u/Any_Counter4038

I came across this test on the Rock Tumbling Hobby forum and thought the photos would be appreciated here. The original poster gave me permission to share the images and results.

Original RTH thread:
https://forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/110368/ultrafire

The setup included three different UltraFire UV lights:

• ZV PRO-254nm shortwave
• ZV PRO-310nm midwave
• RUV3 365nm longwave

What stood out to me was how differently the same collection reacted depending on the wavelength. Some pieces produced intense reds and greens under shortwave, while others showed much stronger orange or red reactions under midwave. The 365nm RUV3 appeared to be the most broadly useful across this particular collection, but the 254nm and 310nm lights revealed reactions that longwave alone would have missed.

The dark filter glass also makes a big visual difference. There is much less visible light spilling across the specimens, so the fluorescencelooks cleaner and the individual colors are easier to separate. That seems especially useful when trying to identify weaker reactions rather than only photographing the brightest pieces.

The gear photo shows all three lights and their black filters. The remaining images are some of the results from the original tester’s collection. The reds, greens and oranges in these shots are pretty wild, especially considering how ordinary some of the specimens look under normal light. A safety note for anyone unfamiliar with these wavelengths: 254nm shortwave UVC and 310nm midwave UVB require proper UV-blocking eye protection and covered skin. Never look into the emitters or expose people or pets to the beam.

got a ultrafire 365nm UV light mostly out of curiosity, and yeah... this is one of those tools that immediately makes you regret learning how well it works.

Normal light made the bathroom look fine. Under UV, all the little splash marks and mystery residue around the toilet suddenly showed up like a crime scene. Not exactly a relaxing discovery, but pretty useful ifyou're trying to actually clean instead of just making things look clean.

A couple of quick notes from messing with it:

• 365nm seems way more useful for this kind of inspection than the cheap purple-ish UV lights I've tried before
• the fluorescence is much easier to pick out when the room is properly dark
• eye protection is probably not optional if you're going to stare at reflected UV for more than a quick check
• this is not a light I’d use for fun around the house unless I wanted to feel personally attacked by my own bathroom

Not sure I needed this information in my life, but as a practical inspection light, it makes a pretty strongcase for itself...