Thanks for all the positive comments gents!! Yeah I used almost DSLR on the iphone, (THANKS pounder for the tip!!) which is the best I can do for now. It has the ability to lock the exposure setting. So I turned on the J12, aimed the camera for the shot and locked down that exposure. Using the same “locked” exposure setting I fired up the 5T6 and took another shot.
The biggest problem I was having is the Apex has almost NO center hot spot… just BIG huge spot that opens out to a wall of flood. So I had no way to really “aim” the light and center it on target. It clearly evident on the mouse-overs. Thanks the for doing that!! EDIT I now have updated the original post with better “aimed” beamshots.
I’ll try and re-take some better shots tonight. Looking forward to impressions, beamshots, and tailcap measurements from everyone else.
the if your thread is stickied as a formal review I’ll just post a comment+link to my impressions here so they don’t get lost/buried. I did that with JohnnyMacs HD2010 review sticky…. I hope you don’t mind me doing that (just let me know… no hard feelings).
I think the best feature about this light is that it can be left on for LONG durations without worry of thermal stress, battery abuse, or internal resistance issues. Unlike the TR-J12, which pulls up to 7A (!!) from each cell in 2-cell mode, and melts its springs in the process. Another way to look at it is like this…. they both emit about 2000 Lumens, but the TR-J12 needs 3.6-7Amps from each of its cells while the 5T6 only needs a mere ~1.33A. So that opens up the possibility of using ANY 18650 cell in this light. It also means each cell will not voltage sag under load, and as we all know Lithium based cells exhibit higher capacity with lower “C”. So this light does not need $$$ IMR, or other high current Lithium chemistry. As I said before, pick cells for their capacity… don’t worry so much about current draw and “C”. The other plus is the XML forward voltage will remain low at these drive currents. So overall its just a very efficient way to convert Watts to Lumens.
Its a very well thought-out design overall.
Side note… I am starting to FIRMLY believe theres just no way to top ~2000-2300 Lumens using the XML in lights this size and overall heatsinking mass. You can drive up the current, but it will just dim with increased temperatures… or worse yet, over-stress poorly designed internal components. I think the only way is to direct bond the emitters to copper in a bigger, thicker, heavier, $$$$ heatsink design and push them with higher currents.
Further side note… I’m also starting to think this is the ideal way to design a multi-XML torch. Stack up a bunch of 18650 cells in parallel, wire the emitters in parallel and drive them to whatever current the heatsink design can handle. I think you can really pull a LOT of wattage from a 4-5P cell arrangement, transpose that to the LEDs, and if the heatsink design is up to the task youre good to go. I really hope we see more designs like this and the Skyray King.