Flashlight Review – BLF Q8

Intro

Most of the flashlights used for light painting are to illuminate some sort of tools, like blades , tubes , fibers etc. There is one more category of flashlights though – “big lights” which are really useful , especially when you want to light up a scene outdoors.

The  BLF Q8 with its 5000 lumens and the small size, sounds like a great solution. Lets see a bit more details about it.

Disclaimer

The flashlight was provided by Banggood for a honest review. I think this is the only place you can find it ( at least it used to be so) . You can check at this link : BLF Q8

Construction

This flashlight is the product of a collaboration of flashlight enthusiasts and the company Thorfire. To break it down to you more.. give some flashlight nerds the freedom to design their dream light ( on that category) and this is what you gonna get.

The result even by the specs are quite impressive:

• 5000+ Lumens ( about 5200 actually) !
• 4x XP-L HD V6 3D Leds
• uses 4x 18650 batteries
• Advanced temperature regulation (ATR) technology
• Sophisticated  interface( yet simple if you prefer)
• IPX8 waterproof
• and all that in a compact size of 13,3 x 5,9 x 5 cm and weighting 400g only!!  (without batteries)

From the first touch you can feel this thing is solid. It has a back-lit button from the one side and a tripod screw from the other.

You can separate the body from the head in about the middle of the whole light, and then you can see the place for the batteries. It operates with 1-4 18560 button top batteries. Thats right , it will operate even if you have only 1 battery there, which to my opinion is a great feature! Remember to always use same type of batteries to be on the safe side.

The lens is high transmittance glass and has a smooth reflector , giving the light a quite throwy beam for its size. Comparing to the Olight SR Mini Intimidator that I have, this one is much more “beamy” which is good when illuminating a scene. ( and almost double as bright too.. and that for 1/3th of the price of what I paid for that..)

 

The color is supposed to be at the 4700-5000 kelvin range, which should be quite neutral, although I did find it to be a bit on the green side on its beam ( the spill is more neutral).

There is also a mechanical lockout  to prevent accidental turning on while you are moving etc. Just unscrew slightly the body and it locks.

Interface

Out of the box, when I first show the manual I was a bit skeptical..  That thing is so full with options and the letters are so small I have to take a photo for my eyes to be able to read those!

Indeed there are many modes and options to tweak the interface to your liking if you want. After all , this was designed by Flashlight Enthusiasts, remember ?

I was very pleasantly surprised though to find out that the default mode has everything I would need from this light ( and maybe even more!)

• One click: ON  to the last level. Second Click OFF
• Double click : Max
• Click and Hold: turns ON at MOON and Ramps up to MAX ( If at max it Ramps down)
• Triple click: Battery check ( this is quite impressive..  It blinks and tells you how much power there is in your batteries with accuracy of 0,1v!!)
• Four clicks: Lockout ( it flashes 4 times shortly , you need to click again 4 times to reactivate it)

Like said , there are a ton of other modes and option to customize this to your needs, but this out of the box mode if super fine for me.

Strobe would be something I would like to have easy access  if the light would fit in any tool adaptors but this things head is around 5,8cm wide so it wont fit any regular tool adapter.

 

Conclusion

Plus + 

Solid  build

Compact Size

Works with even 1 x battery

Brightness

Customisable UI with easy default mode

Great Value for Money !! This one costs normally around 70 euros , and you can find it even lower sometimes.

 

Minus – 

Manual was small and hard to read.

The UI can be quite complex to truly master

 

All in all I m extremely happy with this light. Its compact size and brightness combo together with its price , makes it a great small “big light ” for us light painters when we go out.

Product link : BLF

You can get a 12% discount from us. Follow the link above and add : BGTORCH at the code section.