Pros: Small and unobtrusive, very bright for its size, available in lots of colors, durable construction.
Cons: Batteries can be locally expensive, small screwdriver needed for battery changing.
The Bottom Line: This is a great little keychain light, and it sets the standard by which all others are judged. Carry a Photon II, and you'll never be left in the dark.
INTRODUCTION:
Back in the summer of 1999, I saw a curious looking little LED flashlight in the Hosfelt Electronics catalogue. It was the Photon II, a tiny keychain LED flashlight that was barely larger than a US quarter, was supposedly bright enough to spot a mile away, and who's bulb would never pop. So I plopped down my $15.99 and ordered one. Having never seen a turquoise LED before, that's the color I bought. Of course, I did the first thing almost anyone does when they buy a new flashlight: I aimed it at my face and pushed the button. WOW!!! that sucker was bright, and it had a very unique, radiant color that simply couldn't be ignored. It was just a touch more greenish than the 488nm blue line of an argon ion laser, and it lit up the whole room!
That was 1999.
Fast forward to now, September 2002. I still have my original turquoise Photon II, only now it has company: almost all of the other products that Photon makes, including Photons in every visible color plus UV. I'm only missing the infrared version.
Despite the hundreds of other LED flashlights being made today (more on that later), the Photon Micro Light is *still* an amazing little piece of engineering. It's mechanically simple, yet it does exactly what it's supposed to: it provides you with light, and a surprisingly large amount of it considering the source is a single LED.
HOW TO USE:
When you buy a Photon Microlight (of any vintage or style), it comes ready-to-use right out of the package. For the sake of this review I'll focus primarily on the Photon II, but I'll drop in some info about the newer Photon 3 a bit later.
To get a shot of light anytime, just hold it between your thumb and forefinger and give it a squeeze. If you wish to have the light stay on, then slide the little switch back toward you with a fingernail, and the Photon II will stay on for as long as you need it. Slide the switch forward (toward the LED) to turn it back off. The switch has somewhat of a "click" feel to it when you slide it fully back or fully forward, and it will not turn itself on inside your bag, pocket, or purse.
CHANGING BATTERIES:
Depending on the LED color, the Photon II uses either a single CR2032 3-volt lithium coin cell, or two CR2016 3-volt lithium coin cells. When they need to be changed, you'll need a small phillips screwdriver. Size 0 or 00 should do the trick. The larger screwdriver(s) found in eyeglass repair kits should work; or you can spring $5 at Radio Shack for a whole kit of these, including at least two sizes that will fit the Photon's screws.
If this is your first time replacing the batteries in one of these lights, I suggest that you get a white or light colored dinner plate out of the cupboard and perform the battery change on the plate. Start by turning the light over and then removing the four screws. Set them someplace where they can't become lost - now do you see why I suggested the plate? Now, pull the case halves apart. Be sure the little switch doesn't end up in the carpet and fall prey to the vacuum cleaner later on.
Once you have the case halves apart, remove the two dead batteries and replace them with a new pair; being sure to put them in the same way. The flat (+) side faces down, and lays over the bottom (long) LED lead (the thick silver or gold wire that comes out of the LED bulb). The shorter LED lead that has a twist in it should lie just barely above the surface of the (-) face of the top battery. Lay the plastic switch over the LED lead, seeing that the LED's lead fits into the groove on the bottom of the switch. Lay the top piece of the Photon back on, being sure the switch protrudes from the small rectangular hole in this part. That done, hold the light in one hand, flip it over (still holding it) and put in the screws. Once you have one or more screws in, you no longer need to hold the halves together - the screws will do that for you from this point on.
It sounds like a really nasty procedure, but it honestly isn't once you've done it once or twice. All of the parts (except the batteries) only fit together one way, so you can't really screw it up. It's a lot easier to DO it than it is to EXPLAIN it.
GENERAL PRODUCT INFO:
The Photon II is generally not regarded as being water-resistant; though a brief exposure (such as taking it out in the rain to light up the car door keyhole) isn't going to do any damage. And if it does get flooded inside, just take it apart and dry it out. No biggie. If it falls in salt water, you will probably have to throw out the batteries, but just rinse the rest of the parts in fresh water and let them dry before reassembling - it'll be as good as new.
When the Photon is used on an intermittent basis for occasional tasks like looking for a dropped pen under a desk, hunting for that deodorant cap that rolled behind the toilet, lighting up keyholes, or reading the occasional restaraunt menu; the batteries could very well last for years. If you use it heavily and with long periods of continuous use though, you will be changing batteries considerably more often. Total battery life for the 2-cell models is approximately 10-12 hours when used continuously; more when used intermittently. The 1-cell models can run up to 120 hours continuously. In both cases, the brightest portion will be the first hour or two, declining slowly (quite slowly in some cases) after that.
The Photon II is available in a number of different colors. Here are the colors and some suggested uses for them.
Infrared: I don't yet have one of these, so I have nothing to report about them. Peak wavelength is probably 890nm.
Red: Respectably bright, preserves night vision. Blacks out certain colors. Fine for locating errant keys/keyholes, emergencies in the home or campground. Color appears to be what I call 'HeNe laser red' which has a slight orangish tinge. Estimated peak wavelength 630nm.
Orange: Items viewed in its light appear clearer than they do with the red. Beam isn't as even, but the color is neat. Best comparison: the color found in a neon nightlight, but it's more vibrant and piercing. Can be used for most tasks. Estimated peak wavelength 610nm.
Yellow: Dimmest of the visible colors. Fine for emergencies, map reading, digging through the glovebox. Estimated peak wavelength 597nm.
Green: One of the brightest of all the visible colors. Washes out live foliage, but is otherwise fine for both indoors and out. Some colors appear 'contrasty' in this light. This light is true green, not the yellowish green like you see in cell phone displays. Peak wavelength 525nm.
Blue-green: Also known as turquoise. For total brightness, this one tops them all. More 'contrasty' than green. This is a raver's light. The brilliant, uncommon color will attract attention. Estimated peak wavelength 498nm, lengthening to 505nm as batteries weaken.
Blue: A brilliant, pure blue. Not as useful for actually finding things in boxes, but works great for walking about in darkness. Ravers will like this color too, as there are very few other sources of this color that are seen often. Some objects will give off an intense fluorescent glow when you shine this one at them. Peak wavelength ranges from 465nm to 472nm, averaging 469nm in any given sample.
Purple: This color is so new, the Photon II using it may just now start being sold at Photon's website, and is certainly not at any of the regular carriers of Photon products yet, as of 09-03-02. When shined on a white wall, this light produces a deep, pure royal purple color that has to be seen to be believed. It behaves much like those fluorescent blacklight tubes, and causes fluorescence in all materials that an ordinary blacklight would also light up. Peak wavelength 405nm.
Ultraviolet: Lights up ultraviolet-sensitive materials like the security strips in money, hand stamps, Ticketmaster event tickets, and other invisible security measures. This model has a shorter wavelength than the Purple Photon; and most of its light is outside the visible range. Unlike other models, battery change is a screw-free process. Peak wavelength 370nm.
White: The best color for reading or looking for articles in small, dark spaces or working in dark areas where colors (like wires or bundles of cable) must be distinguishable. Provides a full, natural color rendition not available with any of the single-color LEDs. Color temperature approximately 6,500°K. All white LEDs have a fairly substantial variation in tint and color temperature, so the approximate color temperature of your unit may vary slightly from this figure.
The Photon comes with a lifetime warranty that covers everything except batteries, intentional destruction of the light, or loss of the unit itself. So if it goes down the toilet or if you purposefully smash it to bits with a ball peen hammer, you're probably going to have to buy another. But if it gets dropped and the bulb somehow breaks, or if the unit mysteriously quits working properly; the manufacturer will fix or replace it free, usually with no questions asked. LRI has a fantastic warranty policy with the Photon II and all of its other products.
THE NEXT STAGE:
While the Photon II is extremely popular, and yes, still very useful; there's a new light knocking on the door that might attract your attention. It's the Photon 3. Instead of a slide switch, the Photon 3 uses a microcontroller and two discreet pushbuttons to control its functions.
To get a shot of light anytime, regardless of what mode or state the unit is in at the time, press on the front half of the case. The unit spews forth a bountifully overflowing cornucopia of photons at the highest brightness the batteries are capable of delivering. It's a momentary switch, in that as soon as you stop squeezing, the unit either turns off or reverts to the mode it was in before you pressed it.
Squeezing the lower half of the case allows you to choose from three brightness settings, two blink modes, an automated distress signal, and an auto-shutoff mode.
You can read my full reviews of the Photon II, most other Photon products, and hundreds of other flashlights and other LED products at my website, www.ledmuseum.org
There you will find beam profile analyses, product photographs, power utilisation curves, and other information that I cannot display in my Epinions.com reviews because they don't allow graphics to be used. I provide this website as a free public service and I do not profit from the product reviews.
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