Brilliant Lights - thanks to Magiclight!!

[AfricaMike]

http://www.magiclight.co.za/magiclight

Just bought a set of these - took them out early this morning - 900 Lumens at full power - all for R1,450 delivered the day after I paid.  Absolute bargain at the price.  If you're looking for a top class light at a good price this is the one, no doubt!! (5-Star rating)

[sampie]

You can order it for $79 (R600) from DX. Only thing is you will wait 2-3 weeks for it.

 

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29489

sampie2009-11-10 03:47:06

[bradjackson]

<SPAN lang=EN>

 

</SPAN>[color=#0000ff size=2">[color=#0000ff size=2"><SPAN lang=EN">http://www.magiclight.co.za/magiclight[/color"></SPAN>

 

Just bought a set of these - took them out early this morning - 900 Lumens at full power - all for R1' date=450 delivered the day after I paid.? Absolute bargain at the price.? If you're looking for a top class light at a good price this is the one, no doubt!!?(5-Star rating)[/quote]

 

 

 

Thanks Cactus

 

 

 

I'm glad you are enjoying the light.

[mountain_lion]

Looks like a great light for the price, but I doubt if the manufacturers claim of 900 Lumens is correct.

Also might need some attention to the thermal path to ensure good heat dissipation to increase LED life.

 

The guys on Candle power forum have taken it apart, see

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=232163

 

 

[bradjackson]

Looks like a great light for the price' date=' but I doubt if the manufacturers claim of 900 Lumens is correct.Also might need some attention to the thermal path to ensure good heat dissipation to increase LED life. The guys on Candle power forum have taken it apart, seehttp://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=232163

 

[/quote']

 

 

 

Yeah, 900 lumens is not an accurate claim.

 

Its the manufacturers rating which is based on the LED's theoretical maximum output.

 

In the Magicshine light's current configuration you will get about 600 lumens of output, which is still a LOT of light.

 

 

 

You shouldn't judge a light only by the amount of lumens it puts out, its kinda like buying a digital camera based on the number of "megapixels" - its largely just marketing hype.

 

 

 

You wanna know how good the light is? Go riding with someone who has one, there are quite a few of these out on SA trails already so you shouldn't have to look too hard.

 

 

 

Or take a look at beamshots and compare side by side with beamshots from other lights, taken with the same camera settings. Try this site as a good reference point: http://fonarevka.lux-rc.com/ - look at the "Road" & "Road2" shots, you will see the Magicshine bike light in the list.

 

 

 

On the thermal path issue, the manufacturers sat up and took note of customer feedback and addressed this shortly after these lights hit the market.

 

 

[AfricaMike]

Anybody want to see how good they are - come ride with a few of us tonight at 18h00 from the Pizza Del Forno at Featherbrooke Village.  Two of us will be carrying the magiclight - believe me, these lights are awesome!

[mountain_lion]

Firstly, I have not seen the Magicshine in the flesh, so my opinion is based only on info from the internet, reviews and comments by others.

 

 

Yes, output lumen rating is not the only important parameter, but over

rated marketing claims irritates me (unfortunately many light

manufactures do this). 

 

High lumen output is not worth much if the beam is not controlled well to give a good beam pattern (i.e. reflector / lens design is also very important).

 

 

Another

con of the Magicshine which the manufactures could easily solve, is the mode selection. You have to cycle

though all modes to select the one you want. Unfortunately off (and strobe) is included in the cycle. So when you

are riding on low and need more light for a fast or technical section, you first have to go to strobe and then off before you get to high. Long press switches off in any case, so there is no point having off in the cycle. Strobe should have its own cycle with high and low modes (there are many cheap controllers available which offer this functionality).

 

 

 

I have been playing with DIY bike lights for many years. At present the component costs of a comparable DIY light will not be much less than the shelf price of the Magicshine. So although the Magicshine is not perfect, I think it is very good value for money and

I am sure it will be more than sufficient for many riders.

 

 

 

The guys at mtbr have been doing a

light

shootout for the past few years.

 

 

 

The Magicshine is on the list.

They also have some of the new 2010 models up already.

 

Have a look at the Niterider Pro 600 & 1200. Very nice, even inlcudes customisable control via USB connection to a PC but comes with a $$$$ price tag!

 

 

 

My DIY lights will have to do for the next few years...

 

 

[Slowbee]

ML, can your lights last all night ?

 

 

 

[Marius]

Those Deal Extreme Light are really bright. Lilo bought one and it's a lot brighter than my Night Rider FireStorm at 700L. It's perfect for out early morning training rides and late night riding back from Killarney. 

[Roons]

 

ML' date=' can your lights last all night ?

 

 

 

[/quote']

 

Lets see Slowbee! Using them on my bike on Friday! Left it on last night on bright and was still on green (battery OK) after 3:30hrs? Got 2 batteries and going to ride on low.

 

But on bright I cannot imagine you will need more light!

 

 

 

[mountain_lion]

 

ML' date=' can your lights last all night ?

[/quote']

 

Slowbee, how long is a piece of string ?

 

All depends on how bright you want the light to be and how big a battery you are prepared to carry.

 

At present I have a 14.8V 2200mAh Li-Ion battery.

I use a bflex controller which has configurable modes.

 

At present my settings give:

High: 650mA battery current (1A LED current); 2200/650 = 3.38h

Low: 80mA battery current; 2200/80 = 27.5h

 

Above are theoretical run times; in practice it will be slightly less.

 

High is sufficient to do single track at speed and low is OK for climbing (and also satisfy motorists on the road when they flash their brights at me when my light is on high mode).

 

If I had to do an all night ride, I will up the output of the low mode so that it can be used 90% of the time and only switch to high when needed.

 

So yes, my lights can last all night, but not on the brightest mode with my present battery.

 

 

[bradjackson]

You have to cycle

 

though all modes to select the one you want.

 

Ja, this is a little bit of an irritation, although you learn to flip through the modes so quickly you hardly notice the split second while cycling through off.

 

 

 

I am still not sure what is the best way to control the modes on a bike light. You want to keep its operation as simple as possible. I don't like having to hold a button in, as this is really a mission on bumpy terrain. Maybe 2 buttons would be ideal - 1 for brighter and 1 for dimmer?

 

How do you do it on your DIY rig ML?

 

 

 

I have had ideas of using a Magicshine light as a platform for some DIY modding - not because it needs any modifications, but more out of interest (I am a DIY kind of guy), I am waiting for one to fail so that I can strip it and do some DIYing, but these things are so good, I haven't had a failed light yet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mountain_lion]

 

 

Short press switch on standard mode.

For most night riding, 2 brightness settings are sufficient. High and low.

Short press cycles between these two.

Long press to switch off.

 

If you want strobe, long press at switch on, then as for above.

 

I.e. to switch between standard and strobe, you need to switch off, but you don't often do that while riding.

 

 

mountain_lion2010-01-02 16:02:57

[bradjackson]

 

Short press switch on standard mode.For most night riding' date=' 2 brightness settings are sufficient. High and low.Single press cycle between these two.Long press to switch off.If you want strobe, long press at switch on, then as for above.I.e. to switch between standard and strobe, you need to switch off, but you don't often do that while riding.

 

[/quote']

 

 

 

ML, I like the way you have it set up. Sounds like the most practical configuration I have heard of so far.

 

I agree on as few modes as possible - else it just gets confusing.

 

 

[CJVDM]

Ive only seen negative comments on the strobe function so far.  What is it normally used for?

[mountain_lion]

 

Ive only seen negative comments on the strobe function so far.  What is it normally used for?

 

Strobe mode is used "to be seen" rather than to see with.

E.g. when cycling on roads where there is adequate street lighting or even in daylight, if your light is bright enough.