Fenix LD25 vs. Quark AA2 Neutral

holygeez03 · Sep 30, 2010

I am about to purchase a new light and it must fit these criteria:

1) Use AA batteries
2) Have a neutral/warm emitter

I was about to purchase the Quark AA2 Neutral White when I saw the new Fenix LD25. I have a Fenix L2T Q2 that I really like, but I would like to upgrade it. I thought the LD25 seemed perfect, but it doesn't have as many useful output modes and I have read about some issues with the beam profile... If anyone has any input that will help me choose a new light, I would appreciate the info.

red02 · Sep 30, 2010

Quark will have a better profile, not sure about the turbos...

Fenix in all of their wisdom moved towards smooth reflectors which show off artifacts in the beam.

Tixx · Sep 30, 2010

holygeez03 said:
I am about to purchase a new light and it must fit these criteria:

1) Use AA batteries
2) Have a neutral/warm emitter

I was about to purchase the Quark AA2 Neutral White when I saw the new Fenix LD25. I have a Fenix L2T Q2 that I really like, but I would like to upgrade it. I thought the LD25 seemed perfect, but it doesn't have as many useful output modes and I have read about some issues with the beam profile... If anyone has any input that will help me choose a new light, I would appreciate the info.

Funny as I was just using my neutral quark AA2 (but with the 1xCR123 body) just a few minutes ago thinking how I would like another one of these and would sell a bunch of other lights off because this takes care of so many needs vs. just wants.

richardcpf · Sep 30, 2010

Can't speak for the light itself, but Quarks have a excellent UI, and a real low mode, unlike the fenix. But when it comes to quality, Fenix has the lead. Haven't had any problems with my quark, but the fenix just feels more solid.

Henk_Lu · Oct 1, 2010

I got my LD25 yesterday, at first sight it is a little deception to me...

I haven't compared it to the Quark yet, just to its "predecessor", the TK20. Well, they call the successor LD and not TK, that explains a huge difference in the built of the light. The TK20 is a TanK, the LD25 is not, it's just a solid light. Both lights have a smooth reflector to get some throw, the TK20 is clearly the winner with the XR-E emitter, to the eye the hotspot is double as bright, it's much tinier. In a direct comparison, you often think that more powerfull XP-G lights are less brighter than weaker XR-E lights...

The LD25 has the better better beam though. bigger hotspot, better lit spill. I guess the 20 Lumen it has more than the TK20 are hidden in the spill and that the beam is much more usable than the one of the TK20. I just expected the beam to be brighter, thus my deception.

It's a pity there isn't a neutral white Quark Turbo, that would be the one to compare to the LD25, not the regular Quark, which is much floodier. I really like the Turbos, they are rugged and have a good throwy beam with enough spill. I'll compare the LD25 to the Quark Turbo warm white this evening as well, they should be about equal in output (but not in tint)

fannin · Oct 1, 2010

Henk_Lu said:
I got my LD25 yesterday, at first sight it is a little deception to me...

I haven't compared it to the Quark yet, just to its "predecessor", the TK20. Well, they call the successor LD and not TK, that explains a huge difference in the built of the light. The TK20 is a TanK, the LD25 is not, it's just a solid light. Both lights have a smooth reflector to get some throw, the TK20 is clearly the winner with the XR-E emitter, to the eye the hotspot is double as bright, it's much tinier. In a direct comparison, you often think that more powerfull XP-G lights are less brighter than weaker XR-E lights...

The LD25 has the better better beam though. bigger hotspot, better lit spill. I guess the 20 Lumen it has more than the TK20 are hidden in the spill and that the beam is much more usable than the one of the TK20. I just expected the beam to be brighter, thus my deception.

It's a pity there isn't a neutral white Quark Turbo, that would be the one to compare to the LD25, not the regular Quark, which is much floodier. I really like the Turbos, they are rugged and have a good throwy beam with enough spill. I'll compare the LD25 to the Quark Turbo warm white this evening as well, they should be about equal in output (but not in tint)

does the fenix ld25 just have 2 modes like the tk20 henk?

GunnarGG · Oct 1, 2010

It's more like the TK12 regarding modes

General mode: 180 or 45 lumens
Camping mode: 85 or 3 lumens
Rescue mode: 85 lm or SOS

Henk_Lu · Oct 1, 2010

The LD25 has 3 times 2 modes : Outdoor mode, Camping mode, Tactical Mode. I still don't know how you choose Outdoor and Camping and I don't care to be honest.

I use mine in default Outdoor Mode, where you have 45 and 180 Lumen. I just tested the light in direct comparisons (indoors only) and it wasn't the winner...

First, I took the Quark Turbo warm white. The hotspot of the Quark Turbo is smaller and it has a little donut, but even the warm white looks brighter than the LD25, the beam of the Turbo looks better, the spill looks brighter as well.

Then I took the cool white Turbo, well, I guess I must set it to High instead of Max to be able to compare the lights. Weird, as the cool is supposed to have 206 Lumen, 26 more only than the LD25, but it looks like a much bigger difference.

The best comparison may be the one against the Quark AA-2 neutral white. This time, the Quark is floodier, but it still looks brighter and the beam looks more homogenous, the LD25 wins in terms of throw, that's all (against the Turbo it looses).

I guess Fenix built the light for runtime, that's the only explanation that's left and according to the specs its 2 hours on high, which is 0,7 hours longer than the Quark. Personnally I don't care too much about runtime of AA lights, as I run them with rechargeables and carry spares if I use them. The price is another argument, the LD25 is curiously less expensive than a Quark AA2 (52,95$ against 59$) and much less expensive than the Quark Turbo (75$).

So, it could be a winner, depending on what's important for you. I forgot the plastic on the body, it doesn't feel bad, but the rubber coat of the TK20 had more grip. Do I like that plastic? Not in my living room, but in winter in the forest it may be different! :wave:

fannin · Oct 1, 2010

GunnarGG said:
It's more like the TK12 regarding modes

General mode: 180 or 45 lumens
Camping mode: 85 or 3 lumens
Rescue mode: 85 lm or SOS

so the ld25 has a 3 lumen low mode? nice

i'm not familiar with the tk12, how do you access the modes? thanks

fannin · Oct 1, 2010

Henk_Lu said:
The LD25 has 3 times 2 modes : Outdoor mode, Camping mode, Tactical Mode. I still don't know how you choose Outdoor and Camping and I don't care to be honest.

I use mine in default Outdoor Mode, where you have 45 and 180 Lumen. I just tested the light in direct comparisons (indoors only) and it wasn't the winner...

First, I took the Quark Turbo warm white. The hotspot of the Quark Turbo is smaller and it has a little donut, but even the warm white looks brighter than the LD25, the beam of the Turbo looks better, the spill looks brighter as well.

Then I took the cool white Turbo, well, I guess I must set it to High instead of Max to be able to compare the lights. Weird, as the cool is supposed to have 206 Lumen, 26 more only than the LD25, but it looks like a much bigger difference.

The best comparison may be the one against the Quark AA-2 neutral white. This time, the Quark is floodier, but it still looks brighter and the beam looks more homogenous, the LD25 wins in terms of throw, that's all (against the Turbo it looses).

I guess Fenix built the light for runtime, that's the only explanation that's left and according to the specs its 2 hours on high, which is 0,7 hours longer than the Quark. Personnally I don't care too much about runtime of AA lights, as I run them with rechargeables and carry spares if I use them. The price is another argument, the LD25 is curiously less expensive than a Quark AA2 (52,95$ against 59$) and much less expensive than the Quark Turbo (75$).

So, it could be a winner, depending on what's important for you. I forgot the plastic on the body, it doesn't feel bad, but the rubber coat of the TK20 had more grip. Do I like that plastic? Not in my living room, but in winter in the forest it may be different! :wave:

thanks for the info henk

i would like a quark aa2 turbo as well but here they are £62.95: way too much

runtime is a big dealbreaker for me in my aa lights, because i pretty much only use aa (and aaa) and i much prefer my ld20 over my others because of its runtime advantage (among other reasons)

Swedpat · Oct 1, 2010

GunnarGG said:
It's more like the TK12 regarding modes

General mode: 180 or 45 lumens
Camping mode: 85 or 3 lumens
Rescue mode: 85 lm or SOS

Hi GunnarGG! Eller kanske ska jag säga hej?

Where do you find information of 85 or 3 lumens modes? I don't find any information about this.

Regards, Patric

GunnarGG · Oct 1, 2010

Swedpat said:
Hi GunnarGG! Eller kanske ska jag säga hej?
Where do you find information of 85 or 3 lumens modes? I don't find any information about this.

Regards, Patric

Hej Patric!

I found it in the manual that came with the light.
There is some discussion about the light in this thread:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/285749&page=3

You can find the runtimes (for camping mode) there and some thoughts about the light.

Cheers,
Gunnar

Swedpat · Oct 1, 2010

Thanks, now I see!

Too bad these brightness modes are not mentioned at the websites! Yes, I can read Camping and Rescuing mode but no numbers of brightnesses, and therefore thought it has only two brightness modes: 45 and 180lumens.
Actually LD25 becomes much more interesting with 3 and 85lumens options as well!

Regards, Patric

fannin · Oct 2, 2010

are the threads on the fenix ld25 squared/trapezoid like on the newest ld10/20?

GunnarGG · Oct 3, 2010

fannin said:
are the threads on the fenix ld25 squared/trapezoid like on the newest ld10/20?

Yes, they are trapezoid. Seemes well done.
There is also 2 o-rings in the tail end.

Lucciola · Oct 3, 2010

I would be very curious about a comparison beamshot

Quark AA² (regular of tactical)
Quark Turbo
Fenix LD25

I think the beam is really the major desciding factor between these lights, because IMHO build quality and runtimes should be on a somehow comparable level.

At the moment I think about which UI is more useful if I had to decide between Quark tactical or LD25.

Tactical UI: Any output combination possible, but reprogramming both modes possibly slower than changing the LD25 presets
LD25 UI: Only preset output combinations, but IMHO well chosen. Should be sufficient for many users. For me definitely preferable over the LD20 UI.

I am leaning a bit towards the tactical UI, but maybe only because I have this light and got used to it. I am not sure which one I'd choose if both lights were new to me. Maybe still the Quark because it would give me the option to be flexible in case the LD25 presets reveal not being optimal for me. But really I'm not sure :shrug: as I also find the three output pairings of the LD25 well chosen and a nice touch.

Lucciola

fannin · Oct 3, 2010

GunnarGG said:
Yes, they are trapezoid. Seemes well done.
There is also 2 o-rings in the tail end.

thanks man

hojobones · Oct 3, 2010

Does anyone know of an rgb filter that can be used with the quark?

Henk_Lu · Oct 3, 2010

hojobones said:
Does anyone know of an rgb filter that can be used with the quark?

It can even shine around the corner with that ones :

http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=297_304&products_id=1976

I think you get it for free by now with an order whatever, I guess its wasn't a big success... :shrug:

DaveTheDude · Oct 4, 2010

I pre-ordered an LD25 six weeks before the light's U.S.A. release date. For what it's worth, my "neutral" LD25 arrived featuring a very slight greenish-yellow tint. Nobody but a CPF member would likely notice this, but I find it annoying that Fenix would not make the effort to avoid known off-color tints, especially in the first batch of the lights released to the US market. They had to know that CPF members would be first in line to buy, and to either praise or damn the product.

If I knew the light would have this tint before purchase, I would NOT have pulled the trigger. I have six (seven?...l don't keep count any more) other Fenix torches, and this is the first with a bad tint.)

That noted, in fariness to Fenix the light is very well built: the parts are machined to cliose tolerances; smooth head twist; no battery rattle, etc.). It performs very well insofar as the engineering is concerned, and generates a very useful beam geometry. Also, in a woodland environment, the slight greenish cast to the tint does not affect the light's performance, or radically change the color rendition of objects in the beam's near field.

So even though I'm the only one who knows it has a greenish cast, and even though it performs well from an objective standpoint, I'm still slightly bummed. I expected better quality control from Fenix, given the company's reputation, my past experience, and the fanfare surrounding the release of the LD25 and LD40 series.

Fenix LD25 vs. Quark AA2 Neutral

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