I have just bought a flashlight on Amazon and got totally lied to on it’s lumens. It said 2000 lumens but is not even close. I need another, and need help finding one. Here is the BYB Light I bought on Amazon. I actually am happy with everything about it except the lumens.
I insist on an adjustable lens. The 1x to 2000x the BYB Light is perfect.
I do NOT need fancy modes. High is all I require. A low setting is a bonus though.
I like the size of the BYB Light. But anything I can stow in my pocket is acceptable.
A small lens is going to eat up your lumens, so making it pocketable kind of limits you. I’m not a fan of the small cheapies, and you aren’t going to find a 2k-lumen zoomie like you are wanting. The better zooming lights are a bit bigger:
Thanks Keltex. I am checking out the links now. I can probably be more flexible on the size if I need to for a good flashlight.
Also - can anyone guess how many lumens the BYB Light is that I pictured? I have a fancy camera and know how to use it… so the exposure was controlled by me to make the brightness match what my eyes were seeing.
I’ll second the Jax Z1. It will seriously blow away your BYB.
Off hand, I would guess that the BYB is around 200 lumens. If you have a multimeter, you can check the current being drawn by the BYB, which will allow a better estimate of lumens.
They’re called chinese lumens not as a slur on the Chinese but because they produce the majority of lights and don’t see false advertising in the same light as we do. ANSI is the certification that is most accurate but anything can be printed on a box or web page. At least you’ve come to the right place for recomendations. 2k lumens is easiest to get with a 6V led instead if driving a 3V led to the limit. You could also post a wtb for a 2- mode mtg or XHP Maglite mod if that floats your boat. Lots of modders here that can build something else up for you instead.
Thanks Bugsy. You both mentioned the Jax Z1, so that’s cool. I am wondering how much zoom it has though. I really enjoy being able to crank it to 2000x zoom and stand it upright on a table like a lantern.
I didn’t know there were people here that would special build to specs, thanks Rufusbduck. You mentioned a 6v LED flashlight, is there a model I can have a look at?
This still only tells part of the story though. It’s only showing your lumens without loss from the lens and reflector of choice. Zoomies lose a lot of lumens because they don’t have a reflector. Wasted light hitting the sides instead of going Out The Front. (OTF) OTF is what really counts.
You are not going to get 2,000 lumens out of any XM-L emitters. You will be lucky to get half of that with a reflector light in the stock form. Zoomies get even less than that. But if you really like zoomies and a lot of people do, there are better ones out there, just like the other posters stated.
Another alternative is to mod the one you have. If you have a solder gun around (or know someone who does) you can do it fairly easy, for about $20 and then you will have a light that outperforms any stock zoomie light that is that size.
If you do decide to mod the light feel free to PM me and I’ll talk you through it. (That goes for anyone here that needs help, just drop me a line)
Also If you do want a high performance light I would strongly suggest getting better batteries. The ultrafire ones are a big scam. the mAh rating will not be even close to true and the amps it puts out will be pathetic compared with a good battery. Heck just changing to a good battery will make a big difference in that light. I have seen some lights get a 50% performance jump (as measured by a light meter) just by getting a good high amp battery in there.
Good luck and watch your pocket book, this hobby can be very addictive. Before you know it you will have 20 lights and be talking about what new emitters and drivers are coming out.
Number of lumens is really going to be difficult to guess at.
Tailcap current could be a starting point, but we don’t know enough about the light. The Amazon listing claims XM-L T6, but many of these budget lights are now coming with counterfeit LEDs instead of Cree. The only definite way to tell for now is to take a macro photo of the LED and compare to a known good LED. These fake LEDs are not as bright as the OEM, which is yet another possible reduction, along with the lens losses.
Thanks guys. I think I am ready to try a JAX Z1. Where is a good place to buy it?
And if the amps in my last post help narrow down the lumens, that would be interesting. Bugsy guessed around 200 lumens before I posted the data. I am curious for an update.
A genuine XM-L at that drive current should be about 350 lumens at the emitter, definitely less than 400 lumens. Since your cell wasn’t fully charged, you were pushing about 3.28W, well below the 10W of a well-driven XM-L.
This is an older test on a different bin emitter, but should give you a ballpark idea. Count on losing a fair bit through the optic(I’ve read that over a 30% loss? No hard numbers though…). Finally, if you have a fake emitter, even less output…
Thanks Keltex.
AllThumbs, I am concerned that link is another fraud, it claims both 2400lm max and 3000lm max (see runtime) on the same page. And as Keltex said earlier, 2000lm is probably not realistic for this size flashlight.
The XH-P emitter is capable of high lumen output, but I don’t think it would be well suited for a zoom light:
When the beam is focused to maximum throw, you would see each of the emitters individually, instead of having a single hotspot. For the best beam in an asperic thrower, you would need a single-die emitter:
XP-L-HI, XP-L, XM-L2 would give you more lumens. A hard-driven XP-G2 would give you less lumens, but a tighter, more-intense beam.
JoshK you can see tables for the maximum expected lumen outputs for assorted CREE LED’s and the different BIN’s at some assorted current input levels over here…
That’s measured at the LED so OTF of a reflector or lens the lumens will be less.
I think the XP-L HI version is meant to be an excellent performer when used with optics? I think I read that someplace?
I suggest the Sipik SK-73 or the cheaper and brighter but less consistent Zeus Ray. These are direct drive, though not as low resistance as a fancy DD driver, so they put out a lot of light.
How much of the LED’s light gets out depends on the ratio of the lens diameter to is focal length. Lenses with short focal length have short slide or twist travel and the lenses are thick. If the focal length is very short, such as with some Fresnel lenses, the throw starts to decrease. Otherwise the throw just depends on the active lens area. It is proportional to the diameter.
The Jax Z1 is probably impressive quality, but there are cheaper lights that will perform as well.
If you know how to solder, you could look at the driver of the light you have to see if there are resistors you can bypass. Often they are in a row, in parallel. The one you have has a long focal length, which is also part of why it doesn’t put out as many lumens in throw mode. The thin lens works well for flood, though.
