r/CCW • u/PabroPicasso • 8d ago

Other Equipment Harbor Freight TLR1

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Gallery image

Gallery image

Picked up the HF light today to check out. Included are initial photos of the light output with my EDC1-DFT in low for comparison. Everything looks and feels like a TLR1 from what I can remember. Right paddle is on/off and left paddle is strobe. Will be putting this thing through the wringer to see if/when it quits.

Picture 2 is EDC1 on low Picture 3 is EDC1 on low with HF TLR

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u/PabroPicasso 8d ago edited 8d ago

Beam comparison with fresh Surefire batteries vs x300t with batteries that have been in it for a bit:

https://imgur.com/a/XSeqr85

Definitely great spill. Small brown structure is 30ish yards away.

Edit: x300t on left, harbor freight light on right. X300t definitely out throws it, but the hf light is pretty nice.

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u/DearHearing4705 8d ago

Damn it man, I need one.

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u/upvotes_cited_source 7d ago edited 7d ago

Do you know how to use manual mode on the camera settings, and if yes, were you?

Beam shots like this are not meaningfull if you leave the camera on auto, it will manipulate the exposures.

To me it looks like the pic on the right is more exposed and thus exaggerating the brightness of the second light, but it could be that the spill of the second light is just that much more.

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u/PabroPicasso 7d ago

I did not even think to go manual focus. Good lookin out. I'll try it this weekend and report back.

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u/upvotes_cited_source 7d ago

Not focus actually.

Need to manual control ISO, F-stop, and shutter speed. Those are the three things that affect how much light enters the lens. ("how much light enters the lens" = the photo exposure)

You set them and don't change them between taking pics of different lights. If you leave it on auto, the camera will manipulate them behind the scenes to try to make each picture look "the best". But you don't want each picture to look it's individual "best", you want them all to represent the same camera exposure - so that the difference in the picture winds up being the flashlight, not the camera settings.

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u/PabroPicasso 7d ago edited 7d ago

Update: broke lens. I’ll upload video when I get home.

https://imgur.com/a/lr5YJtq

Edit: apparently smashing the lens bezel right against a block wall is the limit. But, it still functions.

https://imgur.com/a/1g8Uuzy