As the title says, I’m thinking about doing some reviews on flashlights I have or am waiting to get, so i’d like to know what specs/info/types of beamshots I should add to it.
So far, I already have on my hands Sofirn IF22A and Convoy L21B. I’m still waiting to get my Convoy 3X21D, Convoy Z1, and just bought yesterday a Sofirn Q8 Plus (5000K) from Aliexpress, so probably it’s going to be a while until I finally get it.
Anyways, what info should I add into my newbie-review series?
So far I’ve thought about beamshots (from my phone*, and my drone**) and maybe how long it takes for the light to loose power on turbo (I don’t have that much time to measure for hours :c). I don’t have any way to measure lumens/candila or anything to do with drives/voltages, etc. Basically, just for an average user that knows the very basics.
I can have a decent estimate on the distance reached in the beamshots by using my drone to fly over there and measure the distance from that point.
I guess I could take some info from other more professional reviewers (obviously giving them credit).
Again, what basic information could I add?
Also, I’ve seen that cameras in general (at least consumer grade) have automatic exposure and stuff, so, I have an iPhone 14 Pro and a DJI Mini 3, what setting should I take to get the best beamshots. I’m not talking about angle, but about camera settings such as ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc; I know almost nothing about it but I’ve noticed some other reviewers say they use a certain ISO or exposure,. So, is there any general config for this, or is it one of those you-gotta-learn-how-to-use-it things?
No real advice, just try and be creative. Dont think about what you want, think about what other people may want.
Most beam shots dont carry over well to you tube. I personally dont like beam shots because they all seem the same after a while.
I like when reviewers talk about the light and show close ups of the light and compare it to other lights.
Most important, dont solicit free lights from manufacturers and then review them. Its virtually impossible to be unbiased when you are getting a free light. Disclosing that the light was provided free of charge in the video does not mean crap.
I like when reviewers compare a product to a “known quantity” or a product that is a mainstay/popular in the community. For example, a knife reviewer might show a comparison of a new knife next to a Para 2 (I don’t know anything about knives, just came off the top of my head).
It’s because I have a bad time visualizing when it comes to relative size. A Convoy S2+ might be a good model for comparisons, for example, because pretty much everyone has or has owned an S2+ (or similarly sized light) and it gets recommended fairly often.
Because hand sizes are different, so showing lights “in hand” doesn’t really mean squat to me.
I just kinda do my “first impressions” and then “using it for a while” opinions.
First impressions include the packaging, fit’n’finish, æsthetics, color, tint, beam, basics of the UI, etc.
After using it a week or so, if something is a surprisingly good feature, or something seems good at first but then gets annoying in actual use, I’ll say so.
I’ll put come-with cells through a capacity test, but ain’t set up to measure brightness nor have the patience to do runtimes.
Anything but reading the stats from the box .Real life experience is great- Few folks do a video with any real time using the torch. Seems most are pretty biased these days…
I got a giggle when I read this because I’m just the opposite. I love the stats but they have to be followed up with testing that shows wether or not the manufacturers stats match up to real world use. Stats for stats sake does nothing.
As I’m a noobie myself and still learning, stats help me know what I should expect and give me a reference point to start with when I evaluate a new flashlight or just about anything else that I buy.
As a more seasoned participant I can understand why you would not want just a list of stats.
The problem with most #'s on the box is the light does not reach the claimed output. Im a noob myself- Just a year in and 35 torches with another couple dozen that I sold or returned.
I despise the companies that over inflate the numbers and from here on out will not buy anything that does not come close to claimed output.
If you make an unboxing video, unbox it al least a few times before you record unboxing it. So you’re not wasting the viewers time fumbling around and trying to decypher the UI
If video, definitely DON’T waste time on The Grand Unboxing.
That CharlesTec guy does that, and gushes for 20min at the plastic baggies the usb cable and spare tailcap come in, to the point I want to sign him up for 1000 pr0n sites.
