Fenix FD30 - the zoomie for zoomie-haters?

Zero spill is quite usefull for rifle mounted bigger scopes like Zeis Victory or Mark 5, that spill will nuke your eye in a matter of 2-3 minutes tops
IN the matter of fact Sunwayman`s zoomie is one of the best arround

I like my Cometa…

I want some spill with most of my flashlight uses. Zooming back loses intensity so fast that the larger beam doesn’t help me with visibility. Some bright spill (corona?) near the hotspot or a larger focused beam might give me a reason to buy. Based on pics I’ve seen, the B158 is close to what I want so far but I don’t want to spend on any more shelf queens. I need to see the performance before I’ll buy.

Phil

honestly speaking this new Fenix zoomie is probably the most practical zoomie type flashlight, without giving up some lumens to the zoomie lens while projecting both smoother throw and flood beam option

Alright, anybody have one? whitewall shots?

I have the FD40 which maybe is just the 26650 version of this? I personally love it for a flood/throw combo light. It is not designed for tactical purposes but for me has several general purpose type uses as well as bike light. Yes, when zoomed in it has much more of a standard reflector type beam profile akin to something like TN12, P12, EC20 etc. albeit sloppier. The flood though is very nice imo.

Flood is not the big circle, but rather a flat wall of light which is just perfect and only limited possibly by its lack a few hundred more lumens. 900 or 1,000 lumens is still just that, and when spread out so very well, it might not be the brightest. It is for me though bright enough to use it full flood as a bike light and still see everything just fine for any type casual riding. If you’re a speed demon though, you may want to see a bit further up the road. I have to say that I personally like the FD40 but by far my biggest complaint is the UI. I don’t like press and hold for on/off. The worst thing is that when it is on and I forget to press and hold but single click only, it goes to lowest and I may not notice that I didn’t even turn it of so there goes the battery.

I’ll post some beam shots here soon. But with the FD30 and FD40, I’m not sure if it’s the same design for zoom. FD40 though is rather compact for a 26650 size which is definitely another plus.

FD40
From the pictures of the lights, the FD40 looks like it probably has an LED Lenser style TIR optic. That type of optic consists of a single-piece TIR but with a large pocket in the center. The LED sits on a post that can extend and retract into the optic.

FD30
In contrast, the FD30 appears to be a conventional aluminum reflector split into two sections. The cutaway also clearly shows a flat lens.

  • In spot mode, the inner and outer section form one narrow, but very deep reflector. I would expect a fairly large spot and corona, with a small amount of spill. As it is still a very narrow light, I would expect little throw.
  • In flood mode, the outer portion of the reflector retracts out of the way behind the innermost reflector section. The result is the light now has a tiny, relatively shallow reflector. I would expect a wide floody beam with generous spill and almost no throw.

The FD30 is the first light using this type of mechanism. I’d be very interested in seeing some white wall shots of it in action. I’m undecided whether to try one myself. I like pocket-sized EDC lights and at 140mm this light is far too long for pocket use. If I gutted it and replaced the innards (assuming I can actually open it… Fenix are usually heavily glued) I might be able to take off a couple cm. But even 120mm is still too long for me to EDC.

Ok I get it. Thanks. They are very different indeed. Maybe I’ll still post some white wall and outdoor pics here simply for reference against the FD30 when/if someone else posts some pics for it. For dealing with glue, do you use strap wrench, vice and blowtorch?

Methods I’ve tried for dealing with glue:

  • 2 strap wrenches. Often works quite well and doesn’t damage the light. Downside is trying to work 2 strap wrenches at the same time is awkward (I wish my strap wrenches had some kind of ratcheting mechanism to hold them tight rather than requiring just hands to do so).
  • 3M indoor stairway grip tape with pliers. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t. Tends to scratch up the finish however.
  • Sometimes I’ll also use a vice. Depends on the light though.

Recently I tried opening the head on my Jetbeam II pro titanium for an emitter swap. I couldn’t get the bezel to move with my strap wrenches. I’ll probably need to go the blowtorch route and hope it doesn’t melt anything inside. (I like the light, but tint is too cool for me).

I will post a little review soon, probably tomorrow evening/night (european time ). Fenix germany send me one last week. I made the final outdoorshots tonight, all pictures are done. Finally a light with honest lumen claims according to my little sphere. It was even over 900 lumens. I got the Rofis KR20 as well for a review and that light reached 850 lumens from 1100. Fenix has always honest lumen claims like surefire, Mag Lite and some others. But others than that the Rofis is pretty good for the money i have to say.

Yes the FD30 has a reflector kind of cut in two halves. The upper part can be raised and that results in a deep reflector. So the beamshot is similar to a normal reflector light but definately more like a thrower with a tight spot (fully raised).

Ok. I think I’ll continue with the strap wrench method. I have only started tinkering with mods and just bought a strap wrench to open up an Olight R50 to shave the dome and add resistors. I think I used a vice with a towel, strap wrench and blowtorch because room temperature wasn’t cutting it.

This was only after I tried using a pair of vice grips and a crescent wrench and ended up scratching up the anodizing pretty bad. Lesson learned, on to the next.

I don’t actually have a blowtorch. Think it’s time to head down to OSH and buy one.

Great, I’ll definitely look forward to seeing what you have to say about the FD30. I didn’t even know it existed until I saw this thread. Now I’m intrigued.

Yeah, Fenix, Oligh, Thrunite to name a few are pretty good with lumen claims. I think Nitecore imo is fairly disappointing when they don’t measure up to the claims as they are by no means a budget brand consumer light. I expect this a little with the cheap brands and am ok with it.

My understanding is the lights typically can withstand a lot of heat, but obviously don’t burn into anything you shouldn’t. I had to get the R50 much hotter than I originally intended/wanted to and it was just fine. Glued very tight though. lol

My biggest concern with heat is probably something like the membrane (or whatever) inside the switch under the metal cover to make it waterproof. Who knows how much heat that can take?

Other than that, I recall Vinh had some trouble with some 1xAAA Fenix lights. The blowtorch was hot enough that it was sometimes causing the plastic TIR optic to melt.

When using a blowtorch to heat a head, what do you use to get a grip to unscrew it?

I assume a strap wrench probably isn’t a good idea as the rubber strap could melt. Just use metal pliers and hope its loose enough not to scratch much?

I agree, there’s some risk of unknown if you are having to do a light for the first time and don’t know for sure about it’s structure/materials inside. It’s the proceed with caution zone. The little membranes might shrivel and harden. :cry:

Just keep the strap wrench as far away from the heat as possible.

Uhm, you don’t HAVE to zoom all the way in right? Granted the twisty-zooms are much easier to control this aspect, vs a push-pull.

The thing I dont like about this one is that it does not appear to have much zoom capability. There is still a LOT of spill in the zoomed pic.