Quark AA2 - Neutral White Outdoor Beamshots

[Wiggle]

I just received my Quark AA-2 (Tactical) in neutral white R4. Already I own a Quark AA (Tactical) in cool R5. Here are some of my observations about the new neutral model for anyone considering it:

-I have a Q3 5A light (same emitter used in XP-E neutral Quarks) and the tint is comparable but less pink and slightly more yellow overall.

-The beam pattern seems a bit floodier than even the R5 Quark, possibly due to increased texture on the reflector. Spill brightness looks about same, the core "spot" is the same size but has less intensity but more corona for a smoother transition. This takes away from long range punch but adds utility indoors.

Here are some outdoor beamshots I took (the AA is running on a 14500 rather than AA so it's output is on par with the AA-2). Camera is set to daytime white balance and exposure time is 4 seconds for some shots and much shorter for the up close shots.

 

[ti-force]

Nice :thumbsup:. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Wiggle]

Thanks ti,
My thread needs more attention, here are my Quarks versus some other lights to hopefully draw a crowd

Quark R5:

Quark R4 NW

Trustfire TR801 with Q3-5A XR-E

MC-E P60 drop in

Lumens Factory R2 drop in

Solarforce Masterpiece Pro-1

iTP A3

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

Shots like your first set ought to convince most anyone that neutral is more useful than cool. Aside from Winter, most of my flashlight use is indoors, so I've even come to favor neutral to my original choice, warm.

 

[JA(me)S]

Aside from Winter, most of my flashlight use is indoors, so I've even come to favor neutral to my original choice, warm.

Which is your Winter preference - neutral or warm?

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

Warm. I've used three warms (including Malkoff M30WF and a Nailbenfer MC-E) and one neutral (Dereelight XP-G and one other whose name escapes me); my favorite, for color rendition, is the Fenix TK-20.

Of course, with any warm light, you sacrifice some color accuracy indoors. For mixed use, neutral white is the best compromise.

 

[luisdent]

I just had the opportunity to have the quark aa2 neutral and cool white regular models at the same time. I did extensive testing indoors and out.

My opinion is that the neutral is a better light in general. My two leds appeared very very close in brightness. Very difficult to tell unless switching between them very quickly, but even then, the color differences made the neutral appear just as bright as it tends to bring out more details in certain areas that the cool white washes out.

Either light is very good, but I personally prefer the neutral. I would choose something about 75% to the neutral side of the two though if I could. Just a little bit "whiter" would be better, but I find that overall it is still more accurate than cool white.

Some people find the cool white makes "white" look more white. I think this is somewhat subjective. While at first glance this may be true, there are similar debates in television calibrations and computer monitors. If you see a properly calibrated set, it almost appears un-white. But we are very used to blue tinted white. I'm not saying the neutral is a perfect white, but neither is the cool white led. Again, the 75% leaning towards neutral would be better. But if you're not comparing them side by side, but just using the neutral on its own, the whites appear normal and white. However, when I personally use the cool white on its own without comparing, I constantly feel it looks greenish blue tinted white. Only side by side the cool white appears to be more white.

Anyhow, if you're worried about brightness, I didn't find any significant difference between the two. What little difference there may have been is outweighed by the color in my opinion. 4sevens told me that it is roughly 7-8% less light. I would argue that it is 10% better color

Outside the neutral gave the appearance of more contrast and detail slightly. The cool white seemed brighter by a tiny amount, but I felt as though the bright thing I was looking at didn't look any easier to see (trees, ground, etc.).

Indoors, the neutral was very nice. Doing a ceiling bounce, the neutral made things look very "realistic". The cool white made things look blueish greener. Love the technical color terminology?? Reading and tasks using lower settings were much more noticeable in the color shifts. The cool white is very green in my model. This is the very reason I ordered the neutral afterwards. Too much green for my taste. The neutral is noticeably oranger, but not comparing them side by side seems more natural almost like an incandescent light.

I kept the neutral.

 

[Xak]

Nice beamshots.

Can you do the neutral Q3 5A vs the neutral XP-G?

 

[mightykid]

Thanks for posting. You have just confirmed that I made a good decision in buying 4 NW Quark minis. Can't wait for them to arrive.

 

[NoFair]

Warm. I've used three warms (including Malkoff M30WF and a Nailbenfer MC-E) and one neutral (Dereelight XP-G and one other whose name escapes me); my favorite, for color rendition, is the Fenix TK-20.

Of course, with any warm light, you sacrifice some color accuracy indoors. For mixed use, neutral white is the best compromise.

My Malkoff M30W is what I think most would consider neutral white. Lives in a C2 with a F23 beamshaper and McC2s tailcap making it a perfect package when outdoors: Low,/high, spot/flood:thumbsup:

I strongly prefer neutral white outdoors and also slightly prefer it indoors to cool white.

Sverre

 

[B0wz3r]

Nice beamshots.

Can you do the neutral Q3 5A vs the neutral XP-G?

I'm not set up to do beamshots but my experience with neutrals (and I won't buy cool tint lights anymore), is that the Q35A is warmer than the new Quark XPG NW I have. That light is very noticeably green, which I dislike so I've sentenced it to bike handlebar duty. The greenishness is visible even when not white wall hunting. On the other hand, it's part of the tint lottery, others here have reported the XPG NW as being more yellow-pink in tint.

The 5 series tint bin is my favorite by far and I have purchased older lights with less efficient emitters simply because the tint works so well for me. I'm all about usability and beam characteristics than lumens though, so your mileage may vary.

 

[Roland]

It amazes me that in beamshots the spot width can differ so much. I would have expected cool white/ neutral/ warm white to have the same beam characteristic.

 

[Chauncy]

Re: Quark AA2 - Neutral White Outdoor Beamshots - which LED

Hello, long time lurker and first time poster, If I bought my quark AA-2 from 4sevens.com on 10/29/2009 would it have the same LED as this flashlight? I think mine is an Cree XP-G R4 is that right? Mine is the neutral white tint edition

 

[Wiggle]

Re: Quark AA2 - Neutral White Outdoor Beamshots - which LED

Hello, long time lurker and first time poster, If I bought my quark AA-2 from 4sevens.com on 10/29/2009 would it have the same LED as this flashlight? I think mine is an Cree XP-G R4 is that right? Mine is the neutral white tint edition

If it is XP-G R4 NW it should look just like the one I posted above.