I agree that the diffuser material should be high transmittance and no tint/CCT change. A thick white plastic diffuser most likely fails in both regards. Is there a way to check this property of the lantern?
That will be a part of my tests when i receive the test unit. I have tested many different levels of frosting & types of shades with both the build prototypes i designed, and found that a lighter (roughly 20 ~ 30%) frosting worked the best for not changing the tint or blocking actual LED lumens. While the less frosting will allow you to partially see the LED emitters more, it lets the best balance of lumens through along with still smoothing out the hard-lighting & glare adequately. (the V2 of the prototype i built shows roughly the translucence of the shade, ( in the OP)
Can you put me down for a second lantern please? (Already on for one at #1260).
I don’t need a lantern, i don’t use lanterns, and the lanterns my friends have are glarey little buggers that give me a headache whenever i try to use them to actually see anything. I also don’t do multi-cell li-ion lights, and am trying not to purchase any more 18650 lights (FW3A excepted) in favour of the 21700 lights that are hopefully on the horizon. I also try not to wax too lyrically about anything.
But i followed this thread for a while out of curiosity, and the detail and care that went into trying to get the beam profile right really hit home with me and i knew at that point i would be buying one, not just to own but to support the project and show respect for the work that has gone into this project. And the process has been a joy to follow with all the decisions having a satisfying ‘correctness’ about them. The fact that Lexel and TK are handling the electronics is just icing on the cake.
To have this level of competency in any product is a rare thing and is something i want to recognise, so thank you DBSAR, and all involved.
And now i feel i should buy two, couldn’t tell you why, certainly not for any practical reason, but i know somehow it’s justified.
Funny, but I actually stopped reading the FW3A thread a while back, and don’t even know now what’s going on with it, because I found myself having too many opinions and not willing to get on the list. I am, however, on the list for this lantern.
Personally, I like the clean & smooth look of the top cap as is. The top cap will be more exposed to rain, debris, dust, & dirt; IMO it will be much easier to clean if it is smooth.