And that classified ad about a T-10M not far from were i live was still here ...Not the latest model like the one i have at work but the previous one, the price was ok compared to the price of a new one but still too expensive for me so i hadn't called but hey it was still around after a full month in the ads and i was REALLY pissed so i called the guy and offered the maximum i could "reasonably" spend for something that i don't really need.
I checked the 3 cheap Tasi’s (and Mobilux) against 4 of the test-lights also used in the OP to get an idea of their differences.
Here’s the data, to explain what is in the table:
*for most lights I checked a few output settings. After every series I re-measured with Mobikux (number between parenthesis) to see any output drop of the flashlights in the course of measuring with 4 meters (there was some).
*the green numbers in the Mobilux row are +3.4% corrections to get the Mobilux to the most recent calibration.
*the green numbers in the Tasi rows are percentage deviation from Mobilux
*the red numbers in the last row was the measurement of the good 8133 divided by the measurement of the 8132. To see if they are similar apart from a calibration difference.
Can’t blame you if you do not follow the clutter above, the conclusions are:
*the re-measuring of the TA8132 gave roughly the same results as in the measurements of the same luxmeter in the OP, but there’s a few percent difference here and there, so this type of comparison is not extremely accurate (assuming that the TA8132’s performance is consistent, which I think is likely)
*the “good” TA8133 has a ~3% lower calibration than the TA8132, so its calibration is not as close to the Mobilux as the TA8132 , but otherwise the error-characteristics are the same. I expect that the wavelength responses are very close to each other.
*the “bad” TA8133, when at all it measures (it starts producing numbers above 60 lux :confounded: ), the numbers are way too low, with lower light levels giving larger errors than higher light levels so this luxmeter is not even lineair! It seems I got a total dud here.
There’s one last straw. My “black top” (and other visible clues on the outside) corresponded with downgraded sensor-internals and miserable performance, but that was just one unit. Perhaps there’s black tops with the good internals?
Or else wait for new cheap luxmeters to check. At least we know that ok and usable luxmeters can in principle be made for little money.
To other people looking for an 8132 or 8133 meter:
If you ask for a picture before buying then you might be able to see if there are other signs of low quality, such as the crappy cable and pale red housing, instead of just what colour the top is.
I am trying exactly that Enderman.
A good tipp for everyone that is also trying this. Check the pictures twice. I got pictures from two sellers. Both looked good. red top. . . but when downloading and viewing enlarged i noticed that the picture was showing a TA8130 not the 32 or 33. There are a few sellers that claim to have the right one (some say its their last one!!). But untill now nowbody managed to deliver a picture from a 8132/33. But i have time and will try to get one.
And maybe like djozz said, only the samples he got had bad internals. I doubt it, but it is possible.
Or else find other luxmeters out there that have that same measuring unit. I saw a few teardowns on youtube of other meters that looked exactly the same inside. Not that this luxmeter is so great but it is at least better than the LX1330B that so many people use.
I have not done detailed comparison but the "black top" TA8133 i got does the same weird things djozz's one does like displaying 0lm when T-10 says 70ish lm, 100lm when t-10 is like 160lm, that plus the difference seem to depend on the lamp type and color wich is a sign that the filter doesn't follow the right curve.
One meter doing weird things might be an error but two meters with the same kind of behaviour sounds like the start of a trend
From a designer point of view its feels like Tasi changed the sensor type without changing the calibration parameters (plus the new sensor+new filter doesn't fit the expected response curve as well as the previous couple did)
Its interesting to see how it is working on Aliexpress.
I think it is save to say that most of the sellers do not have their own stock. They use dropshipping.
How do i come to this conclusion. I asked the sellers only which one they have (I send a picture with a red and a balck one). And i got the same picture from 6 sellers. It showed the black one.
So they asked the warehouse and all got the same picture from there.
So i think i have to search for something else. To bad. The meter was relative precise and that for a very good price.
No, sorry. The good TA8132 was actually financed by Enderman and I promised him to have it if it was any good, I will send it along to him with the bigger Tasi meter. The “good” TA8133 I would like to keep for reference.
No problem! I did not belive that a seller would answere this late. And i was not expecting to get the right picture
Its their last one. And they told me the new ones are the ones with black top :cry:
So i put it in my cart bought it and . . . . payment failed! Thats right. I love AE! Customer Support competent and capable as it gets, told me to wait 24H and then try again.
:person_facepalming: :person_facepalming:
