Gemini Lights OLYMPIA LED (2012)

[Gemini Lights]

Our new Gemini OLYMPIA is just about ready to launch, beginning of February 2012.

Gemini OLYMPIA

• • LED: 3x CREE XM-L
• • Brightness: 1700 Lumens
• • Weight: 76g (Light Head)
• • Beam Angle: 19°
• • Run Time on Maximum: 2 hours (4-cell), 3.5 hours (6-cell)
• • 4 modes: High, Med, Low, Flash (All modes are user programmable between 10-100%)
• • Hard Anodized T6 Aluminum
• • Battery Overcharge and Overheat Protection
• • LED Overheat Protection
• • IP65 Weatherproof

Included in the box:
• Gemini OLYMPIA LED Light
• High-Capacity 4-Cell Battery Pack (Hard case)
• Lithium Ion Smart Charger
• Helmet and Bar Mount
• Pro Head Belt
• Silicone O-Rings
• Extension Cable

Retail Prices: $229.99 (4-cell), $249.99 (6-cell)

And here is a sneak peak of the Olympia and Xera sitting together...

[cue003]

Good to see that each of the modes can be individually set to user preferences.

[colleen c]

Sweet!

How is the size in comparison with the Titan?

Is the 2hr runtime based on the 5.2 amp hour 4 cell? If so, then I'm thinking it draws about 2.6 amp total on High. This will be nice for me to be able to run both the Olympia and the Xera on my homemade 5.8 amp hour battery pack.

BTW, it's good to see that you kept each mode programable.

[syadasti]

Any presales or introductory offers on this new light (similar to what gloworm is doing on their X2)? Is geomangear going to offer it and will they also carry the same time its released?

Any changes to the battery packs or chargers or are they standard (ie works with current Magicshine, Geomangear, and Gemini batteries?)

[indebt]

Looking good!!! Not much bigger than the Xera and at 76 grams would also be plenty light enough for helmet use as well. One one the bars and one one the helmet as an honest 3400 lumens set-up WOW!!! Are you doing any pre sale orders and if so can you disclose a price yet? Cheers!!!

[cue003]

what will be the price point for this light?

[Cat-man-do]

Since this lamp is listed @ 1700 lumen, that would mean each emitter is outputting about 567 lumen. Basically that should put the amp draw about ( or ~ ) 1300ma per emitter ( going by standard Cree chart for XML T-6 max luminous output ). It really would be nice to have a gander at the front of the lamp. At a 19° beam spread this lamp should have lots of flood. The real question though is what kind of distance throw is this lamp going to have. There are already lots of bike lamps giving great flood patterns. Hopefully the people who are waiting for this will not be disappointed. To stave off those questions/fears it would a good idea to show some beam shots ...like real soon.

Now for people who think the beam pattern too wide and not enough throw...will there be offered a tighter optic?

[Gemini Lights]

Hi Colleen, I've updated my first post to show size comparisons. The 2 hour run time is based on the 5200mAh Samsung cells.

A presale offer will be available soon at a discounted rate.

And lastly, beam shots for you Cat.





The first lamp post is approximately 25m.

[Cat-man-do]

Hi Colleen, I've updated my first post to show size comparisons. The 2 hour run time is based on the 5200mAh Samsung cells.

A presale offer will be available soon at a discounted rate.

And lastly, beam shots for you Cat....

Oh no, please...not just for me!

After staring at the GIF's for about 30 minutes...my take.....pretty much what I expected. ( Noah, get the ark ready, the flood's a'coming! ) ...but seriously, a very big/bright beam pattern. Absolutely put the 872 to shame. The 880 on the other hand looked pretty good and compares well against the triple ( although not quite as bright ). In the 880 comparison I held my hands to the monitor to block out the sides while looking at the center area to judge distance throw. For the most part I really didn't see much of a difference. The shadowed area does move back a tinge when the Olympia is on but not much. Then again quite possible that the camera can't really show us what it will look like at that distance ( due to the bright foreground ). For the moment I'll give the Olympia a slight advantage in throw. ( geez, I would of killed for a couple real distance markers )

Now I don't know if this is true or not but in the gif with the 880, the lamp head of the 880 doesn't look as though it's pointing in the same direction as the Olympia. It just looks like it's pointing down a bit. ( am I right?... ) Anyway if so, the 880 might have better throw if aimed a bit more upright.

My first impression, I think the Olympia is going to be the lamp of choice for people who want a stellar bar lamp with a bright close in beam pattern with lots of bright spill. It could be that it's throwing better than I think but without markers it's just hard to tell.

Regardless, if the Olympia can provide "usable throw" over 100 ft. ( 30.4m ) ( which I may add it appears to do ) it will make an excellent bar lamp. Add to that the ability to adjust all the modes and this becomes a total "win, win".

( Side note: Ya know I was just thinking....If I was a Lupine Dealer I might really start to worry about how well my inventory is going to sell in the next coming months. )

[pethelman]

... Then again quite possible that the camera can't really show us what it will look like at that distance ( due to the bright foreground )

You hit it right on the head. My experience has been that if I put a lot of light in the near field, then I can significantly effect my ability to see at distance because the reflected light is causing my pupils to close down.

Although the beam shots and camera allow you the advantage of seeing a little further down the path with the "Olympia," in practice, overpowering in that 10' to 15' range can be really detrimental to distance vision. I find this type of beam pattern to be a bit frustrating. You'll end up wanting to aim it a bit higher to avoid being "blinded" by the near field light, but then you lose a lot of the other light that you need. Very hard to get an ideal beam from a single lens type. Would probably be better run at lower power in combo with a separate dedicated spot. Looks to be the same basic setup as the Dinotte XML triple but with considerably less cooling surface area. I realize they just scaled up the "Xera" case, which looks nice and all, but the lack of cooling is concerning. That's going to need to be one aggressive over temp protection circuit.

Double check just a bit on those "by the spec" current estimates....
XM-L T6 at 700mA, min luminous flux = 280

3x280 = 840

Assuming 1700 theoretical output we have a "gain" factor of:
1700/840 = 2.02

Look on the XML spec sheet figure titled "Relative Flux vs. Current (TJ = 25°C)" and read off the current at 200% and you have just over 1.5 amps, which equates to 14 watts in the LEDs alone. Add another 1.5 watts at least for the controller. That's a truckload of heat to get out of that case. Of course, all just my opinion.

[Gloworm Manufacture]

You hit it right on the head. My experience has been that if I put a lot of light in the near field, then I can significantly effect my ability to see at distance because the reflected light is causing my pupils to close down.

Although the beam shots and camera allow you the advantage of seeing a little further down the path with the "Olympia," in practice, overpowering in that 10' to 15' range can be really detrimental to distance vision. I find this type of beam pattern to be a bit frustrating. You'll end up wanting to aim it a bit higher to avoid being "blinded" by the near field light, but then you lose a lot of the other light that you need. Very hard to get an ideal beam from a single lens type. Would probably be better run at lower power in combo with a separate dedicated spot. Looks to be the same basic setup as the Dinotte XML triple but with considerably less cooling surface area. I realize they just scaled up the "Xera" case, which looks nice and all, but the lack of cooling is concerning. That's going to need to be one aggressive over temp protection circuit.

Double check just a bit on those "by the spec" current estimates....
XM-L T6 at 700mA, min luminous flux = 280

3x280 = 840

Assuming 1700 theoretical output we have a "gain" factor of:
1700/840 = 2.02

Look on the XML spec sheet figure titled "Relative Flux vs. Current (TJ = 25°C)" and read off the current at 200% and you have just over 1.5 amps, which equates to 14 watts in the LEDs alone. Add another 1.5 watts at least for the controller. That's a truckload of heat to get out of that case. Of course, all just my opinion.

Assmumig you know the theoretical efficiency of a controller/optics, Cree have a great tool that calculates lumens/watts etc based on these facts.

[cue003]

Assmumig you know the theoretical efficiency of a controller/optics, Cree have a great tool Cree LED Tool that calculates lumens/watts etc based on these facts.

The link you provided doesn't work.

[Gloworm Manufacture]

Assmumig you know the theoretical efficiency of a controller/optics, Cree have a great tool that calculates lumens/watts etc based on these facts.

Fixed

[Cat-man-do]

Double check just a bit on those "by the spec" current estimates....
XM-L T6 at 700mA, min luminous flux = 280

3x280 = 840

Looks like my figures were wrong but to be fair I'm using the max luminous flux figures ( use data sheet for binning and labeling ). For T6=300 lm and U bin is 320 lm. So perhaps 1300ma to each emitter. This is not accounting for losses though. Maybe 1400ma ( ea.) would get you the claimed output.

[pethelman]

Looks like my figures were wrong but to be fair I'm using the max luminous flux figures ( use data sheet for binning and labeling ). For T6=300 lm and U bin is 320 lm. So perhaps 1300ma to each emitter. This is not accounting for losses though. Maybe 1400ma ( ea.) would get you the claimed output.

I figured it was probably something like that... give-or-take, plus-or-minus, etc. Either way, it's a lot of power to get out... Obviously the thermal resistance of the XML junction is respectably low, but still, for a bar light, I'd want to see more cooling capability. For a helmet mount, I can understand the desire to go uber minimalistic on the housing. Hope they got it right on the thermal cut-back, because it's not going to be able to burn more than about 6 watts continuously with no air-flow. I don't really buy into the light building philosophy of "if you don't provide air-flow to the light, damage will occur." I'd much rather ensure that the light can't be accidentally damaged under any circumstance. On the flip side, it's possible for an undersized housing to work just fine, provided the user is acutely in-tune with it's modes of operation. As usual, it boils down to the needs of the rider.

[wriggle]

Will be any lights only (I mean everything minus charger and battery) option?

[Gemini Lights]

Hi wriggle, we will be selling Olympia light heads as well.

[wriggle]

Good! Waiting for the further pre-sale instructions.

[Gemini Lights]

Good! Waiting for the further pre-sale instructions.

Hi Wriggle,

Pre-sales for the Gemini Olympia is now available.

Cheers!

[syadasti]

Hi Wriggle,

Pre-sales for the Gemini Olympia is now available.

Cheers!

How do we preorder the 6-cell version? Not looking for it, but someone will likely ask do you sell a lighthead only version?

[Magicshine Australia]

The Olympia's beam is very impressive - kudos. The MJ-872 runs very hot on average ambient temperature with it's slightly larger surface area heatsink shell. The MJ-880 runs hot too with 2 x XM-L T6s. Just wondering how hot running 3 x XM-Ls on a similar sized shell(maybe a little smaller if my eyes are correct) with less surface area? If Gemini has that addressed and runs relatively cooler than the MS, you've got yourself a true winner.

[wriggle]

Hi Wriggle,

Pre-sales for the Gemini Olympia is now available.

Cheers!

Hi, I saw it last weekend but what I need is the light only version.

[Iwanttorideatnight]

What is the pre-sale price for the Olympia?

[Cat-man-do]

What is the pre-sale price for the Olympia?

After looking at the link I think it is going to be over $300 with shipping. I don't see a "light head only" option yet or a 6 cell battery option but I think maybe the website is a work in progress. Ummm....$300 is quite a bit of money. At that price I'm wondering what they will charge for the "Light head only".

[syadasti]

After looking at the link I think it is going to be over $300 with shipping. I don't see a "light head only" option yet or a 6 cell battery option but I think maybe the website is a work in progress. Ummm....$300 is quite a bit of money. At that price I'm wondering what they will charge for the "Light head only".

The presale price was $200 with 4-cell before something happened to the website. I don't recall what the shipping was.