Fenix L0D-CE Comparison Review

[LEDninja]

When the RAW (from Orb Flashlights) first came out, it was a direct drive and ran on high only; this light must have as high or even a higher discharge rate than the L0D CE on high. Yet, I have never heard of a RAW owner having battery problems.

I do not think so.
UnknownVT measured the current on high at 1110 mA.
If we look at Newbie's voltage vs. current of thr XR-E here
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=138503
Voltage under load is 3.3V
If we substitute a Luxeon K2 for the XRE (blue line instead of red line) we see a current of only 200mA!!! at 3.3V.
Now K2 have a high Vf and the XRE low.
If I assume a LuxIII is half way between a K2 & XRE, at 3.3V I would get 650mA, within the spec..
Thus I think we can get away with DD a RAW or L0D but not the L0D CE. The Orb has the additional advantage of using smaller batteries with less oomph which would limit the voltage and current further.

I started a discussion on driving 1.5V lights with li-ons here:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=151662

 

[WildChild]

Take a look at my reply just over yours! I got 1.23A on High with L0D and 10440. Being direct-drive with those cells the Lux 3 is overdriven too! L0D and L0D-CE are Li-Ion flashlights if you want a bright primary mode and brighter low mode. High is more to impress people or very quick uses when a bright light is needed! As I said it also seems that it overdrives the 10440 cell itself too...

I do not think so.
UnknownVT measured the current on high at 1110 mA.
If we look at Newbie's voltage vs. current of thr XR-E here
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=138503
Voltage under load is 3.3V
If we substitute a Luxeon K2 for the XRE (blue line instead of red line) we see a current of only 200mA!!! at 3.3V.
Now K2 have a high Vf and the XRE low.
If I assume a LuxIII is half way between a K2 & XRE, at 3.3V I would get 650mA, within the spec..
Thus I think we can get away with DD a RAW or L0D but not the L0D CE. The Orb has the additional advantage of using smaller batteries with less oomph which would limit the voltage and current further.

I started a discussion on driving 1.5V lights with li-ons here:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=151662

 

[BrightGal]

The Orb uses an RCR2 which has about 2x the capacity of a 10440, I thought.

The RCR2 and 10440 capacities are pretty close, both arournd 320MaH.

 

[BrightGal]

LEDninja, interesting point about the difference in Vf between the Lux and Cree; but, I don't think it's enough to make a major difference regarding the light's current draw on high with a liIon battery. Both lights will draw more than 2C.

It does offer a plausible explanation why my LOD CE gets hotter much faster than my Lux-based LOD.

 

[jashhash]

Would it be possible to add a small resistor to the 10440 to limit it's draw to around 800 ma?
Also does anyone know how deeply the 10440 would be discharged before the light drops out of regulation?

 

[iowatollah]

Thank you Unknownvt and Paulr for the valuable information on the LOD-CE that should be at my door any day. My friends are becoming budding flashiholice with my Fenix hand me downs with this fast paced technology. Though I know it has been mentioned I have no idea where to buy a 10440 LI-ion? You all know why I need one. Also, does it need a dedicated charger?
Scott

 

[al2k]

...I have no idea where to buy a 10440 LI-ion? You all know why I need one. Also, does it need a dedicated charger?
Scott

I bought mine here: AW's 10440 Combo Pack

 

[tusenkonstnar]

How does the Lod-ce compare to the new Arc AAA-P?

 

[PocketBeam]

So, can the 10440 be used in the L0D? Will it just shorten the life of the LED? Or is it only safe for short bursts, i.e. under ten minutes? And I think I saw that you can only use High mode, right?

So, is there another light that can use the 10440?

 

[UnknownVT]

So, can the 10440 be used in the L0D? Will it just shorten the life of the LED? Or is it only safe for short bursts, i.e. under ten minutes? And I think I saw that you can only use High mode, right?

Please take a look at this long thread over in the LED flashlight section -

Anyone kill their L0D-CE with 10440's yet?

 

[UnknownVT]

How does the Lod-ce compare to the new Arc AAA-P?

The Fenix L0Dce is noticeably brighter than the current production ArcAAA-P.

I do not have a direct comparison -
but the Fenix L0P-SE Special (Luxeon based) - was a lot brighter than the ArcAAA-P,
and in turn the L0Dce is a lot brighter than the L0P-SE.

Two sets of comparisons -

Fenix L0P-SE Special vs. (current production) ArcAAA-P

and from this review -

L0Dce vs. Fenix L0P-SE Special both on High

There are more direct comparison beamshots with the ArcAAA-P in the Fenix L0P-SE Special review at the the medium and low levels.

 

[PocketBeam]

Thanks, Looks like so far no burn outs after continuous usage for at least four charge cycles. And it seems only the Q2 has mode problems where High and one other mode works. I.e. High and Med or High and Low.

That is tempting... I wonder if a premium rebel would do as well.

 

[tusenkonstnar]

The Fenix L0Dce is noticeably brighter than the current production ArcAAA-P.

I do not have a direct comparison -
but the Fenix L0P-SE Special (Luxeon based) - was a lot brighter than the ArcAAA-P,
and in turn the L0Dce is a lot brighter than the L0P-SE.

Two sets of comparisons -

Fenix L0P-SE Special vs. (current production) ArcAAA-P

and from this review -

L0Dce vs. Fenix L0P-SE Special both on High

There are more direct comparison beamshots with the ArcAAA-P in the Fenix L0P-SE Special review at the the medium and low levels.

Thanks a lot for your input!
I have ordered an Lop-CE and i own an arc aaa-p (not latest production but an old ne from 2004). I can se that the difference is huge. (the LoP-CE should be somewhere in the same area as the Arc 4+ then I guess).

/

 

[tusenkonstnar]

A little oftopic, but....
Does the LOD-CE go into som kind of moonmode as the Arc AAA does? Does it step down from the choosen setting when battery hasn't got power enough?

 

[UnknownVT]

A little oftopic, but....
Does the LOD-CE go into som kind of moonmode as the Arc AAA does? Does it step down from the choosen setting when battery hasn't got power enough?

It's not off-topic -

Please take a look at graphs in chevrofreak's

Fenix L0D CE runtimes

 

[tusenkonstnar]

Now I have got the L0D-CE and I'm very satisfied. I have compared it to my Arc 4+ and is a little surprised, I have expected the L0D to give a little more total amount of light [50 Lumens vs 32(?) Lumens] but I can't se any difference at all between them in total output (for example directing the beam towards a white roof in a dark room and se how much it lightens up the room).

The only difference is that when trying to see something far away the arc4+ has a better spot and lights it up more. Anyway the L0D-CE will be enough in most cases, and it is smaller and has more runtime on the highest level.

Anyone else that has compared them and can comment on the 50 vs 32 lumens?

BR

 

[UnknownVT]

Anyone else that has compared them and can comment on the 50 vs 32 lumens?

That's a 56% increase in brightness - it should be discernable.

For example if you look back at the first/opening post (#1 link) of this review I have comparisons with the Fenix L0P-SE "Special" - which is rated about 30 lumens on High.

With the L0Dce also on High - the side-by-side comparison beamshots certainly show a noticable difference.

However compare the Default - Medium level on the L0Dce (rated at about 20 lumens) with the High on the L0P-SE - there seems to be less discernable difference - yet the difference is also about 50%.

But Arc are normally a bit more "accurate" with their brightness/lumens ratings compared to other manuafctures, who tend to just quote the "potential"/spec'd lumens output at the LED, and not necessarily the actual lumens out from the front of the flashlight.

Bear in mind the L0Dce is running on a humble AAA whereas the Arc 4+ uses Lithium CR123A.

 

[tusenkonstnar]

Any Idea of the throw in L1D-CE compared to Arc4+?
(I would say that the Throw in my L0D-CE equals the throw in my Arc4+ if i run the arc on level 3-4)

 

[UnknownVT]

Any Idea of the throw in L1D-CE compared to Arc4+?
(I would say that the Throw in my L0D-CE equals the throw in my Arc4+ if i run the arc on level 3-4)

It should be pretty obvious I do not have an Arc4+ , so I would not know:sigh:.

However, I do have a direct comparison between the L1Dce and the L0Dce in this review -

Fenix L1D-CE Comparison Review

If you want to do more of an apples-to-apples comparison try these 1x CR123A lights (reviews linked) -

Fenix P1ce Special Edition Q2

Fenix P1D-CE

Fenix P2Dce

Fenix P2Dce Special Edition Q2