It appears to have the same UI as my Folomov 18650S had, which I never warmed up to. I prefer L M H L M H, rather than L M H M L, but I may end up getting one anyway, if they've fixed the bug when going from moonlight to the memorized mode. My 18650S would usually go to Turbo from moonlight, regardless of what the memorized mode was.
correct on the UI sequence including LMHML
moon cannot be memorized, I wish it could, but I dont expect that to happen.
the memorized mode and direction comes after moon, not turbo
example, light was previously off at medium, of the HML ramp, moon starts top left, sequence moves top row right, then bottom row. Note this is a proof of concept prototype for testing purposes and I expect the final production model's lumen levels will match specs:
UI uses click on, click to advance modes, hold for off. Hold from off to access moonlight. Double click for turbo works the same from on or off, double click again for strobe. There are other blinkies, and a second Tactical mode group I dont normally use, that gives only turbo (both momentary and constant) plus strobe.
the Folomov is thinner than my Olight i3s and Maratac, and my sample of the C1 does tailstand, carefully.
Folomov is cooler than incandescent 3000k, but warmer than 4000k, iPhone photo with auto white balance
standing 11 feet away, iphone auto white balance, each shot is separate, so white balance may not match daylight, and may not match between shots:
same LEDs as above, but all leds shot in the same frame, still auto white balance iphone, so not necessarily daylight white balance, but all 3 beams use the same white balance, which means the relative colors you see are realistic, compared to each other:
white balance and relative colors is a complicated topic, and what we see changes based on what our brain is comparing to at the time. That is also true for the above photos. The Colors of the single beam shots, dont match the colors of the photo of the three beams together, and that is also true for our brain. Any of these LEDs could look white to our brain if it was the only light source and we had 30 or more minutes of adaptation.
In practical terms, during the day this LED will look much warmer. Waking up in the dark, the warmer ones are more pleasant. I like both a cooler LED during the day, and a warmer LED at night. This C1, for me, is a very nice CCT at night. Bear in mind my house lighting is 3000k incadescent, so my brain sees the Folomov as very similar, and even slightly brighter, or whiter, since it is maybe 300 CCT cooler than my ambient. The 2 lumen moon mode in my prototype sample is too bright when I wake in the dark, I look forward to the production model having the 0.5 lumen level specified in the manual.
No PWM, no visible flicker. The light is Constant Current with varying amounts constant current ripple that can be photographed, but is not visible to the naked eye, neither still, nor by waving.
Im testing a prototype, it does not match published lumen specs, but hopefully that will change in the future.
On my sample, moon is 2 lumens (spec is 0.5), low is 19 lumens (spec is 8 but in this case I actually prefer 19, medium is 46 lumens (close enough to spec of 40), and turbo is 265 lumens direct drive (not quite 335 lumens, but I dont care, turbo does not interest me, I would gladly give it up for eneloop compatibility), and after 30 seconds it is at 105 lumens and continues dropping.
The moon mode ripple is barely photographable, and only at a very specific distance
the low mode drives my iphone nuts, but only at a very specific distance, dont watch this if strobes bother you
the medium mode is more easily photographed
I did not test high and turbo for photo ripple.
I like the switch, I like the beam, and I like the LED and form factor of the light. I wish the UI was like my Olight i3s, and I wish the brass was raw, and I wish the light worked on eneloop and had no Turbo. No light is perfect, but this is still a fun light and I like having a warm LED option, and I really like the High CRI. I like how clean, tight and defined the hotspot is, but would prefer a full flood beam with no hotspot.
I like that the light includes a USB rechargeable battery, and though it does not include a charging cable, I already had one for my Olight S1 Mini, that costs a lot more, and has much worse CRI. The Olight also has photographable constant current ripple, that I CAN see by waving. Removing the C1 clip scratches the finish, but the same is true for my Olights.
I wish the light had a keyring attachment that doubled as an antiroll device, but I personally dont keep a light on my keys, and the clip doubles as an anti roll. I happen to like hat clips, though I dont usually carry clipped to my pocket. I prefer to drop into a dedicated pocket, and this C1 disappears in my jeans coin pocket.