The SST-20 has slightly higher CRI than the 219C. The tint may be greener at low output though. Since nobody has compared the two side by side yet, we can’t know. The CRI is close enough you’d probably need a photospectrometer to tell, but the tint may not be.
Output, throw, and heat depend on whether the 219C SST-20 is using the 50% FET version of the firmware. I’m not sure anyone has provided a definite answer to that. The 219C will have the least throw no matter what, but with 100% FET, output will be similar to the SST-20, and heat will be a little more. With 50% FET, output will be lower than everything else, but so will heat on max.
I couldn’t be happier than I am with 219B and 50% FET in mine.
We have like half a dozen members or more with the ability to measure that. Bob said he will post it as soon as he gets his. I ordered a Copper SST-20 but I suspect Bob will probably get AL ones first.
I doubt there is an actual number. It’s probably a combination of a lot of things besides total sales. You’ve got the rate of sales, plus the costs of production for these different materials, plus the perceived interest level in other materials from forums and such. They will probably see how a small batch of copper units will sale. If it’s good, then try other materials. So it’s probably not (2,000 sales = copper version), etc… Just my thoughts on it.
I thought I really wanted the titanium one, but after a lot of thinking I realised that I preferred the look of the copper. I don’t actually own any copper lights yet, so I went and pulled the trigger. I didn’t even need the FW3A and now you folks have got me spending even more on an FW3C! Here’s hoping the SST-20s are FA3…
I got two of the color samples today — purple and white. Both are just like they appear in the pictures. Purple looks really good, especially with a black clip installed. White is nice also, and has sort of a grainy texture. So I assume it uses a different process than regular anodizing. Like most white things, it may be difficult to keep clean.
Hopefully I can get some decent pictures tomorrow.
A sample of the new optic showed up today and I measured it. It seems to have no effect on total lumens, but the candelas are reduced to about 79% of the original 10511+glass design. It is more floody than 10511, but not quite as floody as 10508.
The new optic significantly reduces tint changes in different parts of the beam, so it looks like it’s a single color.
A first-batch FW3A weighs 51.9 g, while the new sample weighs 51.3 g. Not sure how much variance there is, but the new optic seems to eliminate about half a gram.
I haven’t tested waterproofing or heat tolerance or scratch resistance.
The MCPCB hasn’t changed, so Carclo optics should still fit. But the new optic replaces both the old optic and the glass, so people would need to buy a glass lens to install a standard Carclo optic. I’m not sure where to get a plain glass lens of the right size, or where the best places are to buy a 10511 optic, so links would probably help.