Got this Fenix Digital L0D Q4 OLIVE courtesy of 4sevens at the Fenix-Store.
The Q4 L0D is rated on plain alkaline or NiMH AAA at 75 lumens on its High/max - this is almost "ridiculous" for a single AAA light.
Size, new anodized Color, and Heads -
The Olive anodization looks nice -it's not that obviously green - but almost like a grey with green overtones?
It isn't that obvious in the photo - but the Q4 has a plain reflector -whereas both the L0D-RB80 and the L1Dce-Q5 have orange peel reflectors.
The L0D-RB80 is rated at 60 lumens for its max so the Q4 version at 75 lumens is 25% brighter - can one see this?
vs. Fenix L0D-RB80 both on NiMH (AAA eneloop), and High/Max -
Fairly obviously yes - the Q4 version has a more concentrated beam which also helps showing this to be brighter.
Notice the Rebel RB80 edition has a much smoother beam, and its tint is slightly better (still a bit cool for my liking).
I was a bit surprised to see the notorious Cree dark halo on the Q4, and the beam was a bit ringy - I thought the plain Fenix L0D-CE didn't have much of those problems .......
Is the Low on the Q4 L0D the same as the Low on the RB80?
No, it's about the same magnitude brighter similar to the High/max comparison.
(please remember these are comparison beamshots and are only valid for the beams in the same photo, and not comparable between separate photos - it's pretty obvious the beamshot of the L0Ds on Low is not comparable to the L0Ds on High - since the two beamshots look almost the same!)
This is a case of when brighter is not necessarily better - since most people want a low that would disturb less, attract less attention - so a lower/dimmer low mode would be better - but the difference isn't that large that one need to complain.
Compare to a 1x AA light -
vs. Fenix L1D-Q5 both on NiMH and max/High/Turbo -
Not surprisningly a Q5 and a beefier battery would be brighter.
BUT note the Q5 L1D is rated at 120 lumens on Turbo - this is supposed to be 60% brighter - pretty significant.
The Q5 without a doubt is brighter - but is that obvious in the beamshots? (and camera is more critical in being able to show differences)
vs. L1D-Q5 both on Low -
again about the same magitude brighter similar to the max/High/Turbo comparison.
The Q5's tint is a bit nicer - but both show the dark halo and are a bit ringy - this is despite the orange peel reflector on the Q5, and the reflector that hides the silver colored (aluminum?) surround on the Q4.
The L0D-Q4 is a real pocket rocket - 75 lumens - only a few years ago this was strived for on a premium Luxeon III or even V and then only using lithium batteries .....
Now we can have 75 lumens on a single humble AAA battery - but also with multi-levels of brightness -
so the light is not only brighter - but more versatile.
The Q4 L0D is rated on plain alkaline or NiMH AAA at 75 lumens on its High/max - this is almost "ridiculous" for a single AAA light.
Size, new anodized Color, and Heads -
The Olive anodization looks nice -it's not that obviously green - but almost like a grey with green overtones?
It isn't that obvious in the photo - but the Q4 has a plain reflector -whereas both the L0D-RB80 and the L1Dce-Q5 have orange peel reflectors.
The L0D-RB80 is rated at 60 lumens for its max so the Q4 version at 75 lumens is 25% brighter - can one see this?
vs. Fenix L0D-RB80 both on NiMH (AAA eneloop), and High/Max -
Fairly obviously yes - the Q4 version has a more concentrated beam which also helps showing this to be brighter.
Notice the Rebel RB80 edition has a much smoother beam, and its tint is slightly better (still a bit cool for my liking).
I was a bit surprised to see the notorious Cree dark halo on the Q4, and the beam was a bit ringy - I thought the plain Fenix L0D-CE didn't have much of those problems .......
Is the Low on the Q4 L0D the same as the Low on the RB80?
No, it's about the same magnitude brighter similar to the High/max comparison.
(please remember these are comparison beamshots and are only valid for the beams in the same photo, and not comparable between separate photos - it's pretty obvious the beamshot of the L0Ds on Low is not comparable to the L0Ds on High - since the two beamshots look almost the same!)
This is a case of when brighter is not necessarily better - since most people want a low that would disturb less, attract less attention - so a lower/dimmer low mode would be better - but the difference isn't that large that one need to complain.
Compare to a 1x AA light -
vs. Fenix L1D-Q5 both on NiMH and max/High/Turbo -
Not surprisningly a Q5 and a beefier battery would be brighter.
BUT note the Q5 L1D is rated at 120 lumens on Turbo - this is supposed to be 60% brighter - pretty significant.
The Q5 without a doubt is brighter - but is that obvious in the beamshots? (and camera is more critical in being able to show differences)
vs. L1D-Q5 both on Low -
again about the same magitude brighter similar to the max/High/Turbo comparison.
The Q5's tint is a bit nicer - but both show the dark halo and are a bit ringy - this is despite the orange peel reflector on the Q5, and the reflector that hides the silver colored (aluminum?) surround on the Q4.
The L0D-Q4 is a real pocket rocket - 75 lumens - only a few years ago this was strived for on a premium Luxeon III or even V and then only using lithium batteries .....
Now we can have 75 lumens on a single humble AAA battery - but also with multi-levels of brightness -
so the light is not only brighter - but more versatile.
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