# Solarforce Masterpiece Review: Pics, Impressions, Beamshots, Runtime



## csshih (Sep 26, 2009)

Check out my new website! http://www.LumensReview.com
I will occasionally post sneak pics for my upcoming reviews on that website and work on reviews from there. I publish finished reviews here on CPF. 

Hi Everyone,

Up for review is the Solarforce Masterpiece -- the successor of the popular (and now discontinued) Solarforce L50m.

Here are some of the specs from 



Cree M Bin LED
2x18650
3 Level output 100% 40% & 10% brightness
100% Brightness 800 Lumens --- Runtime 2 hours with an additional "limp mode" with low light for 2 more hours.
40% Brightness 400 Lumens --- Runtime 6 hours
10% Brightness 100 Lumens --- Runtime 30 hours
Stainless Steel Bezel
319 grams (without batteries)
Length x diameter (head and battery tube, mm): 230 x 55mm
Type III HA Anodization


*A bit of background:*
There isn't much information about this light -- Solarforce is usually very quiet before the release of anything new. There is one discussion thread on CPF here.

The light was provided by Jason @ sbflashlights




- for reference, his old website was solarforcelights.com
you can buy it at his site here, http://www.sbflashlights.com/Solarforce-Lights/Solarforce-Masterpiece-LED-Flashlight-p31.html , but he only has 2 in stock.

Onwards!

here is the light: (excuse the dust)





The Solarforce Masterpiece has some similarities with the Tiablo ACE-G.





Nicely machined head with nice looking heatsinking fins (you could call them decorative) The SS bezel is a nice improvement over the ACE-G










Fine "square" knurling, which, I would suspect would be more expensive than standard diamond knurling.










Magnets not included  that was used to prop up the cap.





Internals of the cap
The Masterpiece still uses the same "squishy" tailcap switch.. this one is very quiet, but offers less feedback.





The Cree LED on my sample is slightly misaligned.










Removing the SS bezel allows you to remove the glass and reflector





closeup of the misalignment

*Comparisons*:





Comparison with the Tiablo ACE-G
http://www.lumensreview.com/upload/files/9_jipuq/IMG_9616_processed.JPG[/img

[IMG]http://www.lumensreview.com/upload/files/17_dvbpt/IMG_9620_processed.JPG
The Tiablo's switch has more a more solid "click" upon activation










double orings at one end of the solarforce tube 





The tiablo has a heavier textured reflector, and is also more shallow

*White Wall Shots*:




It is actually rather hard to do a "candle" mode, the head only seems to uscrew through the SS bezel




















































*Outdoor Beamshots*:






























*Impressions*
Solarforce did some nice blue box for the light, yet still no accessories. odd.
At first glance, the Masterpiece has some similarities to the Tiablo ACE-G.. the tailcap is longer, but the knurling is very similar. I've praised Tiablo's knurling quite a bit in my last review, and the Masterpiece is not an exception.. very nice! Using the light is comfortable enough, it is easy to hold, but a little head-heavy as most of the lights of this caliber are. (the l950m was worse, with its giant head). 
One very big difference between the Masterpiece and the ACE-G would be its Stainless Steel bezel. A feature that I love -- the durability of the ring offsets most of the problems that come with having one (the beam has some artifacts from light reflecting off the ring, and the spill is limited by it).
UI: standard 3 Mode -- I would have liked the low to be lower, but it is still quite a difference from the L950m. These 3 modes appear to be current regulated, as I cannot detect any trace of PWM, visual, and electronic. :thumbsup:
The solarforce has a nice runtime. When the batteries start going low, the light seems to jump into an emergency mode, providing more than an hour of slowly decreasing light. interesting. 

Now, on the topic of runtime..




the oddities are the spikes in brightness, which could be a result of my testing method. (using a canon point and shoot camera with a firmware addon installed to log brightness levels -- I should be purchasing a datalogging luxmeter when funds come in )




here's the "limp" mode closeup. :thumbsup:

Now come the bad news.
I was a bit disappointed when I fired up the masterpiece, and went white wall hunting. I've been spoiled by the L950's perfect beam, and had expected the masterpiece to follow in it's footsteps. Sadly, this is not so.
taking it outside, though, made it vanish, and my worries disappear. oh, how us flashaholics are concerned over such small things that practically aren't important.Oddly enough, I couldn't easily capture it on camera-- you'd have to see it in real life. The donut hole is annoying if you use a MC-E light around the house 
The LED is misscentered slightly, as you can somewhat see in the photos.there isn't much change I can detect in the beam..

Comparing the old and the new:

In my sample, the masterpiece has a cooler tint compared to the l950m. This doesn't seem to change color rendering much, and appears fine to me. Though I like the smoother beam of the l950m, the head is huge -- not easy to carry around at all, and the masterpiece seems to be an o.k. balance, though more of a thrower.


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## csshih (Sep 26, 2009)

An experiment:

Reserved for Q/A:

Q: Does it have mode memory?
A: Yes, it seems to "memorize" the mode relatively fast. There is a "pre-flash" similar to the 47s series of lights, though.


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## berry580 (Sep 26, 2009)

good job csshih!

btw, ever thought of including other MC-E light's runtime/output in your graph just as comparison?

thank you.


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## csshih (Sep 26, 2009)

berry580 said:


> good job csshih!
> btw, ever thought of including other MC-E light's runtime/output in your graph just as comparison?
> thank you.



I'll be working on that when/if I manage to get that new datalogging luxmeter


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## Jimdo (Sep 26, 2009)

Good Review. Nice Job... as always. Kudos to you Sir.


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## phantom23 (Sep 27, 2009)

Does it have last mode memory?


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## TechnoBill (Sep 27, 2009)

Thanks Craig! And thanks for the NACK regarding availability of an extension tube.


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## berry580 (Sep 27, 2009)

how much would those be? im actually interested to get one as well.


csshih said:


> I'll be working on that when/if I manage to get that new datalogging luxmeter


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## csshih (Sep 27, 2009)

Mode memory, yep. added to the q/a section.



berry580 said:


> how much would those be? im actually interested to get one as well.


I'm currently looking at the extech HD450, which would leave you 200-250$ poorer


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## berry580 (Sep 27, 2009)

is that the cheapest datalogging luxmeter available?

I got my "normal" luxmeter for like... $20..... hahaha


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## csshih (Sep 27, 2009)

berry580 said:


> is that the cheapest datalogging luxmeter available?
> 
> I got my "normal" luxmeter for like... $20..... hahaha


there are lots of cheaper options on ebay, I guess..
the USB connection made it more expensive, as I guess you could go with an older serial port type. .. extech's a name brand, so the price is automatically high.

ebay, I guess you'd be able to score a no-name datalogging luxmeter for less than 100$? they should work fine. 
When I want to purchase equipment, I try to go for the good stuff (which is expensive). 
well.. the best stuff would probably be something like this
http://cpfreviews.com/Gossen-Mavolux-5032-B-USB-Lightmeter.php

but no way in heck can I afford that.


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## Dioni (Sep 27, 2009)

Thanks Craig!


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## CGD08 (Sep 29, 2009)

Hey bud nice review! :thumbsup:
I told you the LED would be misaligned! :nana:
Too bad for me, would have been cool to have reviewed the LF.

Nice!


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## UpChUcK (Oct 6, 2009)

csshih said:


> Now come the bad news.
> I was a bit disappointed when I fired up the masterpiece, and went white wall hunting. I've been spoiled by the L950's perfect beam, and had expected the masterpiece to follow in it's footsteps. Sadly, this is not so.
> taking it outside, though, made it vanish, and my worries disappear. oh, how us flashaholics are concerned over such small things that practically aren't important.Oddly enough, I couldn't easily capture it on camera-- you'd have to see it in real life. The donut hole is annoying if you use a MC-E light around the house
> The LED is misscentered slightly, as you can somewhat see in the photos.there isn't much change I can detect in the beam.



What may I ask is "wrong" with the beam? Looking at your wall beamshots, it looks good. Am I missing something? :shrug:


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## csshih (Oct 6, 2009)

"Oddly enough, I couldn't easily capture it on camera-- you'd have to see it in real life." Yeah.. I can detect it with my eyes, but I can't seem to get the camera to see it.:shrug:
I might try to get it again sometime, but I've been busy-ish lately.


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## TechnoBill (Oct 6, 2009)

So Craig , I went on a Doughnut Quest, and did find the elusive mark of the quad die emitter. Oddly enough, I can now make it out (see it) at 20 to 30 meters outside when on 10% aiming at white siding. Also, on interior walls I need to modify my statement from my Test Drive that indicated the spill area was absolutely consistent. While the actual spill is very uniform, the "tactical" ridges of the polished bezel create corresponding reflections just outside the opposite side of the main hot spot.

Obviously I was subject to a slight Flashahol Frenzy due to my overall high degree of satisfaction with the SolarForce Masterpiece. I definitely am pleased with the Masterpiece. For those on the fence (undecided), I'd encourage you to pull the trigger on these while they're still available. I zoned the 950 and regretted it. But NO regrets as a result of pouncing on this one despite the opposite side of the globe air mail delays. Time is on my side.


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## csshih (Oct 6, 2009)

once you actually start looking, you start to always notice :sick2:

PS: I got my Extech HD450 for runtimes.. but the memory module is defect :awww:

as for the artifacts, the camera actually barely catches them




you have to look pretty closely.


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## StandardBattery (Jan 23, 2010)

Hi, I was just wondering which of the exposures is closest to what you see with your eye?


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## csshih (Jan 24, 2010)

depends on how night adjusted your eyes are!

if you've been outside in the dark for an hour, taking beamshots, and have only been seeing quick flashes of light, then close to 2 seconds, but.. I think it'll be closer to 1 second normally. everyone will see it differently.


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## maxilux (Jan 24, 2010)

Thanks for nice review.
My first Impression was OLight+Tiablo= Solarforce.


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## shipwreck (Jun 9, 2010)

I posted another thread asking about the comparison, but then I just found this thread...

Would you choose a Solarforce Masterpiece or EagleTac M2XC4 MKII?


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## smfranke (Jul 16, 2010)

I've done quite a bit of looking but I can't find the answers to these 2 questions:

Is the Masterpiece head the same as the Masterpiece Pro 1 but with a different emitter?...NEVERMIND...I just found a pic with both items in it. They're clearly different.

That still leaves me wondering....

Can the Masterpiece head fit on a Solarforce L2 (or similar) body?

Thanks!


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## Nokoff (Jul 17, 2010)

so how far does the Masterpiece actully
throw, Im having a lot of trouble deciding between this and the JB M1X





smfranke said:


> That still leaves me wondering....
> 
> Can the Masterpiece head fit on a Solarforce L2 (or similar) body?
> Thanks!


the head is not 6p compatible, Tho I believe the tailcap is....


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## Nokoff (Jul 25, 2010)

I just ordered this torch. I'll find out for myself how well it throws. I have a feeling that it'll have a tighter hotspot than my TK40. My Skyline I is great for scanning the property through the trees, I doubt the Masterpiece will succeed either for their specific duties, rather will find it's own thrower duty.

I have a feeling I'll be very happy with it either way, I love the feel of the big, square knurling on my Skyline I, and the Masterpiece has a lot more of the same.


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## smfranke (Jul 25, 2010)

Thanks for the info Nokoff


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## nofearek9 (May 20, 2014)

hello,i know its a very very old topic ,does anyone has a picture of the driver of this ? I just need the side of the battery.


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