Interesting, looks like a neat program. Thanks for posting the pics; this has aided in my understanding of the subject.
One thing that I’ve been thinking and now can put better into words: for smallish reflectors, focusing at 5 or 10m makes a beam that is practically close to collimated. For example, consider a 40mm reflector with an XPL HI that is focused at 10m. The divergence angle from the focus not being actually at infinity is 0.002rad [inverse tan(.04m/(2*10m)]. This would cause the beam to diverge an extra 20cm at 100m, which is a small amount. In particular it is small compared to the beam divergence that exists as a result of the LED size, which is approximately 0.06rad.
So while what you have been saying about reflector focus is true, for most lights that aren’t huge, focusing at 5 or 10m results in a practically collimated beam.
Yeah, this kinda only applies to large reflectors like the ones in searchlights, and also to an extent the 6 or 9" reflectors of mirascope size, not the kind of flashlight you use to light a path or carry in your pocket.
The hardest part is taking manufacturer given height and diameter and putting those in the program by adjusting the parabola radius, since focal point of parabolic reflectors is not given often unfortunately.
But yeah, this program helped me find a good lens setup for my thrower flashlights and is pretty awesome!
Just got my mirascope in, and as a mirascope it’s not impressive, at all…
The mirror surface is a bit messy unfortunately…
But, a quick test with an XP-E2 light looks kind of hopeful none the less.
This evening when dark outside i will see if it’s worth working with or just a waste of time and money.
So with the same power it seems to throw more light in the right direction than an A60.
This was only 10 meters distance to the screen, so i’m still not sure what it will do over longer distances.
Quite a bunch of anomalies around the hotspot, which seem to come from the outer perimeter of the recoil reflector.
Will do some more pics later to investigate further.
What bin XR-E and XP-E are you using? I’m wondering how much of the difference is from the emitters themselves. Or, possibly, the difference in emitters could be working the other way, depending on bin, so the difference from the reflector set-up might even be more than shows in the pics!
I have no idea what bin those LEDs are.
The XP-E is from a SingFire 348, so probably nothing special, The XR-E is how i bought the Jacob.
I was assuming it would be similar enough.
Dang, camera battery empty…
I’m trying approx. 20 meters now, but either way, this thing does a nice job throwing in the good direction, but a better reflector would have been considerably better, i think…
The spot @ 10 meters is approximately 50 cm in diameter.
This is a compromise between collimation and focussing, it’s “the best it can do” so to speak.
Hmm, when you put it like that, i guess it’s not too bad.
No i don’t have a lux meter (yet)
I thought i’d compare it with a known light: the Jacob A60.
The recoil setup seems to outthrow the Jacob hands down, which is not bad either.
Hmm that's alright I guess. Maybe look into buying one in the future if you're into flashlights a lot, I got one for $50 a while ago and it has been extremely useful.
For myself, I also contacted a company that makes real reflectors, and it's like $700-1000 for a nice 16 or 20" reflector xD a bit pricey!