My vote goes to the Photon 2. I bought one Photon 3 for my Mom, and she found that despite being in the Auto-Off mode, the batteries kept running down. In the future I will buy only Photon 2's - their simplicity is the element that makes them the superior design. (Plus, in my view, the only real advantage of the Photon 3's might be their waterproofness, but I have had my Photon 2's submerged on several occasions with no ill effects.)