Seems like it, yes.
More unfortunately (imo) the GDP comes in several (good) warm white tint bins,
but also in 2 ultra white. If the manufacturer just order a batch of GDP without
stating tint, one may end up with a cool white as you did.
I don't think it is easy to tell the difference between the GD and GDP. The Plus seems to be a lot more common, so it's easy to assume everyone is getting a plus. The tints seem to vary quite a bit though. Even on DX some people get neutral to warm E07's and some get cool white ones. I'm not sure if Tank007 can't keep them straight or if they are buying a grab bag from Osram. Osram certainly should be able to have better control over binning.
Next time we MUST request release candidate sample. After all issues are resolved, all samples should be the same and Manafont (or any other) MUST discard all other samples/batch that doesn't match. Better for us, better for Manafont.
Are you going to provide the $300 for the sample?
I doubt if manafont will.
No, I mean we must request RC sample, but only to avoid these things. I mean that after all issues (if any) are solved, make a final and big order.
If we're going to try these custom edition lights again in the future maybe just do a simple customization, just enough to distinguish it from the standard issue. Also, a customized light doesn't need to be discounted as a "group buy" sort of thing since they're going to extra lengths to cater to a certain group of people. In this case, it's more of a privilege to the customer to get this service rather than an honor for them to serve us. However, the product should work and the customer shouldn't be taken advantage of or misled. I actually respect Manafont's approach to offer store credit as opposed to simply slashing the price since it's a good gesture to the loyal customers without compromising profits. The price should still be kept low enough to offset the potential first batch issues (minor issues, not an entire screw job like the Tank light). Also, the first version should definitely be kept as a limited run to retain that "special edition" factor and then ramp up production on a follow up edition.
Tank screwed it, IMO. Manafont should ask Tank for replacement for all bad units. They sell too many things, besides flashlights, so I don't blame them for not having checked all units they received. Thats why I think that special editions needs RC sample.
I missed the first batch - and I'd certainly have got one to keep the two others I already have company.
Sounds like I was lucky.
But - these are budget lights and at times stuff will go wrong. See what custom stuff carefully specified in the Other Plaice will cost you.
Me:
I'm not prepared to (or able to either) spend that much.
The lottery element is part of the fun. Most of the lights I've bought outperform stuff costing many times as much. Some don't.
Luck of the draw.
I'm not hugely fond of multimode twisties. But I like the E07 so I'd have got one anyway. If I'd been around.
Given what I've spent in the last couple of months this may be just as well. But the last light I bought was on July 1st.
This may be the longest gap for me since 2005. So I made up for it and ordered a light while I typed this.
This one
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-270-t60-cree-xm-lt6-3-mode-1200lm-led-white-flashlight-w-strap-1-x-18650-93265
Which probably will not be as good a light as the Aurora SH-032 which it strongly resembles. And certainly can't be the million times brighter it could be - thermal issues make this certain before it even arrives here.
Will get around to reviewing it when it arrives in a month or so.
Last time I saw an Audi, the LED tints seemed quite even =P
Still does not address Quality Control !
Sample can be great , but the guy on the lathe turning the parts can be having a bad day , and his work is all over the place , or the machine is so old it simply cant maintain a setting for very long , or a hundred other reasons , if the there is nothing in place to maintain QC ...
A lot of these factories have some poor individual with 2 boxes of parts , and they simply sit there fitting the parts and as long as they look ok and screw together . Is there even an insert to check depth ?
I think - not sure , the pill may have changed , possibly -- as the multimode driver may have needed more internal space , and this change is what may have put us on this path .
Again something Tank should have been able to sort out without any issue ... But looks like the issue varies from one light to another [ tolerances ] so again comes down to QC at Tank or the lack off .
I think it's hard to have manafont in the middle of this .. they stand to lose from both sides and could ruin a relationship with it's customers and their relationship with tank as well....all for very little gain .. If I were manafont I wouldn't do this ..it's a lose lose proposition ... there really isn't any upside .. nothing to gain and too much to lose . look at agenthex taking abuse because he helped start the dino direct group buy ..Why people were mad at him and giving him a hard time was pretty insane ..
I disagree , Boaz .
Manafont is trying to provide a custom , yet affordable light . When they realized some of the lights had flaws they offered to compensate the owners .
How will this affect their relationship with us ? Ruin it ?
I think not . We will all learn something and hopefully learn from our errors and improve .
I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in this experiment . I don't see any idiots anywhere .
I'm not talking about QC, Matt. You can check Tank QC just reading users comments about lights they've purchased. I was talking about how we can prevent other issues, i.e. Very low is not so low, different batt/cell fitting issue, tint, clikie, etc.
Someone receive RC sample:
1) low is not so low. Solution: reconfigure driver to make low even lower
2) 14500 protected TF black don't fit. Solution: Make light 1 mm longer
3) Cold tint instead of neutral. Solution: change emitter
etc, etc...
With only one RC sample we can prevent users complaints. Can't see any negative point about not sending RC sample to someone from BLF. If not, will happen this s%&t again: Manafont need to offer free gifts to not loose customers; users are pissed off and Tank need to make another 200 lights...
I agree that this is a risky play for Manafont since the gains are very minimal. They're mainly catering to the flashlight enthusiast, which is just a small percentage of their market. So if things don't go stellar then all they did was put in all that work to possibly lose a loyal customer base, and if they go well then they've pleased a small percentage, but put in all that extra work for it. Since monetary gains are minimal, the risk-reward ratio is rather high. Of course, this assumes the flashlight enthusiast in a community like this doesn't have skewed perceptions and will likely rate the product higher than the average consumer because of his allegiance to these sellers. I'm grateful they're willing to try these endeavors, but I think there's some merit to Boaz's thoughts.
I think there can be some payoff in terms of R&D. They can listen to some of their customers and possibly come up with lights that a wider audience will also appreciate. It gets them out of the 5-mode typical China budget light rut. However, they can crank out a lot of varieties, put them up at DealExtreme and see what sticks and accomplish the same thing.
Though I'm happy with the BLF E07, if they had done what we wanted they would have a really great light on their hands that I think would have sold well even outside of BLF. They were really close. L-M-H mode order, a more neutral tint, and better battery fit would have done it.
I agree with brted that our preferences in flashlights are generally appealing also to the general public. So one of the advantages in doing a custom run is that they can later use the same specs for a much larger batch. Case in point:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/eastward-yj-j09-cree-xp-e-r3-4-mode-240-lumen-led-flashlight-with-clip-1-aa-47626
Guess where these specs came from? ;)
It's funny to go back and read some of the comments (on DX). In the product description it indicates no memory and a plastic lens.
I appears to actually have memory and a glass lens. Some people received 3 mode versions and one person received a XP-G. Someone received M-L-H.
Most received what was intended I think although at $20 it's a little high for a DX AA light. If it didn't have memory it would be more appealing (to me).
It's interesting to see some non-strobe models with decent lows being introduced though. There was actually one I saw today that listed lux @ 1 meter. I checked though and that doesn't seem to be a trend yet.
I am happy with my BLF light also . It only took a little modding to make it a good functional light . I hope that in the future we can provide even more feedback and manufacturers will make better flashlights for us all .
I'm glad when a company wants to improve their product , and thus their market share by listening to their target market .
I won't speak for Boaz but I was referring to Manafont's stake in this, not the manufacturer. That's a completely different perspective and I agree with you guys if that's the angle we're using. The manufacturer definitely benefits from collecting feedback from enthusiasts like us who take the time and effort and to scrutinize a flashlight and come up with improvements. And since we're not paid engineers, but rather inclined consumers, our feedback should be more valid in terms of matching features to needs/wants. I still wonder how Tank007 could be so careless with pushing this new product out if they're at all concerned with their brand value, which they may not be so much.
L-H-M without memory doesn't appeal to the general public and I think it's a mistake of Olight/iTP to listen too much to flashaholics. Normal people don't want a dim flashlight.
But as I wrote in the other thread, I think the "E07 BLF" driver will be used in the new E09:
