Hi, I’ve read a lot the last days, but I still have questions.
I’m looking for a versatile and reliable LED flashlight that can be used both indoors and out.
For indoors I need a diffuser, and tailstand capable.
For outdoors, it would be great if it has zooming.
In a budget of $ 35 to $ 40 would enter the flashlight, the battery (I suppose the best choice is 1x18650) and a battery charger. I had initially thought of the Nitecore i2 charger and a Panasonic battery. (Obviously 3400 mah would be better).
Besides, I live in Europe, so I need a store that ships here, cause many USA stores don’t do it. I don’t have many problems at buying in a chinese store.
Am I asking the impossible? Should I raise my budget? Or that doesn’t even exist?
Check out the zeusray threads that dealmetic is selling, you could probably find a diffuser for it at one of the chinamart sites. It’s a nice light for the price, someone here more computer savy could post a link to it,
Welcome
Zoomies are better if you want a nice, even beam for indoor photos, and they’re nice if you need a thrower with absolutely no spill… Also fun for projecting the Bat Signal. But otherwise I avoid them.
You might be better served by getting two traditional lights… Perhaps a Jacob A60 for outdoor use (has great throw) and a Convoy S2 with diffuser film for indoor use. Or something even smaller for indoor purposes.
However, if you’re set on a zoomie, there are some with a beam as wide as 90 degrees. I think the zeusray only gets about 45. For good throw you’ll probably need to mod it though.
Making high lux in a pocket size light (sure you can get a couple hundred kCd from a large one, but try carrying it around)
Walking / hiking in open areas
Walking / hiking in wooded areas. The thicker the foliage the worse they do since you need flood to light your way AND throw to look ahead (especially threw thick woods), its one or the other with a zoomie.
The only advantage I’ll give to a zoomie is they are good for working under the hood, I did a head job a few weeks back after dark and I lit my driveway with my 26650 TF zoomie (but still had to wear my H52 w/ diffuser film to get light down into confined areas in the engine bay).
As for taking pic’s- I NEVER light the subject with direct lighting, it’s better to bounce it off a wall/ceiling/reflector so [to me] a zoomie does worse there in that they don’t bounce light as well as a standard reflector.
If you want to find anyone’s discussion of flood lighting — how much of an angle the flood lights up — type those 2 words into the search box on the page in the upper left corner.
There are lenses that give 180 degrees spread (Carclo brand) and a variety of lenses on ‘zoom’ lights that give various angles.
People report the angle of their flood beam to give an idea how big the circle is at what distance.
Chaco you are confused I think because people here are confused on what exactly you want it for and why you say a zoomie would be good. So, people started talking about absolute benefits and negatives of zoomies.
What exactly do you want to use it for? Have you used a zoomie? Why do you think a zoomie would be best at? What is the brightness you need? Maybe the EagleEye group buy on this site would suffice if some of those questions were answered, but its not a zoomie. Zoomie is an odd request unless you specifically have used and love them, I wouldn’t select it for my only light for most anything except something really cheap, under $10 that can do a wide variety of tasks sort of OK.
The CK66 from Gearbest comes with an orange diffuser, charger and battery. I have one on the way that I plan on reviewing, although it might be more of a mod review since I'd like to swap the emitter and driver to greatly increase output. You can dedome the emitter if you really want to increase throw.
I'll measure the diameter of the bezel. I'm sure there are white silicone diffusers that will fit it, and probably others too.
Diffuser is simple you can make them out of lots of materials . The ones that stick on the end of the light( like a traffic wand ) I really dislike because of the glare . They are hard to look at and almost need another shade over them . The best Diffuser is translucelnt material you just put directly on the lens .Works much better in my opinion.
Sounsa like multiple cheap lights is the easier way to go rather than looking for one perfect light ..Convoy S2 is a very easy light to recommend at 17$ and the jacob a60 for 10$ is also a steal right now too . the nitecore D2 is a good charger and any name brand(japanese) 18650 .
If you want to try a zoomie buy one of the 3.50$ ones from >>
For sure English is not my first language, but I understood you the first time. I know very well how to use a search in a forum.
But i confused because that search didn’t lead me to anywhere really useful (nor sometimes understandable) to me.
Thanks. Maybe I will go for a Convoy. I’ve seen a lot of positive comments about the S2, and the brand in general.
About the Convoys, I’ve seen that S3 is a little floodier than S2, and that S2+ mounts an XM-L2 led.
At first thought that at home sometimes we suffer of blackouts. I have a little daughter and they scare her a little. I thought about buying some led light, any format, that could use a battery and lit the room.
Then I thought I could use the light for whatever, including photography, maybe indoors or outdoors, and I thought that zoomies could bring me that versatility.
After reading your requirements, I think the Uniquefire T20 fits the bill well.
Indoor usage - I don’t think for a zoomie you would need a diffuser at all?
Outdoor zooming - Checked
In a budget of $ 35 to $ 40 - Checked ($20.35 to be exact)
Using 1×18650 - Checked
Ship to Europe - Checked
Lumens - I estimate it has about 500~600 lumens stock, when in flood. If you want higher you might want to mod it a bit.
And T20 is one of the most popular mod host among here in BLF. If you feel any urge to modify a flashlight in the future you can do with it.
Yes, that’s the light, I like to make it full flood, point it at the ceiling and I don’t need to turn on any lights to move around the house at night, being off grid saves my big batteries, also if you have the light above eye level you don’t need a diffuser. All in all a nice light for $8
About the Convoys, they come with either a deep reflector or a shallow reflector. From what I’ve seen, the S3 (shallow reflector) usually has a wide bright spot and then a dim spill area. I think the S2 (deep reflector) usually has more of an even blend between spot and spill. I haven’t used a S2+, but I think they may have given it the S3 beam pattern.
Personally, I use a modded S7… but it costs more and does not handle heat well because it’s made of steel.
For outdoor use, the Jacob A60 will out-throw anything else under $30 or so… but it is not very useful up close because the beam is narrow.
OK, well I tend to still prefer non-zoomie. The Convoy S2 or S3 is perfect for a room light if thats what its for, you can even order one of the warm tints so that it almost looks like usual house lamp lighting, I commonly use my Convoy S2 bedside instead of a lamp focused up at the ceiling with a T4 7C tint and it works very well, I hardly use my lamp anymore. Not sure about using it for photography though.
I could see a zoomie being good for photography with its even beam with fully defocused. That might actually be the best reason for me to buy another zoomie.
