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Flashlight Review: Noctigon KR3 (NTG35 2700K)
- Stephen Knight
- 7 hours ago
- 9 min read
There are a handful of flashlights/torches with the flexible Anduril 2 user interface (UI) that are suitable for light painting and night photography. Noctigon/Emisar's Hank Wang has recently released the Noctigon KR3, a slightly smaller triple LED version of the quad LED KR4. This review takes a look at how the KR3 with the NTG35 LED and Lume X1 driver performs for general purpose use and light painting/night photography.
Disclaimer
The Noctigon KR3 was purchased with my own funds. Product links in this review are non-affiliate. This review is written from the perspective of a flashlight enthusiast and light painting/night photographer.
Design and Construction
The Noctigon KR3 is made by Intl Outdoor/Hank Wang, who is well known for producing excellent enthusiast grade flashlights. The KR3 is an 18650 battery format flashlight, with metallic tail e-switch (magnetic optional), side clip, triple LEDs, and the flexible but complex Anduril 2 user interface (UI) which has adjustable strobe frequency/speed. The light has a head diameter of 25.5mm (smaller than the KR4's 29mm), and length of 94.5mm.
The Noctigon KR3 has a huge choice of LED emitters, which are often changing. My picks at the time of writing are:
Maximum throw - Luminus SFT-25R.
Best for floody high CRI illumination with neutral tint - Nichia 519A domed (2700K, 3500K, 4500K, and 5700K).
Best for floody illumination with rosy tint - NTG35 (1800K, 2700K, 4200K, 5000K).
Prices (without optional extras) are between US$50-58 at the time of writing.
The TIR optics have auxiliary RGB LEDs which are just a gimmick, and will need to be disabled for light painting photography. This review looks at the KR3 with triple NTG35 2700K LED emitters with a floody, golden/sunrise like, high-CRI beam. The reviewed light has the Lume X1 driver which is standard on the KR3.
With a head diameter of 25.5mm, then for light painting photographers, the KR3 fits in the Light Painting Brushes (Universal Connector), and Light Painting Paradise (cone) adapters. Fit is optimal without the side clip. The KR3 easily fits into all T8 tubes (the KR4 just squeezes in) with the side clip used to hold the light in place. There is no remote pressure switch available, but the tail switch can be used in Momentary and Tactical modes. The light has excellent ergonomics. Due to the light being quite short I only have to use one hand to hold the light painting adapter with my thumb on the momentary switch.
The tail switch can be unscrewed for battery insertion. The light only accepts unprotected flat top unprotected 18650 batteries. For use with the 32W Lume X1 driver, I would recommend the Sony US18650VTC6 3000mAh, Samsung INR18650-30Q 3000mAh, LG INR18650-HG2, or Molicel P30B 3000mAh. As the light uses an inner signal tube, it is critical that both the head and tail are fully screwed on for the light to work after a battery change. This inner tube connection appears to be better engineered and more reliable in the KR3 than the KR4.
There is no internal charging, which is likely to be intentional as these lights are aimed at flashlight enthusiasts and not general consumers. You will need to use a dedicated Li-ion battery charger.
Accessories included with the light included the side clip (installed), a spacer (for when the side clip isn't in place), a lanyard, and spare O-rings. Optional extras include a 18350 tube, floody optic, SS bexel, magnetic tailcap, extra tailcap without magnet, and dual bay charger. The body is at the time of writing, available in Black, Midnight Blue, Green, and Polished Silver.
User Interface
The Noctigon KR3 uses the Anduril 2 user interface (UI). The main feature for light painting photographers is two strobe modes with adjustable strobe frequency:
Party strobe - 3ms(?) on-time "motion freezing" - 4Hz to 90Hz.
Tactical strobe - 33% on-time - 2.5Hz to 80Hz.
These, or any continuous brightness mode, can be put into momentary mode to allow for fine control of on/off when the single stage tail switch is depressed/released. Other features include a pulsating bike flash mode, and lightning effect mode. For continuous (non-strobe) output, this light can use ramped brightness or stepped brightness. I recommend using stepped brightness for consistency, which has 7 brightness levels 1/7 to 7/7, plus an even brighter Turbo mode. Strobe appears to be at Turbo brightness level. As anything other than basic use it not entirely intuitive in Anduril, I have written a detailed article on how to use Anduril for light painting photography. Below are the basics:
Enter Advanced UI from Basic UI - 10 clicks, last one hold for 0.5 sec (10H). You should only need to do this once unless you do a factory reset or click too much! This sample arrived in Advanced UI.
On/Off (last mode memory for steps 1/7 to 7/7) - 1 click (1C).
Toggle ramped/stepped - 3 clicks from on (3C).
Change brightness levels (1/7 to 7/7) - hold, release at desired brightness level.
Turbo mode - double click from on (2C).
Enter strobe mode - click, click, hold 0.5s (3H) from off.
Cycle through strobe modes - double click (2C) ...party strobe>tactical strobe>police strobe>lightning>candle>bike flash>...
Increase strobe frequency/speed - hold, release at desired strobe speed.
Decrease strobe frequency/speed - click, hold, release at desired strobe speed.
Save last used setting into momentary (essential to "save" strobe) - 5 clicks (5C).
Momentary - hold only when you need light.
Exit momentary - unscrew and re-screw tail cap (to break the electrical connection).
Additionally, for light painting photography, you will need to disable the auxiliary RGB LEDs. This is done by clicking 7 times (7C) from off (in Advanced UI), which cycles low>high>flashing>off with each 7C. To do the same for Tactical mode (below), you have to first enter Lockout mode.
There is a fairly new Tactical mode, entered or exited with 6 clicks (6C). It is then possible to configure 3 different settings (including strobe) to be accessed by 1H, 2H, or 3H. (See diagram). This is useful if you need to access more than one setting with momentary mode. It took me around a minute to configure 1H to Turbo, and 2H to a roughly 20Hz Tactical Strobe.
There are two new(ish) features which are enabled by default, but can be turned off in configuration. These are the "soft start" functionality, which creates a short fade during on/off/brightness change, and battery check display using the RGB auxiliary lights when the light is turned off. The annoying voltage check on off feature was enabled by default, but can be turned off in configuration for both normal modes and tactical mode.
I often use Anduril UI flashlights for light painting. However, the user interface is complex, and I have had reports from many light painters who struggle to use Anduril UI lights. Persistence with learning to use Anduril UI pays dividends in creativity.
Beam, Output, and Runtime
The Noctigon KR3 has a choice of LED emitters. This review tested the NGT35 2700K emitter. These LEDs are in a triple TIR optic, and result in a general purpose profile with both flood and throw, plus high CRI. There is a warmer ring around the edge of the spill beam, though this is only noticeable within around 4m illumination distance.
The KR3 uses a Loneoceans 32W Lume X1-C C0126 boost driver for all available LED options. This does limit the available LEDs compared to the KR4 which has multiple LED driver options, though most bases are covered. This LED driver has constant-current output regulation with no PWM (apart from the aux LEDs), and ultra dynamic range for very low moonlight/firefly modes, As usual for lights from Noctigon/Emisar which have a large range of LED options, there is a lack of printed product specific instructions and ANSI/NEMA charts. All testing was performed with a Molicel P30B 3000mAh battery, indoors, 21C ambient temperature, and minimal air flow.
I measured the colour temperature (CCT), colour rendering (CRI), and tint (DUV) with hotspot measurements using an Opple Light Master 3 Pro:
Turbo - CCT 2738K, CRI 97.4 Ra, Tint -0.0041 DUV.
7/7 - CCT 2703K, CRI 98 Ra, Tint -0.0044 DUV.
5/7 - CCT 2597K, CRI 98 Ra, Tint -0.0059 DUV.
3/7 - CCT 2537K, CRI 97.8 Ra, Tint -0.0066 DUV.
2/7 - CCT 2563K, CRI 97.8 Ra CRI, Tint -0.0029 DUV.
The CCT becomes slightly warmer with lower output. The tint DUV is negative at all output levels, which created a magenta/rosy tint. This will be loved by many flashlight enthusiasts. For photography purposes this is OK if this is the only light source. If combined with more neutral, or green tint light sources, this might cause some issues with white balance. I would recommend the Nichia 519A LED version for more neutral tints.
The measured brightness in Lumens @5secs on each mode was:
Turbo - 2,893 lm
7/7 - 1,644 lm
6/7 - 888 lm
5/7 - 407 lm
4/7 - 145 lm
3/7 - 34 lm
2/7 - 3 lm
1/7 - too low to measure.
The initial lumen output is impressive, but the light steps down in brightness on Turbo mode very rapidly being 1,835 lm @ 15secs, 1,166 lm @ 30secs, 1,122 lm @1min, and 686 lm @ 5mins. On 7/7 mode, the KR3 was 1,405 lm @30secs, 1,310lm @1min, 703 lm @5mins, and 478 lm @ 20mins. Due to the efficient LED driver, the runtime on 7/7 mode was 2hr 7mins until the light started to step down to lower modes (4/7 and downwards). These were all tested with default "out of the box" temperature regulation settings. It should be noted that there is no thermal regulation for Momentary, Tactical, and Strobe modes. For light painters, the Tactical strobe appears to run on Turbo brightness.
Considering the KR3 has less thermal mass than its bigger brother KR4, the KR3 NTG35 2700K's sustained brightness is pretty reasonable at around 478 lumens vs KR4 519A 5700K's 557 lumens. The stepdown on Turbo mode is however too rapid with default settings, dropping brightness by 60% within 30 seconds. Maybe the 32W X1 driver is too much for a light of this size? I much prefer the more practical Turbo mode on the discontinued 8A Boost driver in the KR4 which drops less than 30% within the first minute. Even after I changed the thermal settings to 55C, the light still dropped brightness by 56% within 30secs.
The lowest mode 1/7 is so low, that it is barely noticeable that the light is turned on. Whilst this may please those who want an extremely low "firefly" mode, I think this is a niche requirement, and I would prefer the default 1/7 mode to be more of a "moonlight" mode around 0.5-1lm.
Throw/peak beam intensity was tested against the KR4 with other LED configurations:
Noctigon KR3 NTG35 2700K Turbo X1 - 12,015cd (219m)
Noctigon KR3 NTG35 2700K 7/7 X1 - 6,827cd (165m)
Noctigon KR4 SFT-25R 6500K Boost Turbo - 38,061cd (390m)
Noctigon KR4 SFT-25R 6500K Boost 7/7 - 23,134cd (304m)
Noctigon KR4 519A 5700K Boost Turbo - 6,487cd (161m)
Noctigon KR4 519A 5700K Boost 7/7 - 3,918cd (125m)
Note: My Opple Lightmaster 3 Pro tends to over-estimate lux readings by 25%, so the actual candela reading is likely to be around 9,000-10,000cd. The NTG35 appears to have more cd/lumen compared to the 519A, and thus has more of a general purpose flood and throw beam.
Conclusion
Positives:
Good range of LED options including "floody" high-CRI 519A, "general purpose" high-CRI NTG35, or "throwy" low-CRI SFT-25R.
Good sustained brightness / size.
Adjustable strobe frequency (at fixed brightness).
Momentary or tactical modes can work for any strobe or continuous brightness setting.
Well spaced, stepped brightness levels.
Last mode memory for brightness steps 1-7.
Can be electronically or mechanically locked out.
Good light painting system compatibility - Light Painting Brushes, Light Painting Paradise, and T8 tubes.
Removeable side clip included.
"Firefly" 1/7 brightness mode for niche use cases.
Negatives:
Brightness stepdown on Turbo is too fast - 60% decrease in 30 seconds!
Anduril 2 UI is too complex for many users.
Lack of printed product specific instructions and ANSI/NEMA charts.
Auxiliary LEDs have to be disabled for light painting.
I'd prefer some Anduril 2 features to be disabled by default.
The tail cap has to be unscrewed to exit Momentary mode (Tactical mode is now an alternative).
No internal USB charging.
No remote pressure switch option.
"Moonlight" 1/7 brightness mode would be more useful by default.
For general purpose use:
The KR3 is a great enthusiast flashlight, which is far better than previous tail switch, triple LED Anduril lights such as the FW3A. There is a good choice of LED options for different uses. Whilst the 32W Lume X1 driver has good sustained brightness, the rapid stepdown in Turbo brightness is disappointing for a light from Noctigon.
For light painting photography - light trails and illumination:
The KR3 has useful LED options such as the SFT-25R for use with tube like light painting tools, and the 519A or NTG35 for high-CRI floody light for illumination, and use with tools such as fiber optic brushes and light blades. The NTG35 may have too much of a magenta tint for photography use, if used with other light sources. The KR3 works well with the Light Painting Brushes Universal Adapter, and easily fits in all T8 tubes (the KR4 just squeezes into T8 tubes I've tested). I feel that the 32W Lume X1 driver is a step backwards compared to the more conservative 8A Boost driver in the KR4 when using Turbo mode, due to the rapid brightness stepdown. Using Tactical or Momentary modes which lack thermal regulation help to mitigate this, as long you are cautious about the rapid heat build up.
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