@billyboulders
Yeah, I've thought about the 'volume knob' interface too, but it's the old pick any two from three: small, sealed and cheap. I think it would be a great way to do a user interface, but could be easily replaced by up/down buttons.
@beej
With current technology, for 600 lumens and 8 hours runtime, you're looking at six Li-ion cells. 3 LEDs for cool white, 4 for wamr white. In a joystick format, that would need to be about six inches long and 1.5 inches in diameter. Quite a chunky joystick, but do-able. With cool white LEDs, you could almost double the drive current for approaching 1000 lumens and 4-4.5 hr runtime. Could operate as a stand-alone unit, or in conjunction with external switches or management units. Food for thought.