Moonlight mode--any good or just marketing?

Rixter

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I did a search but couldn't readily find a thread discussing this.

Quarks have a "moonlight" mode, which I assume only they offer.

Who here likes the moonlight mode and why?

What can you do with it?

Thanks in advance.
 

WadeF

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If you search around you will see topics talking about this. There are many lights that offer a similarly low, or lower, output.

It's VERY useful for many. It's the mode I use the most. For walking around the house at night, checking on the kids, etc, it's plenty of light once your eyes are adjusted to the dark.

Check out this topic: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/216637

I'll also add that many people find their way around in the dark with their cell phone screens as a source of light. In general these screens probably put out less light than a Quark on moon-mode, or at least, they are all flood and won't throw the light as far as the Quark on moon mode. :)
 
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jhc37013

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I did a search but couldn't readily find a thread discussing this.

Quarks have a "moonlight" mode, which I assume only they offer.

Who here likes the moonlight mode and why?

What can you do with it?

Thanks in advance.

Its really a personal preference thing, you will get 20 people who love and won't buy a light without it and then you will get 20 people who hate it.

To find out you really need to own a light for awhile to see if you use it often enough.
 

MikeV

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+1 to what Wade said, infact, I find the moonmode on my Quark AA a little to bright at times.
 

DimeRazorback

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I use it every now and then.
Good for going around the house half asleep :)

Especially when sick :laughing:
 

OfficerCamp

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Moonlight is awesome. It's funny, when I first got my Quark, I said "0.2 lumens? I'll never use that!" Long story short, I have grown to love it; sometimes even low modes (around 5 lumens) are too high, 0.2 lumens is actually pretty bright under the right circumstances (sometimes I wish it was even lower if that's even possible).
 

TooManyGizmos

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Maybe you won't understand till you try it yourself.

If you're not a night person - you may not need it.

But it's also handy in restaurants and such dimly lit places.

It's also the right brightness for removing things from your eye .
.
 

NoFair

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I use the really low modes a lot when I'm out in the wilderness (field biologist). When your eyes are adapted to darkness you need very little light to find things in your pack or stuff in your tent. Runtime is also outrageously good;)

Sverre
 

sygyzy

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Before it was all about the brightest lights and in some ways it still is but we've long ago reached the point of "enough" light. You don't want to carry a 2000 lumen spotlight around the house if you are just going to the restroom or something. Too much light really ends up hurting you more than helping. Now users are more interested in the UI, the different modes, fit and finish, over the max brightness. At least I am. I love moonlight mode, low, or whatever you want to call it. I actually hate it when lights only have one or two (bright and brighter) modes.
 

LUPARA

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In short; it's marketing. I agree with it's usefulness, no problem. Calling it "moonlight mode" is brilliant. If the "moonlight" is on a light that has an incredibly bright high or turbo mode; then it follows that we should also have the ability to go from "moonlight" to the brightest level instantly, without two-handed use; maybe an additional switch?

My next flashlight will be a Quark.
 

JeffInChi

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very useful.

  • reading
  • checking on the baby in the crib
  • trying to illuminate/signal something without wanting to be seen from further away (tactical applications)
  • illuminating something without ruining your night vision
  • working in a light sensitive environment (dark room, biology labs etc)
 

Yapo

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Yeah i think its somthing u have to experience...the lower it is the more u'll appreciate what u can see with such a little amount of light.

u'll be suprised just how bright it looks and as some ppl have said even 0.2 lumens can even be too bright for some!
 

defloyd77

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+1 to what Wade said, infact, I find the moonmode on my Quark AA a little to bright at times.

+1, personally it's either too bright/tightly focused or too dim for my usual uses. The use that it's too bright and tight, my Photon Rex's lowest level was perfect in both aspects. Plus those who are used to reading emitter lumens like me will think .2 lumens (OTF) is dimmer than it actually is.
 

berry580

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At night pitch black, do some white wall hunting. To a truly night adapted vision (for me), 'moonlight' is almost too much light, although still acceptable.
I did a search but couldn't readily find a thread discussing this.

Quarks have a "moonlight" mode, which I assume only they offer.

Who here likes the moonlight mode and why?

What can you do with it?

Thanks in advance.
 

Swedpat

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I like the moonlight mode on my Quarks. I use it when I don't want to destroy night vision, and when I don't want to be dazzled with dark adapted eyes.
When I want to read at close distance it's great. Also when I don't want to draw attention.

Actually - believe it or not - sometimes I had wished an even lower low mode than 0,2lumens. When I was on a starparty some month ago I tried to see in the darkness among amateur astronomers with their telescopes. But the moonmode felt actually too bright in that case to not disturb.

0,2 lumens may be a low brightness, but makes it possible to see and locate at least 10 meters distance in total darkness. That does mean 0,02lumens would be more than adequate to read a note in the hand.
When I in this moment hold my Quark and shine against my eye at ca 20cm distance it's actually a bit dazzling. And now it's daylight.
It's all about purpose and distance.

Regards, Patric
 

Moka

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I love the moonlight mode... Really handy for middle of the night... Wake up middle of the night, I never use anything over 1lumen... IMHO Moonlight mode is quite important in an EDC, in other lights it's put in I find it quite useless or pointless... YMMV
 

DM51

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When I got my SureFire T1A, I thought I would find no use for the lowest setting (I'm not sure what it is, but it is as low as they get - maybe 0.01 lumens or something). You can stare straight into it during the daytime, and it is very dim indeed - it doesn't look as if it will be any possible use.

But if you need to see your way around the house at nightime without disturbing others who are asleep, which in my case is very important as there is one thing that is a very bad idea indeed and that is to disturb Mrs. DM51 when she is asleep lol, this moon-mode is perfectly adequate.
 

lightplay22

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I keep my HDS U-60 on my bedside table set to the lowest setting (I think its 0.3 or 0.03 lumens) and it works great when I first wake up as I cannot stand hardly any light for a few minutes or so. VERY useful also in a dark place such as a theater as it will not be noticed by others.
 

Closet_Flashaholic

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I use moonlight mode quite a bit. Almost as much as the higher modes on my Quark.

It is a good marketing name, however the Quark's moonlight level is just about the same as my original Gladius' lowest level, so for me this is really nothing new at all - other than the much smaller form-factor (which is very nice). I have had my Gladius for at least 6 or 7 years. But Blackhawk just didn't give it a name. It's all in the name, I guess.

+1 on wishing for something a little less than 0.2 lumens. Maybe 0.02? Even 0.2 lumens in pitch black is quite a bit of light for most people's night-adjusted vision.
 

tsmith35

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Moonlight mode seems useless until you are using it to simply walk or otherwise move around in total darkness: moonless nights, garage, basement, power failure, finding dropped items in tent, etc. Draws so little power that batteries will last for days, even if in need of a charge.

It's also a good way to see without totally destroying your night vision.
 
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