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Crelant has long been a leader in producing large high-end lights that excel in long-distance throw. Their popular 7G5 has seen many upgrades over the years (see my review of the 7G5CS U3), and gained a big brother, the 7G9. The 7G9 packs more power into a shorter form, using three 18650 batteries in parallel (see my review of the version 1 of the 7G9). Now, they've upgraded the 7G9 with the new XM-L2 emitter and made a few other small adjustments.


Thanks to Crelant and MD Lightsource for providing the 7G9v2 for review.
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I’ll be reviewing the 7G9v2 in two sections: first, I’ll discuss the light objectively (the facts about the light itself), then I’ll discuss the light subjectively (my impressions about the light's performance when used for specific applications). If you have any other specific applications you'd like the light tested for, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Video Review

Below is a video review of the 7G9v2. Due to my old image hosting site closing down, I've got new restrictions on image uploads and have replaced the "Construction" section of my reviews with a more detailed video review.

Прямая ссылка на видео YouTube

This video is available in 1080p HD, but defaults to a lower quality. To select the playback quality click the settings button (looks like a gear) after you've started the video.


Objective

Manufacturer's Specifications

Price: 140 USD




Dimensions






User Interface

The 7G9v2, like the 7G9, is controlled completely by the real tail cap switch, the only difference being that the switch is easier to activate on the version 2.

There are three modes available, High > Medium > Low. The switch is a mechanical forward-click switch. A half press will give momentary activation: the light will come on in the mode after the one you used last, and stay on until the switch is released. A full press will click the switch into the constant on position using whatever mode is after the one you used last, and the light will remain on until the switch is clicked again. To change modes, turn the light off, then back on within about a second, and it will advance to the next mode in the High > Medium > Low sequence.

Action Shots

You can click on any of these shots to see them full size.

Light in Hand


White Wall (Low, Medium, High)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 1/20"


BeamSlice


MugShot


Indoor Shots (Low, Medium, High)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 1"


Outdoor Shots (Low, Medium, High)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 2.5"


Long-Range Shots (High)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 5"



Performance

Submersion: I submersed the 7G9v2 under a foot of water for about an hour, clicking the switch several times. I found no evidence of water entering or damaging the light.

Heat:

PWM:

Drop: I dropped the 7G9 from about a meter onto various surfaces (including grass, carpet, dirt, and hard wood), and found no cosmetic or functional damage.

Reverse Polarity Protection: The battery system of the 7G9v2 requires that all batteries be facing the same direction, and there are no electronics that come between the parallel circuit. So, it is very important to insert ALL batteries correctly to prevent damage to the batteries or the light.

Over-Discharge Protection: The output of the 7G9v2 falls off slowly over time, and gets very dim at the end, so that's your cue to recharge or replace your batteries.


Spectral Analysis


All light that we see as white is actually made up of several different colors put together. The relative intensities of the different colors in the mix are what determine the tint of the white we see. For example, cool white LED's have a lot of blue, and warm white LED's have more red or yellow. This measurement was done on a home made spectrometer. The plot below the picture is corrected for the spectral sensitivity of the human eye. Note: the peak in the 900nm region doesn't really exist, it's a piece of the second-order spectrum that's showing up here because of the high intensity of the light source.

Output and Runtime


ANSI FL-1 runtime ratings are the time it takes for a light to fall to 10% of it's original output (counting from 30 seconds after turning the light on).

The vertical axis of the graphs below represents a relative brightness measurement using a home made light box. The horizontal axis is time in hours:minutes:seconds. Runtimes are stated in hours:minutes:seconds. These graphs may be truncated to show detail.

Mode Comparison

High


Medium



Throwing Distance

ANSI FL-1 standard for stating a light's throwing distance is the distance at which the peak beam intensity (usually at the center of the beam) is 0.25 lux. I calculate throwing distance and candela (lux at 1 meter) by measuring peak beam intensity at five different distances and using the formula lux*distance^2=constant.


Peak Beam Intensity: 82684cd
Throw Distance: 575

Intensity is up by 18% from the version 1, which matches my understanding of the improvements of the XM-L2 over the XM-L (a 20% increase in efficiency).

Subjective Review

Quick break down:

+

-


Long Term Impressions
I'll fill this part in after carrying the light for a while. If nothing get's added here, either I find nothing else worth noting about the light, or I end up not using it often.