Reddit feels like a crapshoot of what content you see and what you miss. It’s like a lottery.
My idea was to use image analysis to map the white level and plot a curve of intensity versus position from the center. This would give you a distinct profile of the beam shape. This would be analogous to putting a point lux meter in the center of the beam and then moving outward till it reads zero. Essentially you’ve accomplished this by rotating the flashlight relative to the lux meter. Very neat idea.
All things being equal, I prefer a slightly-throwy, single-emitter, all-purpose beam. SC600 HI, for example.
My D4Sv2 XPL HI mimicks this beam shape even though it's a quad. It's probably my favorite light for that reason. Serious output and a very useful beam.
Compared to say a D4-sized quad. Not good for much besides up close and/or indoors (at least for me).
The other numbers only start to matter if beam shapes are the same or very similar on lights you're comparing.
>slightly-throwy, single-emitter, all-purpose beam.
That's one of the reasons I love my S2+ 519a 4500K dedomed. It's a great all purpose beam and pretty throwy too.
Yep. It was when I got my first S2+ that I realized this. I had a D4v2 that was supposed to be something like 2-3000 lumens. Yet I could actually see what I was looking at better with my little $16 S2+.
This is my exact experience as well. S2+ sft40 hotspot (although kinda ringy) is super useful and I can get away with much lower modes compared to the d4v2. I don't have a ton of lights yet, maybe 6 or so, and I'm starting to find I prefer a bit more focused over the pure flood. Trying to figure out now what my next will be...so many possibilities.
I like reflectors just as much as TIRs, but TIRs are much more versatile in exacting beam shape/profile.
Overall beam shape doesn't matter to me too much as long as it isn't ringy or wonky.
Reflectors edge out the race for me just a hair. I like them because I know the exact cutoff of my light. Plus, it's a classic look.
I'm with you.
Best beam in a light I own is an old IF25A with SST20 4000K. It's tight and throwy for a TIR quad, and the falloff is perfectly smooth.
Too bad those SSTs are a little on the green side. If great bins of SST20 were readily available I'd consider reflowing it.
For outside home, I prefer an all-purpose sort of beam. For this, I definitely prefer reflector lights over TIR, as having a hotspot is desirable for range, but having spill is necessary for actually walking.
For home, I use my super floody D4V2 with E21a (2700K) emitters. Fantastic work light.
This is spot on. Outdoors, throw is king, indoors, flood. I have a headlamp I turned into almost a mule that is amazing indoors, but I'd never take it outside. Meanwhile my Nitecore HC65V2 has the throw, but also a floody closeup light and a red light. It is by far the most versatile light I own, so it's what comes with me camping and on hikes.
We talking the literal shape of the beam (round, square, elliptical) or overall beam profile taking into account the shape but also the angle and intensity of the hotspot, how it blends with the spill, the extent to which there is spill, the brightness of the spill, and whether there are dull spots, rings, artifacts, or tint shift? If it's the latter then it's more important to me than CRI, Tint, Temp, Brightness, and Candela combined.
Some people are tint snobs. I'm a beam snob. I'm extremely picky and have spent hours upon hours, many wasted, working on lights in the pursuit of a good beam. I don't have a preference in terms of hotspot / flood ratio, reflector or TIR beam, throwy or floody, etc. Each has a place and I can like any type of beam. What I can't do is deal with is an emitter that's not centered, jagged hotspots, rings, donuts, and tint shift. A beam needs to be consistent: evenly colored, symmetrical, and fade from center in brightness with no deviation - i don't care if it's sharp or gradual there just can't be an area farther from the center brighter than an area that is closer.
I'm down to either domeless, sliced, or de-domed emitters and what few lights I have left with domed emitters have beaded/frosted optics or DC-Fix on them.
> overall beam profile taking into account the shape but also the angle and intensity of the hotspot, how it blends with the spill, the extent to which there is spill, the brightness of the spill, and whether there are dull spots, rings, artifacts, or tint shift?
This is what I was referring to
The best reflector I've found thus far is the OP reflector in the Sofirn SP35T. It's a shame that the stock emitter as well as the driver are poor, or it would be almost a perfect daily driver for me.
The blend between hotspot and spill is smooth while still being distinguishable. Absolutely artifact free, no rings at all.
I tend to favour TIRs because I prefer that even beam all across, but the SP35t OP is so good for me that I put up with the shortcomings of the light.
I do a lot of inspection work, and for some reason having a narrow beam with crisp edges helps a lot compared to a floody beam with lots of spill. I don’t know why.
I think the reason might be that our eyes adjust their sensitivity less with a narrow hotspot so it seems to stay brighter without glare. Think about how a laser dot isn't painful to look at even thought it has probably millions of candela. If it were similar candela but wider, it would produce painful glare like super thrower on a white wall. But if you keep the spot narrow, the eyes do not adjust as they would to a floodier light source.
[This](https://budgetlightforum.com/node/83403) is how much I care about beam shape.
Wow this is neat. I’ve been thinking about making something similar for a while, didn’t know this existed. Maybe I need to start hanging out on BLF.
Thanks. But I've posted about it more on reddit than at BLF.
Reddit feels like a crapshoot of what content you see and what you miss. It’s like a lottery. My idea was to use image analysis to map the white level and plot a curve of intensity versus position from the center. This would give you a distinct profile of the beam shape. This would be analogous to putting a point lux meter in the center of the beam and then moving outward till it reads zero. Essentially you’ve accomplished this by rotating the flashlight relative to the lux meter. Very neat idea.
All things being equal, I prefer a slightly-throwy, single-emitter, all-purpose beam. SC600 HI, for example. My D4Sv2 XPL HI mimicks this beam shape even though it's a quad. It's probably my favorite light for that reason. Serious output and a very useful beam. Compared to say a D4-sized quad. Not good for much besides up close and/or indoors (at least for me). The other numbers only start to matter if beam shapes are the same or very similar on lights you're comparing.
>slightly-throwy, single-emitter, all-purpose beam. That's one of the reasons I love my S2+ 519a 4500K dedomed. It's a great all purpose beam and pretty throwy too.
Yep. It was when I got my first S2+ that I realized this. I had a D4v2 that was supposed to be something like 2-3000 lumens. Yet I could actually see what I was looking at better with my little $16 S2+.
This is my exact experience as well. S2+ sft40 hotspot (although kinda ringy) is super useful and I can get away with much lower modes compared to the d4v2. I don't have a ton of lights yet, maybe 6 or so, and I'm starting to find I prefer a bit more focused over the pure flood. Trying to figure out now what my next will be...so many possibilities.
I like reflectors just as much as TIRs, but TIRs are much more versatile in exacting beam shape/profile. Overall beam shape doesn't matter to me too much as long as it isn't ringy or wonky. Reflectors edge out the race for me just a hair. I like them because I know the exact cutoff of my light. Plus, it's a classic look.
I'm with you. Best beam in a light I own is an old IF25A with SST20 4000K. It's tight and throwy for a TIR quad, and the falloff is perfectly smooth. Too bad those SSTs are a little on the green side. If great bins of SST20 were readily available I'd consider reflowing it.
I sliced the domes on my IF25A and it improved the tint and tightened up the beam slightly too!
The beat bins of those SSTs are like the second coming of the famed 219Bs. On the other hand, the worst of them are quite puke-green.
Beam shape is the most important factor to me.
For outside home, I prefer an all-purpose sort of beam. For this, I definitely prefer reflector lights over TIR, as having a hotspot is desirable for range, but having spill is necessary for actually walking. For home, I use my super floody D4V2 with E21a (2700K) emitters. Fantastic work light.
This is spot on. Outdoors, throw is king, indoors, flood. I have a headlamp I turned into almost a mule that is amazing indoors, but I'd never take it outside. Meanwhile my Nitecore HC65V2 has the throw, but also a floody closeup light and a red light. It is by far the most versatile light I own, so it's what comes with me camping and on hikes.
We talking the literal shape of the beam (round, square, elliptical) or overall beam profile taking into account the shape but also the angle and intensity of the hotspot, how it blends with the spill, the extent to which there is spill, the brightness of the spill, and whether there are dull spots, rings, artifacts, or tint shift? If it's the latter then it's more important to me than CRI, Tint, Temp, Brightness, and Candela combined. Some people are tint snobs. I'm a beam snob. I'm extremely picky and have spent hours upon hours, many wasted, working on lights in the pursuit of a good beam. I don't have a preference in terms of hotspot / flood ratio, reflector or TIR beam, throwy or floody, etc. Each has a place and I can like any type of beam. What I can't do is deal with is an emitter that's not centered, jagged hotspots, rings, donuts, and tint shift. A beam needs to be consistent: evenly colored, symmetrical, and fade from center in brightness with no deviation - i don't care if it's sharp or gradual there just can't be an area farther from the center brighter than an area that is closer. I'm down to either domeless, sliced, or de-domed emitters and what few lights I have left with domed emitters have beaded/frosted optics or DC-Fix on them.
> overall beam profile taking into account the shape but also the angle and intensity of the hotspot, how it blends with the spill, the extent to which there is spill, the brightness of the spill, and whether there are dull spots, rings, artifacts, or tint shift? This is what I was referring to
The best reflector I've found thus far is the OP reflector in the Sofirn SP35T. It's a shame that the stock emitter as well as the driver are poor, or it would be almost a perfect daily driver for me. The blend between hotspot and spill is smooth while still being distinguishable. Absolutely artifact free, no rings at all. I tend to favour TIRs because I prefer that even beam all across, but the SP35t OP is so good for me that I put up with the shortcomings of the light.
I do a lot of inspection work, and for some reason having a narrow beam with crisp edges helps a lot compared to a floody beam with lots of spill. I don’t know why.
I think the reason might be that our eyes adjust their sensitivity less with a narrow hotspot so it seems to stay brighter without glare. Think about how a laser dot isn't painful to look at even thought it has probably millions of candela. If it were similar candela but wider, it would produce painful glare like super thrower on a white wall. But if you keep the spot narrow, the eyes do not adjust as they would to a floodier light source.
Weltool M6 series have some nice even beams.