Various lights with lumen estimates

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

Updated 26th August 2010

These are pretty approximate. To get lumen numbers take the lightbox number and multiply by 160 and divide by 892. Those numbers were arrived at by taking the reading for the Preon 2 with new AAA alkalines which is claimed by the manufacturer to be 160 lumens OTF. It read 892 lux on high on my lightbox. So here are some numbers for a variety of lights. These numbers are not hugely accurate and need some fiddling with. Not to mention that lights may well vary from sample to sample but these give some idea of what the lights can do. Any other numbers people would like to see? I hope this includes all the methodological recommendations from everyone who has commented. Thanks for your inputs.

This will get updated as time permits, and supply of fully charged cells. Where possible I'll try to link to reviews, but this quickly gets messy.

I have now pasted the more accurate table from here into this top post.

Light Battery Lightbox Immediate
Fenix E0 * Alk. AAA 12
4Sevens Preon 2 Low 2AAA NiMH 18
4Sevens Preon 2 Low 2Alk. AAA 18
Trustfire XP-E F23 Low ** AAA NiMH 33
Maglite Solitaire w. Lambda LED Alk AAA 34
Aurora SH-035 Low 14500 36
Fenix E01 *** AAA 37
Powerlight 1 AA NiMH 64
MDXL "3W" AA NiMH 69
TiKey 3xLR44 81
Trustfire Z1 low RCR123 87
Trustfire XP-E F23 Low 10440 90
Romisen RC-C6 Low Zoom RCR123 95
Lumapower MRV SE Low 18650 110
BLF DeLight 1 AA NiMH 135
Aurora SH0031 **** Alk. AAA 142
Ultra-budget C3 clone 2xNiMH 144
Ultrafire WF-504B - 5 mode R2 Low 18650 155
Romisen RC-C6 Low wide RCR123 181
4Sevens Preon 2 Med 2AAA NiMH 187
Akoray K-106 AA NiMH 189
4Sevens Preon 2 Med 2Alk. AAA 195
Ultraqfire WF-602C 10440 210
Hugsby P32 Low AA NiMH 214
Mrlite Lipstick ***** AAA NiMH 214
MX Power ML-310 Low 14500 216
Tank007 TK-703 Alk. AAA 237
Aurora AK-P7 Low 18650 266
Aurora SH-035 Med 14500 269
Piritlight SG-L8 MC-E Low 18650 282
Tank007 E07 (2) AA NiMH 310
Romisen RC-C6 High Zoom RCR123 333
Trustfire XP-E F23 High AAA NiMH 383
Tank007 E07 (1) AA NiMH 423
Golston "7W" 2xRCR123 425
Ultrafire WF-504B - 5 mode R2 Med 18650 445
Uniquefire AA-S1 AA NiMH 565
Uniquefire S10 AA NiMH 575
Smallsun ZY-C85 full zoom 14500 581
Trustfire F22 AA NiMH 586
Lumapower MRV SE Medium 18650 630
Aurora SH-035 AA NiMH 644
Hugsby P32 High AA NiMH 650
Trustfire R5-A3 AA NiMH 650
Akoray K-103 10440 697
Romisen RC-C6 high wide RCR123 697
Ultrafire C3 SS Q5 AA NiMH 718
Aurora SH-033 RCR2 744
Solarforce L2R Solarforce low voltage R2 2xNiMH 779
Piritlight SG-L8 MC-E Med 18650 800
Smallsun ZY-C85 14500 867
Solarforce Skyline 1 2 CR123 880
4Sevens Preon 2 High 2Alk. AAA 892
Aurora SH-035 High 14500 898
MX Power ML-310 High 14500 900
Ultrafire A30B RCR123 909
Trustfire Z1 High RCR123 919
Ultrafire WF-502B R2 single mode 18650 940
Trustfire XP-E F23 High 6* 10440 957
First batch Aurora SH-034 RCR123 1016
Akoray K-106 14500 1055
4Sevens Preon 2 High 2AAA NiMH 1074
Uniquefire S10 14500 1112
Ultrafire WF-504B - 5 mode R2 High 18650 1148
Trustfire F22 14500 1254
Uniquefire AA-S1 14500 1255
Ultrafire RL-118 RCR123 1260
Ultrafire C3 SS Q5 14500 1391
Fusion 36 dropin 3D NiMH 1399
Uniquefire L2 w DX 5 mode R5 dropin 2 RCR123 1437
Lumahunter MRV SE High 18650 1462
Uniquefire R5 5 mode XP-G R5 18650 1565
Uniquefire L2 w DX 5 mode R5 dropin 18650 1578
Trustfire R5-A3 7* 14500 1630
Ultrafire WF-503B DX MC-E 18650 1636
ROP Low 6D NiMH 1670
Fusion 36 dropin 8* 6D NiCd 1937
Solarforce L2M DX P7 18650 1956
Ultrafire WF-500 9* 2 18650 2300
Ultrafire Wf-504B KD MC-E 18650 2310
Piritlight SG-L8 MC-E High 18650 2400
Aurora AK-P7 High 18650 2420
Ultrafire WF-501B M bin MC-E 18650 3240
ROP High 2x32600 3760
Varapower prototype 4C NiMH 8650

* - An ancient alkaline. Will restest with a brand new one. The cell in there is at least 3 years old.

** - battery on light meter gave out. Will redo the test.

*** - Pulled off keyring to test. Needs to be retested with a fresh cell. I think it is the same one the light came with.

**** - Pulled out of office desk drawer. There's a theme here - I think I need to buy a big box of AAA alkalines.

***** - At some point I will go through the multiplicity of modes this one has. Don't hold your breath.

6* - I'd not trust the two minute reading too much - I was using protected 10440s and the protection kept kicking in - need to test this with a good unprotected 10440.

7* - This still feels too high to me - I guess around 280

8* - Need to do this with the 8,000mAh NiMH Ds which seem to have lower internal resistance.

9* - This one is usually said to be around 350-370 lumens but that may just be that the cells in it were at 4.2V

There are several lights in here to be retested. Must get around to building balancing harnesses so I can charge more lithium cells at a time. That way I can pull cells from the charger and guarantee uniform performance unless I have a dud cell. See my comments on the R5-A3 for the startling effects a dud cell can cause.My guess is that there is a systemic over-reading here. It'd be nice if I could find some other light that is well standardised to check against.

Next trick I suppose is to compare the five Ultrafire C3s I have so I can get a feel for "natural" variation.

2

Have you tested the Varapower?

3

Trustfire F23 and your newly acquired lights please

4

1500 or thereabouts. I plan to expand this but try to make it reasonably straightforward which means not giving in to my tendency to put in all the data I've got every time. The lights that I have more than one of may help in getting some sort of error boundaries.

Edit: Batteries probably need topping up. 6150 lux / 1367 lumens

They did. I got 8290 lux / 1840 lumens with the cells just out of the charger.

5

No problem - will do

6

Trustfire Z1 889 lux high 82 lux low - 198 lumens high, 18 lumens low. These are peak readings as almost all of these lights will not hold their maximum output for all that long.

10440 charging for F23

TiKey 81 lux - this is with the battery that came with it. 18 lumens. Using button cells I doubt it'll hold that for a long time.

Romisen RC-C6 618, 166 - 137, 37 lumens

Hugsby P32 NiMH - is around this site somewhere.

Having just noticed the time, I'd better go to work - more results later.

7

F23 numbers

NiMH 396/33 - 88/7 lumens

10440 850/82 - 189/18 lumens.

8

Thanks Don! Is your F23 10440 high brighter than your Hugsby P31/P32 NIMH? Mine looks the same.

Aren't you suppose to be at work?

9

With an element of reluctance as I've got a completely pointless all-day meeting to go to. 40 agenda items, some of them referring to stuff from a year ago.

10

Nice work Don thank's, i would very much appreciate it if you could fit an ROP low into your testing schedule.

11

ROP Low in a 6D Mag. Stock Mag plastic reflector and 6 5,000mAh NiCd cells. 1365 lux - 303 lumens which seems on the low side.

Edit: This is close to the output of the showerhead Mag dropin on 3 D cells. Given what a pair of short-livedROP bulbs cost, the ROP low no longer makes any sense really. The showerhead dropin on 6 D's (Or 6AAs in a 2D with two of the 3AA-D KD adapters) is way brighter.

Edit2: Topped off the NiCd cells. Meter now saying 1401 lux / 311 lumens. Still seems a bit on the low side

12

F23 10440 high 850 lux / 189 lumens

P32 High NiMH 675 lux on an Eneloop charged two days ago. But the runtime is a bit better. / 150lumens - close enough

Here's a beamshot at about 60cm from the ceiling. F23 on the left, Hugsby on the right. Both on high, Trustfire with a 10440 freshly charged and the P32 on high with a freshly charged Eneloop.

It is hard to compare the beams - the Trustfire has the nicer beam colour - I'd call it vanilla which is my favourite tint. The path length for the Trustfire is a bit longer as it is standing drunkenly inside a 24mm socket that I just happened to have lying around. The Hugsby tailstands very nicely on top of the door.

13
Light Battery Lightbox H Lightbox M Lightbox L Estimated lumens on high
Piritlight SG-L8 MC-E 18650 1735 665 237 386
Ultrafire WF-501B M bin MC-E 18650 3220 1237 165 716
Ultrafire WF-503B DX MC-E 18650 1636 675 364
Ultrafire Wf-504B KD MC-E 18650 2310 1575 61 513
Solarforce L2M DX P7 18650 1956 199 435
Uniquefire R5 5 mode XP-G R5 18650 1565 164 84 348
Ultrafire WF-502B R2 single mode 18650 940 209
Ultrafire WF-504B with the 5 mode R2 18650 1102 449 168 245
Solarforce L2R Solarforce low voltage R2 2xNiMH 779 173
MX Power ML-310 14500 857 220 190
Trustfire R5-A3 14500 1600 576 356
a first batch Aurora SH-034 RCR123 1016 304 39 226
Ultra-budget C3 clone 2xNiMH 163 36
Trustfire F22 14500 1210 535 115 269
Powerlight NiMH 94 21
BLF DeLight NiMH 85 19
MDXL "3W" NiMH 77 17
Aurora SH-035 NiMH 644 201 26 143
Uniquefire S10 NiMH 575 128
Ultrafire RL-118 RCR123 1260 145 280
Aurora SH0031 Alk. AAA 142 32
Aurora SH-033 RCR2 744 221 33 165
ROP High 2x32600 3250 722
Golston "7W" 2xRCR123 390 87
Fenix E01 AAA 37 8
Varapower prototype 4C NiMH 8290 1842
ROP Low 6D NiCd 1401 311
Trustfire XP-E F23 AAA NiMH 396 33 88
Trustfire XP-E F23 10440 850 82 189
Trustfire Z1 RCR123 889 82 198
TiKey 3xLR44 81 18
Romisen RC-C6 RCR123 618 166 137
Hugsby P32 NiMH 650 189 144

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Light Battery Lightbox H Lightbox M Lightbox L Estimated lumens on high
Fenix E01 AAA 37 8
MDXL "3W" NiMH 77 17
TiKey 3xLR44 81 18
BLF DeLight NiMH 85 19
Powerlight NiMH 94 21
Aurora SH0031 Alk. AAA 142 32
Ultra-budget C3 clone 2xNiMH 163 36
Golston "7W" 2xRCR123 390 87
Trustfire XP-E F23 AAA NiMH 396 33 88
Uniquefire S10 NiMH 575 128
Romisen RC-C6 RCR123 618 166 137
Aurora SH-035 NiMH 644 201 26 143
Hugsby P32 NiMH 650 189 144
Aurora SH-033 RCR2 744 221 33 165
Solarforce L2R Solarforce low voltage R2 2xNiMH 779 173
Trustfire XP-E F23 10440 850 82 189
MX Power ML-310 14500 857 220 190
Trustfire Z1 RCR123 889 82 198
Ultrafire WF-502B R2 single mode 18650 940 209
a first batch Aurora SH-034 RCR123 1016 304 39 226
Ultrafire WF-504B with the 5 mode R2 18650 1102 449 168 245
Trustfire F22 14500 1210 535 115 269
Ultrafire RL-118 RCR123 1260 145 280
ROP Low 6D NiCd 1401 311
Uniquefire R5 5 mode XP-G R5 18650 1565 164 84 348
Trustfire R5-A3 14500 1600 576 356
Ultrafire WF-503B DX MC-E 18650 1636 675 364
Piritlight SG-L8 MC-E 18650 1735 665 237 386
Solarforce L2M DX P7 18650 1956 199 435
Ultrafire Wf-504B KD MC-E 18650 2310 1575 61 513
Ultrafire WF-501B M bin MC-E 18650 3220 1237 165 716
ROP High 2x32600 3250 722
Varapower prototype 4C NiMH 8290 1842
15

I think it would be better to just update the OP with the new information. Keeps it more clean so we don't have to scroll down to get the information. Thanks for your hard work Don.

16

Please note the various qualifications and caveats in the first post. There are likely errors in the method and measurement, not to mention calibration but the lux numbers for comparison are reliable for comparison with other lights measured on the same lightbox as the method is consistent.

Light Battery Lightbox H Lightbox M Lightbox L Estimated lumens on high
Fenix E01 AAA 37 8
MDXL "3W" NiMH 77 17
TiKey 3xLR44 81 18
BLF DeLight NiMH 85 19
Powerlight NiMH 94 21
Aurora SH0031 Alk. AAA 142 32
Ultra-budget C3 clone 2xNiMH 163 36
Akoray K-106 NiMH 222 49
Golston "7W" 2xRCR123 390 87
Trustfire XP-E F23 AAA NiMH 396 33 88
Smallsun ZY-C85 full zoom 14500 456 101
Uniquefire S10 NiMH 575 128
Trustfire F22 NiMH 586 249 55 130
Romisen RC-C6 RCR123 618 166 137
Aurora SH-035 NiMH 644 201 26 143
Hugsby P32 NiMH 650 189 144
Trustfire R5-A3 NiMH 650 360 144
Smallsun ZY-C85 14500 654 145
Uniquefire AA-S1 NiMH 665 148
Ultrafire C3 SS Q5 NiMH 718 249 49 160
Aurora SH-033 RCR2 744 221 33 165
Solarforce L2R Solarforce low voltage R2 2xNiMH 779 173
Aurora SH-035 14500 785 250 36 174
Trustfire XP-E F23 10440 850 82 189
MX Power ML-310 14500 857 220 190
Trustfire Z1 RCR123 889 82 198
Ultrafire WF-502B R2 single mode 18650 940 209
a first batch Aurora SH-034 RCR123 1016 304 39 226
Akoray K-106 14500 1077 239
Ultrafire WF-504B with the 5 mode R2 18650 1102 449 168 245
Uniquefire S10 14500 1112 247
Trustfire F22 14500 1210 535 115 269
Trustfire F22 14500 1254 563 122 279
Ultrafire RL-118 RCR123 1260 145 280
Ultrafire C3 SS Q5 14500 1391 620 128 309
ROP Low 6D NiCd 1401 311
Uniquefire AA-S1 14500 1445 321
Uniquefire R5 5 mode XP-G R5 18650 1565 164 84 348
Trustfire R5-A3 14500 1600 576 356
Ultrafire WF-503B DX MC-E 18650 1636 675 364
Piritlight SG-L8 MC-E 18650 1735 665 237 386
Solarforce L2M DX P7 18650 1956 199 435
Ultrafire Wf-504B KD MC-E 18650 2310 1575 61 513
Ultrafire WF-501B M bin MC-E 18650 3220 1237 165 716
ROP High 2x32600 3250 722
Varapower prototype 4C NiMH 8290 1842

Edit: By calculation, the R5-A3 should be no more than 280 lumens which is what I think it should be. From the DX spec it is driving the LED at 1300mA. The R5 bin is 463-493 lumens at 1500mA. So, by calculation 13/15 x 493 = 427 lumens though it'll be less than that as the output is not linear with current. The conventional reckoning is that 70% of the LED's output makes it out the front so at best the output is 280-299 lumens rather than the 356 lumens my lightbox/meter/calculations come up with.

17

Makes sense. I'll see if anyone wants any more measurements - if I've got it I'm happy to measure it - the measuring just takes a few seconds to do.

Once that's done I'll tidy up the first post, add comments and qualifications and put in the best data I can get. I've had to work every day for the last month or so, but a colleague has kindly offered to cover this weekend for me so if it works out, I get my first weekend off since June. Then I'll do the tidying. If not it'll get done shortly.

18

Thanks for all of your hard work Don. I don't care what everyone around here says about you because you're alright in my book. Wink

19

Thanks for the vote of confidence :) ;)

20

Hey Don what about the bargain of the century the MRV lunapower.. also i don't suppose you have any runtimes on said light do you?