Hi was wondering about these glass lenses for light modding. There are several degree choices available to choose from. Does anyone know if these lenses would be useful to put in say a Sipik68 clone to improve it’s throw/zoom? Or just as a fixed lens (non-zoomable) on a DIY flashlight for better beam throw?
I was thinking this 5 deg lens might work since it’s the narrowest.
There are 5, 8, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 degree lenses here
At only a buck a piece I was gonna grab a couple. Unless it’s just a waste of time. lol
These TIR optics are not glass. they are plastic. Overseas, they call them all glass. They are not for throw. They are usually aimed at other markets than flashlights, like home lighting, fish tanks, etc. If you want throw, you would need an aspheric lens. I believe edmunds and others carry aspherics. The Sipik already has a plastic aspheric. Good as it gets for that light, I believe.
though I’m not personally sure they’re plastic, I doubt they’re glass
I’ve seen a couple zoomies that use TIR, and owned one. It can work, but for MY uses it defeats the purpose of a zoomie (even brightness in full flood, no spill at full zoom).
I’ve upgraded some zoomies from plastic aspheric to glass, with very good results. Unfortunately, I’ve accumulated a bunch of useless lenses in the process.
cons
a lot of budget lenses have terrible quality…ie when focused you don’t see a clear image of the emitter, but several scattered ones around and over one bright one.
the focal length needs to be very close to the original, (particularly if the focal length of the original lens is shorter) and modifying the light to adjust for that can be difficult.
pros
the beam of every light that I have swapped from plastic to glass lens became less purple
sometimes a glass lens will have lower loss of light output
check dealextreme for budget 20mm glass aspheric lenses and read reviews…some are junk.
Some of the answer is you preference for how wide you want the beam, which emitter you are starting with, and at what distance (apart from the other answers). I’m sure a little math would help if you can pick a distance (or range) and width - but I’d have to look up the formulas.
You are on the right path, narrower will be brighter . . as long as it is not too narrow for your need. Nice thing about affordable prices is the are pretty simple to swap out.
Well seeing how these are plastic I’m not as enthusiastic about them now. but i will still prob get 1 or 2 to experiment with anyway. Thanx for the advice.
