Spot/flood ramping? And other Hypothetical Questions

Disclaimer: I am not knowledgeable concerning light modding/building or anything related to it, including what the real world practical implications of these ideas would be like. Feel free to chime in with opinions and/or shed some light (of course that pun was intended) on the subject!_

Hi all. I'm not quite sure why I thought of this, but WHAT IF...

1) there was made an electronically controlled spot/flood adjustment like what energizer has done in their "Vision" series lights ( https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/47144 ) but better? Common complaints of this Vision series apart from overall quality is that it's not quite throwy enough when "zoomed" in. It uses TIR over 2 "throw" LEDs and 1 "flood" honeycombed LED. I think given new technology and innovative minds there could be a much better version of this with thrower LEDs and TIR. We already have Anduril-controlled tint ramping. What about *flood/spot ramping*? this would essentially be the exact same as tint ramping (ie dimming certain LEDs while simultaneously ramping up others). Perhaps the real question is whether there is actual incentive to build such light and how useful vs. a fixed beam.

2) A built-in flashlight diffuser made with...Electrochromic glass? Ok this is a stretch of applicability, but it's just so cool. There are much better applications of electrochromic glass such as privacy glass and sun shades for car windows and windshields. The obvious con of this (other than cost) is that when disconnected from electricity, the state of the glass is opaque or "frosted". So if something goes wrong and it loses its power source, it goes from clear to frosted. This happened once in a hospital ICU where I was interning; during rounds all the windows to patient rooms went frosted until the issue was fixed. It would obviously be bad if it happened to your windshield while driving-- also bad on a flashlight that would then be stuck in diffuser mode.

Thanks!

There are no stupid questions...

Just stupid answers.

Like this one!

That would be one expensive torch just by then lens itself imo. I’m sure the glass isn’t cheap.

@drewski, the Vision is not using a special zoom optic.

It’s using a dual type optic, with 2 types of TIRs: long range and short range.

It is possible to do this electrically actually. You just need a 2 channel driver that can separately activate channels and can combine them… which is the case for the BLF Lantern.

TLDR: You only need a special optic like it, with 1x SST-20 for max throw, along with 2x LH351Ds for a lot of flood under the flood optic.

This is actually a fairly interesting topic that deserves a more descriptive title.

I think the the Lux RC FJ33 will be similar to the Energizer you posted, but much fancier overall. Don’t look it up. You probably can’t afford it.

The Peak Maxabeam has a motorized focus motor. From what I’ve heard, you get rings in the beam in the floodier positions, but I suppose that’s because it is primarily optimized for really, really long throw. It is also a light you shouldn’t look up unless you have the budget of a government law enforcement or search and rescue agency. Film makers use it a lot

That could theoretically be scaled down. The components would probably be similar to those used in point and shoot camera zooms. Couple that with aspherics or more complex optical arrangements like those used in the Fenix FD series.

The moving parts would not favor durability, though.

Using smart glass as a diffuser sounds viable. I think electrochomric glass is used for dimming, though. I think smart privacy glass is an LCD-related technology that scatters light rather than dims.

Thanks for your reply! I was aware how the Vision series works, though perhaps my OP doesn’t convey that well. I am wondering if it’s been done in a better way, like with the sst20 and LH351D you mentioned. It would be quite luxurious to have it controlled by a dual switch or magnetic ring. Anduril is already so feature-rich I’m not sure if this could fit in conveniently to the UI.

Cool idea. I also wonder if it’s been done in the flashlight modding world.

I wonder if the UI could be done like this: clicking and holding ramps the brightness up or down as usual. Double clicking and holding ramps between spot and flood.

Dual-switch is definitely the way to implement tint and spot/flood ramping in future flashlights. IIRC TK has said she’s working on or at least outlining some dual-switch UI elements.

I didn’t realize that Fenix is doing the spot flood thing with their LR40R that utilizes an XP-L HI in the center reflector, surrounded by 18 XP-G3’s. It uses 2 buttons to control spot/flood. Seems pretty nice except for the fact that it’s got a hefty price tag.