I like the fact that in UI3, on whatever mode you are on except turbo, you are just a click and click and hold away from adjusting the level.
Seriously the best UI I have on any light. Easy and adjustable.
I have a modded Meteor with the 4000K 219C 90+CRI that Reylight was selling a while back, fantastic. My 3000K XPL HI 80 CRI is awesome and the “user” of my meteors. Below about 3500K,there is little blue light stimulation, and the warmer tints have less glare effect as well, so it tends to get the most use…
Thanks for the info, I had mine nearly a year and only used UI 1 so far and didn’t like the mode order. Now I set up UI 3 as you described and it is much better this way!
I had put off getting one for about a year due to not liking the UI looking at it on “paper” but finally got one with the revised shell a few months ago and use UI3, it’s great, quite intuitive and a great light.
Don’t fear the UI
I have a Meteor too, and I like almost everything about it except the UI. I have it configured the same as goshdogit, which makes it okay-ish, but I rarely use it. To cover the whole range of ~1 lumen to ~8000 lm, it really needs more than 3 or 4 modes, and the ability to easily go up or down at any time. Tom E’s Narsil is much nicer (especially the ramping UI).
I could fix it, if the firmware was available for modification… but it’s not. So the Meteor mostly sits unused on a shelf as a reminder of the importance of mod-friendly design.
I have a s4 3d and 219c D320 version of the M43. 219c tint a bit cooler/whiter. S4 3D has a bit of a egg yolk beam but really not noticeable unless you have both side by side. I posted a picture of the tints awhile back somewhere. Can’t find it tho.
I love this light so much, I actually have a 3rd one coming in the mail. This time I got XP-L HI V3 3C.
It’s probably the best and brightest high CRI light. It’s not the leader when compared to lights with lower CRI, and it doesn’t have enough mass to stay on high as long as bigger lights. It’s main selling point is that it’s the smallest soda can light, and a soda can light is something that I can have around me all the time and even carry around with me a lot, but that means I need it to have all the modes I need.
It’s a bit hard for us to show all the UI and functions on the paper, thus people find it “complicated”, the thing is that you only need to use one UI at a time, there is always one UI which will fit your need.
I assume more choices are better than no choices.
The choice of UI helps a lot, but it’s still probably the weakest part of the Meteor. In most ways, the Meteor is an awesome light, 10 out of 10… except for the UI:
Size: 10/10
Performance: 10/10
Efficiency: 10/10
Output range: 10/10
Build quality: 10/10
Aesthetics: 10/10
Tint/beam options: 10/10
Accessories: 10/10
Price: 8/10
UI: 3/10, 4/10, or 6/10
I don’t mind that it’s complicated. That’s not the issue. And it’s awesome that I can choose a UI with 6/10 points instead of being stuck with a 3/10.
What I’m complaining about (and I admit this is a sign that I’m very spoiled) is that such a nice light should:
Have a UI which is 9/10 or 10/10. Something awesome instead of just okay. That may mean a different thing for each person though, which leads into the next point:
Be mod-friendly in ways which allow people to fix the firmware if they don’t like it.
There is another light I’ve heard similar complaints about. It’s the Oveready BOSS, an expensive premium light. It is a compact triple with a very fancy Lux-RC driver and an independent red LED. The driver can be configured to have any set of modes in any order, so people should be able to set it up how they like… But it has a maximum of 4 modes, including both the main output and the red LED.
I know a couple people who have one… but they don’t use it much. Because of the 4-mode limitation, they usually leave the BOSS on a shelf and use a cheap Convoy triple instead.
Of course, this may boil down to cultural differences. Both the Meteor and the Lux-RC driver have similar origins and design philosophies, and they’re considered nearly perfect in the cultures they came from. It’s very possible that what I consider good would not be liked in other places. People have different taste and on some things they will never agree with each other. So I find it important to make sure the code is available and the hardware can be reflashed fairly easily.
