tarwheel 

Someone posted a link in the Commuter forum to a 900-lumen LED light called Magicshine. They only cost $90 for the light, charger and battery. The light has 3 settings -- 900 lumens, 500 lumens and SOS flash with a 3 to 4.5 hour run time. Even if the light output is not as high as claimed, this sounds like a great deal if the quality is good.

Has anyone here tried these lights? Can you provide any info on the quality of construction, durability, brightness and beam pattern? Here's a link to the site:

https://www.geomangear.com/index.php?...roducts_id=138

Cyclist0383

There are a lot of technical threads on it over at the mtbr DIY lighting section. Below is a link to one of them.

https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=527707

tarwheel 

Thanks for the link. Much of the info is way over my head but useful nonetheless.

ItsJustMe

I have one on order and will have it this afternoon. I don't have a lot of lights to compare it to but I will do beam shots with comparison to a Dinotte 200L, and I'll comment on construction and general impressions. I'll look for a thread here or start a new one.

seeker333

From the mtbr.com link, it evidently uses a crappy bin (i'm thinking should be a reject) P7 emitter which produces a green tint.

https://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...DXLIGHT033.jpg

Folks have dissected them and reported the usual DX low quality construction.

I have read a couple comments recently that the light is now the more typical P7 white tint, but I have not seen any beamshots to substantiate these claims.

Just yesterday I inquired about the Magicshine from Geoman, regarding the green tint situation; no reply so far.

I'm looking forward to ItsJustMe's review on his new purchase.

specq

Just got mine - hasn't been out on a night ride yet, but I have done a comparison with my Fenix and my Dinotte 200L.

Doesn't look greenish at all. If anything it has a warmer yellow tint compared to the two other lights.

No one would be surprised if I said it wasn't really 900 lumens on high. But it does appear to be brighter than the combined beam of my Fenix and the Dinotte - which is all I was looking for really.

ItsJustMe

I got my MagicShine P7 system from GeoMan on Friday, and spent a lot of time Saturday checking it out. I posted my impressions, a bunch of photos and a video here:

https://johnridley.livejournal.com/266955.html

Keep in mind I wrote it for a mixed audience of friends, some of whom are very much newbies about bikes and lights. The video doesn't show much about the headlight but it does show the superflash and Dinotte taillight.

Oh, and it totally makes the Dinotte 200L look like a candle. It completely swamps the Dinotte, and is significantly brighter even in low mode.

seeker333

Thanks ItsJustMe for the feedback on the Magicshine.

Your linked pics don't show any green tint to my eyes. I couldn't see the donut hole you referred to. I have a Shining Beam PLI mce flashlight and it has a terrible donut hole. I don't want anymore of those. My DX P7 flashlights have a superior, uniform beam to the SB PLI.

Is the Magicshine's strobe actually 3 hz (3 strobes per second)? If so, this could be very useful as a daytime headlight. Most of the Chinese/Taiwanese P7/mce flashlights have a 10hz strobe, which is really fast and attention grabbing. I'm worried it's so fast that some LEO might harass me over it. I think 3hz would be more suitable for daytime headlight use.

What kind of taillight is that in your video (the slow, bright flasher)?

BTW, here's a link to a guy at CPF with a test rig for flashlights. His tests indicate the brightest P7/mce lights top out at 500 lumens, and most are in the 300-400 range. So, that whole common P7/900 lumens claim by sellers' everywhere is gross exaggeration.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=229135

funbob

It's a sweet light. Ordered mine from Geomangear.com last Friday and he shipped it Saturday, that is some awesome customer service. Had it in my hands Monday morning and I've been on 3 night rides this week with it. Very happy so far. Puts out tons of light and my example does not have a donut hole or a green tint that I've seen in some of the beam shots. I'm not a light geek so I don't know about drivers, lumens, or any of that stuff. All I can say is that I'm very satisfied with the amount of light, build quality, and run time. I plan on getting another when Geoman is back in stock.

Sirrus Rider

Awfully rough looking reflector. Shouldn't it be mirror smooth for optimal light projection??

Cyclist0383

Many people have found that a rough, or 'orange peel' reflector produces a much smoother beam at a minor expense to throw. Many modern LED lights have an OP reflector.

ModoVincere

helps to reduce or eliminate the rings in the light and also any dead spots.

ItsJustMe

No, they rough it up on purpose. Many DIYers who have started with smooth reflectors have roughed them up on purpose. Smooth reflectors result in an intense central cone with little spill, which you generally do not want in a headlight, and also any little imperfection in the output of the LED can result in weird artifacts in the beam; having a textured finish smooths out the beam.

It would be simpler for them to have a smooth finish, so the fact that they're adding the texture means that it's there for a reason.

ItsJustMe

The donut hole is visible to the eyes but it's so weak that I had trouble taking a good picture of it, so it's not much to worry about. I didn't notice any particular green cast either. It looks very white to me.

I didn't actually time the light, I was just eyeballing it and it seemed to me that it was flashing at about 3 hz. I may shoot some video and play it back slowly to know for sure. At least they've gotten rid of the useless SOS mode that apparently they had early on.

Dinotte 140L. It has three modes; one is about a 1/4 second bright flash about once a second, the other is what you saw there, a bright flash every 1/2 second or so and low the rest of the time. The third mode I use in bad conditions or in the daylight, it's 5 rapid bright flashes in about 1/2 second, then about 1/2 second on low. That gets the attention.

I figured the light was putting out probably 600 lumens max, probably more like 500, but hey, it's way the hell brighter than the Dinotte 200L I have (want to buy one?) and costs less, even though the Dinotte was bought on sale and didn't include batteries or charger.

tarwheel 

Thanks for posting the review, John. The light looks like a great deal if it holds up. My biggest concern would be the mount. Does it look like you could switch out a longer bolt for the clamp fairly easily?

ItsJustMe

You certainly could, I assume you mean to mount it to something thicker? You wouldn't want the screw to penetrate inside the light very far.
My only concern really is whether the plastic will break. If the screw loosens up I'll just put some loctite on it. It'd be nice if they had a mount that could adjust side to side, I didn't mention that in the review. That's a deal killer for handlebar mount for some folks.

seeker333

well they don't, but this guy does

he's a regular poster over at mtbr.com

i'm thinking about his diy marwi p7 kit

scroll down about half way for a magicshine hardmount with lateral adjustment

https://www.el34world.com/Misc/bike/BikesLights1.htm

ItsJustMe

Yeah, I found that yesterday. I'll mention it to my friend who was thinking about one of these but needs the adjustment. I really don't need it myself, my bars have a couple of bends and I can get any positioning I want by moving it back and forth across the bend.

socalrider

I think people are a little rough on this light, take into consideration the output vs cost.. This is a 100.00 light that puts out as much light as an HID.. It looks like NR has come out with a dual P7 and they are priced well over 500.00.. I imagine other manufacturers will follow using the P7 as a new light with phenomenal output..

How is the burn time in relation to what they state.. Does it get close to the 3 hours as stated for high mode?

abstractform20

i bought an airbike everlight from geoman.

900 lumens too.

apparently its better. it works great. 200 bucks.

cyclefreaksix

Better in what regard? I'm curious as I am contemplating both lights.

ItsJustMe

Better how? Same LED (P7), both LiIon, same runtime. OK, it has one more brightness mode, but OTOH no blink mode, a helmet mount and the battery is in a plastic case instead of shrink wrapped. Doesn't seem like they're really much different at all, certainly not enough to well over double the price.

seeker333

its better than the last light he bought...

Cyclist0383

I'd assume better build quality, although MagicShine seems to have improved a bit from what I've read.

Hirohsima

I too have one on order. Will get comparison shots between my MS-P7 / 400L / Upgraded Minewt P4 once I recieve it. Its on backorder so it may take me a few weeks to get test shots.