Lamp type
The type of lamp installed in the flashlight.
Nowadays, the most widespread models
on LEDs(with or without a reflector).
Halogen lamps are used much less frequently (alone or in combination with LEDs),
xenon lamps, krypton lamps, fluorescent lamps, and in some models you can even find classic
incandescent lamps. A separate type of light source is a
laser. Here is a more detailed description of the most relevant options for today:
— LEDs. They can also be referred to as LED — an abbreviation of the English name. The most advanced type of lamps today, used in the vast majority of modern flashlights. One of the key advantages of LEDs is extremely high efficiency — as a result, they provide excellent brightness with low power consumption and small size, and they practically do not heat up during operation. LEDs can be made both in the form of separate point light sources and in the form of COB panels of a fairly large area; see Diode Model for details. Also, such light sources are resistant to shock, shock and low temperatures; with all this, they are generally inexpensive and have practically no noticeable shortcomings.
— LED with reflector. In lanterns with this type of lamp, LEDs (see above about them) are installed in special-shaped recesses covered with reflective material. Thank
...s to this design, the light emitted by the LED to the sides is reflected and directed forward, in the same direction as the main stream. This significantly increases the overall brightness of the flashlight, which is especially important for compact models with a single LED of relatively low brightness. Actually, most compact types (see "Type") have just such a lamp design.
— Halogen lamp. One of the most popular modifications of a classic incandescent lamp: the light source is a hot metal spiral in a sealed glass flask filled with gas with the addition of bromine or iodine vapor (these substances are so-called halogens — hence the name of the lamps themselves). This has a positive effect on efficiency and allows you to achieve a fairly high brightness; so that modern lanterns with such lamps are usually referred to as hand-held lamps. At the same time, even in such devices, such lamps are becoming less and less common, being replaced by the LEDs described above.
— LEDs / halogen lamp. The combination in the design of the two light sources described above at once; usually the "halogen" is installed in the centre, and the LEDs are around it. At one time, this combination appeared as an attempt to create sufficiently powerful lighting devices that would consume less energy than analogues with halogen lamps, while costing less than pure LED ones. In addition, such a design provided additional features for adjusting the operating mode: it could be changed simply by turning on the existing light sources together or separately. However, with the development and cheapening of LED technologies, this option has practically lost its relevance; today it is extremely rare.
— Xenon lamp. This term can mean two types of light sources: one of the modifications of an incandescent lamp, where the bulb with a spiral is filled with an inert xenon gas, or a gas discharge lamp, in which the light source is an electric arc in the same xenon medium. The first variety was used mainly in small pocket flashlights, the second — in hand lamps. At one time, xenon lamps (both varieties) had very decent indicators of efficiency and brightness, although they were not cheap. However, again, the development of LEDs made the production of flashlights with such lamps impractical.
— Incandescent lamp. In this case, we mean classic incandescent lamps that do not belong to more advanced varieties — halogen, xenon, krypton, etc. Recall that the light source in such a lamp is a hot metal spiral in a glass bulb, which is filled either with vacuum (in miniature light bulbs), or a mixture of argon and nitrogen (in larger ones). Anyway, such lamps nowadays are considered completely obsolete — primarily due to low efficiency, which results in low brightness with significant power consumption, as well as strong heating during operation. However, nowadays this option can still be found in individual lamps — mainly hand-held lamps for the construction industry, powered by standard replaceable batteries for power tools. "Gluttony" in terms of energy consumption for such lamps is not critical, and the bulbs themselves are extremely cheap.
— Laser. The laser beam itself has a high effective range, but a small thickness. Therefore, flashlights with such light sources are usually equipped with adjustable optics, with which you can scatter the beam and turn its “imprint” from a point into a fairly large spot. Typically, laser flashlights have a specific purpose: illumination and target designation when hunting at night (for this, a mount on an optical sight is often provided), giving light signals, etc. Note that when using such devices, care must be taken: if it gets into the eyes, the laser beam can not only blind, but also cause irreversible damage, even at a fairly large distance.
The remaining types of lamps nowadays are practically ousted from the market by LEDs and are found mainly in frankly outdated models. It makes no sense to describe them in detail, we note only the key features:
- Fluorescent lamp. One of the names for fluorescent lamps, known colloquially as "fluorescent lamps". The luminous flux itself turns out to be scattered, so such light sources were used mainly in tourist lanterns and individual models of hand-held lamps.
- krypton lamp. An incandescent lamp with a bulb filled with krypton to increase brightness and reduce heat. Due to the high cost of the filler, such lamps were mostly made miniature and used in lanterns of the appropriate size.
Lighting range
The maximum range at which the flashlight provides any effective illumination of objects. Different manufacturers have different criteria for this efficiency when measuring ranges, and therefore it is only possible to unequivocally compare among themselves in range only models of one manufacturer. At the same time, this parameter allows us to compare models from different manufacturers with some certainty: for example, flashlights with a lighting range of 15 m and 100 m will clearly belong to different range classes, regardless of manufacturers.
Note that the range of illumination depends not only on the maximum luminous flux provided by the lantern (see above), but also on the features of its design: the narrower the beam is provided by the reflector of the lantern, the greater the range will be, and vice versa — scattered light does not spread far. Some models allow you to adjust the beam width depending on the requirements of the situation (for more details, see "Adjusting the focus").
It is also worth bearing in mind that models with the same claimed lighting range can cover different spaces. For example, a hand lamp (see Type) with a reflector diameter of 20 cm will be able to provide a wider beam than a conventional hand lamp with a 5 cm reflector. And although in both cases the objects that fall into the light spot will be illuminated in the same way, however, in the first case, the size of the spot itself will be larger, and the actual efficien...cy of the flashlight will be correspondingly higher (in light of the fact that it is easier to "feel" individual objects with a wide beam, especially at a considerable distance).
Shockproof
Additional resistance of the flashlight to various kinds of shocks and shocks. The specific degree of
shock protection for different models varies, sometimes quite noticeably; This point should be clarified according to the official documentation. At the same time, the vast majority of shock-resistant models are able to transfer at least a fall from their hands onto a hard surface without consequences, and anyway they are more durable than unprotected flashlights.
It is recommended to specially select a shock-resistant model, first of all, if your activity involves a corresponding risk — for example, extreme tourism, speleology, military affairs, security activities.
Material
— Plastic. Of the advantages of
plastic flashlights, one can note their low weight and good suitability for low temperatures. In particular, this material does not "cool" the hand as much as metal, and has a lower thermal conductivity (which reduces the risk of battery hypothermia). On the other hand, plastic cases are significantly less durable. As a result, they are mainly used in cases where light weight is crucial — in particular, in headlamps and tourist lanterns (see "Type").
— Metal. The main advantage of
metal flashlights is high strength. Metal weighs significantly more than plastic, but in some cases this can also be a positive feature: "heavy" devices are often more pleasant in the hand and are perceived as more solid and reliable than
light flashlights. At the same time, such cases are colder than plastic cases to the touch, which can create some discomfort at low temperatures; Yes, and they cost a little more.
Note that the most popular type of metal in flashlights is aluminium alloy — light and at the same time strong, durable and corrosion resistant material. The reliability of this alloy is enough even for full-fledged batons (see below). So other types of metal are extremely rare. Cases made of titanium are a separate case — they are placed in a separate category, described below.
— Titan. Titanium alloys are distinguished by their lig
...htness, low thermal conductivity (they do not “cool” the hand as much as other metals) and extremely high strength, however, they are very expensive. Titanium case, usually, is a sign of a very advanced flashlight, which is why this option is not included in the "metal" category, but is taken out separately.
— Metal / plastic. Cases that combine metal and plastic elements are a relatively rare option, found mainly in flashlights with the function of headrests (see "Type"). In such models, at least a part of the lantern is usually made of metal, including a lamp and optics, and often the entire “head”; other hard parts (platform for attaching to belts, buckles on belts, etc.) are made of plastic. This allows to provide sufficiently high reliability and at the same time to reduce the cost.
Other types of lanterns with this design are noticeably less common — hand-held "compacts" and lamps, tourist models, etc. They have the same general idea: the most critical parts that require high strength are made of metal, and the rest are made of plastic (to reduce weight and cost). At the same time, for a number of reasons, models in combined cases that are not related to “headbands” have not received distribution.
