On Fri, Aug 03, 2007 at 07:28:44PM +1000, John Leonard wrote:
> I have just purchased a small LED torch. It is only a small one and uses
> only one AA battery, but it is amazingly bright. If I had a larger one
> (using C batteries) I'd be confident taking it spotlighting.
LED torches comes in a quite a variety of formats. See:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/
I own several. My favourite is a Fenix L2D CE, bought here:
http://www.torchworld.com.au/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=370
It has a CREE 3 watt high-efficiency LED which is one of the brightest
LEDs on the market. The CREE were about the first LEDS to reach (or
surpass) the efficency of fluorecent lights. Its bright enough to use
for closer-range spotlighting. If you want to get into lux&lumens look
here: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1dce-l2dce.htm
Definitely not the range of the usual spotlight gear - 12V
sealed-lead-acid battery + ~50W halogen - but at 120 grams its much
lighter, more convenient and there are no hassles taking it on a plane.
On full power run-time is ~2 hours with 2 AA (2700mAh NimH) rechargables.
The lowest power setting is bright enough to follow a path easily and
gives you a ~50 hour run-time. And spare AAs aren't a burden.
One nice feature of torches this size is that when spotlighting alone you
hold it against your binoculars and illuminate a bird. It'd be nice to have
clips for it on your binoculars (and to have the same torch with a red LED).
The bad news is the $70 price tag which may seem steep unless you
are gear freak. The Fenix seems very robust and should have a lifetime of
many years but there always a risk with new devices, e.g. if the designers
have pushed the envelope too much with heatsinking the LED
Anyway I love it.
Andrew
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