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Olight has recently released a new model in the Search and Rescue (SR) series, the SR "Mini" Intimidator. If you consider a 2800 lumen
]light with 3 XM-L2 emitters powered by 3 18650 or 6 CR123 batteries to be "Mini", then I suppose the name fits


Thanks to Olight and GoingGear for providing the SR Mini for review.

I’ll be reviewing the SR Mini 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 SR Mini. 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: 150 USD



User Manual

Click to Enlarge


Dimensions



Plus, here's a few shots with some good detail.

Click to Enlarge



User Interface

The five modes of the SR Mini is controlled completely by the electronic side switch. Whenever the light is on, the switch is backlit by a green LED.

To turn the light on or off, just click the switch once.

When the light is on, a double click cycles through the modes Low -> Medium -> High.

The SR Mini features a true Turbo mode, accessed at any time by holding down on the switch. The Turbo mode remains on as long as you hold down the switch, then it returns to the previous mode you were using when you release the switch.

When the light is on or off, a triple click activates the Strobe mode.


Action Shots

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

BeamSlice


MugShot


Light in Hand


White Wall (Low, Medium, High, Turbo)
ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/20"


Indoor Shots (Low, Medium, High, Turbo)
ISO 100, f/3.5, 1"


Outdoor Shots (Low, Medium, High, Turbo)
ISO 100, f/3.5, 2.5"


Long-Range Shots (Turbo)
ISO 100, f/3.5, 5"



Performance

Submersion: I submersed the SR Mini 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: When on Turbo, you can feel the heat working it's way down from the head of the SR Mini within just a few minutes. In addition, it is very uncomfortable to place your hand in the beam path within six inches of the head.

PWM: I detect no pulse-width modulation on any mode of the SR Mini.

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

Reverse Polarity Protection: I find no claims of reverse polarity protection from Olight, but the SR Mini has flat terminals to make connection with the positive battery terminal, so if the batteries are inserted backwards they will not make electrical connection and will not damage the light. This also means you need button-top cells for the SR Mini.

Over-Discharge Protection: I find no claims of over-discharge protection by Olight, and the light does not dim before the end of the battery life, so be sure to charge your batteries often. However, it won't run off 1 or 2 cells alone, so it does seem there is some voltage cutoff built into the light to protect the 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

Turbo


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: 17393 cd
Throw Distance: 264 m


Subjective Review

Quick break down:

+ Wow.
+ Very Bright
+ Anytime instant access to Turbo
+ True Turbo mode
+ Extreme regulation
+ Green LED indicator under swtich
+ Very compact
+ Stylish
+ Smooth flood
+ Heat dissipation fins
+ Tailstand even with lanyard
+ Single-switch UI
+ Strobe hidden
+ Impressive engineering

- 400 lumen low
- No low voltage warning

The SR Mini Intimidator is a spectacular light. Let's start at the tail. Anytime you see a multi-cell light with the batteries arranged parallel to each other, some complications are introduced in making all the necessary electrical connections. Standard flashlight design includes a twist-off tail cap to insert/remove batteries, and all those electrical connections have to line up even with all that twisting. As you can see in the pictures above, Olight has a solution to that problem. The inner portion of the tail cap rotates freely with respect to the external part of the tail, and the alignment post makes sure that all the connections happen and are held together when the tail is twisted on and off. The batteries are inserted into slots drilled through an otherwise solid hunk of metal that comprises the body. This has advantages and disadvantages when compared to a battery carrier design. The solid body design has more weight, more mass to take heat away from the emitter, is more sturdy, and makes the tail more complicated. The battery carrier design is less sturdy, lighter, has less heat capacity, and simplifies the tail design. Personally, I prefer the sturdiness of the solid body design because the weight doesn't bother me. Overall, I'm very impressed with the engineering of the SR Mini to make this work reliably and efficiently.

Next, I really like the performance of the SR Mini. Some people have expressed concern about the press-and-hold nature of the Turbo mode. In my opinion, the way Olight's done Turbo on the SR Mini is what makes this a true Turbo mode, more so than pretty much any other light that names a mode Turbo. To me, Turbo means that it's an extreme output above the light's "normal" performance that for one reason or another can/should be sustained only for a short time. For this reason, the Turbo mode as implemented in the SR Mini is a true Turbo mode. In addition, it's great that it can be accessed from any other mode, or even when the light is off. That being said, by looking at the graphs above you can see it's obviously no trouble for the SR Mini to regulate the output on Turbo. My evaluation is that the hold-for-Turbo design will help prolong the life of the emitters by keeping heat down, and also prolong battery life by reducing the time you spend in Turbo mode when you don't need to. For most purposes, the high mode should be plenty of flood light, with access to the extra light from Turbo when you need it.

However, this brings me to my main dislike about the Mini: it's got no true Low mode. The specs claim a low mode of 200 lumens, but I measured almost 400, and may equipment is pretty accurate in that range. And, in practical use, it's pretty obvious that there just isn't enough spacing between the output levels. Yeah, this is a big light and you're going to be using it for big output situations, but I like to have a low mode available for when I need to glance at something close by like a map or inside a bag. This isn't a deal-breaker for the SR Mini, but certainly something I'd like to see changed if they make an update to the Mini. Ideally, I'd like to see the modes spaced more like 2800 - 1000 - 200 - 30. That would mean I could use 1000 lumens outdoors, 200 indoors, 30 up close, and 2800 when I was mad at someone .

The design of the SR Mini is very pleasing. It's got Olight's characteristic large square w/ grooves pattern on the body, it's very compact for it's role, and overall just feels like a high quality tool when you use it. The green LED in the switch is a nice touch, though I'd have liked to see it used for some sort of voltage indicator in a light this high on the quality spectrum. It's got the heat dissipation fins, which are not optional in a light like this, so I'm glad to see them there, and quite a few of them. The shallow, diffused optics do a good job of spreading the light and merging the three separate beams into a nice wide flood.

Overall, the SR Mini Intimidator truly does live up to it's name. If you're looking for a compact and high output light and you don't mind the lack of a low mode, the SR Mini is an excellent choice.


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.