# Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4200 lumens)



## kj2 (Mar 29, 2015)

_Reviewers note; This review is based on a prototype sample. It's possible that final shipping product is (slightly)different. Being a prototype, this sample came without packaging and/or accessories. 


_










As many of you know, 2014 was the year of many multi-led flashlight releases. Fenix latest multi-led flashlight, is the LD75C. Besides utilizing four Cree XM-L2 U2 leds, the LD75C also has a Cree XM-L color led.
This color led features green, red, blue and white color. Filters won't be necessary with this light 

*The packaging:

*Normally this sections shows the packaging, where the light comes in. Being a prototype, this light came without a box and accessories. 
Fenix does show a info-pic on their website that shows, that the LD75C comes in a cardboard box. Printing on the box features the light and some specification.

*Features and Specifications: *_(given by Fenix)

_·Utilizes Cree XM-L2 U2 LEDs and XM-L color LED with a lifespan of 50,000 hours
·Powered by 4 rechargeable Li-ion 18650 batteries or 8 CR123A lithium batteries
·158mm (6.22’’) x 52mm (2.04’’) x 74mm (2.91’’)
·430-gram (15.16oz) excluding batteries
·Digitally regulated output - maintains constant brightness
·Double circuit design for flexible power options and better reliability
·Reverse polarity protection guards against improper battery installation
·Over-heat protection to avoid high-temperature of the surface
·Side switches for ON/OFF and output selection
·Made of durable aircraft-grade aluminum
·Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
·Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating






While Fenix states the max output is 4200 lumens, their spec chart shows Turbo gives you max 4000 lumens. When running the light in Turbo, only four leds light-up. To get the full 4200 lumens, press and hold the C-button to turn On the color led, while the light is in Turbo.

Final packaging should include; a manual, warranty card, holster, lanyard and a spare o-ring.
























The LD75C looks similar as the TK75. Later in this review a side-by-side look 
Although, with batteries installed, it's a heavy package it does lay comfortable in the hand. Buttons are easy to operate and are different in shape and height. 
Knurling is enough to have a decent grip on the light. Besides some flat spots on the tailcap, there isn't really a anti-roll feature. 






*User Interface:

*Because Fenix uses multiple buttons to operate the light, it's a simple to understand UI.






There are three buttons to operate the LD75C. The left button, with the C indication, is for the color led. The right button, with On/Off logo, turns the light On/Off and is used for mode switching.
The lower button, with sun-indication, is for the instant Strobe and instant Turbo. Although Fenix states on the website the instant Turbo is momentary, it wasn't the case on my sample. It was instant but rather continues instead of momentary.

From Off: Press and hold the C button to turn On the color-led. Press once to cycle between the modes, for the color-led. Press twice quickly for a remaining power readout. For three seconds, the light will show if you've enough power or if it's time to charge the batteries. Constant Green shows sufficient power level. Constant Blue is High power level. Constant Red is low power level. Blinking red is critical power level, and batteries should be charged.
The LD75C has a mode memory for the color led.

From Off: Press and hold the On/Off button to turn the light On. The LD75C has a mode memory for the constant output modes. When On, click once to cycle between Eco, Low, Medium, High and Turbo. In any of these modes it's possible to also include the color led with the color white. Just press and hold the C-button.
From Off: Press the Sun-icon once for instant Strobe. Press again to turn Off the Strobe. The Strobe varies between frequency. 
Press and hold the Sun-icon to enter instant Turbo. A single click will turn the light Off.
When On: press Sun-icon for instant Strobe or press and hold for instant Turbo. Press button again to return to previous output level.

There is no lock-out mode, on the LD75C.
















The LD75C doesn't need battery carrier to accommodate the batteries. On both ends of the battery is a spring to absorb any shocks. The two raised metal pins also feature a spring action. The
pins will line-up the tailcap properly. Four little icons show how to insert the batteries.














The tailcap has two large cut-outs to attach a lanyard. Yes, it does tail stand 

A look at head with the leds and reflector.









As you can see, the reflector part for the color-led has been textured for a smoother beam. When using the color-led you don't have a smooth round shaped beam. Mainly because you've one reflector and four leds. (i.e. led doesn't line-up precisely with the reflector). The bezel is made out of stainless steel and has a nice (dark)gray color.

The leds were quite good centered in my sample.

















Being a prototype there are a few machining marks on the light.
It looks like there is enough metal around the head area to manage heat. A test run on my desk, at room temperature showed the following result: Before start-up three batteries where at 4.16V, one at 4.15V.
After 5 minutes there was no step down. Light was hot at the head but only warm at the battery compartment. After 10 minutes the light still didn't step down. At this point the light was to hot to hold comfortably. 
I also turned-Off the light at that point. Battery readout was; 2x 3.97V, 1x 3.98V and 1x 3.99V (measured with a Voltcraft VC175 multimeter).

*Size comparison:


*







From left to right; Olight SR52vn, Fenix LD75C, Fenix TK75.

LD75C and TK75 next to each other 






*Indoor Beamshots:
*ISO100, 1/100 sec, f/4.0 - Canon 500D. Light approx 0.25m / Camera 0.75m away from wall. Eagletac 18650 (3100mAh) batteries were used.

























Don't know why or how it happened, but in the photo of the Blue-color, there is also red visible. During the use of the Blue-led I didn't see any Red at all.















































*Outdoor Beamshots:
*ISO400, 0.8 sec, f/4 - Turbo mode. Path about 80 meters deep. Picture isn't sharply focused.










*Conclusion:
*
The LD75C packs quite a punch in that little package. Although it's not that throwy as the TK75, it does provide a nice wide bright beam. Built quality speaks for it self, as it is a Fenix light.
UI will be simply to understand for most. Some may prefer a single-button UI, but that would make this light way too complicated in my opinion. The color-led is a nice feature to have, and I used it more
than I expected when I received this sample. Colors are brighter than the known 5mm leds and are useful enough for a 3-6 meters in front of you.
The battery power indication is a feature what most will appreciate, but a lockout mode still isn't present. With the tailcap loosened two and a half turns, my sample still stays On.
All in all, the LD75C is another great addition in the Fenix line-up. 

_LD75C was supplied by KATO Group for review, on behalf of Fenix._


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## Tac Gunner (Mar 29, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

Thank you for the review. I have had my eye on this since the 2015 catalog was released. I love Fenix and have been wanting a 3500+ lumen flood light so this is the best of both worlds. The color is just icing on the cake as well as the great ui, I hate single buttons. This will be my first 18650 light for sure, now just to decide whether to get a stock one or wait and see what magic Vinh can work.


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## kj75 (Mar 30, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

Thanks for your review! A lot of (beam)shots and a nice comparison with the tk75-brother


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## haro (Mar 30, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

Thank you for the review. 
I have already the TK75 but the new LD75c seems to be very interesting. It is a little smaller and with less weight and has more lumen.
The UI is not so complicated as I thought at the first.


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## ven (Mar 30, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

Great review and thanks for sharing,wow i cant believe how compact it is,i was expecting the head to be similar to the tk75.........

Length wise other than head,its similar to the sr52 which imo is quite a compact medium light..........pretty amazing package is this.

Still not tempted though.........




yet!


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## kj2 (Mar 30, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

Thanks all 

Ven: compared with the TK75, it's small indeed. When I first heard about this light, I was expecting it to be around the same size. Specially the head. Battery-tube of the SR52 is slightly smaller, but that's because it runs on 1 battery less, of course


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## bladesmith3 (Mar 30, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

can it run with flat top batteries?


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## kj2 (Mar 30, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*



bladesmith3 said:


> can it run with flat top batteries?



I'm sure it can. At the head end it's all springs, and contact points in the tailcap are raised too.


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## NoNotAgain (Mar 31, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

By the look of things, unless Fenix has protected the light with a reverse polarity devise I don't see, this looks like a light waiting to be fried.

Normally lights that have solid contact points like in the tail cap indicate that they are the positive terminals.







Your picture shows 2 cells with positive facing up and 2 facing down. Was this done intentionally or is this the battery lay out?


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## kj2 (Mar 31, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*



NoNotAgain said:


> By the look of things, unless Fenix has protected the light with a reverse polarity devise I don't see, this looks like a light waiting to be fried.
> 
> Normally lights that have solid contact points like in the tail cap indicate that they are the positive terminals.
> 
> Your picture shows 2 cells with positive facing up and 2 facing down. Was this done intentionally or is this the battery lay out?


The light has a reverse polarity protection guards against improper battery installation, and the batteries are correct installed in that picture. That's the lay out.
Little logos between the batteries indicate, in which direction the batteries have to be inserted.


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## NoNotAgain (Mar 31, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*



kj2 said:


> The light has a reverse polarity protection guards against improper battery installation, and the batteries are correct installed in that picture. That's the lay out.
> Little logos between the batteries indicate, in which direction the batteries have to be inserted.



I'll bet you that Fenix unless they make a change to the battery compartment is going to get a lot of these lights back for fried drivers.

This pic shows the springs inside the light.






This pic shows the small marking of battery polarity. 








I don't see any type of a mechanical method to keep the cells from being installed incorrectly.

I recall Venh stating that he had fried a TM06 due to battery polarity. That light had two springs for the negative contacts inside the light with two buttons for the positive contacts. The tail cap had two springs for the negatives and two flats for the positive contacts.


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## kj2 (Mar 31, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*



NoNotAgain said:


> I'll bet you that Fenix unless they make a change to the battery compartment is going to get a lot of these lights back for fried drivers.
> 
> This pic shows the springs inside the light. ...
> 
> ...



IIRC, I've other Fenix lights which have polarity protection without having it visible. Indication is clear for me, and the manual is probably very clear on how to insert the batteries.

There are more lights which have springs on both end. You wouldn't put a battery the wrong way in a 1x 18650 light, would you?


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## NoNotAgain (Mar 31, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*



kj2 said:


> IIRC, I've other Fenix lights which have polarity protection without having it visible. Indication is clear for me, and the manual is probably very clear on how to insert the batteries.
> 
> There are more lights which have springs on both end. You wouldn't put a battery the wrong way in a 1x 18650 light, would you?



*kj2, 

*I've only got five Fenix lights, 2 TK41's, a TK61, a TK75 and a TK75vnKT. All of these lights use a battery carrier. In every case, the negative terminal is a spring contact. The positive contact is a button. I don't have to look for the installation pictograph for polarity as the light uses the typical spring on negative, button on positive arraignment.

IMO, Fenix screwed up by designing this light with four springs inside the light for both negative and positive contacts.

And as for inserting a battery in a single cell 18650 light, I can't say without seeing the light in question. I do have a couple of cheep CR123 lights that use a reversed cell configuration. Those lights just don't turn on if the cell is in backwards.


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## kj2 (Apr 1, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*



NoNotAgain said:


> *kj2,
> 
> *I've only got five Fenix lights, 2 TK41's, a TK61, a TK75 and a TK75vnKT. All of these lights use a battery carrier. In every case, the negative terminal is a spring contact. The positive contact is a button. I don't have to look for the installation pictograph for polarity as the light uses the typical spring on negative, button on positive arraignment.
> 
> IMO, Fenix screwed up by designing this light with four springs inside the light for both negative and positive contacts.


It may require some more attention when inserting the batteries. When I first received the light, without any manual, I also didn't know how to correctly insert the batteries. After a look on the LD75C product page, it was clear to me. But that's only because it didn't come with a manual.

Yes, we normally expect a spring at one end, and a solid contact at the other when dealing with multiple cells. Just something to keep in mind, when using this light.


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## kj2 (Apr 1, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

Update on the UI: it's possible to turn On the color led, white color, in any constant output mode. So when in Turbo mode, and you turn On the color led, you'll get the full 4200 lumens output.


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## bladesmith3 (Apr 3, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

I think that most non flashaholic's will automatically assume that the springs are the negative end. I just asked a friend who said he would have thought the same thing. just an opinion.


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## kj2 (Apr 4, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*



bladesmith3 said:


> I think that most non flashaholic's will automatically assume that the springs are the negative end. I just asked a friend who said he would have thought the same thing. just an opinion.


It's different than normal, indeed. But that's why it comes with a manual


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## newbie66 (Apr 8, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

Crap, I thought I've commented on this post. It seems I did not. Got somewhat confused with other posts.

Anyway thanks a lot kj2! Really appreciate it!


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## kj2 (Apr 8, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*



newbie66 said:


> Anyway thanks a lot kj2! Really appreciate it!


:thumbsup:


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## Grijon (Apr 8, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

Great review, thank you kj2!


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## PolarLi (May 2, 2015)

*Re: Review: Fenix LD75C (4x XM-L2, XM-L color, 4x 18650/8x CR123a, 4000 lumens)*

Thanks for the review! I think I need one of these


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