Sold by a bunch of different stores with prices ranging from $65 for barebones to $120 with batteries and mounts, claims to have 10x Cree XM-L2 LEDs plus four XP-E red LEDs and four purple/UV ones, uses four 18650 batteries. Obviously the 12000LM claim is bullshit, but still, with four batteries and ten XM-L2s it should be, in theory, capable of quite decent output. However, the only review that I’ve found that went into some technical details indicated that it only draws about 2.2A total, limiting the output to some 600LM - pathetic for this much hardware. I assume that this is the result of the driver circuit being severely undersized, and here’s my question: is it possible to mod it into something useful, or is this model a lost cause?
Welcome to BLF!
What a funky looking light that is.
I can’t help you but seeing all the amazing things skilled people can do while modding I lean towards stating that with the right skill, mind and tool set everything can be modded into something decent and you seem to have the mind set right, the other two aspects are yours to judge
I know how to use a soldering iron well enough to change blown capacitors on motherboards, but not much past that. The funky look is mostly form following function - it’s supposed to be a video light, throwing a wide beam at short range (underwater, you need to get as close as possible to your subject anyway), so no reflector; the red LEDs are for filling in red color if your subjects are skittish around bright white lights, and blue can be used for fluoro diving. The alternatives, carrying the same features from better-regarded brands, are Archon D34V ($179 without 32650 battery, 2600LM), Archon D36V ($283 without the four 18650 batteries, 5200LM) and Mangrove Videocompact VP6S ($319 with 32650 battery and charger, 3000LM, also has a 15º beam mode from a single dedicated LED with reflector). $70 is, of course, much more affordable, but I’m somewhat worried about ending up wasting that $70 on a light that doesn’t really work - I’m wondering if there are typical ‘shortcuts’ that cheap light designers take to cut costs, and how difficult and expensive would it be to source quality replacement parts - if I end up spending $150 to mod a Vastfire light to match an Archon D34V, then the whole exercise is kind of pointless to begin with.
