Lenses is something I have no knowledge over, except that I’ve picked up the term AR coated which is supposed to be a good thing. Any suggestions on a good lens for this reflector? I haven’t seen any of the right size yet but confess to not searching so much as I’d rather go for recommendations from those who know what a good lens is.
You’ll definitely want to go with an AR coated lens, which means it has an anti-reflective coating on both sides.
You’ll have seen this on high quality lenses, they usually have a blueish or purple sheen to them and they’ll be considerably clearer than standard uncoated lenses. That also means more light gets through the lens which is obviously a good thing in a flashlight.
Another interesting lens that they offer ist he Uclp Acrylic lenses, these are essentially “plastic” lenses but with a high transmission value and a great AR coating on them. Worth looking into if you don’t intend to abuse the light too much.
Edit: Actually looks like you may have to go with the Acrylic lens to get an AR coated lens in your required size, their standard UCL AR coated glass lenses only go up to around 55mm.
I was also going to recommend looking at camera lens filters. Those are available in larger sizes and the aluminum rings are usually pretty easy to cut off of them. I have used them on a few BTU Shockers in the past.
+1 camera filters. Inexpensive and work well. Usually I figure on the glass in them being 1mm smaller than the thread size. They are fairly easy to take apart. The glass is held in with a screw in ring. It has two slots in it and if you can hold the outer metal with something sturdy, then you can use two small jewelers screwdrivers in the slots and turn the inner ring out. Or a real big set of snap ring pliers, but I don't have any near that big. The jewelers screwdrivers work ok. I just use both hands and press and twist.
Camera filters are fairly standardized. They are always thin and the UV coatings do tend to be different from one to the other. I usually buy the lowest priced one, because I basically don’t want any coatings on it, so that it is as clear as possible.
Compared to flashlightlens.com? Well, the price is usually, (not always), cheaper and I favor glass over plastic. There is no plastic made that does not scratch easier than glass and there is no plastic made that does not turn color with age. If they say that is not true, then they are wrong. I was in plastics manufacturing for 26+ years. All plastic degrades over time, especially when exposed to sunlight or any type of UV light. Plastic is coated with UV coating, to protect it. Many plastics that have nothing to do with lenses have UV coating, just to protect the plastic from turning color or going opaque. I think the glass lenses made at flashlightlens.com are too expensive for me, but they might be fine for someone else.
