My EC50 GEN III has arrived for weeks, however I could barely find some free time for a review, until now. Finally here it is, a review including the comparisons between EC50 GEN III and GEN II, hope you like it.
I bought all the flashlights mentioned below, with my own money.
Appearance
It's a bit weird that ACEBEAM doesn't publish any technical details of EC50 GEN III on their official web page (http://www.acebeam.com/ec50-gen-3), even though it has become available in the market for almost a month. Anyway, here is the front and back of the package box, you may find some details printed on it.
Accessories: user manual, warranty card, li-ion warning card, USB cable, lanyard, two spare O-rings, holster.
The EC50 GEN III on the left, and GEN II on the right. Some improvement seen on the GEN III: better stainless steel bezel and side switch, better anodization and chamfering. The number of fins is somehow reduced.
Due to the XHP70.2, a smooth reflector is used in the EC50 GEN III, instead of the orange peel reflector in GEN II. But I would like a orange peel reflector for GEN III, since the tint is becoming worse, and the greenish and bluish parts are more visible than before. The threads on the GEN III's bezel may enable you to install a filter on it.
The rubber cap for sealing the micro USB charging port. Unfortunately the rubber cap will pop-up after repeated use of Turbo. This is a common problem seen on ACEBEAM flashlights like EC50, EC60, L30, etc. ACEBEAM really should have the inner waterproof treatment for this port, like Fenix UC52.
The charging indicator, red for under charging, green for fully charged. This GEN III's indicator is much brighter.
The tail. Better chamfering is done on the tailcap of GEN III.
Springs within the tailcap and the tube. Though not very noticeable, the spring of the GEN II is a bit thicker.
The batteries I have tried. From left to right: PLB INR26650-55A, Keeppower IMR 26650 6000mAh (unprotected), bundled ACEBEAM 26650 5000mAh (protected).
To my understanding, the PLB 26650 cell core is the best choice for 26650 flashlights, and the Keeppower 6000mAh battery is actually a re-wrap of this cell core. But this time I chose the Keeppower for my EC50 GEN III test, because the PLB cell itself is a bit too short to ensure good contact (it rattles in EC50 GEN III).
My experiments show that the PLB cell sometimes performs as well as the Keeppower, but sometimes significantly worse, probably due to bad contact.
PLB INR26650-55A battery in EC50 GEN III vs. GEN II. Clearly it's too short for GEN III, but still good for GEN II.
Keeppower IMR 26650 6000mAh battery in EC50 GEN III vs. GEN II. It works very well for both flashlights.
The bundled ACEBEAM 26650 5000mAh battery in EC50 GEN III vs. GEN II. Of course it works for both flashlights, but not very well. See my experiments for more details.
Flickering
The Firefly mode.
The former is EC50 GEN II, and the latter is GEN III. After changing the shutter speed, the flickering can be observed on the Firefly mode of both flashlights (notice the vertical lines on the pictures).
The former is EC50 GEN II, and the latter is GEN III. Actually, flickering can also be observed on EVERY mode of both flashlights, except Turbo (notice the horizontal lines on the pictures).
Beamshots
Measurements
First, the EC50 GEN II with the PLB INR26650-55A.
Some extra cooling by a fan is enough to stop EC50 GEN II from stepping-down due to thermal reasons. However it will still step-down when the battery voltage is not high enough. And as you can see, the bundled 26650 battery is significantly weaker (10.5 mins) than the PLB (24 mins).
The full runtime curves of Turbo, High, and Mid. Beware that EC50 GEN II will over-discharge your battery if it is not protected (my PLB battery is only 2.17V after testing the Mid mode). It may be better to stop using the flashlight when its brightness drops to Low.
The temperatures measured near the side switch (not cooled):
The measured lumen numbers.
The built-in charger. The maximum charging current is close to 2A. For both batteries, the voltage is ~4.17V after charging.
Then, the EC50 GEN III with the Keeppower IMR 26650 6000mAh.
This time a fan is not enough to stop the EC50 GEN III from thermally stepping-down, so I manually activate the Turbo mode again and again to measure the accumulated curves. The bundled 26650 battery is still significantly weaker (2 + 20.5 mins) than the PLB (9.5 + 25 mins). Only 2 minutes on the advertised highest output level is somehow disappointing.
The full runtime curves of Turbo, High, and Mid. The flashlight will keep flashing when the battery is low (very noticeable, but annoying), so I stopped the test then. The battery voltage is ~3.15V after the test.
The temperatures measured near the side switch (not cooled):
The measured lumen numbers.
The built-in charger. The maximum charging current is close to 2A. For both batteries, the voltage is ~4.13V after charging. This is too low.
That's all, thank you.
I bought all the flashlights mentioned below, with my own money.
Appearance
It's a bit weird that ACEBEAM doesn't publish any technical details of EC50 GEN III on their official web page (http://www.acebeam.com/ec50-gen-3), even though it has become available in the market for almost a month. Anyway, here is the front and back of the package box, you may find some details printed on it.
Accessories: user manual, warranty card, li-ion warning card, USB cable, lanyard, two spare O-rings, holster.
The EC50 GEN III on the left, and GEN II on the right. Some improvement seen on the GEN III: better stainless steel bezel and side switch, better anodization and chamfering. The number of fins is somehow reduced.
Due to the XHP70.2, a smooth reflector is used in the EC50 GEN III, instead of the orange peel reflector in GEN II. But I would like a orange peel reflector for GEN III, since the tint is becoming worse, and the greenish and bluish parts are more visible than before. The threads on the GEN III's bezel may enable you to install a filter on it.
The rubber cap for sealing the micro USB charging port. Unfortunately the rubber cap will pop-up after repeated use of Turbo. This is a common problem seen on ACEBEAM flashlights like EC50, EC60, L30, etc. ACEBEAM really should have the inner waterproof treatment for this port, like Fenix UC52.
The charging indicator, red for under charging, green for fully charged. This GEN III's indicator is much brighter.
The tail. Better chamfering is done on the tailcap of GEN III.
Springs within the tailcap and the tube. Though not very noticeable, the spring of the GEN II is a bit thicker.
The batteries I have tried. From left to right: PLB INR26650-55A, Keeppower IMR 26650 6000mAh (unprotected), bundled ACEBEAM 26650 5000mAh (protected).
To my understanding, the PLB 26650 cell core is the best choice for 26650 flashlights, and the Keeppower 6000mAh battery is actually a re-wrap of this cell core. But this time I chose the Keeppower for my EC50 GEN III test, because the PLB cell itself is a bit too short to ensure good contact (it rattles in EC50 GEN III).
My experiments show that the PLB cell sometimes performs as well as the Keeppower, but sometimes significantly worse, probably due to bad contact.
PLB INR26650-55A battery in EC50 GEN III vs. GEN II. Clearly it's too short for GEN III, but still good for GEN II.
Keeppower IMR 26650 6000mAh battery in EC50 GEN III vs. GEN II. It works very well for both flashlights.
The bundled ACEBEAM 26650 5000mAh battery in EC50 GEN III vs. GEN II. Of course it works for both flashlights, but not very well. See my experiments for more details.
Flickering
The Firefly mode.
The former is EC50 GEN II, and the latter is GEN III. After changing the shutter speed, the flickering can be observed on the Firefly mode of both flashlights (notice the vertical lines on the pictures).
The former is EC50 GEN II, and the latter is GEN III. Actually, flickering can also be observed on EVERY mode of both flashlights, except Turbo (notice the horizontal lines on the pictures).
Beamshots
Measurements
First, the EC50 GEN II with the PLB INR26650-55A.
Some extra cooling by a fan is enough to stop EC50 GEN II from stepping-down due to thermal reasons. However it will still step-down when the battery voltage is not high enough. And as you can see, the bundled 26650 battery is significantly weaker (10.5 mins) than the PLB (24 mins).
The full runtime curves of Turbo, High, and Mid. Beware that EC50 GEN II will over-discharge your battery if it is not protected (my PLB battery is only 2.17V after testing the Mid mode). It may be better to stop using the flashlight when its brightness drops to Low.
The temperatures measured near the side switch (not cooled):
- Turbo: maximum: 62°C, then stable: 52°C~55°C
- High: maximum/stable: ~70°C
- Mid: maximum/stable: ~37°C
The measured lumen numbers.
The built-in charger. The maximum charging current is close to 2A. For both batteries, the voltage is ~4.17V after charging.
Then, the EC50 GEN III with the Keeppower IMR 26650 6000mAh.
This time a fan is not enough to stop the EC50 GEN III from thermally stepping-down, so I manually activate the Turbo mode again and again to measure the accumulated curves. The bundled 26650 battery is still significantly weaker (2 + 20.5 mins) than the PLB (9.5 + 25 mins). Only 2 minutes on the advertised highest output level is somehow disappointing.
The full runtime curves of Turbo, High, and Mid. The flashlight will keep flashing when the battery is low (very noticeable, but annoying), so I stopped the test then. The battery voltage is ~3.15V after the test.
The temperatures measured near the side switch (not cooled):
- Turbo: maximum/stable: 55°C~57°C
- High: maximum/stable: 55°C~57°C
- Mid: maximum/stable: ~40°C
The measured lumen numbers.
The built-in charger. The maximum charging current is close to 2A. For both batteries, the voltage is ~4.13V after charging. This is too low.
That's all, thank you.
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Its very interesting for me.
