Copper Maratac CR123 first impressions

I just received a Copper Maratac CR123 that I purchased for a friend. Here are some photos and basic info from my homebrew light meter, and what my iPhone sees when checking for PWM. This seems to be a Constant Current light, because I do not see dots when waving the light. But, if you watch the video below of me waving the light you see long streak of light, followed by a gap, and another long steak of light. I think this is not true PWM but instead it is Constant Current Ripple. In this CR123 Maratac, the circuit seems to keep the light on for a longer interval than the Off cycle. My camera sees a lot of circuit noise, more than with the Olights, but my eyes did not notice visible flicker.

Low 14 lumens
medium 61 lumens
high 238 lumens

weight w CR123 battery 93 grams


the box


sealed inside


shiny!


size compared to Rose Gold Copper Olight S Mini


and their breams on low


video test of waving the light on low mode, no dots, just streaks with gaps between them:


extreme closeups using iPhone 8, show Maratac CR123 constant current ripple on low and medium, not on high. The Olight shows it on moon, not pictured, on Low, pictured, and not on medium, pictured nor hi









Impressions:
This is a beautiful copper flashlight, it feels great in hand, and the action is buttery smooth, and easy to operate one handed fresh out of the box. There is no visible flicker in actual use, and the 3 modes are well spaced at useful brightness levels. The deep reflector has a beautiful orange peel finish, and the LED is perfectly centered.

There is a keyring lug, but I would be more likely to carry it in a dedicated pocket, or in some sort of protective soft sheath. As a copper flashlight lover, this light feels wonderful to hold, and brings a smile to my face.

What's the tint like on your light?

depends on the application and environment,

tint can seem to change relative to the white balance of the environment

Im guessing the Color temperature is about 6000k Cool White, and the tint has green elements, like most other low CRI cool white cree LEDs
here is a relative comparison, based on what the camera sees.. If only one light is used, the brain will adapt to make it look white


during the times when my brain is adapted to sunlight, 6000k is white and most of the green portion is not obvious, since sunlight has a lot of green also

during times when my brain is adapted to 3000k incandescent, which has a lot of Red and not as much green in it, the 6000k looks bluer and greener, like this example of a 3000k incandescent, with a couple 6000k lights.. again, tint is relative to white balance, this photo was taken at night, the white balance is automatic, I would guesstimate its at about 4000k:


same lights, but photo taken during the day, notice how much "whiter" the cool white lights look in a daylight white balance that I guesstimate is at about 5500k


tell me a little more about your personal application for a light, what features are important to you, and which features does the CR123 Maratac have that interest you?

---
LED techbabble
the XP-G3 in the Maratac is one of the latest and most bright per watt. It is a design that emits light not only from the face of the LED, but also from the sides, and these two sources do not have identical colors. maukka refers to the tint variation across the XP-G3 beam as a "rainbow" of color. I agree the tint across the beam is not consistent, and greatly respect his reviews, but I have become more tint tolerant lately, and I actually carry and enjoy an Olight S1 Mini High CRI with an XP-G3 LED that he pointed out is also very green tinted..

The tint variation across the beam is more obvious when comparing beams on a wall, and less obvious when the light is in actual use. I wish the LED was a Nichia, but, that would cost lumens. I love my Nichia lights, but Im also giving cool white LEDs a chance. I would not use a low CRI LED to check if a steak is done, but they work fine to spot the dog across the street.

The Maratac optic pushes the light into a beam with a strong hotspot that throws well, as the reflector is deep, and imo quite beautifully textured.

The light would work well to light up the path to a car in a parking lot, but not so well once inside the car at arms length since the lowest mode is somewhat brighter than the low mode on for example a Maratac AAA, even though they share the same 5 lumen spec, they are not the same.

It was a suprise for me that the lowest mode measured considerably more than the 5 lumen spec, Maratacs tend to have lumen claims that I am unable to duplicate on my meter. I dont know how they come up with their numbers.

Has anyone used a 3.7v long term in one of these? I know they advise against it.

SNES said:

Has anyone used a 3.7v long term in one of these? I know they advise against it.

Click to expand...

I have not, but google knows some who have.. try this link

Let us know how it works for you

Thanks for the passive aggressive response! I have looked up (and read) threads on the subject, but never read anything conclusive. Just people who were going to try it. Also, I may be relatively new here, but I try and answer the small percentage of questions I can. Look at my past posts. This level of pettiness over a simple question is only directed at newer people on here, and only discourages them from posting at all.

*edit*
Funny thing is, if you read those "let me google that for you" links, not a single one has a post from a person who has done this long term with no issues. Sure people throw a 16340 in and report that it turns on, but that is not what I'm asking. Here is an example:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Cu)-CR123-XM-L-LED-Flashlight-Available/page2

I will try one long term in mine, and if someone down the line asks me how it went, I wont hesitate to answer, because I like talking about flashlights. Cheers

SNES said:

Thanks for the passive aggressive response!

Click to expand...

you seem to not "get" my sense of humor and feel offended

here is the post that link I gave you uncovered.. maybe you had not seen it
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ht-Available&p=4120627&viewfull=1#post4120627

tobrien said:

i just got back to my computer and I have. I used AW 16340s (750 mAh, 4.2v, etc) and I didn't not perceive any output difference. This is exactly how my old ZebraLight SC51 was, same output on primaries as li-ion secondaries.

your mileage may vary, of course.

I have the XP-G version, by the way. Apparently some people got XM-Ls but runtime was less and output was lower than an XP-G is what I've heard privately.

Click to expand...

but ultimately, as you can see, nobody knows the answer to your question.. soooo... I hope you do your own test and let us know the answer to your question

jon_slider said:

you seem to not "get" my sense of humor and feel offended


but ultimately, as you can see, nobody knows the answer to your question.. soooo... I hope you do your own test and let us know the answer to your question

Click to expand...

Sooooo you can see that the question hasn't been answered. So I'm not just asking a question that has been answered a million times. So a google search doesn't really mean anything except to say "google it newb". Why not just let someone answer who maybe HAS tried since then. I really don't care if it goes unanswered, but "google it newb" doesn't help.

sorry for the thread drift.

actually, what I was trying to say is Yes, someone tried it, theres the link and the quote, so now please let us know if you try it..

please dont be so defensive, Im just trying to help.. Im really a nice guy, not out to get you.. really

lets be friends, I will send you a PM and we can work out any misunderstanding

That's all fine, but the quoted person says nothing beyond a test and lack of output difference. Not what I'm asking. Nor am i being defensive. I'll move it to PMs though.

I do not know the answer to your question, from direct personal experience.

This is all the info I could find. 2 people have used 16340 in a CR123 Maratac, and did not report any damage. However, that was a long time ago, I do not know if it will work with the present model.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ht-Available&p=4120627&viewfull=1#post4120627

tobrien said:

I used AW 16340s (750 mAh, 4.2v, etc)

Click to expand...

http://budgetlightforum.com/comment/778958#comment-778958

WWEFANS said:

<p>

Billy X said:

I just joined and voted for the CR123.By way,does it take 16340's?

Click to expand...

</p><p>Mine takes the unprotected 16340.</p>

Click to expand...

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/36158

WWEFANS said:

Got this one today, really excited. But it wouldn't fit a protected 16340,
so I removed the protection PCB.Now everything is fine and brighter.

Click to expand...

I do not plan to test the new model with 16340, that will be up to you to decide to do or not.

fwiw, Maratac AAA lights also say not to use LiIon, and there are also people that do it anyway. Some report no damage, others claim they tried and now their light is not working.. so, I leave it to you if you feel like gambling, to test for yourself.

Thank you. I've been searching for a while to find someone who said they have been using them in this light for months. Nothing so far. Maybe someone will chime in. I'm going to give it a shot for a few months though. Fingers crossed

SNES said:

I'm going to give it a shot for a few months though. Fingers crossed

Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the risk in the interest of Science. I hope all goes well and that you share your results.

I would be interested in learning from you, after even just one day, if your CR123 Maratac operates normally with CR123, after using 16340.

Assuming there is no catastrophic damage to the Maratac itself, one of the safety concerns would be that the Maratac could overdrain an UnProtected LiIon, unless the operator behaves prudently. I recommend using a Protected LiIon.

good luck with your test, I appreciate you stepping up to help everyone else learn from your experience.

I just purchased the V3 and am wondering if its save to use one of these...... Olight RCR123A Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery (3.7V, 650mAh) ? any help is appreciated.

nacskins said:

I just purchased the V3 and am wondering if its save to use one of these...... Olight RCR123A Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery (3.7V, 650mAh) ? any help is appreciated.

Click to expand...

I used one in mine for a couple months with no issues. I never ran it on high for very long though. To be honest, I don't recommend it. Not enough of a difference on high to be worth the risk. Ended up switching back to a cr123.