Disclaimer: the H1 Nova was provided for testing by Olight free of charge
outside beamshots coming later
The Olight H1 Nova is a super small right angle CR123A/RCR123/16340 headlamp derived from Olight’s popular S series flashlights. In addition to the headband the light features a removable pocket clip and a strong tailcap magnet. This makes the mounting options very versatile. There’s a cool and a neutral white option available. The light tested here is the neutral version.
The light measures only 5 mm longer than the smallest Olight the S Mini. It is also smaller than the S1 of last year.
Features and manufacturer’s specifications
Battery: CR123A primary of a rechargeable RCR123/16340, a CR123A primary provided
LED: Cree XM-L2 in cool or neutral white
Waterproof: IPX8
Mode memory: yes, also moon and turbo (for 10 minutes)
Output specs (with a CR123A primary)
Maximum output: 500 lumens for 3 minutes, stepdown to 180 lm for 170 minutes
Other output levels: 60/15/2 lumens
Light intensity: 1080 candela
Beam distance: 66 m
Measured dimensions and weight
Length: 58.3 mm
Head width: 21.2 mm
Handle width: 19.6 mm
Weight: light only 24 g, 29 g with clip, 52 g with headband, add 17 g for 16340 or 15 g for CR123A
User interface
The user interface is your usual Olight with mode memory and direct access to moon and turbo from off.
From off:
Single click turns the light on with the last used mode memorized, also moon and turbo for 10 minutes
Long press activates moonlight
Keeping the switch pressed for 2 seconds engages electronic lockout mode where the light cannot be accidentally switched on
If locked out, the switch act as a momentary moonlight if not pressed long enough to unlock (2 seconds)
Double click activates turbo
Triple click activates SOS
From on:
Single click turns the light off
Double click activates turbo
Long press cycles modes (low, medium, high)
Triple click activates SOS
Unboxing
The light comes bundled with:
Carrying case
CR123A lithium primary battery
Pocket clip
Headband with a silicone holder
User manual
Batteries are inserted to the light the positive end facing the tailcap. The bundled ones are Olight branded CR123A primaries, but 16340/RCR123 rechargeables can also be used.
There is no in light charging like in the S1R and S2R, but the tailcap and the proprietary rechargeable battery from the S1R can be used in the H1 Nova for an easy upgrade.
The silicon holder has a tab, which makes it a lot easier to remove the light. Angling the light up or down is smooth and easy, you just rotate it in the holder.
Olight H1 Nova (16340), Olight S Mini (16340), Olight S1 (16340), Olight S10 (16340), Olight S1A (AA), Klarus Mi7 (AA), DQG Tiny 18650 4th (18650), Zebralight H600Fd Mk3 (18650)
Beam and tint
The textured TIR optics make for a very floody beam. The beam is also smooth and practically perfectly consistent in tint. This is optimal for closeup work, but doesn’t work for spotting things far away.
Tint in different brightness modes.
Tint in different parts of the beam.
Spectral data and color rendering
For spectral information and CRI calculations I use an X-rite i1Pro spectrophotometer with HCFR, Babelcolor CT&A and ArgyllCMS spotread for the graphs and data. For runtime tests I use spotread with a custom script and an i1Display Pro because it doesn’t require calibration every 30 minutes like the i1Pro.
CCT = correlated color temperature, higher temperature means cooler (bluish)
CRI (Ra) = color rendering index consisting of 8 different colors (R1-R8), max value 100
CRI (R9) = color rendering index with deep red, usually difficult for led based light sources, max value 100
TLCI = television lighting consistency index, max value 100
CQS (Qa) = Proposed replacement for CRI, RMS average of 15 color samples
CRI2012 (Ra,2012) = Another proposed replacement for CRI, consists of 17 color samples
MCRI = Color rendering index based on the memory of colors or 9 familiar objects
NEW Read more about the IES TM-30-15 method
TM-30 = The newest color rendering method using 99 samples. Preferred for comparing LEDs.
TM-30 (Rf) = Accuracy of colors, fidelity index. Replaces CRI (Ra).
TM-30 (Rg) = Gamut of colors, saturation index. Higher number means more saturated colors.
Tint dev. (“Duv” in the CTA screenshots) is the tint’s distance to the black body radiator line in the CIE graphs. The higher the number, the greener the tint. 0,0000 means absolutely neutral white and negative numbers mean rosy/magenta tint. Anything over 0,0100 can be described as visibly green.
H1 Nova NW spectral graph
CRI Data
CRI and color comparison. Higher numbers are better, except for CCT (correlated color temperature) and Tint dev.
Runtimes and output
Please note: lumen measurements are only rough estimates
My diy 40 cm integrating styrofoam sphere has been calibrated using Olight R50 on that has with valostore.fi measuring it at 1178 lumens with their Labsphere. Results may vary with especially floody or throwy lights.
The H1 Nova was measured with an Olight 550mAh IMR 16340 battery, which comes with the S1R model. Expect about 27 % longer runtimes with a 700mAh battery and according to Olight 85 % longer with a CR123A primary on high. There’s no output advantage when using a higher drain cell such as the Olight IMR.
The efficiency of different small S series lights is comparable
The battery protection circuit activated in both the Keeppower 700 mAh and the Olight 550 mAh after runtime test on high. I measured 2.90 volts right after resetting the protection on my SkyRC MC3000. Users should make sure that their battery chargers can do that if they plan to run the batteries flat. I don’t have any unprotected 16340s to check whether the H1 Nova has a low voltage protection integrated.
The standby parasitic drain is not an issue at 21.2 µA, which translates to about 3.5 years until a 650 mAh battery is drained if the light is left on a shelf unused. The drain can be avoided by opening the tailcap just a bit or removing the battery.
PWM
There is high frequency circuit noise on moonlight (7 kHz) and low (34 kHz) modes. In practice they are not distracting but may show up on camera.
Moonlight mode
Low mode
Verdict
The Olight H1 Nova is a tiny tiny headlamp that transforms easily to an EDC light with the included pocket clip. Magnetic tailcap and the right angle form factor improve versatility ever still, since it’s easier to direct the light wherever needed than with a traditional flashlight. The adjustment range on the headband is pretty limited so big headed fellas with thick hats might feel the squeeze.
The neutral white emitter on mine was bang on 5000 K, which surprised me a bit when I first turned on the light. This makes me wonder how cool the cool white one is. The tint is slightly magenta and compared to a typical green tinted Cree light, it seems vastly different. I still prefer the amazing neutral tint of the Zebralight H600Fd Mk III though.
The textured TIR optics make for a floody and consistent beam with no apparent hotspot or tint variation, which is optimal for closeup work. Color rendering is nothing to write home about at a bit above 70, but the absence of green in the beam is much more important.
Missing is the magnetic charger in the tailcap, but for someone who already has an Olight S1R, this is easily remedied as the tailcaps are interchangeable.
All in all I think the H1 Nova is a more versatile version of the S1 with similar maximum output but more floody beam. This also sacrifices a lot of throw, but the S series batons aren’t very throwy to begin with. The efficiency on mid is competitive with the Olight S Mini with a NW emitter. On high the H1 lags about 10 % behind, but 2 hours at a bit below 200 lumens is nothing to sneeze at.
+ Choice of cool and neutral white
- No green tint in the beam
- Consistent beam, no tint shift from center to spill
- Very small
- Several mounting options, headband, pocket clip, magnet in the tailcap
- Comes with a sturdy carrying case
- Lots of light for 3 minutes
- Doesn’t get too hot
- Neutral white could be a bit warmer to differentiate from cool white
- Some magenta tint
- No charging tailcap like on the S1R
- No low voltage protection or threshold low
- PWM on low modes (not distracting in real life but possibly visible to a camera)
