Arc4-AAA (Standard vs. Premium)

this_is_nascar · Mar 17, 2006

I'm always of the opinion to get the top-of-line model of a particular product, so that's why all my recent Arc4-AAA lights are Premiums. In other threads, folks have mention times where their Premiums were to bright for various tasks they were attempting to perform. That got me thinking about the Standard version. Does anyone have both, the Standard and Premium, of the lastest Arc-AAA light? Visually is there a noticable difference in brightness?

Ralls · Mar 17, 2006

I'm curious as well, because my AAA-P is too bright for flying at night.

JimmyB · Mar 18, 2006

I just took delivery 2 weeks ago of a standard and premium model. The P is definitely brighter. I prefer it over the S a lot. The P is also a bit whiter than the S but that may just be the lottery. I bought the S for low light work and for that it works well but for general use I'd go with the P, no question. P is on the right, S on left.

JimmyB

this_is_nascar · Mar 18, 2006

Awesome. Thanks JimmyB.

Flying Turtle · Mar 18, 2006

Thanks for the beam shots, JimmyB. This will help me decide.

Geoff

IsaacHayes · Mar 18, 2006

The new P should be about double as bright, the standard is using the old Nichia BS led IIRC. The new P of course is the CS.

Peter said the Premium uses a different color bin too and is whiter than the standard.

xochi · Mar 26, 2006

IsaacHayes said:
The new P should be about double as bright, the standard is using the old Nichia BS led IIRC. The new P of course is the CS.

Peter said the Premium uses a different color bin too and is whiter than the standard.

I really hope that the standard version isn't using the old nichia's. I mean, if the only difference between the two is the LED , and an energizer light that uses the Nichia CS LED can be bought at target for 3.99, that just seems wrong. Like sticking the engine from a yugo into a Porsche. The Nichia CS is now the status quo, the average, the basic, for everything else coming out now it is "Standard". Yet if you pay for a highly reguarded, high end (for 5mm) light, you get a substandard LED?

"Our standard Filet Mignon is 25% cheaper and it should satisfy your hunger as well as our Premium filet . It is slightly different , though, having been fed through a grinding machine and formed into a patty....."

Please tell me that isn't the case.

BentHeadTX · Mar 26, 2006

xochi said:
I really hope that the standard version isn't using the old nichia's. I mean, if the only difference between the two is the LED , and an energizer light that uses the Nichia CS LED can be bought at target for 3.99, that just seems wrong. Like sticking the engine from a yugo into a Porsche. The Nichia CS is now the status quo, the average, the basic, for everything else coming out now it is "Standard". Yet if you pay for a highly reguarded, high end (for 5mm) light, you get a substandard LED?

"Our standard Filet Mignon is 25% cheaper and it should satisfy your hunger as well as our Premium filet . It is slightly different , though, having been fed through a grinding machine and formed into a patty....."

Please tell me that isn't the case.

I might be wrong but I think the CS Nichias in the AAA-P are pre-tested to ensure certain standards are met before the light is made. That would explain the $10 extra charge. If I'm wrong about the pre-testing, the mark-up seems a bit much.

carrot · Mar 26, 2006

How does the Gerber Infinity Ultra compare to the Standard and Premium Arcs? The Gerber IU is perfect for most tasks for me, but it's too fat to put on a keychain.

xochi · Mar 26, 2006

I can understand the price for the Arcs. If they could make enough to have them at every wal-mart point of sale they'd be 14.99 . I wouldn't even object to a 10 dollar difference in price on account of the P's using cherry picked CS Leds and the S's using whatever CS happens to land in the light, I just think at this point selling the Arc as an elite level light and handicapping it with the old nichias kinda sucks.

I really hope that isn't the case, to be honest.

xochi · Mar 26, 2006

carrot said:
How does the Gerber Infinity Ultra compare to the Standard and Premium Arcs? The Gerber IU is perfect for most tasks for me, but it's too fat to put on a keychain.

If the pictures above are representative of the Arc S + P, then the Gerber should be just as bright as the Standard Arc. Gerber is/or will be transitioning to the CS and hard anodize so it should be just as bright. The new inova X1 uses the CS and is about as bright/brighter than the Arc P. The main difference will be individual led variance, photon management and drive current. Practically speaking they are about the same.

IsaacHayes · Mar 26, 2006

Well, I threw in a Nichia CS into my old standard, and now it's as bright as the new Premiums (compared to BugLightGeek's ArcP rev4). With that said and judging from photo's I'd say the rev4 std is using the old nichia. I think this was even stated back when they came back...

Chris201W · Mar 26, 2006

My Gerber Infinity Ultra is just slightly dimmer than my Arc Premium. I'd say it's somewhere inbetween the two lights above, probably closer to the standard. If I were you, carrot, I'd go with the premium. It'll do just fine for pretty much every task a GIU is good for, plus it'll be a little whiter in the spillbeam (though slightly bluer in the middle)

jayflash · Apr 4, 2006

Of my three S - AAAs the old (original) is dim. One of the two new AAAs is mid way between the old and my brightest standard model. The bright one is almost as bright as my Fenix LOP!

Did I get a premium by mistake or is there that much variation in LED brightness? Both new AAAs have ARC around the end of the battery tube. Is the premium model indicated in some way?

paulr · Apr 4, 2006

The AAA-P's existence seems to me to be a marketing maneuver (a way to charge more for the -P) since the Nichia CS led is around a 90 cent part even in small quantity. If Arc wants to make a brighter and a dimmer version of the AAA, it should use the CS led in both versions and run the dimmer one at lower current, so it would have more runtime.

Arc4-AAA (Standard vs. Premium)

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