The Olight Arkfeld Pro is an upgraded version of the unique Arkfeld EDC flashlight/torch, with triple emitters - a 1,300 lumen white LED, UV LED, and green laser. Is this the Swiss Army Knife of flashlights?
Disclaimer
The Olight Arkfeld Pro was purchased with my own funds. This flashlight is reviewed from the perspective of a light painting photographer and flashlight enthusiast.
Product Page Olight USA - 10% off with code: OLIGHTSTORE10
Product Page Olight Australia - 15% off with code: OLIGHTAKP15
Construction and Design
Olight are one of the most well known consumer flashlight manufacturers. Their marketing is well ahead of the competition, with frequent flash sales, and regular new product drops. The original, and hugely popular Arkfeld, was a rectangular shaped EDC-type flashlight with a white LED and green laser. Olight later introduced the Arkfeld UV with white and UV LEDs. The Arkfeld Pro combines these two lights into a slightly larger triple emitter flashlight, with a power boost compared to the previous Arkfeld generations:
1,300 lumen white LED (cool white, though neutral white is available in some markets).
900mW 365nm UV LED.
0.39mW Class 1 Laser or 5mW Class 3R Laser (depending on the market). Both 510-530nm Green.
Integrated battery capacity increased to 1,500mAh.
Unlike most flashlights that are cylindrical, the Arkfeld Pro is a rectangular "TV remote" shaped flashlight. The dimensions are 120mm x 27mm x 16mm. This is a similar length to a 18650 tube light, which typically have a diameter of 23-26mm. The Arkfeld Pro fits into pockets much more easily than 18650 tube lights. Weight is 111g, which is similar to an 18650 tube light. Construction is aluminum, with a stainless steel pocket clip. The sides of the light have grooves for added grip.
The Arkfeld Pro arrived in an Olight branded box. The light comes with the charging cable, safety guide, and instructions. A two-way pocket clip is integrated. The light has an IPX7 rating, so should survive a drop into a puddle. At the time of writing the Arkfeld Pro was available in Black, Orange, and Zombie Green (since replaced with OD Green)), though Olight regularly release new and special edition versions of existing lights. The Arkfeld Pro usually retails for US$99.99, though you can use the discount codes in this review for a better price.
The Arkfeld Pro uses Olights proprietary MCC magnetic charging system. This is good if you own other Olights that use the same system. However, I'm sure many new customers, and the European Union would prefer USB-C charging. The internal Lithium Polymer battery has a capacity of 1,500mAh. This is 50% more than the original Arkfeld, but only half the capacity of an 18650 tube light. Charging time was 2h45mins. The Arkfield's battery is not user replaceable, however the Arkfeld does have an impressive lifetime warranty that includes the battery!
This flashlight is not compatible with any light painting systems, or diffusers. It can be mounted on a tripod with clamps. Due to the triple emitters, it does have some niche uses for the illumination side of light painting and night photography.
User Interface
The Arkfeld Pro has a user interface (UI) that utilises a selector switch for the emitter, and a push button switch for on/off and changing brightness levels. Despite lots of functionality, the user interface is very simple to use. I won't explain the exact UI functions here, but will explain the features.
Selector switch for UV, Laser, and White Light.
5 white light brightness levels - Moonlight, Low, Medium, High, Turbo.
1 brightness level for UV and Laser.
Last mode memory for Moonlight, Low, Medium, and High. (High not memorised after 1 minute off-time).
Direct access to Moonlight from Off.
Turbo and Strobe can be accessed from On or Off via double and triple click respectively.
White light can be access when the Laser is On.
Excellent 4 bar/5 setting battery charge remaining indicator.
Timer and lockout functionality.
The Arkfeld Pro has a 13Hz constant frequency strobe, which is excellent for tactical use (it is far more annoying than alternating frequency strobes which are the current trend with flashlight manufacturers), and for light painting photography. However due to the light's shape, side switch, and very floody beam, the Olight Warrior Nano and Warrior 3 are better for use with light painting systems.
Beam, Output, and Runtime
The Arkfeld Pro uses the following emitters:
Osram Osconiq P 3737 (P9) white LED - cool white 5700-6700k (tested). Neutral white 4000k-5000k is available in some markets. Very floody TIR optic.
Luminus SST-10 900mW 365nm UV LED. Reflector optic.
0.39mW Class 1 Laser (tested) or 5mW Class 3R Laser. Both 510-530nm Green.
Claimed/Measured Brightness:
Turbo - 1300 / 1250 lumens (steps down to 420 lumens from 3 to 4 mins).
High - 420 / 410 lumens.
Medium - 100 / 105 lumens.
Low - 15 / 15 lumens.
Moonlight - 1 / 1 lumens (visual estimate)
Strobe - 1300 lumens (estimated).
UV - 900mW / unable to test (step down to 560mW from 5 mins).
Laser 0.39mW power / unable to test.
Claimed/measured Peak Beam Intensity:
Turbo - 2,606cd (102m) claimed / 3,223cd (113m) measured.
High - 1051cd (64m) measured.
Medium - 266cd (32m) measured.
Low - 39cd (12m) measured.
Moonlight - unable to test.
Lumen output was close to claimed specifications, and peak beam intensity was higher than claimed. The maximum white light brightness of 1,300 lumens is pretty impressive for the light's size. Due to Olight's efficient LED drivers, the Arkfeld Pro managed to sustain this maximum brightness for an impressive 3 minutes. After step down, the sustained brightness is still reasonable for the light's dimensions. The brightness levels are well spaced, and the Moonlight mode is welcome as this is an EDC flashlight. This is a very floody light, most likely due to the TIR optic size limitation. It is thus more useful for near field illumination, such as around the house and garden. However, it can illuminate a football field for a few minutes on Turbo.
The UV brightness was pretty decent, and with a 365nm UVA wavelength which is good at making things fluoresce (glow). UV lights need to used with care, for example, don't use it for long periods or look directly at the emitter. There is no ZWB2 lens filter, so there is some visible light emitted as well as non-visible UV light. From a safety feature, that is probably a good thing for a consumer orientated light as you know when the light is on. UV lights are useful for multiple niche use cases including counterfeit note detection, mineral analysis, detection of certain insects, checking how dirty your hotel room is (which can be quite scary), or just making things glow. From a light painting and night photographer point of view, UV has its uses, but I would rather have a deep red LED instead of UV.
There are two green laser emitter versions. In Australia, UK, and some European countries, there is a limit to 1mW power output for laser pointers being sold by retailers and/or being used by consumers. For these countries, the 0.39mW version is used, as per the previous Arkfeld generation. This is a Class 1 laser, and regarded as being very safe to use. I'm not sure why Olight didn't choose a 0.9mW laser source for maximum brightness available within limitations? For light painters using the Class 1 laser, the optimal exposure for illuminating objects with the laser is f/5.6, ISO800, which requires very very dark ambient light conditions!
In countries such as the USA and Canada, the 5mW version is sold. This is a Class 3R laser. This is considered safe for unintentional eye exposure (<1/4sec), because a person will normally turn away or blink to avoid the light. However, intentionally staring at the laser source (>1/4sec) can cause injury to the retina. Class 3R lasers can temporarily flash-blind a pilot or driver. Whilst it is illegal to aim lasers at moving vehicles or aircraft in most countries, there is a risk of misuse by irresponsible users. There may also be a risk of damaging a camera sensor if aimed at the lens. I'm not impressed that Olight are marketing this laser as a pet toy - Class 3R lasers are not toys! Saying that, my daughter now wants a kitten as an accessory to the Arkfeld Pro.
Be careful taking the Arkfeld Pro with you if travelling internationally, as Class 3R lasers are illegal to use in many countries, even the Class 1 version may be problematic in a few places. For Australians in New South Wales, be aware that having any laser pointer in your possession without a reasonable excuse is illegal. I'm not risking taking my Arkfeld Pro through Dubai as there is a high chance of it getting confiscated.
Claimed Runtimes:
Turbo - 130mins
High - 147mins.
Medium - 9h45mins.
Low - 55h.
Moonlight - 11days.
UV - 315mins.
Laser - 174h Class 1 / 61h Class 3R.
Runtimes on Turbo and High were tested to be within +/-10% of specification. I have not tested the other modes, but generally Olight are very honest with their specifications.
White light hotspot correlated colour temperature (CCT), colour rending index (CRI Ra), and tint/DUV:
Turbo - CCT 6188k, CRI 71.6 Ra CRI, Tint +0.0040 DUV.
High - CCT 6031k, CRI 70.5 Ra CRI, Tint +0.0052 DUV.
Medium - CCT 5966k, CRI 70.0 Ra, Tint +0.0058 DUV.
Low - CCT 5943k, CRI 71.6 Ra, Tint +0.0053 DUV.
Moonlight - unable to test.
The cool white Osram Osconiq P 3737 is generally better than many of it's 70CRI 3535 format LED peers when it comes to tint and CRI. CRI stayed above 70 on all brightness levels. There is a very slight green tint, but not an issue in real world use. There is some tint and CCT shift throughout the beam as can be seen in the beam profile photo.
For an EDC category flashlight aimed at near field illumination, I would much prefer a high CRI LED. Unfortunately most of Olight's customers just want more lumens, so that's what they get. Flashlights from consumer manufacturers have a long way to catch up with the light quality from LED panel light manufacturers where >95CRI is standard.
No Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) was detected visually, or by my phone camera.
Conclusion
Positives:
Good build quality.
Good maximum brightness/size.
Versatile light with white light, UV, and laser options.
Fairly simple user interface.
Internal charging.
Constant frequency strobe.
More pocketable than cylindrical flashlights.
Good battery charge remaining indicator.
Moonlight mode.
No PWM.
Lifetime warranty
Looks very cool!
Negatives:
No high CRI version.
White light beam is a bit too floody.
Neutral white option is not available in Australia.
Olight should not be marketing a Class 3R laser as a pet toy.
Doesn't use USB-C charging.
Doesn't change TV channels ;-)
The Olight Arkfeld Pro is a Swiss Army Knife of a flashlight, combining white light, UV, and a green laser. It fits into the pocket easier than most cylindrical flashlights, making it an excellent choice for EDC - in fact it is currently my most used EDC light. White light output is very impressive for the size, though I would prefer a more general purpose beam profile, and high CRI LEDs. Despite lots of functionality, it is very easy to use. The use of a Class 3R laser in some markets requires user responsibility. I think a 0.9mW Class 1 laser would have been a better choice in markets with 1mW limitations. Be aware of laser pointer laws and regulations wherever you intend on using the Arkfeld Pro.
Personally, I would love to also see an "Arkfeld Even More Pro" aimed at the night/astrophotography market with a high CRI neutral white LED, deep red LED (with multiple brightness levels), and 0.9mW/5mW laser.
Product Page Olight USA - 10% off with code: OLIGHTSTORE10
Product Page Olight Australia - 15% off with code: OLIGHTAKP15
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