Bought from DX for the princely sum of $9.99
Link
Light Output:
Throw at 1 metre
14500 cell at 4.13V: 6100 Lux
NiMH at 1.5V: 2830 Lux
Lightbox:
14500: 1535 Lux
NiMH 694 Lux
Runtime:
14500
Nimh
Current:
14500 @ 4.06V 1290mA These six results are with grey protected Trustfires.
14500 @ 4.05V 1160mA
14500 @ 3.975V 1165mA
14500 @ 3.905V 1231mA
14500 @ 4.136V 1145mA
14500 @ 4.166V 1249mA
14500 @ 3.940V 1150mA This is a longer blue protected Trustfire.
NiMH 2195mA This light is NOT alkaline friendly
Weight:
Without Cell 40.6g (1.44oz)
With 14500 61.3g (2.17oz)
With Eneloop 66.5g (2.35oz)
Review
Light, simple, still not too hot to hold after ten minutes on a 14500. The design is identical to that of the Akoray K-106 and like it, I can’t operate the switch with the ball of my thumb, I have to use my thumbnail or another finger.
The upside of the design is that it is virtually impossible to turn the light on by accident and it tailstands very well.
To see better pictures than mine of the internals and externals, take a look at Jay’s review of the K-106 here. The colours in the next two shots are pretty accurate.
This is a K-106
And this is its non-GITD tailcap.
The main differences are the logo
and the colour of the internal O rings (which are all GITD and the boring greenish-brown ones at the body end actually are much better GITD material than is usual)
and the GITD tailcap. 
Lit with UV to show this.
OK, this one was lit with flash rather than UV, but you get the idea.
Why internal O rings that are never going to be exposed to light (and therefore “charged up”) are made from GITD material I leave as an exercise for the reader.
The head is interchangeable with the one from the K-106 and the tailcap probably is but the K-106’s one is reluctant to come off. They are not the same colour though, the K-106 is several shades lighter. The K-106 head doesn't seem to want to work on the UniqueFire and I wasn't interested enough to find out why.
It is not Type 3 anodized, in fact the coating appears to be quite soft as the clip has already scratched the coating. However, it is not necessary to remove the tailcap in normal usage as it is far easier to remove the head and replace the cell from that end. Like all such clips they can be a pain to get back in if you take the tailcap/switch off which is why there are no pictures of it on its own - it looks absolutely identical to the K-106 one anyway
Light Output
The reflector is quite heavily textured and gives a very nice beam with no artefacts at any distance over about two feet.
As you can see the Osram emitter is tiny and the reflector appears deeper than that of the K-106. This may just be an effect of the tiny emitter.
The spill under the (very blue) office fluorescents seems purplish and the hotspot very slightly green. To see a grossly exaggerated version of that, the beam of most Fenix E01’s is an example. This isn’t even remotely as bad as that, in fact if I’d not been shining it at a newly cleaned whiteboard under the “daylight” fluorescents required for offices here I’d never have noticed it.
Under the very green CFL lights at home pointing it at an ivory wall at about 20cm, it has a total beam diameter of 33cm with a dim greenish outer corona about 40mm wide, a spill of 250mm diameter which is perhaps slightly purplish and a hotspot that is a creamy white of 40mm diameter. I’m attempting to describe in words what my camera can’t capture and perceptions vary according to ambient light – it seemed different in the office this afternoon. However, after years of making colour photographic prints, I have excellent colour vision.
Really, we are talking things that only a spectrophotometer could be objective about and anything that is seriously useful for that is in the new car price bracket or was the last time I ordered lab equipment. I compared it against the same wall with an ROP as the sole ambient light. Under that lighting, the dim corona was still greenish, but the spill and hotspot appeared pure white.
Time to stop messing around and get rid of all ambient light and find that Kodak test card in the loft (Which is nearly 30 years old, but the white side still seems pristine). Under that, I’ll go for dim greenish corona, bright, faintly purplish spill, pure white hotspot. Repeating the test with a 14500, there is still the greenish corona, but the spill is pretty much white with a very, very faint purplish tint (But this may just be that it is very much brighter) and the hotspot is still pure white.
In the real world, you will notice exactly none of this. I spent ages trying to get beamshots to show this but failed miserably. Consumer digital cameras just aren’t designed for this sort of thing. You really need a low resolution, low contrast, very, very low noise sensor of huge dynamic range.
Consumer digital cameras have ludicrously high resolution, hideously noisy sensors with high contrast (often exaggerated by the camera’s internal processing) as this makes the pictures “look better”. High dynamic range (as in what our eyes have no trouble coping with) sensors are not priced to put in consumer cameras, in fact if you want really good ones you are getting into apartment prices.
It has just occurred to me after I'd finished this review that the
greenish corona almost certainly has to do with the GITD O ring at the
lens end.
Conclusion
Five stars. I actually like this one better than the K-106 and it is cheaper. If it wasn't for the heavy current draw of the Osram LEDS and the lack of alkaline friendliness - not that I use alkalines - I'd have given it 6 stars. It is very bright on a 14500 - still have to get an NiMH beamshot of it and some more beamshots in general. Here it is on a 14500 in my basckyard test range.
And here's the control shot.
Here are some comparison shots on NiMH
Here are the four candidates. UniqueFire AA-S1, Akoray K-106, Tank007 E07, Ultrafire C3 Q5 Stainless Steel
Here's the downrange effect
Akoray K-106. Mine is the 3-mode programmable and doesn't much like NiMH and keeps switching modes down. I'll need to reprogram it as it is set up for a 14500. It is capable of being a lot brighter than this on an NiMH. Obviously it's on high as a programmable light won't have any settings in common with another except the maximum.
UniqueFire AA-S1
Taank007 E07
Ultrafire C3 Q5 Stainless Steel on high
Still to do
Ceiliing shots, comparison with K-106
Don
- 2009.11.30
- 08:35:53
- (*.143.128.181)
Hi V
Will do. May take a while though - this is my busiest time of year at work and it doesn't stop till Jan 1. Also depends a bit on the weather - the first snow of the winter due tomorrow though we had a lot of hail today and generally vile weather.
Don't own one of the S10s but it does look interesting. I'd guess it is a lot less bright on NiMH. None of these bright lights are really suitable for use with alkalines at all. They just draw far too much current. Runtime is not normally a big issue for me - my first bright light was an Orb Raw with 12 minutes runtime on high - though my personal preference is for about an hour's runtime on high. I've stuck it on my DX wish list but I never order from DX in December as stuff takes for ever to arrive - if the PO don't lose it or they send the wrong thing. Also avoid them around Chinese New Year. Gives the wallet some breathing space too. And I may have to buy a new car on Wednesday so discretionary funds may, or may not, be available.
I'd never actually tried the stainless C3 on NiMH and it was rather brighter than expected. 2690 lux at 1m. But then it is pulling 2.21A from an Eneloop. But it doesn't cremate your hands either.
When I figure out how to do it, I'll make some animated GIFs to directly compare beamshots.
Thanks for the feedback.
The Tank007 actually lives in my pockets and has only been used on a 14500 for these tests. I'll try for all ten of the small ones on NiMH next but the weather does rather limit the beamshots. I also want to redo the earlier ones at ISO200 instead of 100 so that all the pictures are comparable.
Vectrex
- 2009.11.30
- 10:21:39
- (*.63.6.146)
Hi Don,
I own the Tank007 E07, MTE C2-70102 Cree Q5 8-Mode LED Flashlight (1*AA), Maratac AAA Stainless Steel, Torch Light C78 and i have access to Romisen RC-29, Kingpower K2 4-Mode, Ultrafire C3 Stainless Steel, Romisen MXDL RC-G2 (new), Romisen RC-G2 II Cree Q5 Flashlight "Gray" (1xAA) , OSRAM LED 1-Mode Lens Flashlight (1*AA) .
I only use eneloop AAA + AA's at the moment, i still don't trust cheap LIONS even with protected cells. (i have seen overcharged and damaged cells in videos ;-) )
So far I like the MTE and the Maratac best because of their large bright hotspot and enough spill.... i don't need absolute throw. As a thrower the improved G2's are nice.
The C78 (clicky) and the MTE (threads) have some build quality issues. The UniqueFire AA-S1 also seems to have a larger hotspot but most flashlights that have support for AA and 14500 lack output in the AA-department. I ordered a Solarforce L2r SAND AA Battery flashlight Body, withSolarforce 300Lms R2 Cree Led 3Mode 0.8V-4.2V
Bulb and Solarforce
Stainless Steel Flat Bezel For L2/L2M#50013 as my first 2xAA light for $ 32.99 shipped.
The perfect 1XAA light for me would be the UF C3 SS Body with the MTE C3 "light engine". Your lightbox reading of the UniqueFire AA-S1 suggests that it has about half the brightness with AA. I'm only asking for the AA beamshots because I like the beam profile of the Osram emitters a lot... (perfect bike light?)
Best regards,
VectrexStan
- 2009.12.03
- 09:04:58
- (*.78.52.61)
Thanks for the review Don, much appreciated.
I think this light deserves to win a few friends considering its performance, decent quality and bargain price. I would imagine that most of us torch fans tend to avoid Alkaline cells due to their tendency to leak at the most inconvenient moment, so its performance on them is a mute point for us.
The AA- S1 does perform well on LSD cells in my experience, although I'm avoiding using mine overly as I intend to give it as a gift to my lovely wife.
Thanks Don.
jayki
Don
- 2009.12.08
- 08:54:40
- (*.143.128.181)
Don
- 2009.12.11
- 08:34:02
- (*.143.128.181)
thundergust
- 2009.12.15
- 16:26:52
- (*.68.10.84)
I think Vectrex meant the UniqueFire S10 with the R2 emitter, rather than the S1 with the OSRAM. The S10 is priced similarly to the K-106, but with a R2 emitter instead of a Q5. If the S1 is that good, shouldn't the S10 be even better?
Would Don or Jayki consider reviewing the S10 next please? :P
Don
- 2009.12.16
- 03:56:15
- (*.170.177.212)
Hi Thundergust
I'll put one into my next DX order, but from previous experience the period around Christmas and Chinese New Year gets pretty chaotic at DX and stuff seems to take forever to arrive or turn out to be out of stock - so don't hold your breath but i will cover it once it gets here. Probably be February by then though.
Once I've filled out the details on the ten small lights, I have a bunch of small Ultrafire CR123 lights with recent emitters that I might do next. The Ultrafire C3 certainly needs doing - the gist of the review would be screaming bright on a 14500 and tend to be flaky.
What I'm waiting for at the moment is http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.30683 (Not a cheapie but a lot of light) which appears to be out of stock, http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.31802 because I left the last one in the car when i scrapped it and want one for the new car, and this http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.31731 which is over the $20 barrier by a little but I like stainless steel lights. I also have coming a XP-G R5 dropin from KD. From previous experience I'd expect it in March and on its way to me just now is a 4sevens Preon kit. It will get reviewed as soon as I've had a good play with it. It'll probably replace whatever's clipped into my work jacket's pockets just now.
Might do something on a modded Maglite. Crazy bright but not so cheap. My brightest light just now is a 6D Maglite with a metal reflector and glass lens and an ROP bulb. Practical it is not though. The torch cost me about $16 in a sale, the reflector $15, the glass lens pennies and a pair of ROP bulbs $10. I had some 25 year old NiCd D cells but have just bought some low self discharge D cells to put in it. The 6 cells cost more than all the other parts put together $56. The end result isn't all that cheap - or practical but is a lot of fun and will run for a bit under 2 hours.
Vectrex
- 2009.12.16
- 09:48:28
- (*.63.85.190)
Hi
Thunder and Don,
My S10 with
R2 was shipped according to HK-Post on 14.12 ... I will post first impressions
as soon as it arrives but it may take 'til after new years. BTW it's even
cheaper on kaidomain but only in grey with GITD tailswitch and as 5 and 6 modes
available.
UniqueFire
S10 CREE R2 5-Mode
Flashlight (1*AA)
UniqueFire
S10 CREE R2 6-Mode
Flashlight (1*AA)
The S1 with Osram is also interesting
but for different reasons, mainly large hotspot, simple 1 mode, nice body…
maybe perfect for a gift.
Don
- 2009.12.18
- 22:19:24
- (*.170.177.212)
Hi thundergust
Different intended uses, different drive current to the LED, smaller reflector though the beam is much tighter.
But primarily the Uniquefire pulls half an amp more from the cell. The Tank007 pulls 1.6A and the Uniquefire 2.1A.
The Ultrafire is a Cree Q5 driven hard and the Akoray needs fiddling with to get it set up for NiMH
Don
- 2009.12.22
- 06:52:51
- (*.170.177.212)
To clarify on the last comment, the Tank007 has a much less intense hotspot - the light is much more evenly distributed across the beam. What the backyard beamshots show mostly is the hotspot so the Tank007 appears much less bright than it actually is.
The Tank007 is intended for indoors and relatively close-up work where a throwier beam would be too bright in the hotspot. Though I almost always have both the Uniquefire and the Tank007 on my person, the Tank007 gets used more and that's from the 15 lights currently sitting on my desk in front of me. It gets transferred from my trouser pockets along with my wallet so is almost always on my person. It is snowing outside or I'd put a 14500 in it and do a beamshot. I imagine the white backyard would seriously distort the brightness of everything even if it were not snowing.
Vectrex
- 2010.01.24
- 09:58:09
- (*.63.85.190)
My S1 arrived yesterday and I really like it way better than the S10. My emitter is very off-centre. Maybe due to that I have a very smooth beam with a almost flood like transition between hotspot and spill. (no rings at all) My tint is very yellow-green. I think this light has just taken the crown of give-away-lights from the Romisen G2. Thanks for your recommendation Don, we seem to have a similar taste in budget lights.
Don, do you have extra black O-rings to try out that tint colour theory of yours?
BTW my neighbour received his UltraFire WF-501B 3.7V~4.2V CREE XPG R5 WC LED 5-mode Flashlight (1*18650) and the included P60 drop-in is great but the clicky isn't very good and has some malfunctions. Typical Ultrafire....
Vectrex
- 2010.01.25
- 00:40:33
- (*.63.85.190)
Ah, I found my bag of black 18mm O-rings and did the test myself. Black O-rings don't change the general tint of the light, only the very outer rim of the spill is more white. So there is basically 2 tints in the beam. I changed it back to the GITD O-ring. The emitter itself seems to have an epoxy layer coating, maybe that's the reason for the yellow-green tint. (I'm almost certain ;-) ) My Tank007 E07 was more white and is supposed to have the same emitter. Still a great little light and my ultra budget recommendation when you don't mind the tint colour.
Hi Don,
nice review but too much emphasis on 14500 for my taste, can you make some AA shots with comparison to K-106, Tank007and stainless C3 also on AA?
Thanks in advance. Are you or Jayki planning on testing the Uniquefire S10?
Uniquefire S10 Cree R2-WC 6-Mode 220-Lumen Memory LED Flashlight - Black (1*AA/1*14500)
Best regards,
Vectrex