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Server Time:
2024-05-11 09:47:58
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 BobbyWhiskey
  
Location: Montreal/Sherbrooke
Gender: Male
 |  |  | Maglite upgrade?
< on 11/22/2008 12:27 AM >
|  | | | Hi
I just found an old 3D Maglite at my house and well the light output was really deceiving, my 12$ 1xAA LED Flashlight has pretty much the same light output.
I was wondering if it was worth it to buy a bulb upgrade for the maglite.
I found out 2 upgrade that would work.
First a Xenon bulb, this might be better because i like more the Red-yellow color of incandescent lights. It would cost around 5$
The other alternative is a LED upgrade, but it cost a lot more (27$ at CanadianTire), and would give a more white-blue light.
I was wondering if anyone had experience with Maglite upgrade, and if it is really worth it.
Also which one would be better to take pictures with it?
Thanks.
http://www.flickr....otos/31033728@N06/ |
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trent
    
I'm Trent! Get Bent!
Location: Drainwhale hunting
Gender: Male
Not on UER anymore.
| | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 1 on 11/22/2008 12:57 AM >
| | | | I'm thinking about the LED upgrade myself. The thing that is nice about Mag's is the focusable beam and the battery life. With LED's the battery life would be even longer. I don't know too much about the Xenon, so I really can't compare it to LED's for photography.
He who rules the underground, rules the city above.
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/-/ooligan
Location: Las Vegas area
Gender: Male
When in danger, when in doubt, RUN IN CIRCLES, SCREAM AND SHOUT!
| | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 2 on 11/22/2008 2:57 AM >
| | | | I did the LED upgrade to an old 3 D-cell Maglite that I had laying around. Definitely a major improvement over the regular bulb, but the newer technology lights give you more bang for the buck & are lighter/smaller.
The D-cell Maglights or Streamlights are good if you need a hammer/thumping device innocently disguised as the big ol' flashlight momma bought you for Christmas several years ago.
There are no stupid questions, just stupid people. |
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consecrated
Location: Connecticut
Gender: Male
Æthereal
| | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 3 on 11/22/2008 2:57 AM >
| | | | Your color temp on the LED will be higher and therefore slightly blue in comparison. Unless you like the effect, be prepared to adjust white balance in the other direction slightly compared to the more yellow gaseous lamp. LED will certainly be the whiter of the two lights though. Your Lumen output may be lower than Xenon however but this depends on the specific LED. Do it yourself and use Cree or Rebel diode for best results. Because LED's are not broadband, (white is a monochromatic, blue, InGaN LED doped with yellow phosphor) they tend to illuminate with a higher level of contrast. In other words, perceived contrast is often higher with a monochromatic source versus a broadband source. While white is not truly monochromatic, it's primary component (blue, InGan) is. The phosphor doping spreads the spectrum to essentially include red and green components (red+green+blue = white) and also increases the perceived output of the diode.
I'm rambling, too much wine...anyway, I do like the LED illumination better but that's me. It's whiter, less broadband and higher perceived contrast. The kits are pricey but probably worth it if you can find a Cree or a Rebel. There are more things to consider such as forward voltage, supply voltage (2 versus 4 cells in your mag) but that is beyond the scope of the thread and I'm a dork.
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velcrozeppelin
Location: Rochester, NY
Gender: Male
Mandalorian Mayhem
| |  | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 4 on 11/22/2008 3:16 AM >
| | | | LED will give you a higher lumen output, great battery life, and flood capability in a small package, but you lose focus and throw.
Xenons will give you a ridiculous amount of throw and great focus, but they do not make good flood lights.
I've used a small Xenon flashlight in the darkest parts of the Rochester subway and have seen a visible light spot I focused on a wall well over 100 feet away. Same subway, same place, with my 3 x 6watt LED flashlight and I can clearly see everything within a 25 foot radius and then my depth of view deteriorates quickly.
Seconding theshadowman's opinion, LEDs will make photog look terrible unless you a) like the color temp (if you're a computer/monitor geek, LED's are at least 9100K equivalent, often much higher and into the 250000k range with good LED's) and b) adjust your white balance more than you ever would for fluoro.
Hope it helps!
Me goin' legit would be like JarJar on speech therapy.
I'm on Flickr now! My Flickr Stream | I'm about as thick as a Bryk. |
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ferris209
Location: The Lone Star State
Gender: Male
| | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 5 on 11/24/2008 6:43 AM >
| | | | I love my LED Lenser I picked up at the local Lowe's. It has a focusable beam and a carrying case. It takes rechargeable batteries, AAA x3, which last around two to three weeks between charges. I can usually squeeze 10-12 hours of use in one charge.
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Sand
Location: Pac South
Everything interesting is always behind a fence.
| | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 6 on 11/24/2008 8:38 AM >
| | | | One thing I noticed was the inability to see if there was water on the floor of a basement, or if it was just damp, with my LED light - but a fellow explorer's regular bulb proved it was just damp when he used his. It made me want to throw out my LED ;)
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Mantis
Excuese me, do you have a mint?
| | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 7 on 11/25/2008 6:51 PM >
|  | | | Don't know what kind of bulb comes in a mag when you buy one, but I like that a hell of a lot better than LED bulbs, for several reasons:
1. Editing pictures if you use LEDs wastes valuable time.
2. Regular bulbs that come with new maglites IMO are brighter. I'm not a flashlight scientist...I don't know if those are xenons or not...never tried a xenon, but I will soon. Real light bulbs are just brighter IMO, and I like the way it makes the inside of drains look versus LEDs.
3. I don't plan on being down in drains long enough to waste 4 D batteries anyway. If I do happen to be down there long enough to waste 4 D batteries, something seriously F'd up happened, and help would be on the way due to prearrangements.
Also I just bought a 2 D cell maglite that I'm thinking about replacing my 4 D cell maglite with - it's lighter, easier to carry and conceal, and makes nice bright light when you put in 2 brand new D batteries. Even when I carry my 4 D cell, I always carry 2-4 extra batteries, for a total of 6-8 batteries, just in case. These are located in my backpack on my back. But if I use a 2 D cell, 6 batteries = 3 FULL lifecycles. Plus I carry a small 2 AA cell maglite for emergencies, and a waterproof 2 AA cell flashlight.
But for photography, go with actual bulbs. I have not tried LEDs with my Canon EOS Rebel XT SLR camera, but if you wanted really good photos, you'd use the camera's flash anyway, which would make the whole issue irrelevant. At least that's what I do. I do take some photos without the flash just to have some pics both ways.
"From down here, we can knock the whole wall down!"
"Duh, yeah, boss, but how do we get out?"
Geeks like science fiction and technology. Programmers make things the geeks like. Hackers do for fun the things the programmers get paid for. |
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Sirber
Location: Québec, QC
Gender: Male
everything wasn't good
| | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 8 on 11/25/2008 6:54 PM >
| | | | I got a $20 3W LEd upgrade (minimaglite) from ebay and I don't regret it... so powerful 
"Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god." — Sir Francis Bacon |
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BobbyWhiskey
Location: Montreal/Sherbrooke
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 9 on 11/25/2008 10:07 PM >
| | | | My maglite is actually over 7-8 year old, so i reaaaally don't know what bulb is in it but it is not bright...
Thanks everyone for your comments, i think i will go with a Xenon bulb since it is alot less expensive than the LED upgrade and it seems to throw alot of light.
http://www.flickr....otos/31033728@N06/ |
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Archer182
Location: Wyoming
Gender: Male
| | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 10 on 12/1/2008 2:42 AM >
| | | |
You want to upgrade lights have a look at candlepowerforums.com these guys know lights.
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DevilC
Location: Washington, District of Corruption
Gender: Male
I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their views.
| | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 11 on 12/1/2008 2:50 AM >
| | | | A Surefire E2D-LED is the king of EDC flashlights and is the ideal UE flashlight.
I used to roll with the 6-cell mag but the thing is heavy and puts out 1/5 as much light as my Surefire.
Science flies you to the Moon. Religion flies you into tall buildings. |
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metawaffle
King of Puns
Location: Brisbane!
Gender: Male
Purveyor of Fine Lampshades
| | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 12 on 12/1/2008 3:10 AM >
| | | | Posted by DevilC
A Surefire E2D-LED is the king of EDC flashlights...
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I dare you to go over to candlepowerforums and say that 
http://www.longexposure.net |
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DevilC
Location: Washington, District of Corruption
Gender: Male
I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their views.
| | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 13 on 12/1/2008 3:26 AM >
| | | | Seriously?
Why would one say otherwise?
A Z2 is standard issue around where I work and a good percentage have Defenders for EDC.
Elaborate.
Science flies you to the Moon. Religion flies you into tall buildings. |
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metawaffle
King of Puns
Location: Brisbane!
Gender: Male
Purveyor of Fine Lampshades
| | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 14 on 12/1/2008 3:29 AM >
| | | | Oh, I just meant that singling out a light as the king of EDC is bound to spark a religious war over there
http://www.longexposure.net |
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denryuu
Gender: Male
| | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 15 on 12/10/2008 3:39 PM >
| | | | Just remember, one of the major differences between LED lights and incandescent lights are how they act as the batteries die. LEDs will just shut off when they run out of battery power, which, if you're deep in a drain/tunnel without a backup, would not be fun.
Incandescents, on the other hand, start to dim as the batteries drain, and you can use this as a sort of gauge to how low the battery is getting.
Of course, there are always exceptions, but since you're trying to decide between the two sources I figured I'd throw in what info I could.
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Assistance
"Run Away! It's an... um... Run away!"
| | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 16 on 12/13/2008 7:34 PM >
| | | | If you are willing to pay extra for the highest quality, most reliable, brightest and most efficient, then I recommend a Malkoff drop in.
Sometimes I wonder if my obsession with flashlights led to my interest in Urban Exploration, or conversely, if my
interest in exploration led to my flashlight obsession |
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Furious D
Location: Northern Ontario
Gender: Male
The Night Time is the Right Time
| | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 17 on 12/16/2008 8:39 PM >
| | | | I got the mag-lite LED upgrade a while back. It's great, and mine does dim when the batteries are getting low. I found out when I left my camera on for three days by accident. It was still working, but the light was quite dim.
I'd totally recommend it, but only if you actually feel like you need a large LED maglite. For how big it was and the fact that I paid $60 (canadian) for it, there are much better flashlights for the exploring that I do. I use it when I work security.
"The time of getting fame for your name on its own is over. Artwork that is only about wanting to be famous will never make you famous. Fame is a by-product of doing something else. You don't go to a restaurant and order a meal because you want to have a shit."
-Banksy
The work of FuriousD: https://www.flickr...photos/opdendries/ |
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Shawn W.
Location: Niagara Falls, NY
Gender: Male
Optimistic Pessimist
| | | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 18 on 12/16/2008 11:03 PM >
| | | | I could start a separate thread, but it seems like of pointless, so...
If I wanted a flashlight that lasts as long as and has an output equal to or greater than a MagLite LED 4D cell, or for minis, a Mini Maglite LED 3AA cell, and preferably has a long bulb life, what can I get, and are any of them under $100?
What is a rebel? A man who says no. - Albert Camus |
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\/adder
Location: DunkarooLand
Gender: Male
I'm the worst of the best but I'm in this race.
| | | Re: Maglite upgrade?
<Reply # 19 on 12/17/2008 2:31 AM >
| | | | Well Over the Summer Walmart did some serious remodeling on their store
which lead to some GREAT sales
a Nite-Ize LED upgrade for $5.
http://www.niteize...=28&product_id=108
and a (regular 39.99) LED 2D Maglight for $15.
For a cheap upgrade the Nite-Ize is all right I don't really like it though...
I prefer my Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme models to the mini-mags
I find the LED 2D Maglight is too bright except in Drains or when I need to see FAR away...
And Energizer Lithiums Batteries are great; but give little notice with LED lights they're about to fail.
[last edit 12/17/2008 2:31 AM by \/adder - edited 1 times]
"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis... |
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