When using a blowtorch to heat a head, what do you use to get a grip to unscrew it?
I assume a strap wrench probably isn’t a good idea as the rubber strap could melt. Just use metal pliers and hope its loose enough not to scratch much?
I agree, there’s some risk of unknown if you are having to do a light for the first time and don’t know for sure about it’s structure/materials inside. It’s the proceed with caution zone. The little membranes might shrivel and harden. :cry:
Just keep the strap wrench as far away from the heat as possible.
Uhm, you don’t HAVE to zoom all the way in right? Granted the twisty-zooms are much easier to control this aspect, vs a push-pull.
The thing I dont like about this one is that it does not appear to have much zoom capability. There is still a LOT of spill in the zoomed pic.
Of course there’s a lot of spill, it’s not a zoom light. It uses 2 reflectors to change the beam pattern between focused and non focused.
Here is a little review about it
I said I was going to post some pics of FD40 beam and it’s been a while but here they are. Also have another zoomie which is the Sunwayman T25C. I need to catch up with the news on FD30 as I was curious to see the reaction, so will go do some reading now. Sorry the messy place and bad photography, really need to learn the settings on my camera better.
Control
FD40 flood
FD40 zoom
T25C Flood
T25C zoom
Anyone had the chance to look closer at the FD41 at INTERMEDIATE settings (i.e. BETWEEN spot and flood extremes)?
Also, wondering if anyone had the chance to compare the FD30 and FD41 at intermediate beam settings?
I thought I saw some posts somewhere (not on this forum maybe) that created the impression (in my head, not sure about in reality) that the FD30 is “cleaner” at these settings than the FD41 . . .
From what I’ve seen, the FD41 seems to have a discernible “donut” at the midrange. That said, I am not a “white wall hunter” so if the ’41’s donut is not significant in actual use, it would cease to be a source of concern!
For me, the FD30 would probably be the most generally useful, but the FD41 - based on Fenix’s numbers - yields roughly the peak beam intensity of the standard TK35 (XM-L based). I really like the TK35, but size reduces practical routine “carryability” (40 mm vs 48 mm head diameters).
Either way, these lights are - for my uses - the first really exciting practical innovation I’ve seen in a while (note that is speaking for me/my uses, there are certainly many exciting and fascinating things that have come out, I’m just thinking practical daily applications).
Best wishes,
Tim
Got an FD30 yesterday.
My initial impressions:
- In flood mode, you get a wide (almost 90 degree) beam with a very wide hotspot in the center. This beam pattern is actually quite usable and looks good.
- In spot mode, that center hotspot becomes much tighter. The spillbeam gets slightly narrower and a tiny hotspot appears in the center of the beam. At just 10k lux, the throw from this hotspot is unfortunately quite minimal. This won’t outthrow a purpose-built thrower or modded zoomie, but it’s still better than not having a zoom.
- The beam pattern is very reminiscent of that found in the newer Coast Zoomies. Spot mode consists of a small, but dim, hotspot surrounded by narrow spill, while flood is just a wide circle of light. Overall, I’d rate the FD30’s flood as being a bit superior to a comparable-sized Coast. The small reflector does a lot for boosting the brightness of flood mode. On the other hand, Coast’s TIR optic is far lighter weight and mechanically much simpler. The FD30 feels quite heavy and from the cutaway picture the zooming mechanism looks quite complex.
- The dial to cycle the zoom is interesting. It has no stops. Continue turning it and the beam cycle will reverse. Personally, I’d have preferred having stops at each end so I could tell instantly when I was at max throw or flood. There is an o-ring under the sliding bezel which unfortunately deposits lubricant onto the part of the head revealed when the light is cycled to spot mode. This is not a good thing since if you put your fingers there you’ll get lubricant on them. Fortunately, this area is relatively small and can be fairly easily avoided.
- At 144mm long, the light is pretty huge for a 1x18650 tube light. I find it too big for pocket EDC. I haven’t yet tried to mod it. In my experience Fenix lights are heavily glued and really tough to mod. The FD30 appears to be fully glued and I’m not sure how to take apart the head without damaging the mechanism. I suspect a blowtorch will be needed to break the threadlocker.
If I decide to mod this light and if I can get it apart, mods I might attempt:
- Replace battery tube with shorter one from Sunwayman C20C. Fenix PD32 threads match the Sunwayman and hopefully the FD30’s threads also match. Replacing the battery tube and tailcap switch with the Sunwayman tube without switch would substantially reduce the overall length of the light.
- Replace driver with Mountain Electronics FET e-switch driver.
- Replace cool-white XPL HI with neutral white XPL HI 5A2.
How is it better??
There are flashlights its size with a standard reflector that get nearly 2x its throw…
It’s not always about maximum throw.
Sometimes a very wide uniform beam pattern with little or not hotspot is better. Lights with bright narrow hotspots tend to feel awkward up close. The hotspot may wash out the spill and the contrast in brightness feels awkward. The FD30’s very wide “wall of light” flood beam is quite nice for up-close work.
The zoom gives the FD30 a very tight, but relatively dim hotspot. This gives more throw for when you need it, and the tight hotspot can also be used as a pointer.
However, I still find the spot mode on the FD30 somewhat disappointing. Even in the same size light with the same diameter head, a modded aspheric light pretty much blows the FD30 out of the water in throw.
Because those lights aren’t good for up close/interior jobs. Throw is not the be-all-end-all of flashlight preformance. Sure, a C8 can light up the tree line 200m away, but it sucks for working on / inspecting a vehicle (in the engine bay, in the wheel well, under the dash, under the chassis… it’s what I do daily for work if you can’t tell). A single light that can do both an even flood beam and a respectable amount of throw based on the user’s need at that moment certainly has its place.
As we know from both lights and the design of pretty much everything else in the world - we don’t expect a all-in-one, jack of all trades items to do anything better than a specialized item. A zoomable light can’t out-throw a thrower, or out-flood a nice flood light. But it is flexible and can often - for the right user - do both well enough that it is useful, and the right choice in certain situations. That’s why I’m thinking of making a zoomable light my next work-EDC.
In English, the way that sentence is phrased means that even though it doesn’t outthrow a zoomie or thrower it still outthrows a regular flashlight without zoom.
Which I said is not true.
Maybe you misinterpreted?
EDIT- well you can always admit to being wrong, no need to mark things rude to make yourself feel better sac
So should I interpret your last comment as a dig at non-native English speakers, because I’m pretty sure the membership of this website is strongly international…
You said:
… so what’s the second half of that statement?
“There are flashlights that size with a standard reflector that get nearly 2x its throw, but they don’t have the same smooth flood light capability.”
That is how I’d finish it.
It appears that instead your argument is:
“There are flashlights that size with a standard reflector that get nearly 2x its throw, and can also provide a similar smooth 76 degree flood beam.”
If I’m interpreting that correctly, I’d like to know what light you have in mind that can do both even and smooth flood lighting, AND 20kcd. In a 1x18650 25mm tube light format, don’t forget.
The FD30 at its flood setting advertises 1100cd and specifies a 76 degree flood beam, which is fairly wide. If you run the numbers for for 1100cd and 76degrees, it translates to 1465lm, which is not a lot more than the 900lm that Fenix specs as the flashlight’s overall output. (Alternately, you could calculate 900lm, 76deg = 676cd) That tells me that the 76degree flood is pretty evenly lit, with likely a large/mild hotspot. In contrast, let’s run the numbers on 76degrees and 20kcd: 26,639lm. So again, please tell us which light you have in mind that can do both smooth 76deg flood, and 20kcd.
I marked your comment rude because this is the second time (that I know of) that you have come into a thread about focusing/zoomable lights begun arguing (or implying - sorry ::eyeroll ) that a standard reflector light can do the same or better on both ends, which is simply not true.
edit: I’m done, I removed the rude report. Carry on, I’ll be elsewhere.
I said “in English” because clearly not everyone speaks English natively and may have misunderstood the meaning of the sentence “This won’t outthrow a purpose-built thrower or modded zoomie, but it’s still better than not having a zoom.”
I never said that a regular reflector flashlight has a 76 degree flood beam with 20kcd or whatever you’re talking about, you’re just making stuff up now.
All I said that a similar regular reflector light (same battery, led, size, etc) will have more throw.
PS for the record, you’re the one who replied to me first, and you were wrong twice, so I still think you’re not understanding the fact that the sentence “it’s still better than not having a zoom” is implicitly referring to throw.
I am a native English speaker and knew exactly what I was saying. Thanks.
Think of the FD30 as a close-range floodlight that has the ability to shift into a mode that gives a minimal amount of throw. As a thrower… it sucks. As a floodlight, I’m actually quite impressed with it.
If all you’re focusing on is throw, you’re missing the point of this light.
My point is this:
- It’s not always about throw.
- a light with a very wide spill or flood is better for close-up or indoor use than a light with a narrower spillbeam.
- a light with a very uniform floodbeam is better for close-up or indoor use than a light with a tight hotspot.
Does the FD30 outhrow a similar-size conventional reflector light? NO…. but its floodbeam is BETTER for close range use than a similar-size conventional reflector light for the above mentioned reasons. The almost 90 degree wide floodbeam is wider than that of most conventional reflector lights and aspheric zoomies. The flood is also brighter than the flood from a typical zoomie owing to the small center reflector which is lacking in typical zoomies.
The downside is this kind of wide uniform “wall of light” beam pattern is useless for seeing anything in the distance. The FD30’s spot mode helps that … a little bit. 10k lux isn’t really a thrower, but it’s still enough to see something at least at medium range. The tight hotspot also has the advantage it can be used as a pointer.
I have both a Fenix PD35 and a Fenix FD30. These lights look almost identical on the outside and have the same diameter heads, 1000 lumen output and 10k lux max throw.
- The PD35 is a non-zoomie with an XML2. It produces a decent floodbeam with a distinct but moderately wide hotspot.
- The FD30 in flood mode produces a much wider, more uniform beam that is brighter than the spillbeam of the PD35, but dimmer than the PD35’s hotspot. In my opinion, the FD30’s uniform beam is superior to the PD35 for up-close work.
- The FD30 in spot mode isn’t impressive. The hotspot is narrower than the PD35 even though the intensity of the center of the hotspot is the same. Also, unlike an aspheric, most of the emitter’s output still seems to be going into the spillbeam. That isn’t good since the spillbeam can sometimes illuminate stuff in the foreground and wash out your view of the distant light reflected in the hotspot. However, even an unimpressive spot mode is better than no spot mode. Versatility is good.
As others have mentioned all zoomies are compromises. You don’t get the best throw or the best flood. What you do get is some of both in the same light. After all, why carry two lights if one will do the job? The FD30 is a great floodlight combined with a mediocre spotlight.
Cool concept I like it… and I am usually not a fan of aspheric zoom lights (although I have one incoming). I would like to see this with a bigger reflector dish, or combine a bigger smooth dish with a smaller orange peel dish. Its almost like getting two different lights in one. Fenix should patent this idea. AFIAK this is the only one like it. Doesn’t look like it has the same wasted lumen thing that hinders traditional aspheric throwers.
I don't understand the hostility towards these lights. It seems it's almost universal among enthusiasts that aspherical zoomies aren't worth the time. trouble, or money and I tend to agree. Fenix is pushing the technology in a different direction to address the problems with those lights by using a clever reflector system instead of lenses.
Is it perfect? Not by a long shot
Is it better than the current offerings? I certainly think so.
If nobody ever bought zoomies then there wouldn't be a market for them. Everything in life is a trade off and having a flood light and a thrower in the same light is no different. It will never be as good as a dedicated light for each application, but it seems to me that Fenix has closed that gap by addressing some of the biggest gripes about the format. I don't own a zoomie for the same reasons as most people, but the FD30 is the first one I'd actually consider buying. I only hope there is enough interest in it for them to continue to develop the format. I can't think of a good reason why someone wouldn't want a very good utility light that could do both flood and throw very well.
Because it seems like people like you are misunderstanding what this light is…
It is NOT a good thrower at all, because regular reflector flashlights outthrow it by a lot.
What it is is an adjustable reflector flashlight so you can make it close to a regular reflector light with the center spot and spill, or you can retract half the reflector to make it just spill.
It is NOT like an aspheric or TIR where you can focus the beam for no-spill throw that is much further than regular reflector flashlights. You can only adjust between flood and regular, not between flood and spot like a zoomie.
And if you actually tried a good TIR zoomie like a led lenser you wouldn’t think that they suck, because in fact they are better in pretty much every way than a regular reflector flashlight.
I can’t say I have super strong feelings either way with this light, it seems to achieve it’s goal although is unimpressive in stats, but I guess many good and popular lights have unimpressive stats.
What I don’t quite get is the hatred of a zoomies in general. I get that most stock zoomies have pretty poor performance but the format when applied well is in my eyes very impressive. I think the perfectly even flood of a zoomed out zoomie is quite nice to work with close up. When totally zoomed in at long range I think the lack of spill is nice, it reduces distracting scatter from the line of sight caused by spill. The square hotspot seems like a pretty acceptable tradeoff considering the throw capability.
And I don’t get the “lost lumen” argument, in flood mode a zoomie provides plenty of light for any normal close up work and by distributing is evenly it provides more surface area with usable illumination than a reflector light, with a reflector you will get some spill but most of those lumens is wasted on the hotspot which may be too bright to really use close up when the light is on a high enough mode to really use the spill well. Unless the light is all flood in which case it’s not really competing for an multipurpose light like an adjustable focus light. While zoomed I just think throw is more important, do you want double the surface area illuminated or double the distance? Most of the time I would much rather have double the throw, I can aim the light at whatever I’m trying to look at, and unless the object is quite large illuminate it just fine. The lumens you lost from the zoomie architecture would have never reached your target in a reflector light because of lack of throw.
Maybe that all came out a little down on reflector lights, which I didn’t intend, I love reflector lights too I just don’t see why people dislike zoomies.