Q3 Is Too Bright !!

I thought that this title might get some attention ! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin07.gif

I recently purchased a Q3.
Although it is a nice little light....and well worth the money..........It is too bright for most of my use around the house.
After looking at what I am working on at close range (arms length), if I want to looks immediately
at something else nearby that does not really need more light....I find that the brightness of the
Q3 has spoiled my vision for the ambient lighting.
This is where the ARC 4+ comes in.
Maybe I should have posted this in the ARC Forum.....but, it would not have got as much attention there.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

THE IDEAL EDC LIGHT (FOR ME) MUST have USER ADJUSTABLE brightness.
The ARC 4+ on level 7 is right for most arms length tasks. It gives enough light without
spoiling your vision for other tasks. AND, if you need more light....it is there !

I know all this CPF "brighter is better" but, this is not always true.

The ARC 4+ has me spoiled for any other light for EDC.
As I have a second that I paid $100 for...there is no other production (although no longer) light that
has the USER ADJUSTABLE brightness at anywhere near its' price.
(Unless HDS FINALLY comes out with their light).

Glenn

I use a Dorcy 1AAA 1LED around the house (just enough for navigating) and a Streamlight Jr. Luxeon outdoors for more oomph. Most Luxeon lights without some kind of dimming capability are overkill indoors.

There is no doubt that adjustable lights are superior, but you have to consider that the Q-III is like 40 bucks. For those $40, nothing else comes close to what the Q-III offers.

Peter

The QIII's package statement of "up to 75 lumens" is exaggerated, but LitFuse is right. For $40 bucks the QIII is a marvel. I picked up a 1 watt Luxeon aluminum flashlight at Circuit City about a month ago that has a low setting which doesn't overwhelm your vision at night. It's marketed under their NexxTech brand:

Well, if you want a cheap light with adjustable light levels, I'd suggest getting a combination xenon/LED light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Otherwise, you're paying for $40 for the Q-III plus a bit more for a modded switch which offers two-stage functionality. But for the price, it really is a hard package to beat on the Luxeon flashlight side.

Otherwise, you're looking at well over a hundred dollars for something with similar performance: E1e/KL1 head with two-stage switch, for example.

The Q3 is my "assault on all things dark" light and for those "just enough to see", I use my Inova red Personal light attached to my keychain. Same deal I think with Photon's, etc. These are the smaller support guys for the big guns and very cheap as well.

TM-301X-3

I find myself using my Q3 more than other lights of mine. Stays in pocket all the time. I just hold it back further if to bright on inside work. It gets an A+ from me on size vs brightness vs cost. Great EDC.
Ya and my friends that still use D size Mag lights are coming around too. I like my hot rod Mags but the Q3 is a REAL EDC.

NikolaTesla /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

An Arc lamp is the Spark that takes away the Dark--HID Forever!

All My Lights

Some Lights

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chevrofreak said:
TM-301X-3

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True... I think the ideal EDC - for me - would be a single 123a or LiON that wasn't much longer than the Q3 with two stage output, first stage would be as bright as the Q3 perhaps a bit brighter, maybe with less throw and the lower stage would be a bit dimmer than the Infinity Ultra... between the Infinity and Infinity Ultra. Build quality/design similar to the ARC AAA (fine texture, twisty) in HA3 with a scratch resistant lens. The higher end custom lights are super nice for sure, but I think this is doable for under well $100 and I think they'd sell like crazy.

This is a silly thread, no light can be TOO bright! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I carry a Dorcy 3 AAA Luxeon around the house. I don't feel bad using it a lot since it eats only AAA's, and for most general uses, even if going outside, it provides adequate output for me.

Anyone knows how many Watt is the Q3 led?

Arowana: The Nuwai Quantum III flashlight features a 3-watt LED.

Correction: It's a LuxIII, which can be driven anywhere from around 1 watt up to 4 watts. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif LuxI's can also be driven up to 3 watts or so, and LuxV's can be driven even higher than 5W's, which makes for a marketing nightmare.

IIRC, the Q-III's 'wattage' varies from anywhere between 1.7-2.2W for non-rechargable 123's, and a bit higher for the rechargable 123's. By way of comparison, Arc4 #1768 as reviewed on Cones site is driven at around 3.57 watts on a LuxI (1.19Ax3V), and a Surefire L5 using a LuxV driven at 1.18A gets 7.08 watts of power dissipation going. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Wattage is NOT a good measure of output with flashlights - it's like asking whether a 35mpg car or a 50mpg car would be faster; those measures aren't really relevant to the measure you're going for (speed).

Yes QIII is an EDC size and it bright enought for use as faraway. The 2 stage switch from change inside switch is should be set to very low for close up use and reading.

Haesslich, good poitns on wattage. But maybe a better analagy would be having a car that gets 24mpg city and 34mpg highway, when it is getting 30mpg, how fast is it going? There is a limited correlation between brightness and watts. But I am nitpicking too much.

The important thing to remember is that a product advertised with a 3 watt led, probally has a Luxeon III (or clone) and it could be driven at much less then 3 watts. Actually my rule of thumb is if they don't tell current levels, then assume it is driven at less then 3 watts.

BTW - thanks for the wattage levels of the QIII, I didn't know it was that low.

Pocketbeam - while the gas mileage on a car may be affected by it speed, that mpg figure won't affect what speed it goes at or how much torque the engine gives; it's a result of the size of engine or the efficiency or the power-to-weight ratio, and doesn't directly affect the speed as an older 1960s gas-guzzler will have bad mileage and may be no faster than a modern vehicle with a similar or slightly better mpg figures.

And the Q-III is a one-cell light; given that the figures I've seen in several reviews (Craig's and Cones') vary between 550-760 mA on 3V, you'd need to drive it a lot harder to get the 3 watts that they specify LuxIII's using in most marketing materials. These are probably better on 2x123 bodies with a current regulator, to be honest - a lower current there combined with the higher voltage makes it much easier to drive a LuxIII at spec for the full runtime or most of it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Got two mod ALXs from 4sevens awhile back that use 3 AAA and have dual brightness. Low is less than my Streamlight Lux Jr. and high is somewhat more, with far better throw. Nimh rechargeables work fine, longer than alkalines in fact.

I loved my Arc4. As an electrician, I used the hell out of it and found the 3 setting access to be quite sufficient. I also loved the pocket clip. My edc now is a Mr. Bulk Li-on Heart , that, despite the nitpicking, is a fantastic light that blows the pants off the arc4. My only complaints are the lack of a pocket clip (they say it's coming soon) and the high price (paid the same as an arc4 for mine).

I am also very interested in the HDS lights, if they ever ship. I also hope that they offer li-ion bare cell or pila sized battery tubes.

Funnily enough, that's exactly what my wife said! She was using it as a light while reading my kids a bedtime story. She asked if I had a "smaller light".