Re: 4Sevens Quark Round-up Review: Q123, QAA, Q123-22, QAA-2 - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS,
Thanks for the support everyone - sorry I can't respond to you all individually, but I appreciated the :grouphug:
While I know you have the format of your reviews down to a well-organized science, that is still a lot of lights and a lot of work......
One question - do you eat and sleep? I am sure half of your bed room is stuffed with flashlights and its accessories.
you've got the patience & you've got the time - plenty of oil you have burned during night time
What can I say, the lightbox has been smokin' on this one - I've had some sort of Quark in there continuously for the last 6 days! And I think I've also set a record for my longest review length yet.
This did indeed require a lot of burning of the midnight oil - it only works because my wife needs an extra 2 hours sleep a night. :kiss: As some members know, my runtimes are mainly automated during the day, but I do all the number crunching and writing in the evenings after my wide nods off (thank goodness for laptops
).
the Quarks have "short-term" memory, rather than none at all, as you stated. Switch one on in general mode (head loosened), then click to a higher level than Moonlight (say, high, or even Beacon), then twist the head to Max. Now twist it back to general mode,
without turning the light off and see what happens.
Yes, you are quite right - I had noticed that during testing, but thought the review length was getting to be a bit much. Still, it is worth a mention, so I will slip in a reference up above.
Thanks for your reviews! I'm really suprised by the 2AA's performance when especially when compared to the P100A2.
Yes, I was originally bit disappointed too - but to be fair, the P100A2 is a dedicated 2AA light, with a custom circuit optimized for 2AA performance (and only two levels to boot). The Quark QAA, QAA-2, and Q123 all use the same multi-power and multi-level circuit, so it's not surprising it has to give up the gain to a dedicated one like the P100A2.
Lightbox min and Lightbox max are a little bit unclear. :thinking: And what is the ceiling bounce good for? :sigh:
"Lightbox Max" refers to the relative output reading captured in my lightbox on the light's max setting. My lightbox is based on similar principles as Doug (Quickbeam) developed for his outstanding flashlightreviews.com (lightbox instructions now available here:
FR lightbox/overall output). Basically, this is a a very simple and easy way to capture the overall output of a light. Note that each lighbox is unique, so the output numbers are completely relative (i.e. why no lux/lumen estimate is given). But you can compare across lights tested in the same box. "Lightbox Min" is simply the lowest output the light can do.
"Ceiling Bounce" refers to another simple way to measure output (again on Max, in my case). These are done with the flashlight in candle-mode on the floor next to a lux light-meter (both pointing up toward the ceiling), in a small room with no windows, such as a closet or small bathroom. The measurement you get is the result of the diffuse light hitting the sensor after bouncing off the ceiling (and four walls) of the room. Again, every room is different, so you can't compare one person's ceiling bounce numbers to another - but they do give you another simple way to compare outputs across lights for a given room/light meter.
I present both results so you can decide for yourself which you prefer to go by. Personally, I tend to trust the lightbox for low output lights like most of the lights reviewed here (the scale is a lot more sensitive at the low end). It is also far more consistent - if I do another run tomorrow, I know the results typically won't vary by more than 1-2% in output readings (whereas I could easily see up to 10-15% variation in ceiling bounce tests from day to day do to exact placement, etc.). Where the ceiling bounce has the most value for me is for really high-powered lights (like the MC-E/P7 lights, or heavy throwers). I know the lightbox tends to underestimate those, since it is too small to really integrate the beams much.
The part that caught my attention was the 123-2 running on 2 *RCR123's. A 17 minute runtime!!!!!!!
The runtime for the Q123x2 on 2xRCR123 is really kinda disapionting, but expected. But from the looks of the Q123x2 head runs pretty good on a single 17670 battery? I thought the 1x123 head would have been better suited? Any chance you tested the 1x123 head on the 2x123 body with the 17670 battery?
Since the 17670 is rated at 1600mah running it in a 1xbattery head, You think the runtime would be roughly double the runtime of the light you tested on the 14500 rated at 750mah?
I agree with Chaoticwhisper, assuming 123^2 has the same brightness as 123 head on Hi, Med, Lo and Moonlight mode, for me the best combination would be a 123 head on a 123^2 body and run with 17670.
This is an interesting idea - my only concern is that I wouldn't want someone to accidentally stick 2xCR123A/RCR into the Q123-2 body with a QAA/Q123 head and
the circuit. But you are right, this would be a good way to get the longer runtime of 1x17670 battery on the standard QAA/Q123 head. I'll try a runtime and see how it compares to Q123-2 on 17670.
Incidentally, I have confirmed that there is nothing wrong with my RCR batteries - I tried them again the Olight M20, and got over an hour of runtime before I stopped the run (still reading above 3.7V). Recharged and put back into the Q123-2, I got 17.5 mins before the protection circuits were tripped. :huh:
Did you have any problems with the RCR's fitting in the 123x2?
They fit fine .. RCR is actually 16340 size, and even my thicker AW protected 17670 fits (although it is tight). That same 17670 wouldn't fit in my Fenix P3D, Solarforce T7, or Olight T20 or I20 (all of which take RCR fine).
Given the choice between reversible clip and lock-out tailcap, I (personally) would prefer the lock-out tailcap every time, but YMMV. Perhaps the thread anodisation that would be needed for this is something 4sevens will consider as an option for future runs.
From your lips to the other David's ear.
I agree with you - I personally store all my lights locked-out.
