LEDCORP Professional Series III Luxeon Star LED Bulb, retail $39.95 (http://www.ledcorp.com)
Manufactured by LEDCORP (1-888-394-2001)
Last updated: 02-04-02
The very first thing you'll notice when you receive one of these is the weight. This bulb feels like a solid rod of brass.
The second thing you'll notice is that there's no "bulb" - that is, no glass globe to go "Pow!" when you drop it.
That's when you see it is actually made with Lumileds' newest powerful white LED, the Luxeon Star Power Light Source.
This new LED is up to 10-12 times more intense than the old standard Nichia 5mm white, depending of course on how hard you drive them and how
well the reflector & the Luxeon Star LED work with one another.
The Professional Series III comes in a small hinged box lined with antistatic foam, and appropriately, a US flag graces the lid.
Pop one of these babies in your 2, 3 or 4-cell Mag Lite or other adjustable metal flashlight - that's all there is to it.
Remember you need to match the bulb with the number of cells - just like with your old bulb.
See the 2-4-02 update to find out what happens if you forget this part. :-(
MR. METER SEZ...
318.8mA (3-cell version)
160.2mA (2-cell version)
The Professional Series III represents another breakthrough in LED replacement bulb technology.
Instead of using a Nichia 5mm LED, the PS3 uses one of those hot new Luxeon Star LEDs and a ballast in the bulb base.
This makes the unit at least several times brighter than any other single LED replacement lamp available today.
The bulb base is gold plated for good electrical contact, and it has a silver solder tip for reliable contact with the battery nipple.
The upper part of the body is "finned" for a bit of cooling; however the majority of heat sinking will occur with the flashlight itself; this is why
it is recommended only for all-metal flashlights like the Mag Lite.
The LEDCORP Professional Series III compared to an ordinary PR-base bulb.
The Luxeon Star LED in the PS3 is underdriven, so you can expect like-new performance for much, much longer than any of the other LED
flashlights with heavily overdriven LEDs. Some of these can show noticeable dimming in just a couple of battery changes; this will not happen
with the PS3.
Bulb used in a Mag-Lite and set for tightest focus.
Comparing a Turtlelite 1 to the Pro Series 3 in a Mag-Lite.
Left: Camera's color balance set to "light bulb"
Right: Camera's color balance set to "fluorescent"
Composite shot showing the beam at various focus settings. Mag Lite was used.
Distance from flashlight to target was approximately 40" for this picture series.
At the tightest focus, light measured 85,500mcd.
The 2-cell and 3-cell versions in a head-to-head grudge match...
TEST NOTES:
UPDATE 10-02-01:
This is my first day with these bulbs. This page will see frequent updates for quite some time, so check back regularly.
The units come with a 5-year warranty, which protects the user against everything except neglect and sabotage.
The 2-cell bulb is protected by an internal fuse in case the user puts it in a 4-cell light by mistake. Cheaper to change a fuse than to
select & construct a new LED assembly.
UPDATE 10-04-01:
Testing is being done only on the 3-cell model for the time being, as I do not have a suitable flashlight for the 2-cell version.
New batteries were bought today for re-taking all of the initial measurements.
UPDATE 10-05-01:
Went out and bought a new 2-D cell Mag Lite, so I am now equipped to test both samples John provided.
UPDATE 01-13-02:
Bulbs have been used lightly to moderately, and show no signs of degradation.
Dropping a flashlight equipped with the Pro Series bulb does not nock it out of whack and leave you with a funny, ring-shaped beam like what usually happens
with an ordinary incandescent bulb.
I have also done some "eyeball" comparisons between this bulb and the standard incandescent globe that comes with the 3-D maglite.
LED bulb on the left, incandescent on the right. Tight focus.
LED bulb on the left, incandescent on the right. Wide focus.
In this case, the incandescent clearly wins.
UPDATE 02-04-02:
While performing a live demonstration of the LEDCorp Pro Series 3 lamps in a pair of Mag-Lites, they somehow got switched around and I ended up installing the 2 cell bulb in a 3 cell flashlight. Naturally,
it burned out within a few seconds. It did not seem any brighter or different in color than it normally was, and it did not become hot, emit smoke or discharge a foul odor, so I had no visual warning that I needed to get it turned off right away.
Now I know what $40 whirling down a commode looks like. :(
Any updates related to this review will be posted as they happen.
PROS:
A substantial boost over the output of other PR-base LED bulbs.
Color temperature is warmer than other white LEDs.
Focuses tightly and properly when used in a Mag-Lite.
Can be used in any metal flashlight if you don't have a Mag.
Underdriven LED means the bulb will last for AGES before degrading, and battery life will be several times to perhaps ten times that
of an ordinary flashlight bulb using the same flashlight case & batteries.
CONS:
Just like regular bulbs, they will blow up if you don't pay attention to matching the bulb with the right number of cells in your flashlight.
Not as bright as expected.
Focusing wide will leave rings in the beam - but regular bulbs do this in a Mag Light too.
Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind?
Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of
real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.
Unsolicited flashlights appearing in the mail are welcome, and it will automatically be assumed that you sent it in order to have it tested and evaluated for this site.
Be sure to include contact info or your company website's URL so visitors here will know where to purchase your product.
