring which retains the glass and it protrudes slightly from the aluminum surrounds of the head but only 1-2mm. It's not really that it's fragile but unlike a mac's mini, there is no readily available, replacement part for it _should _it be damaged. Even if you could get one within a few weeks from today, that might not always be the case because this light is fairly exclusive and future availability is uncertain, unlike mag parts. The EZnite is a top quality light in every respect. 




> *artec*
> From what I've read it looks as though the Eznite should meet my perceived requirements for size and throw better than anything else I've found. The makers seem to be a bit proud of it ($400 to $475 apparently), but not nearly as bad as the established flamethrowers ($2500 etc). I've ordered one and it should be here by the end of the week.
> 
> Am I going to kick myself when it gets here?




The EZnite is really a lot like a custom light in almost every regard, right down to the machined body and laser etching. The electronics and bulb are well proven and the exact same as the ones Mac's Customs uses in his 10W mini HID. There is a lot more machining work on the EZnite than there is on a mag body/head and the Jil uses a reflector which is manufactured by Polarion. If you compare the Jil's features with a custom light it actually seems like a value. I don't think you'll kick yourself unless it's out of appreciation for the light.


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## karlthev (Jun 22, 2008)

I fully agree with Pat36. There is a stainless bezel which does provide quite a bit of beefing up of the front end. I'm just a tad wary of the front end design which this light shares with many others... although again, I agree.



Karl


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## artec540 (Jun 25, 2008)

Patriot36 said:


> Karl already touched on the "fragile head" and like him, I don't believe it's fragile at all. The front edge of the bezel has a sharply machined stainless ring which retains the glass and it protrudes slightly from the aluminum surrounds of the head but only 1-2mm. It's not really that it's fragile but unlike a mac's mini, there is no readily available, replacement part for it _should _it be damaged. Even if you could get one within a few weeks from today, that might not always be the case because this light is fairly exclusive and future availability is uncertain, unlike mag parts. The EZnite is a top quality light in every respect.
> 
> Hi Patriot36.
> 
> ...




My Eznite arrived today, only two days after being shipped from Korea.... pretty speedy. It seems to be very well made, with smooth threads, smooth focusing movement and very nicely finished. It has a nice little pig-tail wrist strap and does a fairly stable tailstand. The only snag so far is that the collimating screws appear to take smaller allen keys than I've ever seen. My smallest is 2 mm and it needs something less than that. They ought to provide the necessary weapon since the owner is expected to do the adjusting.

I don't see why one would need to provide any more protection for the lens. It is recessed about 3.3 mm below a polished sleeve screwed in to the bezel and protruding above the bezel by nearly a mm. I suppose one could replace the sleeve with something more aggressive but the whole thing is so neat now, that would really be a shame. 

You were right, too, that I wouldn't want to kick myself..... I don't. I'm going to be interested in comparing it with its bigger competitors once I've collimated it.

Take care.


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## ChrisDallas (Jun 30, 2008)

artec540 said:


> My Eznite arrived today, only two days after being shipped from Korea.... pretty speedy. It seems to be very well made, with smooth threads, smooth focusing movement and very nicely finished. It has a nice little pig-tail wrist strap and does a fairly stable tailstand. The only snag so far is that the collimating screws appear to take smaller allen keys than I've ever seen. My smallest is 2 mm and it needs something less than that. They ought to provide the necessary weapon since the owner is expected to do the adjusting.
> 
> I don't see why one would need to provide any more protection for the lens. It is recessed about 3.3 mm below a polished sleeve screwed in to the bezel and protruding above the bezel by nearly a mm. I suppose one could replace the sleeve with something more aggressive but the whole thing is so neat now, that would really be a shame.
> 
> ...





Please tell us about the lights' performance, how well is the throw, beamshots if possible thx.


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## Patriot (Jun 30, 2008)

artec540 said:


> My Eznite arrived today, only two days after being shipped from Korea.... pretty speedy. It seems to be very well made, with smooth threads, smooth focusing movement and very nicely finished. It has a nice little pig-tail wrist strap and does a fairly stable tailstand. The only snag so far is that the collimating screws appear to take smaller allen keys than I've ever seen. My smallest is 2 mm and it needs something less than that. They ought to provide the necessary weapon since the owner is expected to do the adjusting.
> 
> I don't see why one would need to provide any more protection for the lens. It is recessed about 3.3 mm below a polished sleeve screwed in to the bezel and protruding above the bezel by nearly a mm. I suppose one could replace the sleeve with something more aggressive but the whole thing is so neat now, that would really be a shame.
> 
> ...




Congrats upon receiving your new light! The Allen screws are 2mm. You probably just have a slightly "fat" key head. Perhaps drag some 220 sand paper down the key head to knock the high points off. 

There are a few of us using 4 x *3.0V *RCR123s which over drive the ballast by another volt beyond the primaries. Try this at your own risk but it does improve the performance noticeably over primaries. The guilt free lumens are nice too.


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## BVH (Jun 30, 2008)

OK, Pat36, I've run two full charges through my EZ using 4 Tenergy 3.0 Volt cells and am only getting a total of about 25 to 27 minutes of runtime over 5-6, 5-minute runs. (to avoid heat). I thought others were getting much more? Actually, the cells probably have about 6 or 7 cycles on them.


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## Patriot (Jul 1, 2008)

Hmm.....not sure Bob, I'm getting about 40+ minutes from my set. What kind of charger are you using for those? Also, are you using the 750mah or the 900mah spec'd Tenergy's?


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## karlthev (Jul 1, 2008)

artec540, my reference to the front end of the light and (my) wanting a bit more protection wasn't in reference to the lens ("window" as it is sometimes called) rather the edge of the head of the light itself which is designed in a like manner to many other lights. This light is really very well made so my intent wasn't to criticize the build itself rather to point out a possible weakness which it does have. 

BVH, dummy that I am (if it lights up, I'm happy!) I haven't done any time tests with the 4 X 123 (Tenergy) setup. I will and hopefully tonight before I pack for another road trip. Patriot36 makes a good point that his were 900ma batteries--these were the same which I have. Before I forget, thanks!!:thumbsup:

ChrisDallas, PM to you.


Karl


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## BVH (Jul 1, 2008)

Unfortunately, I'm using 4 Tenergy 900 mah (spec'd) and the matching, spec'd Tenergy charger from Batt Junct. - 4.4 Volt, 360 mah. I verified the Voltage reaches 4.41 at the end of charge.

Oh, Oh, I know what it is....My EZnite is special and is putting out 770 Lumens now, that explains it. Eat your heart out, guys!:shrug:

If someone gets a chance, will you measure unloaded cell Voltage once your light has gone out (depleted pack) and give me cell Voltage 1 hour after being fully charged?

I'm guessing I have one or more cells with a Voltage cut-out that is engaging too early. IIRC, when I check open circuit Voltage on each cell after the light goes out, all the cells are around 3.5 or 3.6 which seems real high.


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## ChrisDallas (Jul 1, 2008)

karlthev said:


> ChrisDallas, PM to you.
> 
> 
> Karl



Hi Karl checked my pm nothing there.


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## Patriot (Jul 1, 2008)

BVH said:


> when I check open circuit Voltage on each cell after the light goes out, all the cells are around 3.5 or 3.6 which seems real high.



:huh::huh::huh:

When my cells are fully charged they're only 3.4-3.5V. That's what yours are reading after the light goes shuts off?? Well, I'm going to guess the same thing as you, one or more cells with a faulty protection circuit. It seems to me that you have plenty of individual cell voltage when not under load. Mine are fully charged again after coming back from my trip but I'll try to measure the shut off voltage sometime for you. I'll also get an exact run-time since I'm going to be depleting them anyways.


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## BVH (Jul 1, 2008)

My fully charged cells are reading 4.12 or so and fall a bit to about 3.9x after 20 minutes or so. This is really interesting. I'd really like to know other peoples Amp draw. Posted a "how to" in the other thread.

OK, OK, I think you guys are "messing with my mind". You're probably using some new, secret cell. At least I revealed mine in the other thread. No secrets here...:nana:


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## Patriot (Jul 2, 2008)

ok...that's bazaar then. Either somebody's test equipment is off or these batteries are completely inconsistent.

Hmm....:thinking:

Even Battery Junction's website states that these batteries will charge to 3.6V, which is a volt more than my charge too. 

Maybe Matt can chime in here and give us his experience with these or even test a batch for use. I'm looking forward to this mystery being solved..


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## BVH (Jul 2, 2008)

I'll recharge the batts and do another check with a different Volt meter once I finish the run time test.

EDIT Volt meters are about .15 Volts apart.


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## artec540 (Jul 3, 2008)

This is aimed at ChrisDallas, Patriot36, AndyLondon and anyone else interested in the Eznite.

I orderd a set of 4 Tenergy 3 volt 900 mAh and an allegedly "Smart" charger also labelled Tenergy (wit space for two cells at a time). They arrived in only two days from Battery Junction and I charged the cells. I left themto sleepover night and then tried them out, leaving a couple of hours after having a look at the output with the Sanyo CR 123A cells the light was born with. 

Both sets of cells took about 15 seconds to reach what appeared to my eyes full output but the rechargeables did appear brighter, though, to be honest, not as much brighter as I had expected and hoped. I haven't tried them at night, either separately or in comparison. 

I have two other lights on their way, both much smaller than the EZnite, and I want to try some photographic experiments involving the Eznite, the two smaller ones (both LEDs), a Wolf-eyes Boxer 24W and my Cyclops. Needless to say, I realize that there are huge disparities among these, but my intentions are to learn about night photography, beam photography and what additional equipment, if any, I shall need to make sense of later comparisons. 

I have a Nikon 300D that I use in my accident investigation and reconstruction work, usually with an 18 to 200 mm Nikon lens, a 60 mm Nikon macro lens, a 50 mm f 1.4 "normal" Nikon lens and a 10mm to 20 mm Sigma rectilinear lens. I'm not anxious to have to buy any others because decent glass is expensive and I've already spent a bundle on what I've got........ luckily tax deductibly because it's all for the business! If anyone has suggestions, advice or comments, I'd be delighted to see them. 

I have a friend who flies remotely controlled model aeroplanes and I think the area used for this during the day might work nicely at night for what I want to do, but I don't know how much ambient light there is at night.

And finally, I am so far very impressed by the quality of the Eznite and hope to be equally so by its night time performance. I'm less concerned with run time because one can always get that by adding mAh, though not necessarily to any particular light, of course.

What does anyone think about the Wolf-eyes, by the way?


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## Lightraven (Jul 3, 2008)

Love the Wolf Eyes 24W. Use it all the time in law enforcement. Rugged and saltwaterproof--I've proven that.


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## Patriot (Jul 3, 2008)

Lightraven said:


> Love the Wolf Eyes 24W. Use it all the time in law enforcement. Rugged and saltwaterproof--I've proven that.




Your Boxter 24W is waterproof in saltwater? Wow! Who'da thunk. How deep did you submerse it?


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## Lightraven (Jul 3, 2008)

I chased a suspect into the surf with the Boxer shining on him. I sprayed him with pepper spray. The light got wet and I rinsed it off in a sink later. Since I was holding it up, it didn't really go underwater, but the Surefire M6, X-300 and Taser on my belt did. No problems with those either. My Novatac 120T got damp but not submersed--no problems. The water/moisture combined with the heat of the Boxer's HID lamp causes the glass to fog over for a while.

The other night, I dropped the Boxer on the beach near the waterline (same reason as before, but wearing night vision goggles this time). I don't know if the surf soaked it or not--it didn't seem that wet and the tide was going out.

Saltwater can be pretty aggressive on gear. I always rinse off my stuff as soon as possible, and then oil it. So far, I've replaced a walkie talkie Ni Cad battery, ASP steel baton, Safariland holster, Tekna Night Eye red LED keychain light and 2 steel pistol magazines from direct seawater exposure, and I just got a third Safariland holster in case the rust gets any worse on my second. My walkie talkie sounds like a 60's transistor radio since getting soaked.


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