Review with X-Ray image: Zanflare F2 (2xAA)

Disclaimer

This product was sent to me from GearBest for review. No other payment was received for this review.
Product page: http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_613216.html

Introduction

After the success of the Zanflare’s first light, the 18650 format F1, the F2 is Zanflare’s entry into the AA format. The F2 is a 2xAA battery light - this being a format that has few competitors at the moment.

Packaging

The Zanflare F2 came in a branded cardboard box, with the flashlight, instructions, lanyard, clip, and spare O-rings. The instructions were well written.



Design and UI

As with the Zanflare F1, this light has the unique diagonal/spiral knurling which I really like. Due to being a 2xAA light, it is quite long (155mm) and thin (19mm), with a head larger than the rest of the body (25mm). It will fit the Light Painting Brushes Universal Connector. The tailcap unscrews to allow battery insertion, and the clip attaches to the body near where the tailcap screws.

Unlike the F1, there is only one switch at the tail. A full press will turn the light on/off. A half press will cycle through 4 modes:
Low>Medium>High>Strobe.
Thankfully, there is a memory mode (something that some more expensive AA lights lack), which reduced the need to cycle through strobe mode. The strobe is quite fast.

The light has a battery power indicator, which shows a blue light for 5 secs after turn on if >30, a red light for 5 seconds after turn on if 10-30, and flashing red light if less than 10%. This is an excellent feature given the low price of this light.



Output, Beam, and Runtime

The light is claimed to have a Cree XP-G3 emitter, however the reviewed example appeared to have a Cree XP-G2. This may not be a bad thing as the XP-G3 emitter is known for vastly different colour temperatures between the hotspot and spill beam due to phosphor covering the sides of the emitter. My sample has a neutral white emitter, which had a yellow hotspot, and slightly yellow spill beam. I would estimate the CCT to be between 4500-5000k.

The F2 has a beam profile that is more throwy than floody. The beam angle is approx. 55 degrees, and there is a well defined hotspot from the deep orange peel reflector.

PWM was not detected on any modes.

Modes are claimed to be:
Low 15 lumens(lm) (32hr)
Medium 50lm (8hr)
High 200lm (0.63hr)*
Strobe 200lm (no claimed runtime)
Ceiling bounce tests @30secs saw outputs around 10 to 20% higher than the claimed outputs.
when measured, the high mode runtime was observed to be well regulated until 80 minutes (on NiMH Eneloops) before output declined to approximately 1 lumen by 100 minutes. At 4 hours, the light was still producing around 1 lumen of light, at which point I stopped testing. Thus this light will not suddenly leave the user in the dark, unlike some other lights in its class.

Output on high is less impressive than some of its peers (for example the single AA Klarus Mi7 can briefly reach around 550lm), though 200lm is adequate for most day to day tasks (a decade ago 200 lumens from an incan light would have been “super-bright”). There is also no moonlight mode - which means that this light can’t realistically be used as a night light.




Beam shot (10m from light to hotspot) with exposure f/6.3, 4sec, ISO400, no post-processing.

Conclusion

The Zanflare F2 is a good value for money 2xAA light, with high quality construction. It has sufficient lumens and runtime for most day to day tasks. Choice of cool and neutral white is a bonus. I would recommend it to consumers wanting a quality, low cost AA light, that will not let them down. It is a big step up from flashlights found for a similar price in hardware stores.

Note: The runtime on high mode is considerably longer than in the specifications!

Thanks for the review. Wouldn’t it be better without mode memory?Then you would never have to cycle through strobe.
GB page states XP-G2.

Nice review Stephen. Love those x-ray shots! :+1:

Zanflare contacted me about this one a while back. I told them it wasn’t really appealing to me because of the combination of XP-G3 emitter with a smooth reflector. I suggested they change it to an OP reflector and stick with the good old XP-G2. I have a few XP-G3 lights and I just can’t get over the ugly beam so I’m glad to see they dropped the G3. I would say I was glad they went with an OP reflector too but in your pic looking into the reflector it looks like a smooth reflector to me. No?

It is OP, just a “light” OP treatment. The photo does make it look smooth.

I see what you mean about the memory. Being a light painter I prefer having memory mode so that can turn the torch on in a specific mode.

I think GearBest have just updated the spec, as the first batch of F2s have the XP-G2. Let’s hope they update the runtime on high as well.

Cool X-Ray photo.

And thanks for the review!

Awesome photos. X-ray photo is beyond cool. You must have friends that work in the medical field. Since the F2 has mode memory the strobe is not a deal breaker for me. Double click to activate strobe would be best. The emitter tint is so easy on the eyes. Thanks for the review.

Great review…but man you need to invest in a decent camera, those photos are awful quality!

What would you like, a photo of Elephants crossing the Serengeti? 50MP HDR sunset? It’s a flashlight review FFS! They are just iPhone pics apart from outdoor beam shot, which is the only one I used my SLR for.

Sorry, it’s a good review

Nice review Stephen , awesome x-ray shots! :+1:

I have just received mine from Amazon.it in neutral white, but with a smooth reflector…

Might be a bit more throwy then. Does it have an XP-G3?

According to the instructions is installed an xp-g2.
I’m a newbie but it seem to be really an xp-g2.

I got mine this month after long-lasting issues with delivery. It seems to me that reports about high mode being considerably brighter than 200 lumens are true. The beam is very throwy compared to a tube light like my TG06. With mode memory, strobe is not as annoying as it could be. With Ikea Ladda batteries and for the price I paid, this light is the best one I have in terms of cost/effect.

Edit: oh and I would have forgotten, the neutral tint looks super nice compared to my (admittedly few and cheap) previous cool white lights

the pill/shelf under the led is hollow or solid?can’t find photos of that diassembled