Lagerregal
Newly Enlightened
Here is a short comparison of my four lights. I do not want to give a detailed review of each light, but I focus on beamshots and my personal opinion I gained from use.
First I want to introduce the four lights shortly:
Tiablo A9 P7 DSVNI:
I bought this light here in the custom BST with a cool white CSWOI P7-emitter and changed it later to a DSVNI. This tint is pretty nice as you will see later. The driver is a single-level 8x7135 from Kaidomain and delivers about 2,8A with a fresh battery to the LED. When the battery-voltage drops
below the vf of the LED, the output decreases slowly. With the two-level switch from Tiablo you get a nice all-around-low with about 130mA. The beamshape is relativly floody, but yet it outthrows all of my 123/AA-lights. Throw should be >6k lux.
Jetbeam Jet-1 pro 3.0 neutral white:
This Jetbeam was my edc for a year, until I got my Quarks. A really nice throwy light that worked every time I needed it. The only drawbacks are a really ringy beam, a wobbling tailstand, an accidential activation in my pocket when I forgot to lock the tailcap out and a not-so-low low. My first exemplar I had to return becaue of an uncentered and slightly damaged LED. It is now my house-light with a F04-diffuser attached to it. This gives a great nice, even and warm flood-beam.
Quark 123x2 turbo with 1x123-body and tailstandable tailcap:
This is my funny pocket-thrower. It is noticably brighter than the other two small lights, but therefor has a much cooler tint. It has a nice, even beam without any artifacts; the same applys to the other Quark. The first exemplar I had to return because the centering ring was broken and the LED had a scratch. What I did not know is, that you have to pay the return shipping costs. Here in Germany it is the law, that the vendor has to take them. I was glad that I bought in the polish store, so replacement was fast and without problems.
Quark 123x2 regular neutral white:
This is my current edc. Nice light. Just 6mm longer than the Jetbeam, it throws nearly as well as the Jet 1-pro while beeing 4mm thinner. And with a 17670 it runs more than twice as long on max. Also its brightness decreases when the battery voltage drops under the vf, so it does not leave you in the dark suddenly. An imporant point for me. A downside: I had contact problems in the beginning, but after cleaning the threads and tightening the switch-retaining-ring everything works flawlessy. Also I changed the black tailcap to a GID-one. The switch now works "crisper", because the original tailcap has inside only a short "rubber-prolongation", so that there is some space between rubber and switch. Furthermore I have to mention, that you see scratches more easily in black than in natural anodizing. Moonlight is priceless.
Beamshots
The order in all beamshots is the same as the description:
1. Tiablo A9 P7 (upper left corner)
2. Jet-1 pro (upper right corner)
3. Quark 123x2 turbo (lower left corner)
4. Quark 123x2 neutral (lower right corner)
All lights werde used with fully charged (>4,1V) li-ions.
1. Who is the brightest?
inside against a white wall (ISO 400, f3,5, 1/60, white-balance at 5000k)
You can clearly see that the Tiablo is the brightest, followed by the Quark turbo. The neutral Quark and the Jet-1-pro differ from each other only in beam-shape. Ceiling-bounce test and tailcap-current-measurements show that they are equally bright.
2. Who is the master of throw?
inside against a white wall (ISO 100, f6,3, 1/400, wb at 5000k)
This is a close call. I can say that the neutral Quark is the worst, but not by much. The other three have about the same throw, although the Quark turbo should have a bit more than the Jet-1 (you will see in the following beamshots). But the Tiablo has the biggest corona around the hotspot which is nice for not developing a tunnel-vision. The Jet-1-pro has the smallest corona and the most abrupt transition betweend spot and spill.
3. Let's take 'em out! I.
outdoor in the yard, distance to the barn-gate: 25m
(ISO 400, f4,5, 1sek, wb 5000k)
4. Let's take 'em out! II.
outdoors in the backyard, distance to the tree unknown, unscientific measurements via googlemap (lousy resolution in my town) show about 70m
(ISO 400, f4,5, 4sek, wb 5000k; focal length on all beamshots: 27mm regarding 35mm film)
The sky looks reddish... but that is not the sunset (I photographed in east direction), thats the biggest chemical company in the world. 10 miles away.
5. Tint Comparison:
(ISO 100, f8, 1/100sek, 50mm focal distance, wb 5000k)
Upper left corner: Sunlight, should be a bit above 5000k at noon.
Upper right corner: P7 DSVNI. Color temperature is about 5350k. I have never seen a tint better matching sunlight.
Lower left corner: Q3 5A. (Quark 123x2 max) Much warmer than sunlight. However, it should be easier on the eyes in lower light situations according to the Kruithof-curve. It brings red, brown and yellow better out (color of the skin, too) (what is better than a girlfriend saying "oh, thats a nice tint"
).
The Quark is current-regulated, wherefore the color temperature decreases even more in lower modes (because current density is lower in the LED), showing a yellow tint with a bit green in mine. But when using moonlight outdoors it is mostly so dark that I do not see colors anyway.
In contrast, the Jet-1 is PWM-regulated and hence less efficient, but tint is the same in all levels. On max both lights have the same tint.
Lower right corner: XP-G R5 , unknown tint; Quark turbo 123x2 max. Clearly cooler than sunlight. It brings out blues, whites and some greens better.
(after taking that picture my eyes hurt and my first thougt was: "I need a DSLR with live view!!!". >1000lumens aimed at my tele-macro lens are not nice to capture ...
First I want to introduce the four lights shortly:
Tiablo A9 P7 DSVNI:
I bought this light here in the custom BST with a cool white CSWOI P7-emitter and changed it later to a DSVNI. This tint is pretty nice as you will see later. The driver is a single-level 8x7135 from Kaidomain and delivers about 2,8A with a fresh battery to the LED. When the battery-voltage drops
below the vf of the LED, the output decreases slowly. With the two-level switch from Tiablo you get a nice all-around-low with about 130mA. The beamshape is relativly floody, but yet it outthrows all of my 123/AA-lights. Throw should be >6k lux.
Jetbeam Jet-1 pro 3.0 neutral white:
This Jetbeam was my edc for a year, until I got my Quarks. A really nice throwy light that worked every time I needed it. The only drawbacks are a really ringy beam, a wobbling tailstand, an accidential activation in my pocket when I forgot to lock the tailcap out and a not-so-low low. My first exemplar I had to return becaue of an uncentered and slightly damaged LED. It is now my house-light with a F04-diffuser attached to it. This gives a great nice, even and warm flood-beam.
Quark 123x2 turbo with 1x123-body and tailstandable tailcap:
This is my funny pocket-thrower. It is noticably brighter than the other two small lights, but therefor has a much cooler tint. It has a nice, even beam without any artifacts; the same applys to the other Quark. The first exemplar I had to return because the centering ring was broken and the LED had a scratch. What I did not know is, that you have to pay the return shipping costs. Here in Germany it is the law, that the vendor has to take them. I was glad that I bought in the polish store, so replacement was fast and without problems.
Quark 123x2 regular neutral white:
This is my current edc. Nice light. Just 6mm longer than the Jetbeam, it throws nearly as well as the Jet 1-pro while beeing 4mm thinner. And with a 17670 it runs more than twice as long on max. Also its brightness decreases when the battery voltage drops under the vf, so it does not leave you in the dark suddenly. An imporant point for me. A downside: I had contact problems in the beginning, but after cleaning the threads and tightening the switch-retaining-ring everything works flawlessy. Also I changed the black tailcap to a GID-one. The switch now works "crisper", because the original tailcap has inside only a short "rubber-prolongation", so that there is some space between rubber and switch. Furthermore I have to mention, that you see scratches more easily in black than in natural anodizing. Moonlight is priceless.
Beamshots
The order in all beamshots is the same as the description:
1. Tiablo A9 P7 (upper left corner)
2. Jet-1 pro (upper right corner)
3. Quark 123x2 turbo (lower left corner)
4. Quark 123x2 neutral (lower right corner)
All lights werde used with fully charged (>4,1V) li-ions.
1. Who is the brightest?
inside against a white wall (ISO 400, f3,5, 1/60, white-balance at 5000k)
You can clearly see that the Tiablo is the brightest, followed by the Quark turbo. The neutral Quark and the Jet-1-pro differ from each other only in beam-shape. Ceiling-bounce test and tailcap-current-measurements show that they are equally bright.
2. Who is the master of throw?
inside against a white wall (ISO 100, f6,3, 1/400, wb at 5000k)
This is a close call. I can say that the neutral Quark is the worst, but not by much. The other three have about the same throw, although the Quark turbo should have a bit more than the Jet-1 (you will see in the following beamshots). But the Tiablo has the biggest corona around the hotspot which is nice for not developing a tunnel-vision. The Jet-1-pro has the smallest corona and the most abrupt transition betweend spot and spill.
3. Let's take 'em out! I.
outdoor in the yard, distance to the barn-gate: 25m
(ISO 400, f4,5, 1sek, wb 5000k)
4. Let's take 'em out! II.
outdoors in the backyard, distance to the tree unknown, unscientific measurements via googlemap (lousy resolution in my town) show about 70m
(ISO 400, f4,5, 4sek, wb 5000k; focal length on all beamshots: 27mm regarding 35mm film)
The sky looks reddish... but that is not the sunset (I photographed in east direction), thats the biggest chemical company in the world. 10 miles away.
5. Tint Comparison:
(ISO 100, f8, 1/100sek, 50mm focal distance, wb 5000k)
Upper left corner: Sunlight, should be a bit above 5000k at noon.
Upper right corner: P7 DSVNI. Color temperature is about 5350k. I have never seen a tint better matching sunlight.
Lower left corner: Q3 5A. (Quark 123x2 max) Much warmer than sunlight. However, it should be easier on the eyes in lower light situations according to the Kruithof-curve. It brings red, brown and yellow better out (color of the skin, too) (what is better than a girlfriend saying "oh, thats a nice tint"
).The Quark is current-regulated, wherefore the color temperature decreases even more in lower modes (because current density is lower in the LED), showing a yellow tint with a bit green in mine. But when using moonlight outdoors it is mostly so dark that I do not see colors anyway.
In contrast, the Jet-1 is PWM-regulated and hence less efficient, but tint is the same in all levels. On max both lights have the same tint.
Lower right corner: XP-G R5 , unknown tint; Quark turbo 123x2 max. Clearly cooler than sunlight. It brings out blues, whites and some greens better.
(after taking that picture my eyes hurt and my first thougt was: "I need a DSLR with live view!!!". >1000lumens aimed at my tele-macro lens are not nice to capture ...
