I don’t mind a shortcut based UI. I would have preferred to be able to assign any level to them… To me there didn’t seem to be enough runtime advantage or brightness difference to using the high modes. But then again, I think that’s what UI3 is for, but I wasn’t able to figure it out. I don’t disagree with you, but I do prefer one like I described earlier to the way this UI is laid out. I’d like a low medium and a turbo.
And thanks for the comment on the videography. I feel like it’s useful to have a person in the frame, because you know a bit more what it’s going to look like under real use. I feel like photography can be a bit misleading because of the long exposures can make the smallest light appear like a lumen monster. If anything the videography slightly underwhelms the viewer because it needs more light to expose, so you can always expect it to be a bit brighter. That said, I try to make the video as close to what I see as possible. I also intentionally moved the lights a bit on the beamshot comparison to you can see how the beam looks at it’s edges… Is it ringy? How big is the spot? How big is the flood? Unfortunately I don’t have an ultra wide fast lens- which is what I’d really like- but they’re pretty expensive especially the fast ones.
Great review, I think the UI is a little goofy too but it's like getting a new t.v., you learn the buttons on the remote sooner or later.I doubt I can resist getting one.
For the amount of light output you get verses the cost...I would say this is an almost free flashlight. Anyone else would be charging $499.00 for this thing! I expect these to sell out rather quickly. Great review btw!
Zebralight is 1 click high, hold for low from off. I saw in another thread that the complaints were that it can’t start in medium, although it think that’s a feature not a drawback.
I have to wonder what the idea behind the UI is as Dale also had trouble with it also. I think for 90% of us that four modes is plenty with three being ideal.
One question from me, fried blind vermin for dinner or is just a couple of poor puppies that have spots in their eyes wondering around not knowing where they are?
Those were deer… So you’re spot on calling them vermin. I feel like the herd needs more thinning around here. Can’t have a garden or drive at night. They’re best in a deep freeze.
I dunno… I talked to hank via pm about the UI. It’s just different, and it’s something you’ll have to get used to if you want this light. And to be honest nothing comes close in performance for the price for this light. He suggested I should have used UI 1. Well the holding 6 seconds to keep turbo on was the reason I didn’t like it. It’s a momentary turbo. But the thing is I held it for more than 6 seconds a few times… Got frustrated and went onto the next UI. It was most likely operator error… And he said I was probably in the wrong UI… Which is possible I guess. Anyway… I’m not new to programmable lights… You remember all of my RAyus reviews? Anyway since I didn’t have the light for long it’s possible I needed a few more days with it to understand it. I don’t mind shortcuts either, but for my preference Id like easier access to medium. A double click to high to me isn’t much use. My runtime tests proved that high and turbo don’t differ much in runtime. You might as well skip high 1. To make this light more useful easy access to lower and mid modes is preferable. Moonlight and low 1 are wonderful… But not quite bright enough for indoors if you need a bit more light. And like I said… There’s probably an operator error (me) issue too. We’ll see when more people get them in their hands. But dale is a good example… He hates the UI but is buying the light anyway because he understands it’s the best value for the money of any light. Plus I just have an opinion at the end of the day. I don’t program lights or build them… The light just has a different UI that has a slight learning curve. It’s not my favorite but I don’t hate it.
Excellent review. I sold my Nitecore TM26 to fund this, but I think I'm going to wait. Hopefully Hank will incorporate the new XP-L Hi Intensity emitter in the near future.
I am very excited about the Meteor, and I will get one once updated. I'd like to see a more basic UI though. The current version seems a bit complicated. That said, I still plan on getting one even if the UI isn't made a little more basic.
The constant dimming throughout the runtime is susprising, i thought this light was regulated, it doesn’t seem to be the case unless it’s a result of the 50° default temp control, bummer
Well look at the Sanyo… It seems like it has a smoother drop in output… Quite possibly because they aren’t supplying the light with as much current as the LG batteries. The one problem with speeding up the footage is that it is way more noticeable because it usually it a gradual fluctuation that happens over a few minutes. I know because I’ve watched segments of the full length 36GB runtime and it’s hard to tell its dimming and getting brighter if you sit and watch in real time. If there was anyway to compress the file to make it more upload friendly I’d upload the whole thing… Otherwise it’d take probably 24 hours or so.
I watched the video again, actually after around 10 minutes on both the lg and sanyo the output seems to stabilize, dimming doesn’t seem to occur anymore before the batteries are nearly empty, my bad.
mhanlen, superb video skills, as usual. Now you’ve spoiled us with these video reviews, I simply can’t watch any others.
Have you thought of adding music to the video, like in the background? Just a thought.
My reviews used to contain music. After a copyright dispute or two and people leaving pretty mean spirited comments here and on my YouTube page… I decided against it. I have thought about doing it again in the future… In fact I prefer music to myself talking… But we’ll see. I don’t have any lights on the horizon for now… So this may be my last one for a while. It’s simpler and faster without music honestly. Plus it’s hard to pick out 2 or three matching music numbers for a 12 minute review that often flow together.
I’ve also noticed that I’ve had three thumbs down in the span of less than 24 hours… Which believe it or not is a new record for me. I must have done something wrong in this one.
