4Sevens Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

Greetings Everyone,

Up for review is the Quark RGB Cool White, the first full production flashlight to use the Cree MC-E in RGB.

Here are some of the specs from 4sevens.com

• Battery Type: 2 CR123A
• Moonlight: 0.4 lm, 650 hours, 1 ma (All lumen outputs OTF)
• Low: 2.8 lm, 130 hours, 10 ma
• Med: 15.0 lm, 25 hours, 50 ma
• High: 58.4 lm, 7.5 hours, 250 ma
• Turbo: 150 lm, 2 hours, 700 ma
• SOS: 22.5 hours,Strobe: 4 hours, Beacon: 20 hours

Note: the light was provided by 4Sevens for evaluation.

Onward, shall we?

I've been neglecting packaging and acessories on some of my reviews lately soley because they were pretty much lacking. 4Sevens lights all have pretty good packaging, and I wanted to bring this to attention.




lanyard, batteries, orings, holster, and even a hand grip are included






the 4Sevens quark line of lights use square threading, this threading is more expensive, but stronger. It prevents cross threading and increases lifetime.






quark RGB head pictured next to a mini123 head. the driver is huge!

Size Comparisons:


Comparison Beamshots:
this light is in a class of it's own! comparison beamshots wouldn't work very well.

White Wall Shots:
Shutter Speed is not specified -- the white wall shots are meant to show artifacts, rings, etc in the beam, not for brightness comparison.













Outdoor Beamshots:
lots of fun here.
4Sevens Quark RGB WHITE 2xCR123A



4Sevens Quark RGB RED 2xCR123A



4Sevens Quark RGB GREEN 2xCR123A



4Sevens Quark RGB BLUE 2xCR123A



Impressions
The Quark RGB is one of the latest developments by 4Sevens, implementing a multi color MC-E LED.
Standard MC-E LEDs have 4 white dies, but every die on the RGB MC-E is a different color, Red, green, blue, and your choice of cool or warm white.

The light doesn't ever light up all the dies at once due to heat concerns. Only 1 die will be lit at any time: the standard white output is achieved by tightening the bezel. Loosening the bezel will give you one of the color modes, and a quick tap at the tailcap changes modes. The light will memorize what brightness you set the white mode on, and it will memorize what brightness you set the color mode on. The mode memory is for all of the colors at once, not individual (I hope that made sense, it's a bit hard to explain)

The Quark RGB is pretty much a standard Quark body, all the important circuitry is in the head, which is compatible on other quark bodies.Fit and finish are excellent, knurling and anodizing is perfect on my sample. The only annoyance I have is on the engraving of the light. The lasering is not as well done as some of the other lights I've handled.

Onto the output: the light is a pure flooder, but there are artifacts in the beam due to the emitter itself. The dome of the emitter is large and offset when taken from one die's perspective, and this causes the odd beam within a beam and artifact nearer the center. Otherwise, the output is superb. Pure monochromatic light isn't really commonly seen in flashlights as it is rather limiting, but with the color MC-E LED, the primary colors can be seen separately from one LED.

While this light is very fun to play with (quoting a standard TV commercials -- It provides hours and hours of endless fun!!) ,it also comes with a relatively hefty price tag -- 100USD.

The question I'm posing to the community: Is the light actually useful, or a gimmick? What do you use the color modes for?

Thank you for reading!

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

csshih said:

The question I'm posing to the community: Is the light actually useful, or a gimmick? What do you use the color modes for?

Click to expand...

+1
I don't need it but to those who actually do, i think this light would be awesome.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

Thanks for another fine review.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

I would use the red for astronomy, but would have little use for the other colours.

While it would definitely be useful to have red and white in the same torch, there is also a strong argument for having two separate lights - that way you can't inadvertently fire up the wrong one: a blast of white light whilst others are observing is a great way to make yourself unpopular ! I'd also have little use for the blinky modes.

So it's probably going to depend on the exact details of how the switching works - in particular how easy it is to switch between red and white without finding yourself on one of the other colours.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

Great light, great review! :thumbsup:

Thanks Craig!

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

Thank you guys for your support!

Regarding color switching-- I'm afraid you can't switch between only 2 specific colors... The color switching works as follows:

white - red - white - green - white - blue - repeat. (it starts wherever you left off)

thus, if you go to white after you were on red mode, you need to go through 5 more twists to get back to red.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

In my work in failure analysis I have used various flashlights and blue and green were quite handy. We were making our own blue LED modified lights for a while for optics inspection and several of the optics engineers wanted one. The shorter wavelengths help to see smaller and smaller particles and cracks and crazing and other things that might be missed under white light. I have taken a whole series of photos at work of optical coatings using white, green and blue (individually) flashlights to show the surface defects. So in one respect this thing would be quite handy to a guy like me.

However, as a true inspection/analysis tool I would say this. And this is for the vendor more than any one else. Instead of white light as the fourth option I would say put the UV die in there instead. Having the specialty flashlight with UV, Blue, Green, Red in one light for special purposes on the grounds that some one would probably already have the "regular" white light output flashlight and wouldn't need that on the specialty one might work better.

You did a good job as usual with this review CS.

As a custom inspection tool no one would really care that the beam patterns of the UV, Blue, Green or Red outputs is somewhat offcenter and not an optimum circular beam pattern. I would then say it sure doesn't need strobe or SOS modes. Being able to turn on blue and green and green and red together would be a must. I understand the power consumption and heat concerns and the answer is, that they don't have to turn on together in full power modes. Since this is a dimmable light, it should be made to turn on combinations of 2 LEDs at a time from 50% power level or less.

Also I doubt that the lumens output ratings of the colors are all the same as white even if the input power to each die is identical, they can't all have the same lumens outputs due to the photopic curve response and die output efficiencies.

At work I have UV light sources which includes a company issued deep UV flashlight. I also have 2 of my own UV flashlights, not as good as what the company issued or the regular blacklight fluorescent tubes in output, but they are highly portable. Then I have green, red, and blue LED flashlights, small green and red lasers (great for looking for cracks through semi translucent ceramics, glass, opal diffusers) that I have all used from time to time. All have come in handy for one application or another, mostly in studying glass or plastic optical assemblies or breaks in fiber optic cable bundles. Having one good power flashlight that does all of that in one pocket would be worth the $100.00.

Since a lot of military display equipment is green light output, having a pure green LED light output has come in handy.

Hope this info helps someone.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

MrGman said:

Being able to turn on blue and green and green and red together would be a must. I understand the power consumption and heat concerns and the answer is, that they don't have to turn on together in full power modes. Since this is a dimmable light, it should be made to turn on combinations of 2 LEDs at a time from 50% power level or less.

Click to expand...

This could be done with a sort of pwm, but instead of on/off the pwm would switch between two colors. The UI would be a problem, the simplest solution would be to have 6 colors: R-RG-G-GB-B-BR, but does the ration between two colors always have to be 50%/50%, it would be nice to have adjustable ration!

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

Personally, this light would be much better with (3) switches around the top for colors, (1) in the rear for white and then head twists to select the overall mode.

The interactions then would be,

1) For white - use it just like a normal flashlight.
2) For colors - click on 1 or more of the colors.

The head would then switch the mode all the lights are on. Remove any blinky mode or hide them from normal use.

If heat/power is an issue then do as suggested above and make X number of active dies = default power level.

Blue for blood trails, green for fog and clarity, red to pretend I am a vampire and white as the normal flashlight mode.

If you have the head twist set to moonmode then no matter which switch you turn on, it is in moonmode.

In this way you could have (5) base modes and easily switch between them.

For the colors and white it is binary (off/on) only.

In its current form the UI is cumbersome. I can get to every color, I can get to every mode,... I can't get directly to what I want quickly or set a 'presonality' to the light that I work under.

If I do not want to be seen then being able to have the light in low/moonmode while I use all the colors without having to switch to things I do not want/need would be very useful.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

I agree with MrGman on it will be a great inspection/analysis tool if it has a UV led instead the white.
However, as I disagree the color change sequence, many here have their own preferences.

The true is that this flashlight will be GREAT with a selector ring [at least to me]

Regards,
Dioni

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

A selector ring would be awesome as well.

Either for color or mode.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

I think this light is pretty cool. what would make it REALLY cool to me and possibly put down the 100 large? If the option to turn all dies on at once was there and also if there was a cool strobe or set of strobing features which utilized all the dies in patterns. That would ROCK and my son would go nust for it and I would be buying him one for his B-day . I know it could be done. how complicated would it be to put this into the programming really?

I have a question for the reviewer Csshih. You show sets of outdoor beamshots at different shutter speeds. I am pretty ignorant on photography. Can you relate to the ignorant masses how these different photos relate to real world? In other words, which one would be the closest to the average human eye perception and be what we would see if we had the light in our own hands in our driveway and turned it on? Why show all the different shutter speeds other than that one which is the closest to what we would actually see?
Thanx for your time and efforts!!

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

To add, I would pay the $100 for the light. I paid $45 for the Coast Recon years ago.

Multiple colors and interesting modes have always been a draw for me.

To make the light useful for my applications (hunting/evasion) I would need a tweak to the UI in order to see a real value for it.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

Liteskr42 said:

I have a question for the reviewer Csshih. You show sets of outdoor beamshots at different shutter speeds. I am pretty ignorant on photography. Can you relate to the ignorant masses how these different photos relate to real world? In other words, which one would be the closest to the average human eye perception and be what we would see if we had the light in our own hands in our driveway and turned it on? Why show all the different shutter speeds other than that one which is the closest to what we would actually see?
Thanx for your time and efforts!!

Click to expand...

Thank you for all your compliments and comments, and thank you Gary for the detailed bits on the uses of different colors of light, it helps allot to have a more experienced one chime in


Well, there are a few reasons for including multiple shutter speeds.
For more detail on the beam -- for showing whats actually being hit with light, as I don't think our eyes perceive light exactly the same way a camera sensor does. Brightness also depends on how night adjusted our eyes are.

I do exactly the same set of shutter speeds in all my beamshots.. you can do comparisons with other lights that way, but with some lights, they're bright enough to over-saturate the image, so it'd be better to compare some of the dimmer shots.
Also, if there are any glaring artifacts that show up even outside, you'll see them.

For me, when my eyes have been adjusted from standing outside I see something between the first 2 pics.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

If I'm out bicycling in the evening, I intend to clip this light to a belt loop, facing backwards, as a red taillight.

The blue does make stuff fluoresce well.

Re: Quark RGB Cool White Review: Pics, beamshots, Impressions and more!

Is there any way to set the toch to flashing alternately between blue and red as police lights???
'Cause I have a chinese light and it CAN! :nana:

just kidding...

Regarding color switching-- I'm afraid you can't switch between only 2 specific colors... The color switching works as follows:

white - red - white - green - white - blue - repeat. (it starts wherever you left off)

thus, if you go to white after you were on red mode, you need to go through 5 more twists to get back to red.

Click to expand...

Bummer. That would make the light practically useless for me. I just need to go from red to white and back again.

From the video it looked as though it would only switch to the next colour if you twisted within three seconds, but it seems from what you are saying that that isn't the case.

What happens if you loosen the head while it's off ?

For example, suppose I'm on red, then switch to white and then switch off. If I loosen the head while it's off and then switch on again, what colour would I get ?

Moonshadow, thank for that idea, I never thought of switching it off before twisting the head.

Now THIS allows you to use the last color you stayed on!

So while you're on white, switch off, loosen head, switch on, and you'll have the last color mode you were on.

I can manage to do this quickly by using momentary off that these reverse clickys can do, but if I cycle too quickly, it will change brightness modes.

I'll edit my original post after I get to a computer, thanks again, moonshadow!

-Craig Shih

Great - thanks for checking that out, Craig.

You do realise what you've done though ? I was all set to save myself 99 bucks (well, Euros) . . . and now we've just got rid of my my reason for not buying one !

Moonshadow said:

You do realise what you've done though ? I was all set to save myself 99 bucks (well, Euros) . . . and now we've just got rid of my my reason for not buying one !

Click to expand...

:devil: