ZOOM FLASHLIGHT/LANTERN

Zoom Flashlight/Lantern, retail $TBA (www.dorcy.com)
Manufactured by Dorcy (www.dorcy.com)
Last updated 09-02-07




The Dorcy Zoom Flashlight/Lantern is a handheld flashlight with adjustable focus that also serves as a camping lantern. It has a single 5mm white LED, uses four AA cells for power, and has a ratcheting tilt bail/handle that can easily be removed if desired.

It comes in a red plastic body, and has a large, transparent diffusing dome on its top to help diffuse light from its LED.


SIZE



Feed the lantern its included batteries first, and then you'll be ready to go camping.

Slide the switch on the side upward (toward the transparent dome) to turn the unit on. Keep sliding it up to change the focus from narrow to less narrow (not wide).

Slide this switch all the way down (toward the bottom of the unit) to turn the lantern off.



To change the batteries in the unit, turn the unit upside-down, and unscrew that large screw in the center of the base with your fingers. Unscrew it four or five turns. Lift off and remove the base, and set it aside.

Tip the four used AA cells out of the lantern's body and into your hand, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Insert four new AA cells into the lantern's body, orienting them so the flat-end (-) negative of two of the cells faces the spring in two of the chambers for them, and the button-end (+) positive of the other two cells goes in first.

Place the base back on the lantern's body, orienting it so the curved cutout faces the switch on the side of the lantern's body, and screw the large screw back in, finger-tight only.

Unable to measure current consumption due to the way the lantern was constructed.

It is avertised to have a 200 hour runtime, but I do not not know to how dim this is based upon.



This lantern comes in a plastic body, so "The Smack Test" would really not be appropriate here.

There is an O-ring between the transparent top and the lantern's body; so it should be splash-resistant at absolute minimum. When I performed that dreadul suction test on the unit's base, significant air leakage was detected. I believe the majority of this leakage is in the area where the switch slides up and down. It is not totally waterproof or submersible though, so please try not to drop it in creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceansides, docksides, puddles of prairie dog pee, slush piles, mud puddles, tubs, toilet bowls, cisterns, sinks, fishtanks, dog water dishes, or other places where water or water-like liquids might be found. A little rain or snow probably wouldn't hurt it though, so you need not be too concerned about using it in lightly to at most moderately bad weather.

If it fell in water and you suspect it got flooded, disassemble it as you would for a battery change, unscrew and remove the transparent bezel, dump out the water if necessary, and set the parts in a warm dry place for a day or so just to be sure it's completely dry inside before you reassemble and use it again.

If it fell into seawater or if somebody or something peed on it, douche all the parts out with fresh water before setting them out to dry. You don't want your lantern to smell like seashells or piss when you go to use it next. Besides, salt (from seawater or pee-pee) can't be very good for the insides.



Beam photo (narrow) at ~12".
Measures mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Beam photo (wide) at ~12".


Spectrographic plot
Spectrometer plot of the LED in this flashlight.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from WWW.TWO-CUBED.COM.



TEST NOTES:
Product was purchased from a website fan and was received late on the morning of 08-12-05.

Product was made in China. A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 09-02-07
I received an email from a user of this product; below is that email:

I think you need to put the "Dorcy zoom flashlight/lantern" in the trash section. I have always wanted one, and just the other day I talked a sales lady into clearancing out 2 of them for .99 each. (batteries included.) I was pumped until I got it home and put them all together. Those things are the dimmest, crapiest light I have ever owned. If I had paid full price for them I would have taken them back. But since the gas prices in Houston are over 3.00 a freakin gallon, it would have cost me another 6.oo to make the trip. So I gave one to my 3 and 8 year old. It took the 3 year old 1 day to break off the handle, but the dim light keeps dimming on for another 100 hours. (if you want to call it light) blah...blah..blah.. just a vote to put it in the trash section so other interseted light purchasers won't waste their moneys. If I would have paid the 12.00 price tag that was on it, I WOULD HAVE BEEN ROYALY PISSED.

As you can see, the name & email address of this individual has been omitted to help protect his privacy.
No corrections to spelling or grammar have been made; the email is quoted verbatim.


PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Dorcy
    PRODUCT TYPE: Handheld flashlight/lantern
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm white LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Varies depending on beam width setting
    SWITCH TYPE: Mechanical slide device on/off/focus change
    BEZEL: Plastic; LED protected by large plastic dome
    BATTERY: 4xAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes, splash-resistant at minimum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: 4xAA cells
    WARRANTY: 1 year

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Zoom flashlight/lantern * www.dorcy.com






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