Review: Ultrafire C8 Cree Q5 *PIC HEAVY*

---Ultrafire C8 Cree Q5---​

Ok this is my second attempt to write a review. The first time my browser crashed and I lost 2 hours of work...I would really like to have a "save draft" option on new threads, as this is not the first time it has happened...:banghead:

Right enough of the rant... Ill show some pics and then give a run down of the various components of the light and some testing carried out. Ill also give a number of stars * out of 5 for each category. Unfortunately, I dont have a light meter so I cant give LUX readings.

Specifications ***

Brand: UltraFire
Model: C8
Material: Aluminum alloy
Emitter Brand: Cree
BIN: Q5
Color: Cool white
Number of Emitters: 1
Voltage Input: 3.6~4.2V
Battery:

1 x 18650 Battery (Not Included)
Circuitry: 1200mA
Brightness: 350lm
Runtime: 2~5 hours
Number of Modes: 5
Mode Arrangement: Hi > Mid > Lo > Fast strobe > SOS
Switch Type: Reverse clicky
Switch Location: Tailcap
Lens: Plastic lens..............Actually glass lens
Reflector: Plastic SMO + OP
Strap Included: Yes
Clip Included: No
Beam Range: 300 meters
Dimensions: 5.79 in x 1.77 in x 1.77 in (14.7 cm x 4.5 cm x 4.5 cm)
Weight: 4.48 oz (127 g)

Price *****

Well I cant argue with the price, although this has a Q5 emitter and plastic reflector, at $ 6.99 its by far the cheapest Ive found. If you wanted to upgrade to an XML T6 emitter star it would still be cheaper to buy this light and the emitter and driver separately!

Shipping, Delivery and Communication **(*)

I'm going to have to hazard a guess at the delivery time. When I agreed to do the review Aurabuy said they would contact me with the shipping details. That was on the 13 th of June. I waited and by the 23rd of June I still hadn't received a reply. I queried this and was told the light was on its way...It arrived on the 27 th via Switzerland? So either it was shipped from there, possibly a depot, or routed via Switzerland to get here? Either way they shipped the wrong light :tinfoil: I quickly sent them a reply to ask what had happened, but despite repeated emails I they seem to have gone quiet?** :undecided:

**Update here: They have recently contacted me and it seems that the person who was dealing with me, left the company and just dropped all communication. Aurabuy have been quite apologetic and even asked if I would like the light they originally agreed to ship. So Im giving them a provisional extra star in this category, provided all goes well and communication remains good.

The good news is that the package was very securely packed! I don't think Ive seen quite as much bubble wrap before! They also kindly included a charger and battery. Below are some pictures.

Please excuse the quality of the first 4 pics, they were taken with a camera phone as I was a little impatient and had to immediately unwrap it.:na:







Build *

The host is aesthetically pleasing and sits well in the hand. It has a big reflector and throws very well. The spill, or flood light, is rather poor however. Unfortunately the reflector is made of plastic so if you wished to mod the light with a more powerful LED, youd probably have to replace it. The clicky is a reverse clicky, which means no "momentary on" but you can click through the modes by partly depressing the switch. It remembers the last mode and so each time the switch is depressed it moves to the next mode. The modes are High:Med:Low:Strobe and SOS.

Here are some pictures of the light:







This is a picture of all the bits that make up the light:



This is a zoomed in shot of the pill and LED star and as you can see there is no heat sinking material between the star and pill. This is really bad, especially considering the currents the LED is run at! More on that later. The other issue is the exposed L+ wire, which is almost touching the star. Considering this host is electrically connected to the negative of the battery this could cause a direct short of the battery if the host were knocked or dropped. :undecided: The second picture shows the plastic insert which holds the star on the pill.




The driver is very basic and appears to be one of the really cheap unregulated varieties, as the current increases with battery potential. The soldering leaves a lot to be desired, but it does work. The modes are controlled by PWM and there is no visible flicker when the torch is moved rapidly. However, a high pitched humming sound can be heard in MED and LOW.



The next two photos show the clicky mechanism and how it is assembled into the host. To be honest the contact for the negative is quite beefy, which affords a good strong physical connection. All too often these contacts can buckle and break when removing the tail cap assembly. The clicky although cheap, provides enough resistance with a nice definitive click.




I tested the the current both at the tail cap and at the LED. To measure the LED current, I soldered my DMM between the L+ lead from the driver and the L+ pad on the star. This is the setup and I could quickly click through the modes and note the current.



I tested with both the Ultrafire 18650 provided and an AW IMR 18650. Not surprisingly the AW outperformed the Ultrafire.

Readings at Tail Cap

...................Ultrafire............AW
High...............2.06..............2.69
Med................0.98..............1.15
Low................0.42..............0.50

Readings at the LED

...................Ultrafire............AW
High...............1.45..............1.90
Med................0.65..............1.85
Low................0.32..............0.43

Output ***

These pictures show the dot profile at approximately 1 m from a white wall. All the exposures, in the sets, were identical as the modes were cycled through. The first set are exposed at 1/40 and the second set at 1/125 as a comparison.





In the next set of photos, Ive zoomed in on the hot spot a little using the lens and set the exposure to 1/100. This has enhanced the blurred area to the top right of the hot spot. This is not a problem with the torch, but rather a result of the positioning of the emitting surface of the LED, within the Q5 emitter chip. This can be seen in the cropped photo below the set.





Conclusion and Rating ***

Well Id give this a 3 out of 5 - Its a pretty average light. The build quality rating was definitely hampered by the lack of proper heat sinking for the star and the blatant lack of thermal compound. The possible risk of shorts with the battery was also a big concern and I shortened the exposed leads and re-soldered them to the emitter. Funnily enough when I screwed the pill down properly into the host and put it back together again the glass lens rattled around in the front! It turned out I had to partially unscrew the pill to get everything to fit back together properly! This will also have a detrimental effect on the heat sinking ability of the host on the pill.:wtf:

Despite the draw backs I was quite pleased with the throw of the Q5 emitter and I think that this could make a very handy torch for someone specifically looking for that. The price was also a no-brainer especially if somebody wanted to use it as a laser host... :eg:

Host was provided by Aurabuy for the purposes of a review! Thanks for reading. :beer:

Thanks for the review!

I like how you talked about both the light and the service, as many people would value good service as well as having a good product.

That's some pretty bad beam profile though. :undecided:
However, it should have decent throw, so how about some outdoor beamshots?
That would be really cool.

Thanks for your honest review and cheers to your awesome camera gear! :beer:
+1 when I can!

i was just going to say that emitter has a crappy profile! more wings than a group of bats!!!! I have a convoy C8 with a T6 in it and not a single wing. do you think its just a bad centering of the emitter and also being a XR-E Q5 versus a XML T6 or U2?

i do enjoy your reviews though, good work on the review!

Thanks guys!

ryansoh3 said:

I like how you talked about both the light and the service, as many people would value good service as well as having a good product.

Click to expand...

Yup I see it as equally important. If they have a cheap product, but cant be bothered to reply if there are problems, or pack it really badly so it arrives damaged etc there's not much point in buying it, as it could end up costing you more in the long run!

To be honest they were actually quick to reply, until I told them they had sent the wrong torch. They should have sent this one, or at least, this was the one they asked if I would be willing to review. I really liked the look of it and agreed. Im not sure why they sent the other one, perhaps cost was a factor?:thinking:

ryansoh3 said:

That's some pretty bad beam profile though. :undecided:
However, it should have decent throw, so how about some outdoor beamshots?

Click to expand...

Yeah I know but the throw is quite impressive. Ill try to get some beam shots, but Ive already given the light away as a present. :shhh:

Livinloud said:

i was just going to say that emitter has a crappy profile! more wings than a group of bats!!!! I have a convoy C8 with a T6 in it and not a single wing. do you think its just a bad centering of the emitter and also being a XR-E Q5 versus a XML T6 or U2?

Click to expand...

Youre absolutely right the profile is terrible and if you look closely you can actually see the bats! Im not sure why the rings are quite so pronounced, perhaps because the reflector isnt completely smooth. If you have a look a the last pic you can see that it actually has pronounced rings in it? It could also be due to the metal ring on top of the Q5 emitter causing a diffraction pattern?

As I mentioned I think the emitter was designed to be slightly off center. Either way its not a failing of the torch its self, other than cree selected to use that particular emitter. The Q5 is basically a thowy emitter due to its small size and that combined with the relatively deep reflector enhances the throw. I think thats what they were going for; a really cheap and effective thrower, at the expense of beam profile. :beer:

i didnt even notice those "waves" in the reflector.....thats really bad :/ sorry for that and luckily you got it to review. hope you dont have to pay for the lights you review or id be asking for a new one

No the light is free, but we are expected to write a review. I wont complain either as I think the reflector is supposed to be like that and besides the person I gave it to was very happy! :beer:

The XR-E is rated for 1A max if memory serves. I don't really know how tolerant these are to abuse, but >2A drive seems pretty irresponsible.

Cyparagon said:

The XR-E is rated for 1A max if memory serves. I don't really know how tolerant these are to abuse, but >2A drive seems pretty irresponsible.

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Your quite right it is excessive especially seeing as it wasnt thermally coupled with the pil...but it actually only hits a max of 1.45 A and 1.90 A, for the Ultrafire and AW respectively. Thats still excessive though! IIRC, its pretty much the same situation you had in your review lights?

Edit: Ive just done a bit of searching and it seems that the Q5 emitters should be run at around 1 A. Some have said 1.5 A is ok on copper with proper heatsinking. So yes it looks like its way too much current and it probably wont last long. I did put some silver thermal grease in there before it found its new home, just in case. :beer:

grainde said:

Your quite right it is excessive especially seeing as it wasnt thermally coupled with the pil...but it actually only hits a max of 1.45 A and 1.90 A, for the Ultrafire and AW respectively. Thats still excessive though! IIRC, its pretty much the same situation you had in your review lights?

Edit: Ive just done a bit of searching and it seems that the Q5 emitters should be run at around 1 A. Some have said 1.5 A is ok on copper with proper heatsinking. So yes it looks like its way too much current and it probably wont last long. I did put some silver thermal grease in there before it found its new home, just in case. :beer:

Click to expand...

Well then better enjoy it while it lasts :tinfoil:

grainde said:

IIRC, its pretty much the same situation you had in your review lights?

Click to expand...

No, my XR-E was run at 1A, and the XML (which is 3A max) was unregulated and peaks at around 2.2A.

Next time Aurabuy offers a review, I would highly recommend the Jacob A60.

I have heard that it's an awesome thrower, but it would be great for a trusted member to give his honest opinion of it.

ryansoh3 said:

Next time Aurabuy offers a review, I would highly recommend the Jacob A60.

I have heard that it's an awesome thrower, but it would be great for a trusted member to give his honest opinion of it.

Click to expand...

I may review that flashlight next month. There is a good deal on two over on BLF but one is broken and only be sold with the working light as a parts light. heard some pretty good things about the A60