Fenix L2D with R2 --- when?

When is Fenix coming out with R2?

etc said:

When is Fenix coming out with R2?

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If your look at the Fenix history, they went from a P4 to a Q5, that is a far bigger step than from Q5 to R2, more like Q5 to R4, but your can not get the R4 yet.

A Q5 to a R2 is not a huge leap up in performance.

They might not even bring out a L2D with a better emitter and instead bring out a new range of models with better features like more pronounced knurling and a lower low mode which will hopefully be incorperated in the next generation series.

and hopefully a new model that will include a thrower that accepts primaries! 123a!

what's the model I have? It's not Q5 for sure, I got about a year ago from fenix-store. I think it's rated at 130 lumens.
Q2 or P4?

ninjaboigt said:

and hopefully a new model that will include a thrower that accepts primaries! 123a!

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They're already going nuts with the TACTICOOL!!! models, lets hope they get back to improving regular and EDC lights.

Is there a visual way to tell the difference between the R2 and the Q5 if one were looking at the LED die?

I'm curious because the L2DCE Q5 I just received from th Fenix-Store has a silver area around the LED instead of the usual yellow.

There is no way to tell the bin by looking at the die.

Yellow core is made in North Caroline, silver core is assembled in China.

Marduke said:

There is no way to tell the bin by looking at the die.

Yellow core is made in North Caroline, silver core is assembled in China.

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... to further complicate things, the P4 BIN also looks like the R2/Q5... till' you turn it on, then the difference is night and day. The consumer is completely relying on the honor/integrity of the builder to do the "right" thing.

Tell me about R4

etc said:

Tell me about R4

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It's just the next Cree bin after R2, nothing special. Same as the jump between Q2 and Q4 bins. I actually doubt it will ever be available in quantity, the XR-E line seems to be reaching it's maximum efficiency point and Cree seems to be stalled out again until the next big jump in LED tech.

A little off topic... mods just say the word and I will delete. Clearly the R/D has been dedicated to the 4-die emitters. I don't see either Q5 or R2 becoming extinct for a long time. I would be shocked of the R4 is as big a jump as the P4-Q5 was. I don't think the 4-die will instantly obsolete any of the single die LEDs with its power and thermal requirements.

IMHO the jump from Q5 to R2 is minimal and not worth waiting out for. Although if a manufacturer already offers an R2 I don't really see any reason not to get that over the Q5. Color tint varies quite a bit between my two R2 drop ins, but thats because one is a WC tint while the other one is anything from the R2 BIN. FWIW, the same color variation exists within the other brightness bins as well.

kramer5150 said:

I would be shocked of the R4 is as big a jump as the P4-Q5 was.

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It is not, the jump from P4 to Q5 was 32 %, from Q5 to R4 it is only 21 %.

Your can find the specifications here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/156772

The jump from Q5 to R4 it is only 21 %.
The jump from Q5 to MCE it is 400 %. (available very soon)
The jump from Q5 to SSC-P7 is 250-300%. (available for the last 3 months)
Why bother with the R4?

Remember Cree's main target market is street lamps and office lighting. They need a wide beam to light up a room or hundreds of feet of road.
The only advantage of the R4 is it can throw further, but if you really need the throw the R4 can not out throw a good HID.

LEDninja said:

The jump from Q5 to R4 it is only 21 %.
The jump from Q5 to MCE it is 400 %. (available very soon)
The jump from Q5 to SSC-P7 is 250-300%. (available for the last 3 months)
Why bother with the R4?

Remember Cree's main target market is street lamps and office lighting. They need a wide beam to light up a room or hundreds of feet of road.
The only advantage of the R4 is it can throw further, but if you really need the throw the R4 can not out throw a good HID.

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Your are beside the point, the mce or p7 does not increase efficiency, only max. output. They also increase the heat that have to be dissipated, the R4 will generate less heat than Q5.

When your get the R4, the mce and P7 will also be better, because the will then be based on the R4.

The point is I already have 2 lights (MTE & Elektrolumens) both of which is brighter than any future L2D R4 by a factor greater than 2. So why worry about a torch that will be a lot dimmer?
With rechargeable batteries the minor difference in efficiency is not of major concern. Actually running a P7 at 1A (250mA per die) is more efficient than running an XRE at 1A.

The way his thread is going reminds me of the discussion whether to upgrade from a T bin Luxeon to a U bin Luxeon after the Cree XRE was released. Wake up folks. There is a usable LED with 2X the brightness out there.

Now the OP does have a reasonable request. There are no 2AA P7 torches so going for the next higher bin makes sense.
But if you are not limited by battery type and need the brightest LED torch look at the P7.

For those who don't like the 4 die setup Cree has announced the 1000 lumen single LED. That is the one to wait for rather than a R4.

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Note that Fenix has in the past upgraded LEDs without announcing the fact.

There is also a pecking order in which Fenix upgrades their lights.
TK series, then PxD series, then LxD series then LxT series.
So when the P3D gets the R2, you know the P2D/L2D is next.
After that the L0D will go from Q4 to Q5.
After that the LxT will go from Q2 to Q4.

I did a quick browse through Fenix store. None of their lights are officially R2. So it might take a while for the R2 to work it's way down to the L2D.

There was a version of the T1 made with an R2 over 6 months ago. IIRC, there was also a LOD RB100 as well.

I am talking about 2xAA form factor... For heat reasons, it's doubtful you can have a P7 in there. Or can you?

You could if you didn't run it full out. But it would have to be a bit bigger of a light, something like the TK20.

Something like the Cree MC-E in the TK20 run at about 400 lumens would not really surprise me, but I would expect one in a TK11 or P3D type light first, powered by 1x18650

HKJ said:

If your look at the Fenix history, they went from a P4 to a Q5, that is a far bigger step than from Q5 to R2, more like Q5 to R4, but your can not get the R4 yet.

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Actually they had some Q2's inbetween P4 and Q5. I have a Fenix P2D Premium Q2 for example. They also had Rebel 100's.

I think so far R2's have been in too short of supply for Fenix to offer them.