FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

Ordered an SST-20 to go with my 3D. Thanks again to all involved!!

Are you able to set the L - M - High with anduril? I’m curious if I can set the exact output so I know Im exactly around 400-500 lumens

You can configure a stepped ramp with three levels, and set the floor/ceiling wherever you like.

Well…. okay, but by that logic a CRI of 95 has an infinite amount of color error compared to an incandescent light (CRI 100).

But in real-world use…?

I like high CRI too. But, it doesn’t seem like a huge improvement over a typical Cree neutral white. Definitely a big improvement over crappy cool white, though.

Worth it for some lights. Get both!

SST-20 ordered. Old code works fine. The wait continues.

I wish the FW3C was available with the Luminus SST20 4000K emitter option.

It’s available with the SST-20 4000K right now. The SST-20 is made by Luminus.

Did you mean to say the Samsung LH351D 4000K?

Ah, wasn’t familiar with the Ubisoft logo.

Looking it up now, it appears to be deprecated in favor of a new version which looks more different.

They’re FA3 in theory, but haven’t been tested yet. I hope they’ll be at least as good as the FA3 emitters maukka tested. It remains to be seen though.

Also not sure if the 219C model will be the same bin in the next batch, but I hope so. It sounds like the first batch was really good and I’m bummed that I didn’t get one.

Or maybe she’d be spoiled and would find that no other lights are up to par. Instead of starting an addiction, maybe it could end one? :slight_smile:

Not sure, but I’ve asked about it several times. I’d especially like a polished bare aluminum version.

Some of us, anyway. When I use 7A in a dark room, it still looks quite yellow because it’s outside the range of what my eyes can adapt to. Looks nice in candle mode though.

Yeah… the same thing comes to mind every time someone (usually Zak) makes that point. A 95 CRI light has five times as much color error as a 99 CRI light… but it’d be difficult to find anyone who can actually tell the difference. The way it’s phrased makes a big deal out of something people might not even notice, like whether a bowl of soup has one grain or five grains of salt in it.

The difference between 95 CRI and 70 CRI is more noticeable in real life, but it’s still a relatively small difference. I find that it’s a smaller effect than the difference between +0.003 duv (greenish) and –0.003 duv (pinkish). So I’ll happily take a 70 CRI –0.003 duv emitter over a 95 CRI +0.003 duv emitter.

And that’s still a smaller effect than a change of color temperature, like going from 4400K to 5500K or 3300K. The effect there is huge. Personally, I find that a high-CRI 2700K light (like an incandescent bulb) is almost as bad as a negative-CRI 2700K light (like a sodium vapor lamp). When the CCT is so warm, it hardly even seems to matter what the CRI is… because CRI only matters for white light. Too warm or too cold isn’t even white any more.

The expected runtime on moon is about 3 months. It’s roughly the same as what Zebralight gets at the same lumen level.

Comparing the X-PL HI 3D and SST-20 4000K in my FW3A:

-Clearly higher candela per lumen/throwier with the SST-20 but not a “spotty” beam compared to most single emitter lights
-The loss in absolute max output may be “noticeable” but not as much as I would have though and since the light steps down so quickly its almost a non-issue IMO
-Maybe a bit more heat production? Certainly not enough for me to really be sure of
-Drastically better colors at every output level. IDK where the stock X-PL HI bin came from but they are the WORST example of this emitter I’ve seen yet. IIRC testing of the duv on the stock emitters shows they’re nearly as green as the decent bins of SST-20 anyway

Absolutely zero regrets doing the swap on mine and would highly suggest the SST-20 4000K to anyone looking to get a first or second… or tenth FW3A. They’re just warm enough where I think most people will be happy with the temp unless you really love 5500K+

These emitters are not in any way analogous to the 219C vs X-PL HI on the D4 IMO. If I was to make a guess the throwiness of the SST-20 really does a good job of hiding the minor output loss whereas 219C are noticeably floodier than X-PL HI.

Yes -- I meant Luminus. I don't see that emitter option in the drop down menu choices for the FW3C on Neal's website.

Yeah.

The color rendition is just on another completely different level vs the XP-L HI.

The SST-20 95CRI 4000k is just much better in real life scenarios vs a 70/80CRI XP-L HI 4000k.

One massive advantage that it also has over the 219C, as others have mentioned, is the very large difference in throw.

The 219C is a floody emitter, and the SST-20 is a very throwy emitter.

The green tint isn’t an issue too.

Here’s how I rate tints for high CRI emitters, in descending order(that are available):

219B—-SST-20 95CRI FA3—-SST-20 95CRI FD2—Random SST-20 95CRI = LH351D 90CRI — 219C 90CRI ———————-XP-L2 90 CRI = XP-G3 90CRI

Well, that’s rather ambiguous. Why not just PM me and let me know what you think is the issue rather than making me guess? :frowning:

TK said that the image was Photoshopped and those aren’t actual colors that will be made. Lumintop is manufacturing the light. So the only thing I could think of is perhaps use of a gender pronoun. But most people here know that. So…

Have you seen a reddit user's 319-day ZL moonlight runtime? That is a bit lower output, though.

Not sure I’d go that far.

I have a 95 CRI SST-20 Emisar D4, plus a bunch of loose 95 CRI SST-20 from International Outdoors.

They look great … at full power. But at intermediate and low power settings I get “pea soup” green. Looks WAY worse than much lower CRI XPL HI.

… no I didn’t.

I said the images were photoshopped, because they were. I added a logo on the button. About 20 minutes later, djozz said he almost thought they were real, and it occurred to me that people might think the colors were ’shopped too, not just the button. So I posted again to clarify things.

I don’t know if the button logo will happen, or what it’ll end up looking like. But the colors are already prototyped and at least some of them will probably be produced.

FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public - #11628 by ToyKeeper hth :beer:

Edit: Sorry TK…… I see you got this

Ah, OK — got you now. I’d thought everything was photo edited. Thanks for the correction. Would’ve been easier if those who posted earlier had let me know the specifics earlier, but… anyway, deleted. :beer:

I’m liking that dark bronze color. :+1:

That’s true: the ratio isn’t a big deal when the absolute difference is small. That said, I’ve used a number of lights with nice tint and low (70ish) CRI, like the Klarus G30 with a 5000K MT-G2, the FW3A in 7A, and an Oveready BOSS with 4000K XP-L HIs (unknown bin, but rosy looking on a white wall). I notice when I use them outdoors. To me, it’s not subtle. I notice as soon as I illuminate most anything natural.

I haven’t done any objective tests of object identification/differentiation, but I do think it makes a significant difference. That’s not to say nothing else matters - something with horrible tint, or a rainbow would look like crap and hinder object identification even if it technically had high CRI. I have 219Bs in my FW3A for a reason.

blue one for me

Thank you.