Many lights claim to be 1 or 2 million candle power, and they may be -- if supplied with enough voltage and ampacity, which this one is! This is the brightest handheld light I have ever used! It will light up tree-tops nearly unbelievably. I had a friend with a plug-in 'One Million Candle Power' light, and we made a comparison. There was no comparison. His looked bright, but when I turned on the Celestron, his light looked yellow and dim -- off of a car battery! Therefore, I doubt that his bulb was even rated for 1 million C.P.

Many 1 million C.P. lights have the bulb, but not the battery to drive them. Not the Celestron! It is BRIGHT!!! Yet, it also has a built-in standard flashlight that will last nearly forever (all nigh is no problem at al). This has a flasher and a red lens if needed for a red flasher. I cannot imagine a better light for a trucker, or anyone needing independent power and the brightest "flashlight" I have ever seen. I could write a small book about the ways I have used this, and I have owned it for nearly a year.

It also has sockets of all polarity, including a cigarette lighter plug. This sucker really will help you to jump-start a car! I came in to write this when that became necessary.

It is a bit heavy! All larger batteries are heavy. But, it is quality! And, quality is becoming more rare by the day. You need go no further. Get one! You will not regret it!


Charger hard to repair   April 19, 2006
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I have a 7 Ah unit and have been using it for years. Not bad for what it is -- after all, deep down it's just a 12V lead-acid battery. But one fine day it just stopped charging. At first I thought the battery was dead and so I went to Radio Shack and bought a new one for $15. It isn't hard to replace and all the lights lit up and everything, but still no charging. Then I did what I should have done in the first place -- measured the output voltage of the 15V power adapter. No voltage to speak of. Then I tried to repair the adapter itself but it turned out that one needs a screwdriver with a triangular tip to open the protective cover of this thing!! No hardware store in my area (and I checked quite a few) had such an outlandish screwdriver. For that matter, I couldn't find a replacement either. It is hard to find a 15V adapter; most power supplies out there are 6, 9, or 12 volts. In summary, I'm left with a functional main unit and no easy way to charge it up. So, buyer beware: if something stops working you may well have to buy a brand new one.


Not the quality I expected   February 11, 2004
 3 out of 6 found this review helpful

I heard a great deal about what a superb product this was. Unfortunately, I've had the opposite experience. I received mine yesterday through OPT by way of UPS. The flashlight was broken internally and didn't work. The floodlight had one of the swivel ears broken. Celestron said send it back and they would repair or replace it at their option - with a wait of 4 to 6 weeks! Their repair facilities have been remodeled and that is part of the delay. I am not impressed with Celestron and will not consider them for any future astronomical purchases! I hope I can find a similar product from another source. I suppose this might be a decent product if you can pick it up in person and inspect it but I wouldn't count on Celestron standing behind it.