Got this today, it’s the FFL351A 3700K. Stunning light, the wine red with the black trim looks fantastic and oozes quality.
But it has an annoying flicker at low output, it’s not unlike PWM. And it also suffers the same problem as my Astrolux FT03 Pro as in the ramping is really jittery from on at low then up. The NOV-MU also gets to high (not turbo) and then immediately drops back down a bit. These are immediate impressions within 5 minutes of popping the battery in, I can see the light being returned just for that flicker.
I’ve put a couple of videos together, I think I caught the flickering when on constant low bestin the first video, and the jumpy ramping better in the second. No idea how to mute a video.
I will, this one is going back. I have jumpy ramping on an Astrolux FT03 Pro I just got but I can live with that on a long thrower.
I can’t be doing with the flicker at low lumens, and if I’m using it for photography, particularly video, the jumpy ramping at the start then the dropdown a bit from high isn’t going to work. I thought this thing was developed with photography in mind, the PL-47 I have is super smooth ramping.
Yes, my NOV-MU (original version, Lume driver REV B 11-20) also exhibits that flicker at low levels. I could barely notice it at level 25 out of 150, but it becomes more pronounced as the output level decreases. At levels above 25, I would have to try very hard to detect the flicker. My home-calibrated lumen tube measures 1 lumen at level 25, so the flicker is noticeable below 1 lumen. My E07X also has the same flicker issue, and since it uses the same Lume driver, I believe this flicker at low levels is a limitation of the driver.
The flicker issue at low output levels isn’t specific to Fireflylite. I’ve also noticed similar flickering in Hank (Emisar and Noctigon) lights. Based on my limited sample, the flickering was most pronounced in this order: boost driver, constant current driver, and standard driver. However, in Hank lights, the flicker is difficult to detect at levels above 10.
If you search for the keyword “flicker,” you’ll find many related posts.
Thanks for the reply @Limsup. The flickering being down to the driver isn’t good, especially as it affects other boost driver flashlights.
I took that video in my second post because I think that’s the sweet (or sour) spot where the flickering is at its most obvious. It’s above 1 lumen and probably around the perfect level to run the light with the lantern kit as a candle.
Does the jerky start to ramping up affect your FF? And the momentary high at the top of the ramp (not turbo) before a lumen drop down?
1 lumen is roughly equivalent to the light emitted by a single candle, and at those levels, my constant current driver and boost driver lights flicker. I believe only a FET+1 standard driver would remain stable at those levels.
No, mine does not ramp up like that. However, mine is an older version with E21 emitters. I’ve heard that the drivers in FF lights have been upgraded a few times, but I don’t have details. I just heard about new drivers being released. I’m not even sure if the new drivers are used in the NOV-MU V2.
I don’t know if this is related but just want to add to thread in case it helps. I’ve read (paraphrasing here, may not be accurate) somewhere that because of the Lume driver’s “UDR Ultra Dynamic Range” feature, not all the LED would light up at moonlight level. The engineer @loneoceans likes to have moonlight as low as possible, so the moonlight current is kept extremely low, sometimes below the turn-on threshold of the LED.
Description of driver: Lume X1 40W Boost Driver, Constant Current Regulated (up to 95% efficiency) with UDR (Ultra Dynamic Range).
FWIW none of my Fireflies (E07X, E04, X1L, T9R) flickers at moonlight, including the ones with Lume X1 driver. All the LEDs also light up.
This the listed driver, but I’m out of my depth when it comes to things like this. I was perfectly happy with FET drivers and honestly don’t really know the difference.
Lume1 6A High Efficiency Constant-Current Buck Driver (over 90% efficiency) with FET Turbo and UDR (Ultra Dynamic Range)*
At moonlight, as low as it goes, all 9 LEDs glow. The flickering doesn’t start until the light is a bit brighter and only does it within a narrow lumens band. FireFlyLite are on the holiday for a few days, so I’ll see what they say on their return.
Posting to compliment Fireflies on their customer service. Ivy looked at the videos, suggested I clean everything with alcohol and report back. As expected there was no change, so it’s probably a driver issue. The flicker is annoying as it’s very PWM to look at, but the immediate drop down from high brightness (not turbo, just high) when switching the light on is really irritating.
Anyway, to my point. I mentioned that the 3700K is much whiter than I thought, way whiter than a 4000K Nichia, and she asked me if I’d like a 1800K head sent out instead. No return of the 3700K FFL required.
I think that dealing with this problem so competently in the 2 days since the end of the Chinese Holidays is worth mentioning. They must have come back to a bunch of stuff needing doing, so, much thanks to them.
All 9 light up with the FFL, but with the 21 Nichia , only some light up at low levels.
Yeah this is what I have read; it’s related to the UDR feature. BTW even loneoceans admits “Ultra Dynamic Range” is somewhat of a cheesy name for that feature lol. Makes it sound like a receiver or TV.
That’s really very nice customer service to offer a new head with different CCT. I am no expert on this company but when I read older Firefly posts, it seems like there was an older Firefly Inc., and there is this new Firefly Inc. that you and I are experiencing. It’s this new Firefly Inc. that has recently released multiple great lights accompanied by multiple high-CRI, great rosy tint LEDs.
I was blown away by the overall premium quality, resulting in 5 Firefly lights within a few week period.
Just to close this one. The new 1800K head arrived and it makes the NOV-Mu into a beautiful candle type lantern with the lantern kit. The behaviour of the driver in this head is faultless, there is no shimmer type flicker at low output, no drop back upon ramping to high, and a smooth ramping throughout. It does look like it was a driver issue in the 3700K head.
For info, if this light is going to be used as a flashlight I think you’ll find the 1800K way too orange/yellow and the 3700K much more useful. For ambient and warm outdoor lighting, the 1800K is perfect, I’ve yet to take it out properly and test it for photography.
My thanks to @Fireflylite-Ivy for sorting this out so efficiently, you truly went above and beyond with your customer service.
