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PART 2 
FUNCTIONING
Low battery indication & Low Voltage Protection
Flashlight blinks 3 times when voltage is below 3V.
If the voltage is lower than 2.8V, the light blinks during 1 minute and then shuts off.
Over-heat protection
After 2 minutes on Turbo, the light steps down to High Mode.
After 3 minutes on High, the light adjusts to Medium.
According to manufacturer, High and Turbo can still be used after the stepdown, but they have to be chosen manually (clicking).
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TINT
As I mentioned above, the tint from the Sofirn SP32A is somehow different from its older model, SP32.
The SP32A has some:
- white and “yellowish” on the hostpot,
- “yellowish” and “greenish” on the corona,
- white, “yellowish” and “purpleish”/rosy on the spill
- white, rosy, and “greenish”/ “yellowish” on the outer spill
Yeah! I know, so many “ish” here but that’s what my eyes seem to see! The beam is not uniform, at all!
Perhaps one of the major “issues” with this flashlight is the “greenish” look it has, contrary to the more white / rosy beam the SP32 has.
I tried the SP32A without lens and with a clear lens (not AR coated) but the green remains there. I guess it is the LED itself that maybe is more close to the 5700K than the 5350K.
For outside environment is nice, no problem at all (despite I can feel the differences when pointing the light at the grass), but in a white wall…not so good.
The following beamshots cannot show completely how it looks on the reality, but you can have a slight perception of how it may look!
SP23A vs SP32
SP32A vs Zanflare F1
SP32A vs Nitefox UT20
SP32A vs SP32 vs Zanflare F1 vs Nitefox UT20
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USER INTERFACE
Memory: except for Strobe and Turbo, all the modes/levels have memory, so the light will turn ON in the last used mode/level.
The Sofirn SP32A has Electronic lockout, 2 Special Modes and 2 mode groups.
|| CHANGING GROUPS
|| To change from the “Regular modes” to Ramping, we must press and hold:
|| 1) Ramping > Regular = 9 seconds. . 3 blinks > ON in High.
|| 2) Regular > Ramping = 3 seconds. . 3 blinks > ON in the Highest output level from Ramping.
OPERATION
While on “Regular modes” = TURN ON: single click > single click to change modes > TURN OFF: Press and hold
While on “Ramping” = TURN ON: single click > press and hold to ramp up/down > TURN OFF: single click
[Ramp up/down: press and hold; Ramp up and down/down and up: press and hold + release + quick press and hold again; Ramp up or down/stop/ramp up or down: press and hold + release 0.5 seconds + press and hold]
A) Electronic lockout
From OFF, 4 clicks to activate and deactivate lockout and. The light blinks 2 times to inform that it is locked. Whenever the button is pressed during lockout, the light blinks 2 times.
When the lockout is deactivated, the light turns ON in the last used mode or level (if on Ramping).
WARNING: taking the battery out of the flashlight will deactivate the electronic lockout.
B) Special Modes (Can be used both with the “Regular” and “Ramping” modes).
Turbo: double click from ON or OFF. 1550 lumen >>> 34 min
Strobe: triple click from ON or OFF. 900 lumen >>> 2h
WARNING: the special modes cannot be used if the flashlight is locked out electronically.
C) “Regular” modes:
Moonlight 4 lumen >>> 200h
Low 43 lumen >>> 20h55m
Medium 160 lumen >>> 5h37m
High 900 lumen >>> 1h
MY OPINION:
Well, the first 3 modes are very well balanced and spaced, and are really nice for indoor use.
From Medium to High there is a huge jump, making it ideal for outside environment where more light is needed.
From High to Turbo the difference can be felt in terms of luminosity, at least with a “not empty” battery. I didn’t try it yet with more depleted batteries so I can’t be sure how it performs.
Comparing the SP32 with the SP32A:
a) the SP32 moonlight level is lower (and is a special mode on that flashlight)
b) the last “regular” mode of both flashlights has almost the same luminosity level
BEAMSHOTS FROM THE REGULAR MODES:
A) SP32A vs SP32
B) Comparison side by side, from Moonlight to Turbo/Highest Output:
D) Ramping
From 1 lumen to 1067 lumen
Light blinks 2 times when reaching the top and the bottom levels.
It takes /- 7 seconds to got from the highest to the lowest levels and vice-versa. (As example, the Emisar D4 takes/- 3.5 seconds to reach the bottom/top).
MY OPINION:
Ramping mode starts in a very nice Moonlight mode, lower than the same level on the “Regular” modes.
The highest output of the ramping is higher than the highest output of the “regular” modes.
This ramping mode is not smooth as the Emisar D4 - my EDC flashlight lately - so some differences are noted, namely that:
a) When ramping down, the light dims steadily until about 40% luminosity, then it stabilizes even when pressing the button, and then decreases again and on the last +/- 5 to10%, it drops abruptly.
b) When ramping up, the first 5% increases abruptly, it doesn’t seem to have many “steps”, so it has a big leap, and then it stabilizes (maybe at the same 40%…) and the increases rapidly again reaching the max level.
BEAMSHOTS FROM MOONLIGHT AND HIGHEST OUTPUT (SP32A vs SP32)
SP32A (Moonlight from Ramping vs Turbo)
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MORE BEAMSHOTS
INDOOR
Regular modes + turbo
Ramping levels + turbo
OUTDOOR
Regular modes vs Ramping (High and Turbo, only) (@25 meters)
From Moonlight to Turbo (regular modes) (@70meters)
_Comparison with other lights at Max Output (Outdoor @ 70 meters)
SP32A vs «Nitefox UT20 / Zanflare F1 / Emisar D4 / Amutorch AM30»
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EXTRAS
With Diffuser from Convoy:
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OVERALL APPRECIATION (goods and bads, all mixed up :D):
1 – I like this flashlight, it is well built and the implementation of 2 group modes shows how Sofirn wants to expand and grow in this flashaholic world.
2 – Despite it has a Ramping mode, I guess I will prefer the “Regular Modes”, except if I need the Moonlight level. The ramping mode takes a while to go to top or bottom and that is a small “drawback” for me, especially being used to the Emisar D4.
3 – The tint on this flashlight is also not so good on the other 4 or 5 Sofirn flashlights I have! The greenish look is not so pleasant as the more yellowish/rosy/white that the other flashlights have. Maybe it was a “bad” batch of LEDs?
4 – On the same point, having the opportunity to change the LED is a plus, that we didn’t have on the SP32 model. So, for me this is an improvement from this brand.
5 – Despite some points I mentioned earlier, this is a very good flashlight and a really great output, that can (and will) be used in outside environment.
6 – The shortcut to Turbo with double click is a plus for me, as well as the strobe being hidden with triple click. Also, having lockout with 4 clicks is a very nice feature!
7 – I am not fan of “memory” in the flashlights and this one has it. I will have to learn to live with it, but I would prefer to always start on the Moonlight mode. Or, at least, have a shortcut to access to it, as the SP32 has.
8 – I would implement a lower Moonlight (similar to the one on the Ramping) on the “Regular” modes.
9 – I don’t know if mine has a “bug” while changing groups, but…9 seconds is a bit too much to change from one group to the other… If this is a bug, ok, no problem. If this is standard, Sofirn, please correct this!!
Once again, thanks Sofirn for the nice work on this and for sending the light for review!
Thanks for reading and feel free to comment or leave questions!
Best regards! :+1:
