So visually the XML is brighter than your MCE, no matter what the numbers say
Yes - it is also a better colour and no holes in the beam at any range.
Beamshots uploading now. Turned out the R5 I'd grabbed was actually a single-mode R4 so it got left out.
While I wait for the beamshots to upload, here are Lambda's from his Varapower lights with an XM-L in them.
http://flashlightnews.net/forum/index.php?topic=2398.msg30577
Control. It isn't all that dark as the cloud level is about 100m and there is a lot of reflected light pollution.
XM-L High
XM-L Medium
XM-L Low
MC-E High
MC-E Medium
MC-E Low
P7 High
P7 Medium
P7 Low
Great stuff Don!
Now I am excited to get mine!
Those beamshots pretty much put the last nail in the coffin for the P7/MC-E for me...
Thanks for the photos.
-Match
I did never buy a MC-E or P7 and it looks like I don't need one in future. I ordered The XM-L C8 from KD and I hope that one will even perform better than these drop-ins.
It should do - dedicated lights have much more mass for heatsinking than P60 lights. That said, what really impresses me is the very low drop in output over two minutes compared to other high current dropins.
Thanks for the pics. I went and ordered a skyray type XM-L light. It costs 5usd more with the body then the dropin alone. I can't help myself but i like p60 hosts the most. Will probably change the driver to around 1,5A or more depending on what the original body or any other i have can do regarding heat.
KD says backordered.... yuck! probably around january 15 then...
Even though I have ordered a bunch of hosts, drivers and emitters to build my own XM-L light I have a bad feeling that one of the small pieces might not fit (if they all arrive somehow, ordered them from 4 different sources) the combination at all and reordering process starts again.
I don't want to risk my XM-L pleasure with heat issues etc, so didn't think of getting a P60 drop in in the first place.
KD has two already built, non P60 XM-L flashlights 1x18650 C8 body and another one with 2x18650. Anybody ordered one of these two and received? (EDIT: Apparently some of us already have theirs on the way)
I wonder very much how efficient would the drivers on these two be and if it is worth upgrading 1x18650 one with a 8x7135 + MCU driver sold on KD.
_ Must add:
The parts I collected are:
PROJECT1 : a TF1200 body from Lightake + T6 1C Emitter from EBAY or T5 1C from KD + 2x18650 3A 3 Modes Buck Driver from KD + MCE Aluminum Reflector from DX (I guess I'll have some problems with this reflector since it doesn't seem to have springs)
PROJECT2 : a Silver C8 with Q5 on it from KD + T6 1C Emitter from EBAY or T5 1C from KD + 8x7135 + MCU driver from KD
So the output drops considerably because of bad heatsinking? Even with foil trick? (it's not night and day but should help a bit.)
Did i miss th current draw or it was not tested yet?
Yes, it seems to be heat rather than battery voltage droop, at least up to 3A from an 18650. If you take the M bin MC-E in a Solarforce L2m body, it starts at 3240 lux which has dropped to 2720 lux by two minutes, a drop of 16%.
The XM-L dropin starts at 3160 lux and drops to 2990 lux at two minutes, a 5% drop. Both were tested in the same body, heavily wrapped in foil to make the dropin a tight fit that gets forced into place by the head.
It is quite possible they are using the same drivers for both.
The XM-L draws 2600mA on high so it probably isn't getting the full 3A it is rated for.
Lambda has run one (on a large copper heatsink) at 4A for hours on end.
http://flashlightnews.net/forum/index.php?topic=2395.0
There are also some beamshots from it in that same forum.
I got my XM-L drop-in today. Has very well-functioning memory: If the light is off for more than 2 seconds, it will remember the last mode. Modes are H-M-L-Strobe-SOS. The bottom of the driver says "sheng guong" on it. I was reading a draw of 2.2 amps, but I don't trust my ampmeter. Like Don's, the LED is a little off-center. Definitely more light than my XP-G R5 lights, but it isn't dark yet, so we'll have to see. I'll work up a full review this weekend.
I like what i hear! 2.2-2.7 amp for the p60 dropin aint bad! I hope it can sustain the heat in the long run say around 1h on a single cell. Doable if current drops steadily on a good cell. Got a few ex WOW now Hi-max that are pretty decent!
Have a bunch of XTAR 2400mAh protected 18700 ive been pleased with too. I'f i had a good way to review those i would make a review. Not expensive and very well made and perhaps also a very accurate capacity.
Also judging from the pictures the color temperature should be around 5500K is it true by eye-o-meter?
It's not as cool as a cool white XP-G I got from DX. 5500 might be about right. I'm happy with the tint.
Could it be because it is not forced to the edge of 3Amps? How much does the current change the tint?
As far as my experience goes the tint likes going to blueish when heavily overdriven or/and very hot. True with Q3, Q5 and P4 emitter i tested. Can't say for the rest.
I had a TR-801 Q5 with a bad driver that pulled around 1,89A at tailcap. Can't say how much current and voltage reached the emitter but the blue tint was really clear day sky blue. With a decent driver the tint went to a normal.
At 1A it is more likely up to 7000K, at 1,5+A were 8500+K. Heat wise almost double.
I think the tint is pretty consistent until the LED is overdriven and starts to go blue. I don't notice any difference in tint between Low and High on any of my lights.
Good to know that.
I believe my search for the brightest flashlight will calm down one day. I could maybe use these leds in softboxes to make artificial light for macro photography then.
My one I'd put on the faintly yellow-greenish side of neutral - it looked beautifully vanilla under the very blue office lighting. In a blacked out room
After a look at the CIE curve I'd put it at 4800-5500K, probably to the lower end of that. But I've not colour calibrated this display so I may well be misreading the curve which is very hard to extrapolate from anyway.
I'd guess at the 3A-3B, 2C-2D tint bin range if I were forced to. More likely 2C or 2D