So for the past year I've been searching for new ways to build another thrower with even more lux than before, and one of the most important parts is the lens.
The problem with lenses is that to get higher lux, you need a bigger diameter, and the bigger the lens the more expensive and rare it becomes.
Previously I used the cheap $8 100mm fasttech lens which is what many people have used to get 1Mcd+ in the past: https://www.fasttech.com/products/1606/10002523/1583700-replacement-100mm-optical-borosilicate-plano
Unfortunately this lens is very low quality, only has a usable aperture of <90mm, and is hit-and-miss.
In the top right you can see how badly the 100mm lens focused, with some chromatic aberration where the yellow/red light got separated from blue/green.
BTW I have 3 of these 100mm lenses, this one was the best quality. Even with the bad quality I got close to 1.5Mcd.
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My next step was to check the professional optics manufacturers for stock optics. Edmund Optics, Knight optical, Thorlabs, and many other places.
The only stock aspheric lenses they had were small diameters (<100mm) except Thorlabs, which had one 100mm aspheric, but it cost over $1100... :(
I asked for quotes of custom 100-150mm aspheric lenses, and the lowest price is approx. $750-1500 for a single custom lens.
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Finally I went back to searching for stock lenses and finally came across this site: http://www.optolife.com
They actually had large diameter (>100mm) plano-aspheric lenses in stock!
I researched a bit, and it seemed like a legit store. During my research I even came across a post they made on this forum too: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/10086
I was convinced, and after some emails back and forth I found out that not only did they have one 120mm lens in stock, but also a second one, even though it says "out of stock" on the website.
At $33 per lens it is far more affordable than getting a custom one made, so I thought I would give it a try (this was pretty risky of me, I usually never buy directly from china)
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The lenses I bought:
$33 per lens is definitely more expensive than the $9 fasttech lens, but the precision polished glass is far better quality and definitely worth the price.
They came very well packaged in paper wrap, bubble wrap, and with hand-cut soft foam at least 1" thick on all sides of the box.
Instead of chinese air mail, which often gets lost, I chose a more expensive tracked option for shipping which is far more reliable.
The shipping cost $40, but it arrived by UPS, tracked, and only took about a week all the way to Canada.
Here are the two lenses compared at 5m:
They are obviously not the same quality as a lens made by a higher quality company like Edmund Optics or Thorlabs, but the asphere is good and focuses well with nearly no artifacts.
I was very impressed, and glad I didn't get something anywhere near as bad as the fasttech lenses.
Even though it is more expensive than Fasttech or Kaidomain, if you can afford the lens+shipping I highly recommend buying from Optolife because their service and products were good.
Overall I spent nearly $100 USD for the two lenses and shipping, and here are a few things you should know before buying:
1) The website stock info is not up to date, so you should switch the option from "aspheric condenser lenses stock list" to "Frequent manufacturing aspheric condenser lenses list" when searching for lenses, then email and ask if it is in stock even if it says out of stock.
2) Some fields like R1 or R2 are sometimes left blank for certain lenses, make sure you email and ask to make sure what you're buying is a plano-aspheric lens, and not spherical-aspherical or something else. For example, I was considering A092, but then found out R2 is actually not flat, which makes it useless for me.
3) As with most Chinese manufacturers, their English isn't great, so try to keep any emails short and simple to avoid getting incorrect information.
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PS- I'm pretty sure the long FL 120mm lens is the same one used in the world's longest range LED flashlight, the Lance of RA: https://www.silentthunderordnance.com/shop/lance-of-ra
The head diameter is 135mm, and the rim does look like 7.5mm, so I am fairly confident he used exactly this same lens.
PPS- I'm just making this review because I saw old posts of people asking about this company and if it is good for lenses, not sponsored or anything like that, just happy with my new lenses :)
I only have the single one I bought a while ago. A wavien collar is a must for any good thrower.