Beamshot comparisons of Q8 w/4000K 90CRI LH351D

All beamshots at 5000K white balance, varying flashlight output and shutter settings on a dated phone camera.

Q8 vs Neutron 2C V3 5000K XPL:

Q8 vs SC600 HI 4500K XHP35 HI:

Q8 emitters vs Neutron:

Q8, SC600 HI, Neutron, Sofirn SF14 on wood:

The Neutron has almost identical tint and shift, temp and fairly similar beam pattern to what the Q8 was with stock emitters. Makes a very close comparison for lack of a stock Q8.

Overall well worth the time and effort, if only to get tons of practice soldering/reflowing. The tint is way nicer now, although still a bit green at lower output levels (considering finally grabbing some minus green filters) and the color rendering is hugely improved too. Didn’t get a chance to grab any outdoor beamshots yet but it really shows on any reddish/brownish colors (AKA super common in nature) and really makes them stand out from the green of leaves and grass. Beam profile doesn’t seem much floodier than stock XPL, way less change than I expected and throw is very nice with noticeably less backscatter.

One word of warning, make sure you have enough heat to reflow the LEDs if you try with the Q8… took quite a while on an electric skillet set to ~425 F according to the dial for the emitters to come loose. That copper on the MCPCB can soak up a LOT of heat.

More pics on my imgur , didn’t keep track of what output/cam settings though… oh well. Should’ve used higher white balance for that beam comparison on wood too, the Neutron and SF14 looked washed out, green and generally awful compared to the Q8 and ZL (< shoutout to that XHP35 4500K for still looking amazing, even compared to the new cool kid on the block).

Edit: Once I turned off f.lux on my desktop… :person_facepalming: those wood beamshots aren’t too far off the mark.