There's an Ultrafire C3 with a Q5 in it (Probably an XP-E I'd guess- wonder why they didn't go for an R2? Comes with the 2AA extension tube. If you get a second etension tube you can run it on 3AA NiMH and get lots and lots of light though this can get a bit much for the LED as they won't sag in voltage the way 14500s will.
Since the older ones fiercely overdrive the P4 Cree in them they were very, very bright if not the most reliable things on the market. I think I want one. I just hope it isn't the godawful driver that they put in the Aurora SH0030 though the voltages look familiar. The 5 mode Aurora SH0030 is the greenest LED light I've ever seen.
Nevertheless I think I'll get one. I'd hold off on this one till you see a review though - C3's other than the stainless steel one are not for those who rely on their lights to, you know, actually work. I enjoy fighting with C3s to get them to emit light. Looking closely at the pics, I'm pretty certain it is an XP-E which won't handle fearsome overdriving the way the XR-E P4s would. Note the voltages - it is a 2NiMH or single 14500 light. Ordered one anyway.
The colours on that one look very over-saturated to me - I think that's a Tank007TK-703 with a clip beside it and mine is certainly not that colour - mine is more magenta. But it has to be a plus if it isn't the ghastly pink of the DX picture. Those Trustfire 14500s in the charger are a far more intense blue than any of the ones I have.
You are right - no idea what I was thinking. I do wonder if the one I get will have an XR-E or something else in it though. DX say it shipped 8 days ago so hopefully it'll arrive soon.
It is clearly an EZ900 die so it probably is a Q5. It is an odd pale grey colour and feels slightly higher quality than the C3s of old. Nevertheless, since it is a C3 the pill was slightly loose inside the head - nothing five seconds with a fingernail couldn't fix. Not lubed. The finishing on the ends of the body tubes is nicer than is usually the case with C3s and it is very important as these are the contact areas.
It is certainly adequately bright in my very brightly lit (and very blue lighting) office.
The EZ900 die is smaller but the distinctive thing is the copper-coloured border around the die. It has a slightly lower forward voltage than the EZ1000 die. The die area of the EZ1000 is 0.96mm2, the EZ900 0.77mm2 An EZ900 ought to throw better than an EZ1000 of the same total output because it is smaller and easier to focus.
I'd probably not notice the size difference alone. These things are hard to photograph but I will try when I'm doing pictures of the light.
I was a little distracted when typing that - one of my customers who is currently more than a little manic appeared so I hope they are right - I took them off the EZ900 and EZ1000 datasheets which gave the lengths of the sides +/- 35 micrometres so an EZ1000 is between 945 and 1015 micrometres on a side. The EZ900 is nominally 880micrometres on a side again +/- 35 so between 845 and 915 micrometres on a side. There is quite a lot of information in the Cree datasheets which are to be found here(EZ900) and here(EZ1000)
So the biggest EZ1000 could be 1.03mm2 and the smallest 0.89mm2. The EZ900 is between 0.715mm2 and 0.84mm2.
This one runs warm. Fortunately aluminium is a better heat conductor than stainless steel. Any 200 lumen AA light is going to get hot. Very hot.
It doesn't get as hot as the stainless steel one which the difference in measurements is easily within experimental error. I think I like this one. A lot.
It is better made than the earlier C3s I have and the C3 extension tubes from the older ones don't seem to work. Well, I know how to fix that. Results to follow once I do the tests.
This one is showing "classic" C3 behaviour. These numbers certainly don't make sense - I saw it flicker on the 2AA setup and output nearly halved. Then stayed pretty much steady. This is not expected behaviour. C3s are fun things to play with. Not perhaps so good at emitting light though. Time for some more fiddling. I must say that the grey one I just received is dramatically better made.
Have come to the conclusion that my unprotected 14500s are toast. Or my crop of C3s are being flakier than usual. Or both. I could get four of the five C3s to work which is not bad. But that is "work" as in "sufficiently low value of work."
Here are the numbers for your edification.
Ultrafire C3 (P4)
14500
457
438
Ultrafire C3 (P4)
AA NiMH
229
234
Ultrafire C3 (P4)
2AA NiMH
781
455
Ultrafire C3 (P4) No. 2
14500
1347
1118
Ultrafire C3 (P4) No. 3
14500
1176
1099
Ultrafire C3 (P4) No. 4
14500
865
819
Aurora SH0030 single mode
14500
1083
Like I said they are bright little guys if a bit flaky. Now where is my label maker so I can remember which one is which?