Re: General consensus of the Photon Microlight 3?
I like the Photon III. I have two - a white and a turquoise, and one resides on each half of my keychain (house/car keys). I've had them for almost two years,and I consider them great, reliable little lights. I have found them turned on accidentally in my pocket a handful of times, but nothing approaching the problems R2 describes.
Since I got an Arc AAA, I use them much less. However, they're so small that they are always available, if I leave the apartment or I go somewhere in the car.
That said, if I were to get rid of one (Photon or Arc), the Photon would be gone. But I like the redundancy, and they served well for the tasks I now use the Arc AAA for.
I like the availability of the lower-light settings, although I don't use them often, and the blinking light has mainly been used for amusement, but I think it could be useful in certain circumstances.
I've also heard that the newer ones cycle more quickly through the various modes (which can get a bit tedious in the models I have).
So, to me, the various modes have a bit of gadget appeal - for my wife, I put a Photon II on her keychain - the modes would just have annoyed her.
Just my 2 cents' worth.
Dave