As for brightness drop ...probably MCPCB is not the best. I broke the centering ring in my 7G5 and it seems this is the same MCPCB (and LED) as in Balder BD-4. Not the best in my opinion. I guess, a good LED from known source soldered on a pure copper MCPCB would behave much better. Nevertheless, even after brightness stabilization this thing throw farther than Cat V2 @ xm-l and T40CS.
To remove the emitter, you have to remove white plastic cover shown on the photo. Unfortunatelly it's destructable operation, because it easily breaks (mine broke). To remove the circuit, you have to unsolder the LED, and through the holes, punch it out. It's press fitted in some brass pill, so there's little chance, you can remove it from battery tube side.
The reflector dimensions are in the product desctription. From what I remember it's 58Wx55D.
Nice video, however you are lucky this flashlight had reverse polarity protection, otherwsie you could have burn the driver and you would have come to the forum saying that you have received a bad Crelant.
The output will be just a bit higher on 3 CR123A and 4 CR123a it will go up to 910 lumens. Instead of 860lumens with 2 rechargeable Li-ions.
Also received mine today Finally. Really impressed with the build quality of the light. Hotspot is small and tight. The UI isn't all that bad and actually allows for momentary on and it seems to remember the last mode used. Overall I'm very impressed. This is also my first flashlight with this form factor, and I must say that I really like it :)
I haven't unscrewed the lens yet. I don't like to do it with any flashlight, because there's high risk of dust coming underneath the lens, which is very hard to remove. Better keep the reflector/glass assembly closed and sealed as much as possible. As for the glass debris ...are you sure it's glass? Did you inspect the glass edge carefully? If there are indeed some chips, it means that the glass has a little to big diameter. In this case just clean the glass (don't touch the reflector!) screw everything tight and leave it as it is.
Zenbass, congrats ! You got it quick ...nowhere near those 70 days :) The hotspot size is almost identical to Capatult's and I think it's the smallest hotspot among all XM-L lights. Despite that, it's still quite useful. Especially on larger distances, which this flashlight is made for.
Hey I'm not complaining. It throws like a champ. Tried it out the other night but I have to be careful (live in a block of flats) because the neigbours wonder what the hell is going on when I start shining it around. I lit up a construction site across the street and a few buildings quite far away like it was nothing. The hotspot might be small up close but it becomes very useful over large distances. I am thoroughly satisfied with the light. Between my Fenix TK45, ZL SC600W, ZL H600 and now the 7G5 I feel pretty well covered for all eventualities :D (my wife keeps on asking what Armageddon I'm preparing for as I also have quite a few knives :D)
Thats what I did :) Now wondering what batteries should I use for max output / cheapest price? Not going to use an extension tube, since it doesn't add extra output, just runtime (correct me if I'm wrong). So no 18650 batteries. Currently using 3x cr123a unchargeable energizers, but thats too expensive option I guess. Thinking about AW protected R123's for $6 each or much cheaper rechargeable Ultrafires from ebay for ~$1.20 each. Any recommendations?