# Olight SR90



## hivoltage (Feb 15, 2010)

Anybody know if this light is a mix of flood and throw? I originally wanted a throw, but after seeing some beamshots I want a good mix.


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## Databyter (Feb 15, 2010)

I don't see a very useful spill from the beamshots available now.

I'm waiting for a good review.

It looks like it's pretty well designed to be ONLY a long range spot/searchlight.

Up close I think it might be annoying, and the tint doesn't help.

The fact that the low power setting is still pretty darn bright confirms my original suspicion that this is a great specific duty light i.e. spot, but fails for anything involving lighting u a wide area, or a close one without losing all night vision.

Of course I am hoping I am wrong and I am basing my perception on very little data.

Someone here on CPF needs to take the plunge and write a good detailed review.

Advertising pics are not helpful.


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## stallion2 (Feb 15, 2010)

i asked Matt at BJunction the same question a few days ago. apparently it does have some useful spill, similar to the Catapult rather than the typical XR-E beam profiles. his exact words were "think Catapult on steroids"

i'll know for myself in a couple days and can let you know then if i remember.


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## englishfire (Feb 16, 2010)

this is exactly what matt said:
"Yes, it's got plenty of spill. With 2200L on tap it is, of course, tuned as a thrower but massive spill is not avoidable. Think Catapult on steroids."


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## Databyter (Feb 16, 2010)

englishfire said:


> this is exactly what matt said:
> "Yes, it's got plenty of spill. With 2200L on tap it is, of course, tuned as a thrower but massive spill is not avoidable. Think Catapult on steroids."


Yea, I hear you guys, but already having a few bright lights I can tell you that a spot with unavoidable spill "on steroids" doesn't necesarily mean a usable or comfortable balance for wide or up close work. Still waiting for more info here.

The problem is that the spot itself is so bright that it would blind you to the spill for closer work and the spot itself probably is too narrow and bright for up close. I'm not saying that this light isn't balanced well, I'm just saying that ya, of course it has some bright spillage, which may or may not be completely useless with the spot in the way.

The advertising shots of the beam were more artisitc than usefull to conclude how good a mix it might be for the OP.

Spill doesn't equal flood mix in cases of too much contrast or too narrowof a profile. We shall see..


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## stallion2 (Feb 16, 2010)

Databyter said:


> The problem is that the spot itself is so bright that it would blind you to the spill for closer work and the spot itself probably is too narrow and bright for up close. I'm not saying that this light isn't balanced well, I'm just saying that ya, of course it has some bright spillage, which may or may not be completely useless with the spot in the way.
> 
> The advertising shots of the beam were more artisitc than usefull to conclude how good a mix it might be for the OP.
> 
> Spill doesn't equal flood mix in cases of too much contrast or too narrowof a profile. We shall see..


 
i find beamshots are rarely of much use, i've been fooled by them too often, for better or worse. they're a little more useful when used as comparative shots of lights i'm already familiar with.

the Catapult was one of those examples were the beamshot didn't reveal a light nearly as impressive as it is in real life. i didn't anticipate the yellowish tint which i really liked, nor the spill it has. i still have trouble convincing people that the Cat is adequate for use in close so long as you're using the lower modes. can't really do that w/ my Tiablo or DBS (w/ an XR-E). even the Malkoffs, M30 and M60, easily have enough spill for short range use so long as you have the switch ring.

i don't expect the SR90 will have this kind of versatility w/ a "low mode" of 700 lumens.:laughing:


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## berry580 (Feb 16, 2010)

What's wrong with the SR90 being specialised as a long range searchlight?

Not sure about others, but for me, the larger the light i have in hand, the brighter I expect it to be, and when i hold something with the size category popular back 30 years ago (Kel-lite/Maglites), I have TREMENDOUS expectations in terms of brightness (which means it's the HID category level of brightness and beyond), and i think i'll be asking for too much if i also asked for a 10 lumens mode, in fact there would be of little need.

I think people have to understand that a light that can achieve a few hundred lumens as well as a few lumens is not the norm here, well i don't think it is at the least.


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## recDNA (Feb 16, 2010)

stallion2 said:


> i find beamshots are rarely of much use, i've been fooled by them too often, for better or worse. they're a little more useful when used as comparative shots of lights i'm already familiar with.
> 
> the Catapult was one of those examples were the beamshot didn't reveal a light nearly as impressive as it is in real life. i didn't anticipate the yellowish tint which i really liked, nor the spill it has. i still have trouble convincing people that the Cat is adequate for use in close so long as you're using the lower modes. can't really do that w/ my Tiablo or DBS (w/ an XR-E). even the Malkoffs, M30 and M60, easily have enough spill for short range use so long as you have the switch ring.
> 
> i don't expect the SR90 will have this kind of versatility w/ a "low mode" of 700 lumens.:laughing:


 
I'm glas you warned me about the yellow beam. I hate yellow beamed flashlights.


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## recDNA (Feb 16, 2010)

berry580 said:


> What's wrong with the SR90 being specialised as a long range searchlight?
> 
> Not sure about others, but for me, the larger the light i have in hand, the brighter I expect it to be, and when i hold something with the size category popular back 30 years ago (Kel-lite/Maglites), I have TREMENDOUS expectations in terms of brightness (which means it's the HID category level of brightness and beyond), and i think i'll be asking for too much if i also asked for a 10 lumens mode, in fact there would be of little need.
> 
> I think people have to understand that a light that can achieve a few hundred lumens as well as a few lumens is not the norm here, well i don't think it is at the least.


 

I agree. This isn't an EDC. If you're looking to keep your night vision this isn't the right flashlight for the task. You wouldn't use an HID to keep night vision either. In my life I would find this more useful than a Deft but I don't mean to diminish the Deft either. Both are highly specialized for particular tasks. In my case the task of the S90 would be playing with it at the beach! Hey, it's safer than fireworks!


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## hivoltage (Feb 16, 2010)

How would this compare to my Wolf Eyes Pilot Whale?


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## 2Reason (Feb 16, 2010)

stallion2 said:


> the Catapult was one of those examples were the beamshot didn't reveal a light nearly as impressive as it is in real life. i didn't anticipate the yellowish tint which i really liked, nor the spill it has. i still have trouble convincing people that the Cat is adequate for use in close so long as you're using the lower modes. :



Are you referring to the Catapult with a Smooth Reflector or the Orange Peel. The O.P. cuts the Lux on high to 18970 compared to the Smooth's 31240. http://light-reviews.com/thrunite_catapult/

I returned an O.P. because it didn't have the throw I expected, although there was a great deal of spill. I am awaiting the Smooth and hope it's not too much of a spot.


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## stallion2 (Feb 17, 2010)

2Reason said:


> Are you referring to the Catapult with a Smooth Reflector or the Orange Peel. The O.P. cuts the Lux on high to 18970 compared to the Smooth's 31240. http://light-reviews.com/thrunite_catapult/


 
smooth, i had one of the first ones, ordered it from Flashlight Connection when Jay announced he had them. the OP's were still 2 weeks out when i placed the order. i kinda have a rule about always ordering both reflectors for a light if they are available. first time i tried the Cat i realized that the OP wouldn't do anything for me that could be considered beneficial over the SMO. you'll like it just fine.


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## Bronco (Feb 17, 2010)

Databyter said:


> ...already having a few bright lights I can tell you that a spot with unavoidable spill "on steroids" doesn't necesarily mean a usable or comfortable balance for wide or up close work...Spill doesn't equal flood mix in cases of too much contrast or too narrowof a profile. We shall see..



This light was designed to compete with the smaller HID offerings in the long range, handheld searchlight category. Engineering a light with this ability around an emitter the size of the SST-90 is no small feat. I'm not sure exactly what it is you're looking for. If it's truly a "more comfortable balance" between the spot and flood portions of the beam, then I would recommend looking at pretty much every other SST based light out there besides this one. Think smaller reflector size. That said, often times when doing close up work with a powerful, long throwing light, folks will simply direct the main beam away from the specific area to be viewed, or do an improvised ceiling bounce to provide even illumination while attenuating the most intense portions of the beam. 

Bottom line; if it's "wide" work that most concerns you, I suspect this light will do you just fine. On the other hand, a 2200 lumen light wouldn't be my first choice for dedicated map reading duties.


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## Databyter (Feb 17, 2010)

Bronco said:


> This light was designed to compete with the smaller HID offerings in the long range, handheld searchlight category. Engineering a light with this ability around an emitter the size of the SST-90 is no small feat. I'm not sure exactly what it is you're looking for. If it's truly a "more comfortable balance" between the spot and flood portions of the beam, then I would recommend looking at pretty much every other SST based light out there besides this one. Think smaller reflector size. That said, often times when doing close up work with a powerful, long throwing light, folks will simply direct the main beam away from the specific area to be viewed, or do an improvised ceiling bounce to provide even illumination while attenuating the most intense portions of the beam.
> 
> Bottom line; if it's "wide" work that most concerns you, I suspect this light will do you just fine. On the other hand, a 2200 lumen light wouldn't be my first choice for dedicated map reading duties.


I'm not looking for a darn thing,:naughty: I am addressing the OP's question. I agree with everything you said about the light. As far as what I'm looking for, I'm looking to address the OP's question in this thread.


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## TallNHairyDave (Feb 17, 2010)

One of the guys over on BritishBlades got his SR90 in the post this morning and is promising a review with beamshots shortly.

I'll post a link to the review when it's up.


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## Patriot (Feb 17, 2010)

Databyter said:


> Yea, I hear you guys, but already having a few bright lights I can tell you that a spot with unavoidable spill "on steroids" doesn't necesarily mean a usable or comfortable balance for wide or up close work. Still waiting for more info here.


.
.
.
.
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> berry580
> What's wrong with the SR90 being specialized as a long range searchlight?





> Bronco
> This light was designed to compete with the smaller HID offerings in the long range, handheld searchlight category. Engineering a light with this ability around an emitter the size of the SST-90 is no small feat. I'm not sure exactly what it is you're looking for


Thanks Berry and Bronco...

Databyter, I'm not sure what role you anticipated the SR90 was supposed to fill but doesn't the size alone at 13" and 4" diameter provide you some clues? It's not a neck light and it's not a P60 dude. :wave: As Bronco stated, it's the first alternative that we've had for 28W HID lights but with more flexibility and options. I can almost guarantee that had the SR90 turned out to be a flood light without throw capabilities people would have laughed at it. 

Like MattK stated in another thread which was reposted here, when you're dealing with with 2000+ lumens large amounts of spill are unavoidable, just like HID. How do HIDers deal with overwhelming hot spot brightness? They add a simple diffuser. Quandary solved.

With relation to the OP's question the answer is obvious from what we know technically and from the few beamshots we've seen. It's a mixture of both, not just a throw light with limited close range capabilities.


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## easilyled (Feb 17, 2010)

Patriot said:


> Databyter, I'm not sure what role you anticipated the SR90 was supposed to fill ....



He wants to replace his old keychain light. :duck:


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## Lightcrazycanuck (Feb 17, 2010)

recDNA said:


> I'm glas you warned me about the yellow beam. I hate yellow beamed flashlights.


 
+1:thumbsup:


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## Dead_Nuts (Feb 17, 2010)

Mine was shipped out yesterday. I thought I missed the initial run, but maybe he had more than he thought.


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## jirik_cz (Feb 17, 2010)

I've posted some beamshots and lux readings here https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/3282831


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## Dead_Nuts (Feb 17, 2010)

As to the OP's question: The SR90 seems to be purpose built for throw in a semi-compact format. I'm thinking that it's intended competition was compact HID lights in the 10-24w range. can't wait to see how it compares to my Boxer 24.


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## carrot (Feb 17, 2010)

To be honest I didn't notice any tint when playing with the SR90. All I thought when I used it was OH CRAP this thing is bright. If you are looking for something a bit floodier with somewhat less throw the smaller and upcoming Maelstroms will do that. The SR90 is basically a handheld spotlight.


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## Dead_Nuts (Feb 17, 2010)

Maybe we're overlooking another use for this light -- as a weapon light. Of course it would only be useful on a "phased-plasma rifle in the 40 watt range."


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## TallNHairyDave (Feb 17, 2010)

Review by ArkAngel on BritishBlades forum can be found here (with beamshots):

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?98818-Olight-SR90-Intimidator-Review

WOW.. Definately into HID territory.


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## Databyter (Feb 17, 2010)

Patriot said:


> .
> .
> .
> .
> ...



Look, the OP asked about the *floody Mix*, based on what I've seen I don't see it. Now MattK says it's beatiful fine, Now we know, from an _unbaised_ source, But the pics don't show it and that's what I was going on.

And I'm getting annoyed with people taking my statements out of context and patronizing me with them. 

I know what the light is for, and I'm not personally concerned with spill one way or the other, nor would I use the light up close, which was *MY POINT*, I've said the same in this and other threads, so *get over it*.

Why are you projecting the OP's question on to my uses of this light?

I think she isn't concerned with using it up close either but concerned with the angle and intensity of flood, and as I said it doesn't look floody *AT ALL* and I stand by that till I see a review.


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## hivoltage (Feb 17, 2010)

Wow...I am the OP....I think I need this light, definately bright with some flood to it. Not a pinpoint beam like my DBS had. Nobogy answered how it would compare to mt Wolf-Eyes Pilot Whale!!!!


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## stallion2 (Feb 17, 2010)

recDNA said:


> I'm glas you warned me about the yellow beam. I hate yellow beamed flashlights.


 


Lightcrazycanuck said:


> +1:thumbsup:


 
man, i don't see why some people are so quick to turn their nose up at the yellow tint emitters. personally i'd take neutral white or yellow over warm emitters any day. i purchased a Q4 5A pill from Dereelight this summer and was kinda disappointed. it works great but is far from producing a glare off the plants and trees that could be considered "natural" looking. i don't see the warm tint as being worth the output you give up. second, of all my LED lights the two w/ the most natural appearance when reflected is my Cat, LX2 and Thrunite dropin. everyones eyes are built a little differently so that may be all there is to it.


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## Databyter (Feb 17, 2010)

Did you guys see this?

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/262146

Beamshots that are actually useful.

Very impressive!


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## 276 (Feb 17, 2010)

hivoltage said:


> Wow...I am the OP....I think I need this light, definately bright with some flood to it. Not a pinpoint beam like my DBS had. Nobogy answered how it would compare to mt Wolf-Eyes Pilot Whale!!!!



If i could find my camera i could show u but its *definitely* brighter than the Pilot Whale


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## hoongern (Feb 17, 2010)

EDIT: Included some duplicate info. Obviously I wasn't reading the thread properly. Sorry! Post deleted.


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## Jash (Feb 18, 2010)

Can I get a handlebar mount on my bicycle for this beast?


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## LowFlux (Feb 18, 2010)

Jash said:


> Can I get a handlebar mount on my bicycle for this beast?


You want a ~ 4 lb HID spotlight on your bike?


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## Saint_Dogbert (Feb 18, 2010)

LowFlux said:


> You want a ~ 4 lb HID spotlight on your bike?



I would.


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## carrot (Feb 18, 2010)

How about a helmet mount?


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## stallion2 (Feb 18, 2010)

the average human head weighs 8-10lbs. adding another 4lbs is well w/in reason.


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## LowFlux (Feb 18, 2010)

I guess I'm new enough to this (and don't venture into the biking light forum often) but 4 lbs, 13" w 4" head, and 2200 lumens seems like an awful lot of light.  Even at the 700 lumen low mode, there are other lights that can put out that much without such a large package - just without the long run-time.

I personally wouldn't want to have a long climb with that much weight up front, but to each their own.


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## psychbeat (Feb 18, 2010)

yeah, having a separate head n remote batt pack
is deff better for bikes. the floody d30 howitzer type 
beam would be better for DH MTB 
that said, if I could I would have one of these
on my helmet!!
bring on the sst90 headlamps!!!!
Im sure you could put enough cooling fins on it
and carrying the battery in yer pack distributes the
weight nicely.


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## Swedpat (Feb 18, 2010)

I wonder about the heatsinking of SR90. Is it adequate for running continiously (half an hour or the full runtime) at the high mode?
At the specifications I can read: "_Advanced digital power management system_". That sounds like another expression for fully regulated?


Regards, Patric


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## carrot (Feb 18, 2010)

Heatsinking of the SR90 certainly is good enough for running continuously...


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## stallion2 (Feb 18, 2010)

Swedpat said:


> I wonder about the heatsinking of SR90. Is it adequate for running continiously (half an hour or the full runtime) at the high mode?
> At the specifications I can read: "_Advanced digital power management system_". That sounds like another expression for fully regulated?
> 
> 
> Regards, Patric


 
4sevens posted this thread. the numbers are way better than what i think most of us would have anticipated, certainly better than i was thinking. 

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/260621


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## Dead_Nuts (Feb 18, 2010)

Those beamshots show that while this light has Light Saber like beam, the spill is tremendous. Just look at the trees down the side of the drive. Mine is supposed to be waiting for me at home (still in the office).


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## stallion2 (Feb 18, 2010)

i've toyed w/ mine a fair amount over the last couple hours, haven't takin it outside yet but will shortly, its finally dark. first off, the case was smaller than i expected. they make rather efficient use of the available space and since the light fits in disassembled it does not to adequately convey the monster lurking within. this thing is a tank, inspite of the extensive milling to fin the head it still has a lot of mass to draw heat. 

i will post some beamshots later tonight but right off the bat i can tell Matt was right on the money w/ his "think Catapult on steroids" analogy. there is a subtle yellow tint, nothing like cool tint in the Olight promotional shots. its "low" mode resembles the Cat's high mode, possibly a little brighter but i'll know better once outside. pics to help w/ size reference below...the 2nd pic really gives you an idea of how imposing this thing is.


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## Databyter (Feb 18, 2010)

stallion2 said:


> i've toyed w/ mine a fair amount over the last couple hours, haven't takin it outside yet but will shortly, its finally dark. first off, the case was smaller than i expected. they make rather efficient use of the available space and since the light fits in disassembled it does not to adequately convey the monster lurking within. this thing is a tank, inspite of the extensive milling to fin the head it still has a lot of mass to draw heat.
> 
> i will post some beamshots later tonight but right off the bat i can tell Matt was right on the money w/ his "think Catapult on steroids" analogy. there is a subtle yellow tint, nothing like cool tint in the Olight promotional shots. its "low" mode resembles the Cat's high mode, possibly a little brighter but i'll know better once outside. pics to help w/ size reference below...the 2nd pic really gives you an idea of how imposing this thing is.


I think the "artistic" beamshots posted originally (I notice that those original pics are dissapearing ) were maybe designed to make the unveiling of this new light look mysterious, a teaser, just enough to make you want more information.

But in their choice of pictures, they did this light disservice, or at least didn't do it justice.

I'm pleased to hear about the tint you are seeing, and some other beamshots coming out now show a very useable tint. Now I am interested again.
I think I'll wait till Battery Junction is back up and running (and until I have the funds) so I can give them the business post -fire.

I'm also wondering if the price might come down in say six months. The current price though is admittedly *extremely good* for a light in this form factor with an LED that can handle the load and put out. Still it's alot of dough for me personally..


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## hivoltage (Feb 18, 2010)

Who has them in stock, I think I need one for summer season.


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## carrot (Feb 18, 2010)

hivoltage said:


> Who has them in stock, I think I need one for summer season.


4sevens and Going Gear are two I know of...


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## stallion2 (Feb 18, 2010)

i'm still LOLing about this. i took it outside w/ my Catapult, walked around shining one then the other at pretty much anything i pleased. less than 10 minutes later i stuck the Cat in my front pocket and continued on for another 20 minutes. i didn't realize the Cat was still in my pocket until i tried to sit down!!! thats just plain weird. i might start EDCing the Cat.


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## hivoltage (Feb 18, 2010)

stallion2 said:


> i'm still LOLing about this. i took it outside w/ my Catapult, walked around shining one then the other at pretty much anything i pleased. less than 10 minutes later i stuck the Cat in my front pocket and continued on for another 20 minutes. i didn't realize the Cat was still in my pocket until i tried to sit down!!! thats just plain weird. i might start EDCing the Cat.


 

So, for somebody who lives out in the boonies and just likes to have bright lights to light up the woods, you think I would be happy with this puppy huh? The Pilot Whale is my brightest LED right now, and I have a 35 watt HID.


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## Swedpat (Feb 19, 2010)

carrot said:


> Heatsinking of the SR90 certainly is good enough for running continuously...





stallion2 said:


> 4sevens posted this thread. the numbers are way better than what i think most of us would have anticipated, certainly better than i was thinking.
> 
> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/260621



Thanks for replies,

Yes, according to the runtime graph I understand the heat transfering is impressive considering the high output.

Regards, Patric


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## stallion2 (Feb 19, 2010)

here are the bulk of the beamshots i've compiled. please note that my photography skill, at least on land, are of minimal value. i left the camera on auto and shut down the flash. as a result of the auto-mode you'll see that operating the SR90 on low mode vs high mode tends to make whatever beam its being compared to look dimmer when shot w/ the SR90 on high than when it was shot w/ the SR90 on low. 
*hoping that sentence makes sense*

the other thing that is note worthy is that my camera does a poor job of picking up spill against the glare of the hotspots...otherwise, i feel that the pics do accurately convey the intensity of the hotspots in terms of comparison (not in terms of absolute output).











i also took some long distance shots at about 300' w/ the Cat, Stanley and SR90 (low/high) but they didn't turn out too well when i uploaded them. i'll attempt those again tomorrow night. 
i hope they help....or at least make ya'll jealous




hivoltage said:


> So, for somebody who lives out in the boonies and just likes to have bright lights to light up the woods, you think I would be happy with this puppy huh? The Pilot Whale is my brightest LED right now, and I have a 35 watt HID.


 
i know little of the Pilot other than what i've read and little about HIDs, my only experience is w/ the Stanley. if the SR90 has the same longterm reliability as other LEDs then absolutely. not sure high mode will be much fun if you're actually IN the woods, especially w/ leaves on the trees. the glare could easily make you squint the whole time. low mode would be fine i should think. if someone can manage to build a light like this while reducing weight and volume by 10-15% then i think 10-25 watt HIDs may be obsolete. it definitely out-throws my Stanley.


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## Jash (Feb 19, 2010)

That's a seriously tight hot-spot. Does the bright ring around the outer edge of the hot-spot appear to the human eye or is it just the camera?


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## Dead_Nuts (Feb 19, 2010)

I didn't get to do true long distance comparisons last night (in town), but I did get to shine the SR90 and my Boxer 24w across the fairway of the golf course, behind my neighbor's house. With the Boxer's beam focused as tight as possible, the SR90 seems to put more light downrange! 

I'll try to get out to my rental house and 50 acres I have in the country this weekend (need to cut firewood anyway). If I can stay until after dark, I'll set them up and let my wife take some pictures. I only know how to use her DSLR on auto, but she says that doesn't give a true comparison from exposure to exposure.

BTW, this light is a monster. It makes my boxer seem svelte by comparison. This is NOT a "take a walk with the dog" light by any stretch. What it is, is a huge light by LED standards, that gives compact HID output -- without the HID drawbacks.


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## stallion2 (Feb 19, 2010)

Jash said:


> That's a seriously tight hot-spot. Does the bright ring around the outer edge of the hot-spot appear to the human eye or is it just the camera?


 
my camera automatically lowers the contrast to adjust to the glare off the hotspot. the result is that the spill is greatly diminished. the hot spot is very bright, very focused, but there is still good spill.



Dead_Nuts said:


> BTW, this light is a monster. It makes my boxer seem svelte by comparison. This is NOT a "take a walk with the dog" light by any stretch. What it is, is a huge light by LED standards, that gives compact HID output -- without the HID drawbacks.


 
i've already made plans to build a handle for it that projects overhead. something that would clamp on and allow me to carry it like a briefcase. i just gotta figure out something that will suspend it w/ neutral balance, this light is surprisingly head-heavy.


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## Bronco (Feb 19, 2010)

Databyter said:


> The fact that the low power setting is still pretty darn bright confirms my original suspicion that this is a great specific duty light i.e. spot, but fails for anything involving lighting u a wide area, or a close one without losing all night vision.
> 
> Of course I am hoping I am wrong...



I apologize if my comments were perceived to contain a confrontational tone that was in no way intended. I responded only because it seemed as if you started off from the point of having a fairly good understanding of the intended purpose of this light, and then in the next breath, stated your hope that it will actually turn out to be something else or something more. 

To do so is simply human nature and I understand that. But I think that we, as a group, are too often guilty of wanting every light to be all things to all users in every situation. Certainly there's nothing wrong with this desire. And with the march of technology, we come incrementally closer with each passing year to bringing forth this mythical creation. 

Where the SR90 is concerned, however, I think it's reasonable that we acknowledge and appreciate the advance that this particular light represents in terms of closing the gap between LED and HID light performance. No, it won't slip unnoticed into my back pocket, nor will it operate in moonlight mode for several days. But I'm okay with all of that, and on balance, I'm far more excited about what it can do than I am disappointed with what it's unable to do.


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## easilyled (Feb 19, 2010)

Bronco said:


> Where the SR90 is concerned, however, I think it's reasonable that we acknowledge and appreciate the advance that this particular light represents in terms of closing the gap between LED and HID light performance.



This is a very relevant point and for me an exciting landmark.

LED technology is now showing the ability to fill every niche that incandescent/HID portable lighting can. 

(with all the additional advantages of much higher power efficiency, never requiring bulb replacement and much greater resistance to accidental falls)


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## HKJ (Feb 19, 2010)

easilyled said:


> LED technology is now showing the ability to fill every niche that incandescent/HID portable lighting can.



I do not believe that. The SR90 can probably match a 24 watt HID now, but it will be some time before it can match a 70 watt HID. Also remember that in each case you have to look at both the size of the light and the beam profile. When I get the SR90 I am going to compare to to some HID's and leds, both brightness, beam profile and size.


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## easilyled (Feb 19, 2010)

HKJ said:


> I do not believe that. The SR90 can probably match a 24 watt HID now, but it will be some time before it can match a 70 watt HID. Also remember that in each case you have to look at both the size of the light and the beam profile. When I get the SR90 I am going to compare to to some HID's and leds, both brightness, beam profile and size.



Perhaps I should have used the phrase "showing the potential to fill every niche" rather than "showing the ability" 

Even so, you have to admit that a year ago, nobody thought that there would be an led-light with a single emitter that could compete or even overpower a 24W HID.

Its certainly much easier to imagine that in another year's time, there'll be an led light that can compete with even the high-power HID lights.

The point is that the power gap is closing quickly.


----------



## Swedpat (Feb 19, 2010)

HKJ said:


> I do not believe that. The SR90 can probably match a 24 watt HID now, but it will be some time before it can match a 70 watt HID. Also remember that in each case you have to look at both the size of the light and the beam profile. When I get the SR90 I am going to compare to to some HID's and leds, both brightness, beam profile and size.



But if SST-90 LEDs will be coupled together like a P7/MC-E multi-chip LED it will, I guess?

Regards, Patric


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## HKJ (Feb 19, 2010)

easilyled said:


> Even so, you have to admit that a year ago, nobody thought that there would be an led-light with a single emitter that could compete or even overpower a 24W HID.
> 
> Its certainly much easier to imagine that in another year's time, there'll be an led light that can compete with even the high-power HID lights.
> 
> The point is that the power gap is closing quickly.



When I started out on flashlight, I did not want any HID's, I expected that LED's would surpass them rather quickly, But I have learned more and this changed my mind and I has started up on HID's.
For my it does not matter if you use one or 1000 leds, it is the final result that counts and led has a heat problem when trying to match a HID. SR90 has a big heat sink and I am looking forward to getting it and comparing it to my Microfire (and a lot of other HID's). Some of the results I already know, the led turns on immediately and has multiple levels, but what about throw, total lumen out and size.


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## Bronco (Feb 19, 2010)

Swedpat said:


> But if SST-90 LEDs will be coupled together like a P7/MC-E multi-chip LED it will, I guess?
> 
> Regards, Patric



To some extent, but when we begin to discuss the possibility of LEDs lights competing with HIDs and the applications for which they're intended, we must necessarily consider the LED light's ability to throw. And, all other things being equal, when it comes to making a light throw, adding more emitters is not the best solution. Rather than distribute the luminous flux across a larger surface area, we want to see increased luminous intensity or surface brightness in a smaller area.


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## XXXFlasher (Feb 19, 2010)

Hey all, FWIIW I have this light and it has PLENTY of spill. Now with the incredible hotspot, it may overshadow the spill, but it is great.
The UltraFire WL1300 (7 SSC P4) has a little more, but this monster has plenty, in fact it can be intimidating.

It is very similar to the Catapult, but about 3 times brighter.
Also, the low of 700 lumens out shines and throws the Catapult on high with SM reflector.


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## XXXFlasher (Feb 19, 2010)

recDNA said:


> I'm glas you warned me about the yellow beam. I hate yellow beamed flashlights.


 
My Catapult has a great pure beam, however, there is a hologram effect where the light hits ceiling, wall that gives off a yellowish (the color of the LED) star around the hotspot. I think this is a signature of all SST-50, 90. Just my 2 cents...


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## stallion2 (Feb 19, 2010)

the only thing that is keeping this light from making 10-24W HIDs obsolete is the greater mass and size. once thats reduced (and it doesn't even have to be that much) i don't really see how HIDs could survive. and then there is always the option of multiple dies which opens up 35W+ range of HIDs to being tossed aside.


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## HKJ (Feb 19, 2010)

stallion2 said:


> the only thing that is keeping this light from making 10-24W HIDs obsolete is the greater mass and size. once thats reduced (and it doesn't even have to be that much) i don't really see how HIDs could survive. and then there is always the option of multiple dies which opens up 35W+ range of HIDs to being tossed aside.



It is no problem making a collection of leds that is very bright, but keeping them cool enough to run for an hour is not easy. The SR90 does it by being big with lot of heat sink ribs on it. The other problem with led's is throw, they do not have enough surface brightness.
These things might change in a few years.


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## Swedpat (Feb 19, 2010)

Bronco said:


> To some extent, but when we begin to discuss the possibility of LEDs lights competing with HIDs and the applications for which they're intended, we must necessarily consider the LED light's ability to throw. And, all other things being equal, when it comes to making a light throw, adding more emitters is not the best solution. Rather than distribute the luminous flux across a larger surface area, we want to see increased luminous intensity or surface brightness in a smaller area.





HKJ said:


> It is no problem making a collection of leds that is very bright, but keeping them cool enough to run for an hour is not easy. The SR90 does it by being big with lot of heat sink ribs on it. The other problem with led's is throw, they do not have enough surface brightness.
> These things might change in a few years.



Yes, I understand. The surface brightness importance for throw it's easy visible when I look at my Malkoff XP-G dropins. Very small, but intense LED, which makes them to great throwers.

Also I can imagine the cooling problem with high powered LEDs. I guess that much further improvements of output will make air-cooling with fins unadequate. But of course as mentioned: _These things might change in a few years_.

Regards, Patric


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## hivoltage (Feb 20, 2010)

OK....I just bought one!!!


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## saabluster (Feb 20, 2010)

stallion2 said:


> i don't really see how HIDs could survive. and then there is always the option of multiple dies which opens up 35W+ range of HIDs to being tossed aside.


Don't get ahead of yourself. HIDs have a few more years yet. Just adding dies will not equal what an HID can do.


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## phantom23 (Feb 20, 2010)

A few nice SR90 shots in Polish review (Google translation):
http://translate.google.com/transla...dex.php/topic,57416.0.html&sl=pl&tl=en&swap=1


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## windstrings (Feb 24, 2010)

HKJ said:


> I do not believe that. The SR90 can probably match a 24 watt HID now, but it will be some time before it can match a 70 watt HID.



Better than that... It can beat a 35W HID in throw and intensity of brightness by means of a much larger hotspot that near matches the hottest spot of the hotspot of the 35WHID but is much bigger.

The SR90 has no corona and a large soft spill. By not having a corona it allows for a larger hotspot.

SR90 on the left, L35 HID on the right


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## hivoltage (Feb 24, 2010)

Oh Yeah Baby!!!! Mine should be here tomorrow:twothumbs


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## 2Reason (Feb 24, 2010)

Databyter said:


> Did you guys see this?
> 
> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/262146
> 
> ...



*This is a must have... sensational by all present day standards. But, who has it in stock and with an extra battery pack?*


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## saabluster (Feb 25, 2010)

windstrings said:


> Better than that... It can beat a 35W HID in throw and intensity of brightness by means of a much larger hotspot that near matches the hottest spot of the hotspot of the 35WHID but is much bigger.


Windy can you get any outdoor beamshots of those two for us?


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## jtrucktools34 (Feb 25, 2010)

2Reason said:


> *This is a must have... sensational by all present day standards. But, who has it in stock and with an extra battery pack?*



Spare battery packs are not available from Olight yet. 

It looks like all the vendors are currently out of stock.


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## Mr. Tone (Feb 25, 2010)

Saabluster, the only way this thing is able to throw like this means that the surface brightness must be way up there at those high drive currents, right? Would it have more, similar, or less surface brightness than an XR-E driven at 1.2-1.4 amps? 

I must say that I was not expecting the SR90 to have these kind of lux measurements so I am truly impressed. This light seems to be living up to if not exceeding the hype and excitement generated before it was available. That is pretty rare nowadays, it seems to me. So props to Olight for doing it right.


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## windstrings (Feb 25, 2010)

saabluster said:


> Windy can you get any outdoor beamshots of those two for us?



I just have to get my good camera and go do it... I've been under the weather a bit, but feeling better now so I'll give it a shot!


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## mpkav (Feb 25, 2010)

Damn, I might have to consider selling my Wolfeyes Boxer for this one!!!!


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## HKJ (Feb 25, 2010)

windstrings said:


> Better than that... It can beat a 35W HID in throw and intensity of brightness by means of a much larger hotspot that near matches the hottest spot of the hotspot of the 35WHID but is much bigger.
> 
> The SR90 has no corona and a large soft spill. By not having a corona it allows for a larger hotspot.



I am looking forward to getting it (I hope that it arrives next week) and comparing it to a couple of HID's and other lights. Im am interested in both brightness, beamprofile and size.


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## tab665 (Feb 25, 2010)

HKJ said:


> I am looking forward to getting it (I hope that it arrives next week) and comparing it to a couple of HID's and other lights. Im am interested in both brightness, beamprofile and size.


 now we are cooking with gas! im looking foward to your collection of beamshots.


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## HKJ (Feb 25, 2010)

tab665 said:


> now we are cooking with gas! im looking foward to your collection of beamshots.



For a couple of reasons it will probably be some time before I do that.


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## saabluster (Feb 25, 2010)

Mr. Tone said:


> Saabluster, the only way this thing is able to throw like this means that the surface brightness must be way up there at those high drive currents, right? Would it have more, similar, or less surface brightness than an XR-E driven at 1.2-1.4 amps?
> 
> I must say that I was not expecting the SR90 to have these kind of lux measurements so I am truly impressed. This light seems to be living up to if not exceeding the hype and excitement generated before it was available. That is pretty rare nowadays, it seems to me. So props to Olight for doing it right.



I have to say I am surprised by the numbers I have seen from this light. Very. It is not just surface brightness that is key here although it is very important. Even running the SST90 at those currents it still will not match the XR-E in surface brightness. That means if you swapped an XR-E in there(or even better the R3 binned XP-E) it would throw even farther. Of course you would lose the width of the beam. The reflector is just so huge it is able to collimate the beam fairly well. Since the reflective surfaces are farther away from the emitter the resultant beam is more collimated. This is essentially a scaled up DBS or similar type light. Emitter included. 



windstrings said:


> I just have to get my good camera and go do it... I've been under the weather a bit, but feeling better now so I'll give it a shot!


I'm right there with you. Got my Barry White voice going on.


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## Mr. Tone (Feb 25, 2010)

Thanks for the reply Saabluster. Your knowledge on all matters throw-related have been very educational and fun for me. This SR90 is an exciting light to be watching. I am looking forward to seeing more info from the current owners and reviewers.


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## hivoltage (Feb 27, 2010)

I got to play with mine late last night, although the heavy snow took some of the fun out of it. This light is amazing. Almost as bright as my 35 watt HID but not quite as floody, but enough flood to make me happy. 

My HID is going up for sale to help pay for this!!!!


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## Swedpat (Feb 27, 2010)

Now I am just waiting for a warm white version of SR90!


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## windstrings (Feb 27, 2010)

saabluster said:


> Even running the SST90 at those currents it still will not match the XR-E in surface brightness. That means if you swapped an XR-E in there(or even better the R3 binned XP-E) it would throw even farther. Of course you would lose the width of the beam. The reflector is just so huge it is able to collimate the beam fairly well. Since the reflective surfaces are farther away from the emitter the resultant beam is more collimated. This is essentially a scaled up DBS or similar type light. Emitter included.
> .



But isn't the die size much bigger on the SST90 or no?

If so, Surface brightness is one thing, but if the fire is not quite as hot but a bigger fire, it will still put out more light.
And wouldn't the increase reflector size be to adequatly capture the lumens from the extra large size LED?


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## saabluster (Feb 27, 2010)

windstrings said:


> But isn't the die size much bigger on the SST90 or no?
> 
> If so, Surface brightness is one thing, but if the fire is not quite as hot but a bigger fire, it will still put out more light.
> And wouldn't the increase reflector size be to adequatly capture the lumens from the extra large size LED?


Yes the die size on the SST90 is larger. 9X to be exact! And yes the SST90 will put out more light but at less intensity and therefore less throw. The size of the reflector has little to do with how much light is captured. If you scale that reflector down it will still capture the same amount of light. But then the reflective surfaces would be closer and have a less collimated beam. The reason this light works so well is that the reflective surfaces are significantly farther away from the source but the surface brightness of the source is not that far from what you'd find in an XR-E.


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## houtex (Mar 1, 2010)

Has anyone compared this to the ARC Mania X6?


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## windstrings (Mar 2, 2010)

Looks like the Arc mania has less lumens and is so aspheric that it has no spill causing one to lose perspective of surroundings.

I do like aspheric lights but they are pretty limited to their use when there is no spill at all.



> This is a rechargeable flashlight utilizing a 15 watt Ostar LED combined with an aspheric thats adjustable from flood to spot.



quite interesting though.. it would be fun to see the comparisons.


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## windstrings (Mar 2, 2010)

saabluster said:


> And yes the SST90 will put out more light but at less intensity and therefore less throw.



You sure throw is completely about surface brightness?

If you light one candle it has so much throw.. but light 9 candles and light that was not noticeable in the distance with one candle will now be 9X stronger and usable..... therefore more throw!

All electrical calculations need at least two variables to come up with final power... ie: Volts X Amps etc...

I would think surface brightness would be similiar to volts or intensity, but then has to be multiplied by total area of the source "which would be current" to give final power... 

Or something like that...


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## Dead_Nuts (Mar 2, 2010)

Databyter said:


> Did you guys see this?
> 
> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/262146
> 
> ...



And it shows just how much spill the SR90 really has. Look at the extreme right edge of the photo. I own this light and can say that it is awesome in it's output. But just remember that the thing is huge. It is a great searchlight that rivals and even surpasses some smaller HIDs; but you're not gonna EDC the frickin' thing!


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## saabluster (Mar 2, 2010)

windstrings said:


> You sure throw is completely about surface brightness?
> 
> If you light one candle it has so much throw.. but light 9 candles and light that was not noticeable in the distance with one candle will now be 9X stronger and usable..... therefore more throw!
> 
> ...


For any _given_ collimation system the throw will be dictated by the surface brightness. As I have mentioned the reflector or optic *is* a variable when it comes to throw. What I am saying is that if you fit a larger reflector to an SST90 to try and get it to throw farther swapping an XR-E or XP-E R2 or R3 will make for an even farther throwing light every time.


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## easilyled (Mar 2, 2010)

saabluster said:


> For any _given_ collimation system the throw will be dictated by the surface brightness. As I have mentioned the reflector or optic *is* a variable when it comes to throw. What I am saying is that if you fit a larger reflector to an SST90 to try and get it to throw farther swapping an XR-E or XP-E R2 or R3 will make for an even farther throwing light every time.



Are you saying that a direct swap of the SST-90 for an R2 XR-E in the Olight SR90 would result in more throw?

I contend that it would result in a dead R2 because the SST-90 is probably been driven in the region of 9A which would instantly kill the R2.

Or did you mean that at the same drive-current, the R2 would throw further? ie. if you reduced the drive current down to about 1.5A which the R2 could tolerate.

What is not so clear to me is which would throw further for the max drive current that each led could tolerate.

ie driving the R2 at 1.5A in the Olight, would it throw further than the SST-90 driven at 9A?

I think that this is probably what windstrings meant.

It is definitely an advantage that the SST-90 can be driven so much harder, so might as well make use of it IMO.


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## Outdoors Fanatic (Mar 2, 2010)

HKJ said:


> I do not believe that. The SR90 can probably match a 24 watt HID now, but it will be some time before it can match a 70 watt HID. Also remember that in each case you have to look at both the size of the light and the beam profile. When I get the SR90 I am going to compare to to some HID's and leds, both brightness, beam profile and size.


I don't think powers matters, it's surface brightness that's important in this class of light. That's why I find it odd that everybody in this thread is obsessing about beating HIDs, eventhough they fail to realize that it's the Xenon Arcs and Mercury Arcs which are the real Surface Brightess and extreme throw champions. HIDs are only more efficient than Xenon Arcs when driven hard, but hey can't quite throw like these pure halogen bulbs (Arcs). I don't think we're going to see an LED beating out a Maxabeam in throw, let alone bigger throwers...

Cheers.


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## saabluster (Mar 2, 2010)

easilyled said:


> Are you saying that a direct swap of the SST-90 for an R2 XR-E in the Olight SR90 would result in more throw?
> 
> I contend that it would result in a dead R2 because the SST-90 is probably been driven in the region of 9A which would instantly kill the R2.
> 
> ...


Obviously the XR-E cannot handle 9A. But with both emitters at their respective maximum current the XR-E or XP-E would win in surface brightness and therefore throw. The fact that you can easily overdrive the Crees helps even more.


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## easilyled (Mar 2, 2010)

saabluster said:


> Obviously the XR-E cannot handle 9A. But with both emitters at their respective maximum current the XR-E or XP-E would win in surface brightness and therefore throw. The fact that you can easily overdrive the Crees helps even more.



You're so sure that the surface brightness of an XR-E driven at 1.5A is brighter than that of an SST-90 driven at 9A?

That's six times as much current (which is another variable and may compensate for the die-size of the SST-90 being so much larger).

Not trying to be argumentative for the sake of it, but have you done some measurements at these respective drive currents to be so certain?


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## saabluster (Mar 2, 2010)

Outdoors Fanatic said:


> I don't think we're going to see an LED beating out a Maxabeam in throw, let alone bigger throwers...
> 
> Cheers.


 LEDs will, I guarantee, be able to beat the Maxabeam in throw. It is just a matter of time. I have actually done some work on just this front. Another CPF member L.E.D. says he has a design that can do it as well. The problem is I do not have the resources to continue the R+D required to bring it to market. The other thing is that the route I believe both of us have gone in this respect will not approach the optical efficiency that can be found in a normal light. Still as LED tech improves massive "overdrive" will become possible and you will see LEDs able to outdo even the best HID lights.


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## saabluster (Mar 2, 2010)

easilyled said:


> You're so sure that the surface brightness of an XR-E driven at 1.5A is brighter than that of an SST-90 driven at 9A?
> 
> That's six times as much current (which is another variable and may compensate for the die-size of the SST-90 being so much larger).
> 
> Not trying to be argumentative for the sake of it, but have you done some measurements at these respective drive currents to be so certain?


I am absolutely sure. It is just simple math. Take the total lumens of the SST90 at 9A and divide by 9. Now compare to the lumens of the Cree XR-E or XP-E at 1A. This is not even bringing into the equation that it will be far far harder to keep the SST90 at anywhere near spec output in a portable device because of the heat output.


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## easilyled (Mar 2, 2010)

saabluster said:


> I am absolutely sure. It is just simple math. Take the total lumens of the SST90 at 9A and divide by 9. Now compare to the lumens of the Cree XR-E or XP-E at 1A. This is not even bringing into the equation that it will be far far harder to keep the SST90 at anywhere near spec output in a portable device because of the heat output.



That seems incorrect to me.

Surely you should be dividing total lumens by surface area, not drive current to ascertain surface brightness?

ie surface brightness for the SST90, driven at 9A would be the total output at 9A, in theory 2200 lumens divided by the surface area of the SST-90 die.

surface brightness for the XRE-R2 would be the total output at 1.5A, something like 250 lumens divided by the surface area of the XRE die.


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## windstrings (Mar 2, 2010)

LOL!.. too funny!....

I'm very limited in my understanding of LED's but surface area certainly should be a factor... .at some point there is diminishing returns.

If a dot has a given amount of surface temp or tension or whatever and you decrease the size of that dot X 9 but increase the brightness or surface temp X 9 it would be a wash?

To just say its about brightness doesn't compute in my head.
If the dot were the size of a molecule but very bright "like tiny lightening bolts of static electricity, that doesn't make them brighter than the soft glow of one single candle?

I respect what has been achieved with the DEFT concerning on simple LED and if you could harness the SST90 in similar fashion it would be devastating.... but as the one watt of a laser with its linear light is different than a watt of polarized light from a bulb focused down to the same size as the laser, we are also talking about more issues here than simple surface temp and I admit I don't fully comprehend it all.


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## saabluster (Mar 2, 2010)

easilyled said:


> That seems incorrect to me.
> 
> Surely you should be dividing total lumens by surface area, not drive current to ascertain surface brightness?
> 
> ...


Surface area is exactly what I am referring to. That's why I said divide by 9.

SST90 @9A divided by 9(surface area)=244
XR-E R2 @1A (1mmx1mm) =270

The XR-E has more lumens per square mm= higher surface brightness.


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## easilyled (Mar 2, 2010)

saabluster said:


> Surface area is exactly what I am referring to. That's why I said divide by 9.
> 
> SST90 @9A divided by 9(surface area)=244
> XR-E R2 @1A (1mmx1mm) =270
> ...



Ok, but these 2 figures are much closer than I inferred from what you said before, especially given normal variations from one led to another within a given bin, let alone factoring in all the other variables such as heat, humidity etc.

These figures suggest that the SST-90 driven at 9A should throw almost as far as the Cree R2 driven at 1A, but with a *much* bigger, more usable beam.

That, in itself, I find mighty impressive.


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## saabluster (Mar 2, 2010)

easilyled said:


> Ok, but these 2 figures are much closer than I inferred from what you said before, especially given normal variations from one led to another within a given bin, let alone factoring in all the other variables such as heat, humidity etc.
> 
> These figures suggest that the SST-90 driven at 9A should throw almost as far as the Cree R2 driven at 1A, but with a *much* bigger, more usable beam.
> 
> That, in itself, I find mighty impressive.


Don't get me wrong I am indeed impressed with the SST-90. Here's the thing. You cannot sustain the spec numbers for that SST90 in this light. I'm just making assumptions but I would fully expect that SST90 surface brightness figure come down pretty quickly to around 200. Now you can also easily overdrive the XR-E to 350 lumens per mm squared and sustain that in a light of this size. So the gap starts to widen.


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## easilyled (Mar 2, 2010)

saabluster said:


> Don't get me wrong I am indeed impressed with the SST-90. Here's the thing. You cannot sustain the spec numbers for that SST90 in this light. I'm just making assumptions but I would fully expect that SST90 surface brightness figure come down pretty quickly to around 200. Now you can also easily overdrive the XR-E to 350 lumens per mm squared and sustain that in a light of this size. So the gap starts to widen.



I think that the enormous size of the SR90 might help against the lumens dropping too quickly. 
I will await bigchelis's measurements. 
Also, who's to say we can't still drive the SST-90 quite a lot harder.  
Admittedly, the light would have to be huge or have active cooling in order to achieve it though.


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## saabluster (Mar 2, 2010)

easilyled said:


> I think that the enormous size of the SR90 might help against the lumens dropping too quickly.
> I will await bigchelis's measurements.
> Also, who's to say we can't still drive the SST-90 quite a lot harder.
> Admittedly, the light would have to be huge or have active cooling in order to achieve it though.



Yes you can over drive the SST-90 but you can also over drive the XR-E even more. How far do you want to go? The thing is that overdriving the SST90 will never meet the overdriven XR-E for surface brightness. It just won't happen. At 2.5A the XR-E was doing 450lumens. Do you think the SST90 will get anywhere near that on a surface brightness perspective before the die de-bonds? Now you must absolutely factor in real world effects. This Olight cannot even sustain these normal drive levels as is.


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## stallion2 (Mar 2, 2010)

*LIGHT GOOD! DARK BAD!*


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## Dead_Nuts (Mar 3, 2010)

saabluster said:


> Surface area is exactly what I am referring to. That's why I said divide by 9.
> 
> SST90 @9A divided by 9(surface area)=244
> XR-E R2 @1A (1mmx1mm) =270
> ...


So what we are looking at here is brightness/unit of surface area -- not total brightness of the emitter -- is that correct? That doesn't change the fact that the total surface output (in lumens) is greater on the SST90, right? Of course, throw is not just total lumens or even lumens/mm. Throw is generated, to some degree at least, by focusing the beam; either by reflector, lens(es) or both.

I guess I'm too dense to understand how an emitter that is over 8 times brighter than another can be out-thrown by the latter -- all other things being equal.


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## saabluster (Mar 3, 2010)

Dead_Nuts said:


> So what we are looking at here is brightness/unit of surface area -- not total brightness of the emitter -- is that correct?


Correct



Dead_Nuts said:


> That doesn't change the fact that the total surface output (in lumens) is greater on the SST90, right?


Correct



Dead_Nuts said:


> Of course, throw is not just total lumens or even lumens/mm. Throw is generated, to some degree at least, by focusing the beam; either by reflector, lens(es) or both.


Correct



Dead_Nuts said:


> I guess I'm too dense to understand how an emitter that is over 8 times brighter than another can be out-thrown by the latter -- all other things being equal.


Imagine yourself as the reflector. What do you "see" when you look back at the emitter? Depends on what point you are at on the reflector. If you are at the very base right next to the emitter the LED die looks large. Since you, as a reflector, do nothing but relay the image of what you see forward the image you relay on will be a large one. As you move farther out to the rim of the reflector and look back the emitter will appear smaller. Therefore the image you relay on will be smaller. 

The light leaving a reflector leaves at varying degrees of collimation based on how far away the reflective surfaces are and the size of the light source. The most collimized part of the beam comes from the part of the reflector farthest away from the source. The most collimized part of the beam forms the very center of the projected beam. As you move farther down the reflector(towards the source) the light that gets "collimized" into the projected beam will progressively move outwards from that center.

The reflector or even optic is no different than if you looked at yourself in the mirror. The mirror just relays information back to you. Blow up a balloon while standing in front of the mirror and you will see it get bigger right? You can also tell which LED die is larger when holding an XR-E and SST90 up to that same mirror as long as they are at the same distance. The beam from a flashlight is just a projected image. Increase the size of the thing being imaged and the resulting beam will be larger. If the thing being imaged is more red that is what will be relayed forwards. If it is larger then the projected image will be larger. If it is more intense then that is what will be projected forwards. 

Here is a fun little trick that may help you to understand what I am talking about. Start with an LED light that has a nice smooth reflector. Now use some black electrical tape to block out all but a small part of the beam at the very edge of the emitting face of the light. It should be a little square section about an 1/8"th to 1/4" and symmetrical. When you turn on the light you should see a picture of the LED die projected against the wall. Now cover that area and make the same sized hole but closer to the center of the face of the light. You will notice the projected image of the die gets larger. This is because that part of the reflector is closer and "sees" a larger emitter. The resultant beam from that part of the reflector is less collimized, or less parallel.

Hope that helps some.


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## windstrings (Mar 3, 2010)

You can get some of the same effect by simply looking straight into a reflector "with the light off" and you will see the die.
A good reflector shows all of the die providing your eyeball is within the path of the projected pattern.

I think I see what your saying but isn't what we are really talking about here is now many electrons are getting emitted?

The hotter the surface, the more are being released to get projected forward right?

Only problem is..... I would think the total number of electrons going forward is dependent upon "temp per square mm"....
Higher the temp... the more electrons you get from that single mm of area of space.

If the area of MM of the SR90 is close to 9 times, then if the surface temp was the exact same... it would stand to reason the SR90 has 9X the lumens projecting forward... but since its slightly cooler there is a difference..


I think the discussion is that the difference in less temp per sq MM the SR90 has in no way detracts from the nine times more surface area!

Even if the SR90 was half the temp of the other LED.... that would mean it only has to be double the size to make up for the difference right?... but its not.. its 9X bigger?

I don't know if we are dealing it exponents here.. but regardless of what LED you use, you have to capture all the light with the reflector or aspheric lens you use or it negates this whole discussion.

Projected light through an spherical lens is somehow much more efficient and polarized different than after it has to bounce and bend off of a reflector.

So when are we gonna make a DEFT with the SST90? 

Talk about a light cannon! I"m sure the lens would have to be bigger.. but who cares!


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## Mr. Tone (Mar 3, 2010)

I know this is slightly OT, but we are there already. Hopefully this analogy will help someone. 

Imagine having two heaters, one smaller and one 9x larger. Let's say they are both exactly at 300 degrees F. temperature. All other things being equal the larger one will heat up any given space faster and more evenly(more flux). Let's say that we can raise the smaller one to 400 degrees but not the larger one(surface brightness difference). The smaller one now has the ability to raise the temperature of something in contact with it to a max of 400 degrees while the larger one can not raise the temp of something past a max of 300 degrees. No matter how you would position the larger heater or wrap it around something it could not heat something past 300 degrees. 

I am sorry if my analogy doesn't make sense to anybody else because it does to me. It is also past my bedtime so take that into consideration.

I hope those of you with the SR90 keep chiming in here to tell us more about your experiences with it. It seems like a superb design and is exceeding all expectations. It appears to be a force to be reckoned with.:devil:


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## easilyled (Mar 4, 2010)

saabluster, don't you think to some extent though, that even if an XRE throws a little further than the SST-90 (with both driven to the max), that there are diminishing returns on the usefulness of the beam as you widen the reflector?

For example in the Olight SR90, the reflector is probably at the optimum width for the SST-90 to really "shine", so to speak in terms of both throwing extremely well and also illuminating a wide enough area to have a lot of clarity about the scene that is illuminated.

Put an R2 XRE in there and overdrive it and yes, no doubt it will throw even further, but the beam will be like a pencil and not nearly as useful.
You would have to "wiggle" it around until you find the target and then you also lose perspective of the target's immediate surroundings.

Furthermore, there is a limit to how far the eye itself can see!

It seems to me that the way forward is to keep improving the surface brightness of these large, powerful single-die emitters so that housed in the appropriate optics, they will compete with the 50W Polarion and even more powerful HIDs than that.


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## Mr. Tone (Mar 4, 2010)

That is what makes this SR90 so cool in my mind. They are able to push the LED to be really bright, not too far from an XR-E in brightness. Since it is really bright and huge the well collimated hotspot is bright, large and useful. 

Another thing I am liking about the SST LED is that they have the same kind of beam pattern of an XP-E. I like the well defined hotspot and then completely even spill from there to the end.


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## windstrings (Mar 4, 2010)

Mr. Tone said:


> I know this is slightly OT, but we are there already. Hopefully this analogy will help someone.
> 
> Imagine having two heaters, one smaller and one 9x larger. Let's say they are both exactly at 300 degrees F. temperature. All other things being equal the larger one will heat up any given space faster and more evenly(more flux). Let's say that we can raise the smaller one to 400 degrees but not the larger one(surface brightness difference). The smaller one now has the ability to raise the temperature of something in contact with it to a max of 400 degrees while the larger one can not raise the temp of something past a max of 300 degrees. No matter how you would position the larger heater or wrap it around something it could not heat something past 300 degrees.
> 
> ...



I appreciate the word picture... I think that was pretty much true to life.

If you take those same heaters "small at 400 degrees and large set at 300 degrees and they are both infared and channel them both with a reflector that narrows the heat to 30 degrees and point one at a wall 100 feet away with a thermometer, the big heater will raise the thermometer higher than the small one.

True, if you stand right in front on either, the small will raise it higher because its set higher but being right in front of the emitter is not a fair test of what will happen in the distance.

Set an infared camera 1000 yards off in the distance, I would venture to say the large heater would register a much bigger signature than the smaller one running slightly hotter.


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## saabluster (Mar 4, 2010)

windstrings said:


> If you take those same heaters "small at 400 degrees and large set at 300 degrees and they are both infared and channel them both with a reflector that narrows the heat to 30 degrees and point one at a wall 100 feet away with a thermometer, the big heater will raise the thermometer higher than the small one.
> 
> True, if you stand right in front on either, the small will raise it higher because its set higher but being right in front of the emitter is not a fair test of what will happen in the distance.
> 
> Set an infared camera 1000 yards off in the distance, I would venture to say the large heater would register a much bigger signature than the smaller one running slightly hotter.



I don't have time right now to give a proper response but before you head down this road any further let me just say don't. You are way off on your understanding of how this all works. I will come back later when I have time. I think this conversation needs to move out of this thread anyway so I will probably start it as its own thread and advise those following it here. No need to muck up the SR90's thread any further.


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## windstrings (Mar 4, 2010)

Well I don't want it to be a sore spot, but I would like to understand this concept..... if you start in another place I would like to participate.

I understand laws of multiplication that says the hotter the more throw..... just now sure why laws of addition don't apply too that says, "More light equals more throw too".

Seems they both work together.

Sorry the discussion has hit a sore spot.. that wasn't the intention but rather to learn.


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## dcycleman (Mar 4, 2010)

still no new beamshots???


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## Mr. Tone (Mar 4, 2010)

Windstrings, have you done much more outside comparisons between the SR90 and the L35? Those beamshots were helpful and appreciated. Outdoors does the SR90 have the same throw, more, or slightly less than the hottest part of the L35 beam? Would you say the beam is pretty much the same pattern as a XP-E, albeit on steroids? How about the tint and color rendition, are you liking that, too?


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## stallion2 (Mar 4, 2010)

windstrings said:


> Well I don't want it to be a sore spot, but I would like to understand this concept..... if you start in another place I would like to participate.
> 
> I understand laws of multiplication that says the hotter the more throw..... just now sure why laws of addition don't apply too that says, "More light equals more throw too".
> 
> ...


 
i don't think SB is talking about absolute output or even beam manipulation after its left the emitter. he's talking about the concentration of light (output & area). the XR-E's create a better starting point cause they're only 1mm x 1mm (approx) and their total output is...lets just say 300lm over that area (i'm not sure if that figure is right but it should be close). if the SST90 is 3mm x 3mm then you have 2200lm created over an area of 9mm(^2). 
the XR-E, at an area of 1mm(^2), is producing 300lm...multiply that figure by 9 to simulate performance over an area identical to the SST90 and your output would be 2700lm. 

in addition to that the XR-E's have a viewing angle of 90 degrees vs the SST90's 100 degrees which allows the XR-Es to concentrate their higher output (factoring for the difference in area) farther down range.

but i have to agree w/ a loss in practical application by swapping in an XR-E, but thats really up to whomever owns the light and what they want to use it for. strictly for the purposes of maximum throw, the XR-E is still a better starting point than the SST's.

EDIT: it just came to me that the comparison works in reverse. take and SST90, running at its full potential and then cut off 1mm from every side. you'll be left w/ a piece of SST90 thats 1mm x 1mm and if the SST90 is pushing 2200lm at its full size of 3mm x 3mm then the 1mm x 1mm section is only producing 244lm.


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## Dead_Nuts (Mar 5, 2010)

OK, but the SST-90 is the size that it is. It doesn't matter what would happen if you cut off part of it. I agree that is has 9x the surface area, but so what? If you could somehow focus all the output from this emitter into the same size and shape beam as an XR-E R2, wouldn't it have to 'outshine' it? In other words, wouldn't a beam of 2200lm out throw a physically identical 270lm beam? If so, what am I missing? Is it the fact that it's impossible to focus the larger die emitter to the same degree? I know that 'focus' is the wrong term here, but I'm no EE or physics major; just a guy who is intrigued by this discussion.


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## windstrings (Mar 5, 2010)

Mr. Tone said:


> Windstrings, have you done much more outside comparisons between the SR90 and the L35? Those beamshots were helpful and appreciated. Outdoors does the SR90 have the same throw, more, or slightly less than the hottest part of the L35 beam? Would you say the beam is pretty much the same pattern as a XP-E, albeit on steroids? How about the tint and color rendition, are you liking that, too?




Its really hard to compare the beam and technology is so different.

Its really hard to see, but the 35W HID has a tiny hotspot that is slightly brighter than the beam of the SR90. But the beam of the SR90 is so perfect, bigger and solid, it overwhelms what the 35HID could hope to do in its throw pattern at a distance.
Yes the 35HID will illuminate it, but the illumination is so fragmented that is harder to define objects in the distance compared with the even beam of the SR90.

The strength of the 35HID is the corona is bigger so in the distance you will view a larger area and the spill is brighter too... but with the SR90 the "shaft" of solid light it projects IMO is more usable in the distance because you still have enough spill to maintain perspective of surroundings but what you actually decide to illuminate with the shaft its totally bathed in a solid beam of light.

By my description it almost sounds laser like but its not because that 'shaft" is so big that its really more like the 35W HID funneled down to an even shaft of light that about 8 feet thick at 50 yards or so and maybe 50 feet thick at 150 yards or so surrounded by a very even soft spill.

Without me doing outside beam shots, thats the best I can explain it.

I think they chose a perfect beam as I like throw and any less condensed would kill throw and make it a good flashlight and any more condensed would be too tight becoming more like a Maxabeam spotlight type light that has limitations.

Have you even seen the movies where the prisoner is trying to escape, and he's out of the tunnel waiting for the spotlight to pass so he can make a run for it?
That type of spotlight "only" see's whats in its beam. The beam is so bright that it kills nightvision for anything not in the beam. Whereas the SR90 gives enough spill to reveal surroundings of object not in the direct path of the beam.

Maybe someone else who has the SR90 can add to what I've said.


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## stallion2 (Mar 5, 2010)

Dead_Nuts said:


> OK, but the SST-90 is the size that it is. It doesn't matter what would happen if you cut off part of it. I agree that is has 9x the surface area, but so what? If you could somehow focus all the output from this emitter into the same size and shape beam as an XR-E R2, wouldn't it have to 'outshine' it? In other words, wouldn't a beam of 2200lm out throw a physically identical 270lm beam? If so, what am I missing? Is it the fact that it's impossible to focus the larger die emitter to the same degree? I know that 'focus' is the wrong term here, but I'm no EE or physics major; just a guy who is intrigued by this discussion.


 
what you're suggesting should work, at least on paper. the math is there but i just don't know if we have the technology & materials that will allow for it yet. thats definitely a question for SB.


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## easilyled (Mar 5, 2010)

Dead_Nuts said:


> OK, but the SST-90 is the size that it is. It doesn't matter what would happen if you cut off part of it. I agree that is has 9x the surface area, but so what? If you could somehow focus all the output from this emitter into the same size and shape beam as an XR-E R2, wouldn't it have to 'outshine' it? In other words, wouldn't a beam of 2200lm out throw a physically identical 270lm beam? If so, what am I missing? Is it the fact that it's impossible to focus the larger die emitter to the same degree? I know that 'focus' is the wrong term here, but I'm no EE or physics major; just a guy who is intrigued by this discussion.



You *can* focus the output from the SST-90 but you'll always need a larger reflector than you would for an XRE to achieve the same throw.

That is the point that saabluster was making.

It really doesn't matter though because there's a limit to how useful the beam is and I'm sure that if an XRE was in the Olight SR90 instead of the SST-90, the beam would not be nearly as useful even though it could throw a little further.

With XRE, think pencil beam instead of ram of light.


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## easilyled (Mar 5, 2010)

windstrings said:


> Its really hard to compare the beam and technology is so different.
> 
> Its really hard to see, but the 35W HID has a tiny hotspot that is slightly brighter than the beam of the SR90. But the beam of the SR90 is so perfect, bigger and solid, it overwhelms what the 35HID could hope to do in its throw pattern at a distance.
> Yes the 35HID will illuminate it, but the illumination is so fragmented that is harder to define objects in the distance compared with the even beam of the SR90.
> ...



I think its fair to summarize your explanation by saying that the hotspot in the Olight SR90 is much bigger.

Therefore at a distance of 500m, for example, the hotspot of the Olight SR90 lights up a much wider area at equal intensity, than the 35W HID.

I've just tried my Olight SR90 out in a nice big open space at the top of the hill which I'm perched on.

I love the beam distribution with the ram of light punching into the distance and the spill still lighting up everything in close and medium distance too.

The field-of-view that is illuminated is mighty impressive. No need to move the light around much. (which is probably just as well considering its weight!)


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## saabluster (Mar 5, 2010)

windstrings said:


> Well I don't want it to be a sore spot, but I would like to understand this concept..... if you start in another place I would like to participate.
> 
> I understand laws of multiplication that says the hotter the more throw..... just now sure why laws of addition don't apply too that says, "More light equals more throw too".
> 
> ...


It's no sore spot. I just think that even though this conversation has bearing on the SR90 people would rather talk about things more directly relating to this light in this thread. There is also the issue that the majority ,it seems, of CPF does not understand this issue. If I take more time to explain it here how many will see it? It really needs its own thread. I hope I was not insulting in any way. I will advise everyone here when the thread is started. Until then might I suggest everyone stay off the topic unless someone wants to chime in who knows, really knows, what they are talking about. To do otherwise leaves a lot of misinformation out there that will just make the process to understanding all that harder. 

This subject did not seem to be a problem at one time but this new SR90 in particular has gotten everyone confused as to the facts because it is a large die LED putting out massive numbers and beats the other LED reflector lights in the throw department. It is confusing for those who don't understand on a fundamental level.


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## windstrings (Mar 6, 2010)

easilyled said:


> I think its fair to summarize your explanation by saying that the hotspot in the Olight SR90 is much bigger.




thats the whole point.... they are different animals.. the SR90 doesn't have a 
"hotspot"... its the beam or the spill.... no corona, no hotspot.

The Beam is even throughout.... and quite big to evenly illuminate whatever it hits.


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## Dude Dudeson (Mar 7, 2010)

windstrings said:


> Well I don't want it to be a sore spot, but I would like to understand this concept..... if you start in another place I would like to participate.
> 
> I understand laws of multiplication that says the hotter the more throw..... just now sure why laws of addition don't apply too that says, "More light equals more throw too".
> 
> ...


 
I'll take a stab at it.

Take a dark room. Light a candle. You'll see light.

Light another candle. You've doubled your output, but it's not that much brighter. The positioning of that second candle is going to have a lot more impact on the room illumination than it's additional light output.

Now let's compare those two candles to fifty of them. Now you're going to start noticing the difference bigtime, regardless of positioning.

What we'd have here is a brute force approach with the candles - we've got a lot of light happening, and it shows.

Now blow them all out. Fire up an arc welder. It's going to light the place up more than the fifty candles. Why? Because it's simply WAY brighter of a source - a thousand candles can't match it in terms of brightness (but surely could be put to use to illuminate a lot more of a cave system).

So to go back to your question - adding "more light" just increases how much area you can light up, and adding "more intensity" just increases how bright you can go.

True, adding "more light" CAN increase intensity (obviously fifty candles is going to light a room up a lot more than one), but if you're going for brightness you want, well, brightness...

And all of this is about raw light sources - I am not even touching on the various focusing methods employed in flashlights.

Here's another description - take a person and have them yell across a valley. Now take fifty. They'll be louder, and they'll "throw" further, but a single trumpet would probably outthrow them in almost all directions. The trumpet is simply a louder source than most human voices, even if you're standing behind it.

I'm pulling figures out of my posterior here, but the basic point applies...


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## saabluster (Mar 7, 2010)

Like I said before please only post if you really know what you are talking about.:shakehead


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## saabluster (Mar 8, 2010)

windstrings said:


> ... if you start in another place I would like to participate.


As promised. Keep in mind I still have a lot of information to post. I am just really slow at typing.


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## koti (Mar 8, 2010)

Moving this to another (https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/264750) thread.


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## Dead_Nuts (Mar 24, 2010)

Back to the OP.

I have one of the first SR90's and have compared it to several lights. I'll offer my subjective opinion (no scientific measurements) now:

This light throws like crazy!

This light has spill like crazy!

OK, that's probably not enough for most enthusiasts, so . . . 

It completely embarrasses compact HID's (sub 35w).

It throws as good, if not better than the typical large reflector size 35w HID. (POB, etc.)

It has more spill and has a more useful beam than any of the above.

This light amazed me. I did not dare expect this kind of output from it. Even after I bought it and played with it in town, I wasn't convinced. But after taking it out to my little place in the country, I was convinced that is a viable alternative to HID in some uses. But, it's pretty darn big!


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## easilyled (Mar 24, 2010)

Dead_Nuts said:


> Back to the OP.
> 
> I have one of the first SR90's and have compared it to several lights. I'll offer my subjective opinion (no scientific measurements) now:
> 
> ...




I agree. I really *do* think that at the moment this light is unrivalled among led-lights for the combination of sheer raw power, throw and usefulness of its beam.

Its good to know that you have ranked it ahead of 35W HIDs. :thumbsup:

This says a lot about how far led-flashlights have come and I think that Olight deserve a tremendous amount of credit for being the first to produce a light in this league.

Its true the light is very large, but it has to be in order to adequately heatsink the heat emerging from a 30W led. The other reason that it has been designed like this is because a very large reflector is required in order to collimate the SST-90 this well.


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## windstrings (Mar 24, 2010)

Its true.... I can't find a smaller LED that rivals the SR90 in any way other than being smaller. Run times are limited or lumens are not as bright.


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## Swedpat (Mar 24, 2010)

easilyled said:


> Its true the light is very large, but it has to be in order to adequately heatsink the heat emerging from a 30W led. The other reason that it has been designed like this is because a very large reflector is required in order to collimate the SST-90 this well.



I guess you forgot to mention that such a high outputs makes the demand of a large battery for satisfying runtimes, the reason to the large sized tube. 

Regards, Patric


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## Serial Chiller (Mar 24, 2010)

I just took mine for a walk outside. When I turned into a long and unenlightened path I switched it on and the path was well lit up all the way to the end. Nice. Then I noticed that it was still in "low" mode. I pressed the button again and a second later all those little shadows and and speckles that inspire your imagination and make you see witches or giants, were simply erased. There was nothing but light. You could send a little girl over an old graveyard in an abandoned ghost town at midnight, as long as she has an Olight SR90 with her, she will be fine. I love this light and I wish I had an actual use for it.


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## saabluster (Mar 24, 2010)

Dead_Nuts said:


> It throws as good, if not better than the typical large reflector size 35w HID. (POB, etc.)


The first figures I saw for this light were in the 60Ks then I saw someone say 112,600lux and now your telling me it does over 570,000lux?:thinking: That's what my POB does anyway. Sorry but I'm not buying it.


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## easilyled (Mar 25, 2010)

saabluster said:


> The first figures I saw for this light were in the 60Ks then I saw someone say 112,600lux and now your telling me it does over 570,000lux?:thinking: That's what my POB does anyway. Sorry but I'm not buying it.



I'm assuming the 112,600 lux is likely to be around the correct reading unless someone with authority tells me otherwise.

jirik_cz explained that the 60,000 reading was inaccurate due to not being able to measure from so close up (1 meter) for such a large light.

Therefore he needed to obtain a reading from a larger distance and then to extrapolate back to 1 meter.

This seems to be the way lux readings are often calculated for larger lights.


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## jirik_cz (Mar 25, 2010)

A guy on our local forums has another Intimidator and he measured 104,300 lux (measured from 3 meters and converted). So at least two pieces have more than 100k lux


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## mpkav (Mar 25, 2010)

BEAMSHOTS???
Good or bad we neeeeed them!!! I'm still waiting on mine so for now I have to live through everyone else!!!!!!!


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## jirik_cz (Mar 25, 2010)

Did you miss this thread? 
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/262146

and this review? 
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/content.php?75-Olight-SR90-Intimidator-Review


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## easilyled (Mar 25, 2010)

jirik_cz said:


> Did you miss this thread?
> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/262146
> 
> and this review?
> http://www.britishblades.com/forums/content.php?75-Olight-SR90-Intimidator-Review



The british blades review seems to have all the pictures cropped in half on my PC. Highly annoying.


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## mpkav (Mar 25, 2010)

I've seen both already!!! I would like to see some basic beamshots out in the back yard or in a field. Maybe some comparison shots with other lights, they don't even have to compare in power!!!! SOMEBODY FEED ME


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## saabluster (Mar 25, 2010)

easilyled said:


> I'm assuming the 112,600 lux is likely to be around the correct reading unless someone with authority tells me otherwise.
> 
> jirik_cz explained that the 60,000 reading was inaccurate due to not being able to measure from so close up (1 meter) for such a large light.
> 
> ...


Trust me I get the need to measure from a distance. You do know what I do every day don't you? My problem is *Dead_Nuts *thinks that the SR90 can beat a POB. There is no way in this world unless he is comparing it to a defective one.


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## easilyled (Mar 25, 2010)

saabluster said:


> Trust me I get the need to measure from a distance. You do know what I do every day don't you?



Of course, I know that you are an expert when it comes to these things. 
Then we agree that the SR90 is probably around the 100,000 - 115,000 lux at 1 meter ball-park.
This to me is wonderful for an led with such a big die that puts out so many lumens.




saabluster said:


> My problem is *Dead_Nuts *thinks that the SR90 can beat a POB. There is no way in this world unless he is comparing it to a defective one.



Well, to tell you the truth, I have to confess that I don't even know what a POB is, having never really explored HIDs properly. 
However if said POB has a 570,000 lux per meter reading, then clearly its in a different league to the SR90 for throw.
Perhaps Dead_Nuts is talking about a different version from the one you are thinking about or perhaps it has a varying focus and its not been set to the tightest setting?


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## sebis (Apr 8, 2010)

Thanks to the reviews on this forum I got a SR90 to use it on my farm. So far I can only say wow… I am in the city tonight and could not really experience its capabilities. I took it outside only briefly, I was scared my neighbors will call the cops on me after I lit the whole street from one end to the other.
 
Build quality seems really good and even thou is a LARGE flashlight it is not that bad when you handle it. The case is another story, mine came with the handle already broken, really cheap plastic and didn’t expect to last much anyway. I think I need to get Pelican case for it.
 
So far I am impressed and very happy with my purchase, I almost bought an L35 HID light but this is a much better choice, at least for my needs.
 
--Sebis


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## mpkav (Apr 9, 2010)

I got mine a week ago and it has been on the night stand every night!!! I'm not sure why, I have a gun readily available for an intruder. I have a whole list of lights on the dresser for different applications, I guess in case I have to light up the whole neighborhood!!!!!my wife thinks I have problems, I told her she knew of these problems before she married me!!!


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## Serial Chiller (Apr 9, 2010)

sebis said:


> The case is another story, mine came with the handle already broken, really cheap plastic and didn’t expect to last much anyway. I think I need to get Pelican case for it.



The case is really not that great... once you took out the shoulder strap and the charger it's really hard to get them back in. But I don't really see the point in a case for such a light anyway. It's like packing a tank in bubblewrap. The light is easy to carry and certainly tougher than the case.


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## mpkav (Apr 9, 2010)

I'm looking into a Pelican case as well. I am going to use the SR90 for some duty search use and it will be in my trunk from time to time.


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## headophile (Apr 9, 2010)

any more beamshots of this light? wish someone would do a proper detailed review


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## windstrings (Apr 9, 2010)

headophile said:


> any more beamshots of this light? wish someone would do a proper detailed review



Its good.... hows that?


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## garden (Apr 9, 2010)

Bronco said:


> This light was designed to compete with the smaller HID offerings in the long range, handheld searchlight category



Are you sure? If this light was really designed for that, it wouldn't come out from only "Chosen Olight Dealers", and not be "extremely limited" in quantity. They are really aiming for flashlight collectors (like CPF members). The extremely limited quantity and limited dealership, just makes it all more "exciting" and another business strategy.

Another clue is the pictures and info the manufacturer gives. The manufacturer makes hardly any mention of it being a spotlight, searchlight, the only mention being "intended purposes ....,....,....Search&Rescue". Whereas a typical searchlight/spotlight manufacturer would peobably put "searchlight, spotlight, intended for searching, spotting, etc, all over the description to boost its Google and Yahoo searches. 

Sure, some professionals would buy the SR90, but Olight would sure expect 70-90% of its market in the "collector and fans " industry. 

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=213047


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## windstrings (Apr 9, 2010)

If you study all the benefits of LED over incandescent or even HID "instant on, tremendous life, more efficient etc" you just can't find an LED light this bright with this throw made with this quality.

Yes, collectors will like it, but you really do get what you pay for with this... as discussed beforehand.... having a light with all the matched batteries included and a charger to charge them all at once with all the other amenities adds up to the price you see.

Yes, there are plenty of reasons not to spend this much money on a light, but one of them is not because its not worth it.

When we see things we really don't need or can afford, its healthy to find reasons to talk ourselves out of buying it for sure... but this really is a nice light.

Every person has to decide if they can live without it for now or wait or just forget it... but I haven't seen buyer remorse with anyone.

The only buyers remorse I could see if if someone honestly needed to do something else with the money really bad.


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## headophile (Apr 10, 2010)

windstrings said:


> Its good.... hows that?





good enough for me!


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## AbleArcher (Apr 10, 2010)

Serial Chiller said:


> I just took mine for a walk outside. When I turned into a long and unenlightened path I switched it on and the path was well lit up all the way to the end. Nice. Then I noticed that it was still in "low" mode. I pressed the button again and a second later all those little shadows and and speckles that inspire your imagination and make you see witches or giants, were simply erased. There was nothing but light. You could send a little girl over an old graveyard in an abandoned ghost town at midnight, as long as she has an Olight SR90 with her, she will be fine. *I love this light and I wish I had an actual use for it*.



I'm in the same boat, I already have enough (if there is such a thing) lights that I have little use for. But the one light I am missing is a thrower with a fairly wide beam and the SR90 seems to fit the bill nicely.

The urge to buy one of these is getting stronger by the day, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing :naughty:


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## easilyled (Apr 12, 2010)

HKJ has done an excellent beamshot comparison of the SR90 with the DEFT and some HID lights including the Microfire Warrior III.

Have a look at the beamshot comparisons from this thread. You will see just how well the beamshots of the SR90 compare.

Bear in mind that the Titanium L70 is 70 Watts and 7000 lumens!!!


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## windstrings (Apr 12, 2010)

the DEFT is a smidge brighter than the SR90 but not near as big... and of course much lighter!


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## easilyled (Apr 12, 2010)

windstrings said:


> the DEFT is a smidge brighter than the SR90 but not near as big... and of course much lighter!



The DEFT throws a bit further, but the Olight lights up a much wider area and provides the more useful illumination in my opinion.


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## hivoltage (Apr 12, 2010)

The SR90 is just awesome.....I love mine.


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## saabluster (Apr 12, 2010)

easilyled said:


> The DEFT throws a bit further, but the Olight lights up a much wider area and provides the more useful illumination in my opinion.


At that distance I would agree. It only appears to be a few hundred feet. As the distance increases the DEFT will provide useful illumination when the SR90 runs out of breath.


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## Geode (Apr 23, 2010)

That is a big, bad flashlight. Makes the 2D Maglight look dainty. I will meditate on a way to justify getting this beast.


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## AardvarkSagus (Apr 24, 2010)

Incredible. This thing is enormous! Thankfully the sheer amount of light it puts out is proportional. Even having read a lot about it, I was very surprised when I actually saw the sheer size of the thing.


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## selfbuilt (Apr 24, 2010)

Hi guys ... my review is now up:

Olight SR90 Intimidator (Phlatlight SST-90) Review: BEAMSHOTS, RUNTIMES and more!

BTW, I measured lux at 5m and extrapolated back to 1m to get 112,500lux. Seems pretty consistent with other measures reported here.

Enjoy! :wave:


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## Igor Porto (Apr 24, 2010)

THANK YOU!!! :thumbsup:


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