Fenix should, IMO, offer more lights with moonlight modes. About the emitter choice, they target the general market. Most people want more and more lumens and don't look at color rendering.
Lumens sell. David from FourSevens says warm, neutral and Hi-CRI don't sell enough to be profitable. Sure as manufacturer you can have a couple of these lights, but they can't be your whole line-up. Not if you want to keep, the price low.
Toyota also sells to the masses, but that does not mean its models are best in class.
I am a newcomer to modern LED flashlights. My interest, as yet, has not transitioned to full-fledged addiction. Currently, I am merely identifying the lights I really need, and replacing the cheap incandescent and 5mm LED models I presently have.
My first purchase was the
Nitecore P36. It's a 2x 18650 light that uses the neutral-white MT-G2 emitter. It has 10 constant-brightness output levels that range between 2 and 2000 lumens. Modes are selected by turning a simple dial. From off, you have direct access to high, low, and strobe. The UI is wonderful. This is a new design that has no track record. Its reliability will have to be proven over the next couple of years. So far, however, I have no complaints about mine. I think it is one of the better new lights for 2015.
Besides the
Nitecore Tube, the only other modern LED flashlight I own is the
Zebralight SC62w. It's a compact 1x 18650, neutral-white model that features an XM-L2 emitter. I won mine in theDoc007's giveaway thread, where my review will be posted in a week or so. Hint: although this is a 2014 model that many speculate will be superseded by the SC63 later this year, the SC62w is a winner. It is currently my EDC light.
I have identified several other needs: nightstand light, glove box flashlight, headlamp, camping lantern, backup EDC light, etc. I tell this story only to emphasize that I am a serious buyer who has been doing a lot of research in the past month or two. I am not a looker. I am a buyer.
I am also an avid amateur photographer who is trained to see light and its tint. Early in my flashlight study, I determined that I could get as many lumens as I wanted in a neutral-tint flashlight. Except perhaps for specialty throwers, you can buy quality NW lights at mid-level prices for any lumen need up to 3000 lumens or more. IMO, the arguments that NW must be sacrificed for output are specious.
As a car camper and hiker, I also determined that I wanted moonlight levels in most of the lights I buy. For camping and power outages, it is also useful to have tail standing.
So that brings us back to
Fenix. Knowing the reputation it has for quality, I was surprised to discover that many—nay, most—of its models fall down on these key features. I was so surprised, in fact, that I started a
thread to discuss it. At the end, my conclusion was exactly the same as yours. Fenix is a mass-market supplier that maximizes its profits by supplying the needs of a non-flashaholic market.
It is, if you will, the Toyota of flashlight makers.
That said, there are more than a few models from Fenix that I like. Among them are the camping lanterns it has released this year, which I think deserve mention on a list of great 2015 flashlights. The PD40, a 1x 26650 light with a neutral white MT-G2, and which can easily tail stand, may be another. I say "may," only because I do not know much about it. It looks very good on paper.
The TK35UE, a 2x 18650 MT-G2 flashlight, fares less well. Compared to the similar Nitecore P36, the four output levels of the TK35UE are a bit constraining. In addition, it won't tail stand, and its lowest mode is 25 lumens.
As always, just my two cents.
