Flashlight to carry - recommendations sought

I would like to purchase a very small flashlight (preferably LED) to carry for those times when I am shooting in the pitch black dark. My only idea so far is a Maglite Solitaire, upgraded to LED with Teklite LT-3 LED. A little "pricey" for what will be very limited use. I'd appreciate suggestions/comments. Thanks. Tom

That sounds fine. I've fallen in love with the bright LED lights on my Android phone. I've always got it in my pocket ready to go.

Look at what is for sale.

Buy one. Or try Bass Pro Shops.

This is not difficult.

BAK

P001 said:

I would like to purchase a very small flashlight (preferably LED) to carry for those times when I am shooting in the pitch black dark. My only idea so far is a Maglite Solitaire, upgraded to LED with Teklite LT-3 LED. A little "pricey" for what will be very limited use. I'd appreciate suggestions/comments. Thanks. Tom

Click to expand...

I like the Maglite ZL100, it can cover the distance needed for night photography use. But usually when out doing photography in the middle of the night I wear a LED headlamp, Currently one of the Princeton Tec Apex series. It has beam choices and a longer beam than the maglight. And does not tie up a hand to hold it. Either of these choices will run for a good while, unlike the old incandescent choices.

Always make sure you have extra batteries, I use NIMH rechargables. Nothing like being in the middle of the swamp with dead batteries. In fact out in such doing field biology I usually have several complete lights along.

If you are looking for a flashlight that will allow you to check settings on your camera and be enough to help when searching through your gear then you might consider a red LED flashlight. Astronomers use them to help when adjusting their telescopes without interfering with their adapted night vision.

Google "astronomy flashlight" and you will find a wide variety at a wide range of prices.

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**** Thomas
Kalamazoo, MI

I recently have received from one of my friends, living in th US, the following flashlight:
4sevens (brand), Qmini X123 (model).
It is available online, even with worldwide shipping.

I have several flashlights, but this one replace them all... Trully an amazing piece of engineering...

Kind regards from Belgium
Yves

I've got a Fenix e11 that I really like. It wasn't cheap, I think it ran me like $25 but it is built very well and is small and water proof.

Single "AA" battery, runs forever.

LED driven with 2 power levels (low is really bright and were it lives most of the time)

Got mine at the local REI store.

You mentioned carrying a small flashlight. My EDC (every day carry) flashlight is a Fenix LD01 which is an LED flashlight, VERY small, using one AAA battery which keeps its profile very neat in one's pocket. Google it and you will be amazed at how small and truly bright it is. It is my backup light when hiking and I can easily get out of the woods and follow a trail at night with it. Far too many lights claim to be bright but don't measure up. The lumens to size ratio is impressive. Fenix also makes a larger diameter model that uses one AA battery but that is too thick for my pants pocket, YMMV. If by "carry" you mean throw it in your camera bag, look at the Fenix lights that use two AA batteries. I personally avoid any lights that use the much more expensive and far less readily available lithium CR123 batteries. They throw more light, but the cost of use along with the limited availability of CR123 vs. AA or AAA batteries made me avoid them. In addition, I like to have gear that allows me to cannibalize/borrow from my other gear (GPS, camera flash, etc.) that also use AA batteries. However, the Fenix LD01 won me over (vs. the AA battery versions) on size and weight. I use AAA NIMH batteries (Eneloops) in this light and the corresponding AA NIMH Eneloops in the rest of my gear.
f8f8f8

P001 said:

I would like to purchase a very small flashlight (preferably LED) to carry for those times when I am shooting in the pitch black dark.

Click to expand...

My experience with the very small flashlights out in the field is they get lost very easily. Not just dropped, but lost in pockets too.

The Maglite XL100 I pointed out fits nicely in my pockets, and usually I can find it in there with everything else. But when I used to cart a solitare it would be unfindable in a pocket even with just a few things. And out in the pitch black dark you really do want it easy to find

For night usage to preserve night eyesight, a RED single LED light with a button battery on a keychain is my preferred. It quickly clips to the camera strap to be close by when not in my bag. I think a camera club handed these out years ago on a field trip to photograph the moonbow at Cumberland Falls, Ky. Press the sides and it lights up... Press and slide and it stays lit.

MUCH brighter is a 3-AAA LED+red laser pointer mini flashlight; get them at Harbor Freight for a couple bucks

An LED headlamp is handly for hands-free operation. Het them at BigBox home improvement or sporting goods stores

Even the 10,000,000-20,000,000 candlepower rechargable lights useful for paint with light can be purchased many places... Target/WalMart/CostCo/Home Depot...

For wedding "ring shots" I have a handful of gooseneck LED lights so I can surround a ring and get the sparkling dazzle... got the lights for $1 each at a Dollar Store.

Photography isn't rocket science...it's recognizing opportunities and problem solving.

I appreciate the ideas offered. Indeed, I considered carefully whether or not to submit my question to the "pro digital talk" forum. I decided to do because I think professional photographers can be just as smart (and helpful) about something as simple as a flashlight to pack in a camera bag as they can be about a $900 ball head or a $1500 prime lens. Tom

mini-mag LED around 20$.

Duracell superbright LED about 10$

These use standard AA batts.
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Photons by the bag.
Gravitons no longer shipped outside US or Canada



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if I mock you, it may be well deserved.

Whatever flashlite you choose (using AA or AAA) batteries load it with a Lithium AA or AAA. The battery is much lighter, has greater capacity and will function down to -20 deg F. Then stick in your shirt pocket to warm it up for further use. Oh, I forgot, for those who lose their flashlites in their pockets or camera bags, remember you will have 10-12 yrs to find it before the Li batts poop out!

Rechargeable batts are always slowly discharging, the Eneloops just take 3-4X longer.

My 2nd advice, for flashlites or other gear used infrequently, store your batts outside the device in a plastic tube taped to the device. The chemical vapors leaking over time or a real leak can mess up your gear. This is especially true for the 'emergency' flashlite kept in your car thru year round cycles of heat and cold. You really want that flashlite to work when you really need it.

irv weiner

i use a brand called "Cree" just look up cree light on ebay they are just unbeleivable lights. take you pick their is so many good options. i even use mine i bright sunlight on some macro pics.

cheers don

to recommend a flashlight?

Answer: 21 or so.. and counting.

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'Everything in photography boils down to what's sharp and what's fuzzy.'
-Gaylord Herron

Cree doesn't make flashlights - they make LEDs used in flashlights.

I would be careful of chinese knock-offs even if they use Cree LEDs - they tend to be simple resistive setups which fade in brightness as battery power diminishes and can run out of power without warning.

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http://nebotools.com/

The redline on the front page is what I carry. True 200 lumens from 3 AAA batteries, and it's adjustable. I paid thirty bucks at an Ace hardware store.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=pfwl&qe=Y2xpcCBvbiBsZWQgZmxhc2hsaWdodA&qesig=jtjy4j-gIDkcv-i9KXH4hg&pkc=AFgZ2tnduWDg35hytAwH0jaSyfEYIrlxKl0AL5KzNIkbWuYkmtu4OLhGT82MkCGCJ8DucDB26QQxdIH9qFuqnLpEGvNuukKksA&cp=22&gs_id=36&xhr=t&q=clip+on+led+flashlight&safe=off&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1219&bih=662&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9961099461779352508&sa=X&ei=Ej4nT_TaGsHFtgfAyvXkAw&sqi=2&ved=0CIUBEPMCMAQ

Above is a little clip on that I've got on my camera strap.

Jim Dean

I would definitely suggest checking out some of the options at the specialist retailers -

FourSevens is good (see the Preon), Battery Junction carries some nice models (see their Every Day Carry recommendations and the NovaTac 120CL), Fenix store is good.

I would recommend getting an AA or AAA single-cell model for EDC, and a double cell for something in a toolkit. If you get serious you could consider a CR123 model (I like NovaTac) but I wouldn't start out with one.

You could also get a photon micro if it is just for occasional use.

Personally I carry an iTP a3 EOS on one keychain, a Chrome Draco (custom) on my other keychain, an NovaTac EDC 120P in my pocket and I carry another custom in a tiny belt pouch - a SPY 005

You carry an umbrella when there's a chance of rain, but there's a 100% chance of darkness every day!

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-- Please remove the Quote option!
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Several flashlight review sites are on the web sort of like dpreview.

I've got a Surefire U2 Ultra which I bought several years ago based on reviews of it. The two CR123 batteries last me a year easy and the light will drop in brightness and blink before they die out with the internal regulator. It's more of a small tactical flashlight, but it is super bright and adjustable ring for power output. It will blind you for several minutes if you look at it direct on full power.

There are several cheaper models out there now based on the same technology.

Mack

These sell for $8.00 to $70.00 at hardware stores, outdoors sport/hunting shops, and have different intensities and beam spread. They are on an elastic band. A plain 1 to 3 LED, one intensity, one color, one beamwidth headband should be at the $8.00 to $12.00 range. The advantage over the penlight is that your hands are free. The cheapest is the best for low-light work, so that you don't lose too much dark adaptation. If you want, stick a scrap of red gel on the front of your headlamp. If you want it for night hiking, a more expensive one with low and high intensity and variable beam width might be better.