I have a non-BLF Mini that I got in July. Gotta agree with Boaz, it just isn’t a great host. Mine’s been relegated to the car. It’s heavy, and I also need two hands to use it. When I first got it (my first SS light) I thought it was great, but that soon faded. My Trustfire flame wouldn’t fit either, but luckily I got a CR123 with it, so hopefully it will survive in the car. Still, YMMV.
wait a sec-Foy, was your BLF Mini supposed to be a 3C?
I second that, please check out this thread I made a little while back. Especially the top pic, as it illustrates exactly what I saw with my eyes that morning. Tint looks excellent compared directly with the mid-morning sun. Less pink, more an ultra-hot hotwire.
No torch out of the box IMO should require extensive mods to correct major glitches so it works decently well-enough per flashaholic standards and still get anywhere near 5-stars. Maybe for Joe Schmoe off the street it’ll get 5 stars but here even in Flashoholic Budget City the ratings should reflect first and foremost, “Does this thing honestly work well compared to decent quality proven stuff?” If it doesn’t, man maybe 2 1/2 to 3 stars outta 5 at best.
I’m getting more and more of a Michelin-rating mindset on a number of things these days. Torches included. Getting a 1-star rating from them is an overall cuisine establishment BFD. Too much crap out there being foisted on us and then getting starry passes these days. Stars should really get earned, budget or not. :cowboy_hat_face:
This light was OK for a one-off BLF deal. SS, XML, NW, a flashoholic special. But we should be aiming for lasting significance, something we can be proud of like “we created that successful lineup”, or even potentially changing the industry to make better design choices such as no strobe/ better tints.
Anything that gets specially made for us will face unrealistic expectations. You can’t make everybody happy. I love the host already, and they nailed the modes. I don’t care about tint.
ok ...I would say the nichia may not appear red or pinkish by its self but side by side with a cree it makes neutrals look green .. neutrals I would have called almost tan . and with one now seemingly green what are you calling the other color ?
I really only ever see two main colors in lights .. pink or redish ...and green
If the 4b tint is made to look green then tell me where do you put the nichia on the scale ..Please feel free to make an educated guess ...Mine is to the right and lower ..below the line and twards warm .. to me below and lower right is heading red
thanks for the beam shots ..that's exactly what it looks like ..and thats just on a white wall ..on colors it's amazing ..on walls ,against other beams it looks a bit peachy ....maybe you need to say that daylight looks a bit rosey too ..I love the nichia ,i like the neutrals ..i like you ...you're just wrong :P
Personally I prefer a bit more rosey tint, it’s what people sometimes call “creamy”. Cree neutrals can be green or yellowish in comparison and not often you get a creamy one.
Personally I think the Z8 could be a great host, it looks fab, is a nice shape and size. Ok it’s a tad heavy, but not so much you can’t have it in your pocket and the flood to zoom works very well on it.
I think the danger with a BLF custom light is trying to go to OTT. Running an XM-L @ 2.8A in such a host will only ever make it a gimmick light as it’ll get too hot to use.
To make it a great usable light it just needs the asked for spec to be sensible and usable.
Now I know people like moon light, but tbh there are plenty of lights that do this better than any single button reverse clicky ever will. So why bother?
2 modes no memory
Mode 1 should be current controlled or high PWM so it’s usable and not a distraction. This should be bright, but not so bright that it glares if you shine it at your hand (60 lumens maybe)
Mode 2 should be high, but this should be a high that the host can handle for prolonged use thus making it a usable light
On paper it might not have the biggest numbers or the most wow, but I’m willing to bet it would be a highly usable light.
I agree we all have different needs, but if I know I’ll use it mostly on 2% mode and rarely at 30% mode I simply wouldn’t kid myself into buying a high powered XM-L light to begin with.
It’s like buying a Shelby GT500 when you know you’d never even use WOT in a V6 Stang.
So for low light level use I personally would use a low output light that is direct drive/constant current so as to avoid PWM.
Cannot see much green in mine even when ring is there, so I haven’t bothered
One glitch in driver, though:
Cycle fast: Low -> Med -> High -> Low -> Med -> High and on second round, Low sometimes does JUST that pre-flash without anything else. Light fully twisted, 100% sure contact.
So, the cycle goes: Low -> Med -> High -> Pre-Flash -> Low -> Med -> High -> Pre-Flash -> Low etc etc…
Anyone else having this??
Not a biggie but weird.
…and this does not happen everytime, I cannot say for sure what makes it happen but it can be done in repetitive fashion when it occurs.
I just got mine today in the mail (yea!). Mine also does the preflash, but all in all the light is better than I expected and overall i’m 100% happy with the purchase. I absolutely love the super low-low setting as this is my first light with the low, this low. If there is anyone who doesn’t like theirs and wants to sell it off I would be interested in picking up another for the wife.