Jaxman E2 measurements (Nichia 219B, bargain high CRI 18650)

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

Edit 28.2.2016: The head can be removed from the battery tube. I just forgot to remove that sentence out of the review. 18350 battery tube can be used as I state at the end of the test.

Disclaimer: Jaxman E2 was supplied for review by HKEquipment.net at half price.

93 CRI 18650 flashlight for 25 bucks? Yes, please. The Jaxman E2 is not a lumen monster, but it has the highest CRI I’ve measured from a flashlight to date. 5400 Kelvins of pure white gloriousness.


Manufacturer specifications

  • Battery type: 18650
  • LED: Nichia 219B, Neutral or Warm white
  • Color temperature: 5700/4000 K
  • Body material: Aluminum
  • Reflector: Orange peel texture
  • Lens: Glass
  • Waterproof: Yes, IPX-6
  • Impact resistance: 2 m
  • Switch type: Tail reverse clicky
  • Battery protection: Battery polarity, low voltage warning
  • Temperature regulation: Yes
  • Pocket clip: No
  • Tail stand: Yes
  • Tripod threads: No
  • USB rechargeable: No
  • Output levels: 3
  • Mode memory: No
  • Button lock: Not necessary, mechanical switch
  • Direct access from off: Always starts on Low

Special modes:

  • Strobe (7,5 Hz)
  • SOS


Included in the box

  • Jaxman E2 flashlight
  • Lanyard
  • Chinese specs/instructions


The body is the usual Chinese 18650 affair familiar to most flashlight enthusiast. Similar construction can be found from the BLF A6/Astrolux S1 and Convoy S2. On the Jaxman the head is stuck to the battery cylinder and cannot be removed, at least without force. (edit: it was just really tight, no problems)

The anodized aluminum body has a bluish grey tone to it. The finish and machining is good, save for one dent on the tailcap on my sample. The head has some shallow grooves for better heat dissipation, at least in theory. I would have liked a pocket clip too, but a 3rd party one can be found easily for a dollar.


Since the Jaxman and Convoy S2+ have compatible threads in both the head and the tail, the Jaxman’s Nichia head is easy to fit to a Convoy shorty tube or just use the nice metallic tailcap switch of a colored S2+.

The UI is simple. Full press on the rubber tail clicky turns the light on and off, half press cycles through modes (Low, Medium, High, Strobe, SOS). There’s no mode memory, and the light always starts at low. Moonlight mode is missing, and the low mode is quite bright at 14 lumens. Medium and high spacing is good though.


The Nichia 219B emitter was perfectly centered on my sample.


Spring in the head and tail, so button and flat tops are compatible. There’s no low voltage cutoff, but the flashlight will blink when the battery voltage is low. Resting voltage after depleting the Eagtac 3500 mAh battery was 3,10 V.


Jaxman E2, Convoy S2+, Eagletac D25LC2, BLF X6, DQG Tiny 18650 4.

Measurements
Please note: lumen measurements are only rough estimates
My diy 30 cm integrating styrofoam sphere has been calibrated using a Fenix E05 on high with manufacturer’s claim of 85 lumens. Verified with an Olight S10 that has been measured with a Labsphere FS2 integrating sphere by valostore.fi. Results may be more inaccurate with especially throwy or floody lights.

For spectral information and CRI calculations I have an X-rite i1Pro spectrophotometer with HCFR for the plot and ArgyllCMS spotread.exe for the data. For runtime tests I use spotread.exe with a custom script and a i1Display Pro because it doesn’t require calibration every 30 minutes like the i1Pro.

Explanation of abbreviations
CCT = correlated color temperature, higher temperature means cooler (bluish)
CRI (Ra) = color rendering index consisting of 8 different colors (R1-R8), max value 100
CRI (R9) = color rendering index with deep red, usually difficult for led based light sources, max value 100
TLCI = television lighting consistency index, max value 100
CQS (Qa) = Proposed replacement for CRI, RMS average of 15 color samples
CRI2012 (Ra,2012) = Another proposed replacement for CRI, consists of 17 color samples
MCRI = Color rendering index based on the memory of colors or 9 familiar objects
x,y = coordinates on a CIE 1931 chart

Spectral distribution (High)

Color rendering (High)

Read more about color rendering indices here:

Jaxman E2 beats the second highest CRI light I have measured with a good margin. Especially the output on the 470 nm region is significantly flatter.

For comparison:

Beam and tint

Beam has a hotspot angle of 15° and spill of 67°.


Tint and color temperature shift is relatively small in different areas of the beam. Corona around the hotspot is a bit warmer and the outer spill is cooler.


Tint in different output modes is very small.

PWM

PWM/pulsing is used on low and medium. Even though the output never drops to zero and the cycling frequency is rather high at 3900 hertz, it is still possible to see when looking directly at the light and moving either eyes or the light very rapidly. In use, only the quiet whine might be noticeable in total silence when listened closely.


Low


Medium


High


Strobe (7,5 Hz)

Runtime and temperature (High)


The output is regulated and stays constant until the 1 hour 54 minute mark. After this there’s a steady decline to 55 % until the low voltage warning blink starts at 2 h 9 min. There’s no difference in output with different cells. So no use getting high current batteries for the E2.

Cooling affects the output, so there is some sort of regulation. The head gets to 65°C at 17 minutes and this is as hot as it gets. At this point the handle is at 59°C. Without cooling, the battery tube reaches 50°C at about 10 minutes. I consider this too hot to hold comfortably with bare hands. As the light cools, the output rises, but the difference is very small and not noticeable with the naked eye.


Temperature at 5 minutes. Heat transfer is good, with only a 7 degree difference between the head and the handle.


Temperature after the head has stabilized at 65°C at 17 minutes. Head/Handle DeltaT 7°C.

Good/Bad

+ Extremely high color fidelity

  • Compatible threads with the popular Convoy S2+ (18350 possible)
  • Cheap
  • Nice pure white tint
  • Does not overheat
  • Good output regulation
    ─ No moonlight mode
    ─ Special modes not hidden, always cycled
    ─ No mode memory or direct access
    ─ PWM/Pulsing is used on low and medium
    ─ Slight whine on medium
    ─ No pocket clip included
2

Hi maukka,

great test , thank you.

It is a 219B-V1 R9050 sw57, can also be purchased at fasttech…

You have a little mistake in one picture you might want to correct, it says –80 for R9, should be +80.

Cheers!

3

Good eye! Thanks, I’ll fix it.

Here’s a color rendering comparison chart of most of the lights I’ve measured.

4

That driver may be the type you can bridge two pins on the MCU and have it as a three mode only, no blinky modes.

Fantastic review again maukka! Keep them coming!

5

Great Review !
I’ll be looking through your posts for your other reviews.
I like this light, also.

6

I’m still jealous of your spectrometer. And the way you show the tint at various parts of the beam… it’s an amazing thing which answers questions I’ve had for a long time.

BTW, if you reflash the driver you can improve the UI, modes, and PWM. It could fix all the “minus” qualities you listed except for the pocket clip. :slight_smile:

7

Thanks for the excellent review.
I went to HKE website and seems they only have the 5700k neutral white beam available.

8

I believe that is the one reviewed by the OP.

If you want the Warm White (4000K) version, it is available at Fasttech.
See: [NO COMMENTS OR DISCUSSIONS HERE!] The BLF Deal Alert Thread - #1069 by 1dash1

9

If you don’t need CRI or spectral measurements, an x-rite i1Pro Display Pro will suffice and give you the xy-coordinates. However, it might not give perfectly accurate results depending on the spectral distribution, since it uses three lux meters with colored filters. But for $200 it is a steal and is able to calibrate a monitor too.

Firmware flashing of a driver is totally out of my scope of knowledge.

10

I’m also very interested in this kind of information but for now I’m lazy enough to be happy that you do the work and I just have to read the interesting results O:-)
But one day (when someone unexpected leaves me a large sum of money) I may just get my own equipment…

11

Thanks for the link.
No wonder I couldn’t find it at HKE and the price different between these 2 stores are quite huge

12

“If you want the Warm White (4000K) version, it is available at Fasttech.”

With very low price. It’s same model ?

13

You mention a clip for a dollar.
Where can I get that ?.
Thanks.

14

Check out the specifications and draw your own conclusion. :sunglasses:

15

There are two lights from Jaxman, each one available in 4000K and 5700K 219B-V1 R9050. There’s the E2 and the mini C8, in case you want more throw. I’d go with the E2, the floodier beam is a good combination with the high CRI light.

By the way, I’m sure it’s the newer 219B-V1, mentioned that already in another thread.

16

Everything that fits the Convoy S2 (or S2+ with the metal switch), will work with the Jaxman. For example this one or this from Simon’s shop

17

Excellent review. Thanks for posting

18

Excellent review. I have both E2 and mini C8 (the 4000K versions) from Fasttech and I can confirm that the visually perceived quality of light is simply superb. The AR coating is of good quality and it is vastly superior to the one used by EagTac on their Nichia 219 lights, like D25A or D25LC2. The mini C8 starts at high, that is the only difference in UI. My only point of concern is the use of four 7135 on the E2, which small head cannot efficiently dissipate the heat generated at high, and there is no timer step-down and of course no thermal sensor.

19

I have a long rant about AR coating and what it does to white light… and how I’d much rather have a cheap, plain piece of glass. But for now, can you tell if the lens makes the light any different than it looks with no lens? AR coating gives my D25A-219 a distinct blue halo: (and a warm green beam, but that’s not visible here)

Does the lens change the color of things reflected in it at an angle? For example:

Does the E2 or C8 lens change the color of white fabric if rested directly on top, like the AR-coated lens on the left here, or does it look like the bare glass on the right?

I’m just a little worried, since every AR-coated lens I’ve ever seen has defeated the point of high-CRI emitters.

20

About AR coatings: it must be clear that you cannot expect a flashlight to have them at the same level as pro-grade photographic filters like B+W MRC or Kenko Zeta. But those implemented by EagTac are simply outstandingly bad. They produce strong blue reflections of light sources. Those on Jaxman lights produce weak violet reflections, similar to L3 Illumination L10 with Nichias, or the more recent Lumintop worms with Nichias. The best AR coatings I have encountered so far in flashlights is on the Preons 2 with Nichias, which unfortunately are not available any more. Flashlight with Hi Cri LED but bad AR coating cannot be considered as Hi Cri flashlight. The Preons 2 with Nichias from Illumn.com are considered the best available flashlights for medical profession for good reason.