[Sofirn headlamp]SP40 was added 3000K and 4000k color now

Just received the light in 4000k

I like the light and tint, but I can’t understand why there’s no long click from off for moonlight. This light with an added moonlight mode only accessible from off would be perfect

i would appreciate a quick and dirty beamshot comparison of the 4.000k tint with the standard 5.300k version!

here you go :smiley:

an optional 5.000k hi cri version with samsung lh351d would be great!

Thank you, Mr. Beam!

It’s still tough to choose. Both are nice in their own way. Which do you prefer?

choice of luminous color is purely a matter of taste :slight_smile:
out of only this two personally i would prefer definitely the 5.300k one. the 4.000k version has a strong visable orange yellow tint which bothers me in fact.
some people may love particularly that. well i don’t… i like it way more neutral.
and at the best with high color rendering skills:

but that’s just me :wink:

That’s very helpful. Thanks.

I prefer it more neutral too, and that Emisar D4’s color looks nicest to my eyes. eg. by comparing the colors of the yellow bird between the images.

So that makes my choice easier: SP40 5300K. The SP40 4000K’s orange tint reminds me of incandescent flashlights, which might be nice for relaxing but less so when trying to see or work on something. They might both have their uses. I wonder what the SP40 3000K looks like. :nerd_face:

Is there any news on whether/when an updated SP40 will be available, hopefully with a moonlight mode?

I asked recently and sadly they said no. Hopefully they’ll change their mind.

I got mine on discount a while back and I think it was the the coolest tint in the lineup. I’d prefer a warmer, more neutral option, but the price was right.

I wish I had seen the Astrolux HL01 earlier! Astrolux HL01 1200Lumen magnetic angle/headlight groupbuy - #3 by M4D_M4X

  • Moonlight (Anduril)
  • CRI95 with the SST-20 4000K
  • USB-C charging port hidden under threads

It addresses virtually every suggestion for improving the SP40, even if it does look a bit silly like a meat tenderizer.

Has anyone measured an SP40 in their “lumens measuring device”? I’ve just measured mine in my DIY sphere and the numbers seem really low (while many of my other “calibration check lights” check good with my past values). I don’t expect my lumen values to be exact, but these seem really low. Mine is the 4000k XP-L.

I’ve measured:
Low = 6.6 Lumens
Med = 62.8 Lumens
High = 306 Lumens
Turbo = 798 Lumens

I’ve also measured my SD05 on a brand new Molicel P42A 21700 @
Low = 277 Lumens
Med = 792 Lumens
High = 2,223 Lumens

I’ve not looked up anyone’s verification of lumens measurements, but I seem to remember high should be around 900 to 1,000 lumens.

-Garry

I replaced the XPL 4000K in my SP40 with a dedomed LH351D as it was too yellow/green also for my taste.

I noticed that Sofirn is using some kind of non-standard 17 or 18mm PCB and the shelf underneath the led is black anodized which should be bad for heat transfer.

That could be debatable of how much loss there is from anodizing, but the flatness/bonding to the MCPCB and presence of a decent thermal compound applied properly are probably more important. If it's accessible, I'd probably sand it down, but mostly for flatness concerns.

If you do sand, it's interesting because you can find out the true quality of the anodizing - how deep it goes. MaxToch's, for example, are about the deepest I've seen.

The Amazon $20 SP40 headlamp deal last month had a removable magnet in the tail cap.

I measured mine, but it’s not the 4000K version. It’s from when they first released the SP40 and the CCT seemed around 5000K.

My lumen measurements are not calibrated and as such are probably slightly generous. But even so, I measured around 1200 lumens at startup using a 35E. Perhaps the 4000K is a lower bin. Or perhaps the battery being used had an effect?

garrybunk Note from the AliExpress product listing:

I have not seen lumen ratings for the other color temperatures yet.

Thanks gchart. And yes I realize my 4000k will be a lower bin, just not as low as my measurements show! By eye I’d say my SP40 should be putting out 1,000 lumens+ on Turbo easily. I think something is up with my sphere favoring lower output levels.

-Garry

I received an SP40 4000K from Sofirn Direct web site about 2 weeks ago.

I’ve measured on Texas Ace Lumen Tube calibrated with Maukka lights:
Low = 7 Lumens
Med = 65 Lumens
High = 358 Lumens
Turbo = 988 Lumens start up 963 @ 30 sec on freshly charged 30Q. Continues to drop as battery drains.

Freshly charged 30Q charged in the flashlight measured on my multi-meter @ 4.2v removed right after the charge was complete.
Charging rate is 0.92A using the built-in charger.

The Sofirn Battery fits better and does not rattle as it is re-wrapped but I did not get measurements on it, as I have 30Qs ready. This light handles re-wrapped cells without issue. The 30Q will rattle if shaked somewhat hard.

I do like the tint and the beam pattern. Center hotspot smooth no hole and spill is even, no rainbow effect with OP reflector. Very smooth transition from hotspot to spill. No odd colors/rings.

Not regulated as the lumens drops as the battery reduces voltage. There is no spring bypass so not sure if anyone has done it and got higher numbers.

Overall pretty happy with it. Not near 1200 lumens of the CW version. But respectable and very usable. I do wish it has a moonlight mode otherwise, easy to use UI. Decent build quality, and micro USB charging convenience. (although almost all my devices use usb-C now).

Side note: tested with Qualcom QC, QC 2.0, QC 3.0 and QC 4.0+ chargers and the flashlight charging circuit stays at 0.92A as expected.

Thanks YogibearAl! So my lower level lumens match yours pretty well, but my higher levels fall off quite a bit. Hmm . . . I wonder what happens if I calibrate my sphere to your SP40 high number. (My SP40 was tested on a brand new LG HG2 hi-drain cell, at or very near full charge.)

Okay, I re-ran my lumen calcs based on YogibearAl’s posted #’s above to compute a new multiplier. My previous multiplier was 0.4275, and now trying to calibrate to Yogi’s #’s I am getting varying multipliers, with the #’s for the high outputs being significantly higher (my expectation - that my sphere is “good” at low outputs, but gets exponentially worse at higher levels). Multiplier’s I get:
SP40
Low - 0.4516
Med - 0.4422
High - 0.5000
Turbo - 0.5158

If I then run with the multiplier of 0.5000 from high mode, run that back against my SP40 measurements and also on my SD05 & Astrolux HL01 (XP-L 4000k) measurements, I get:
SP40
Low - 7.8 lumens
Med - 73.5 lumens
High - 358 lumens
Turbo - 934 lumens

SD05
Low - 324 lumens
Med- 926 lumens
High- 2600 lumens

Astrolux HL01
Stepped Ramp Levels:
Step 1 - 15.2 lumens
Step 2 - 51.3 lumens
Step 3 - 145 lumens
Step 4 - 190 lumens
Step 5 - 296 lumens
Step 6 - 472 lumens
Step 7 - 807 lumens
Turbo - 1160 lumens

So now my higher numbers seem more in line with expectations, but I suspect I’m showing lumen #’s that are too high for the lower levels. So what am I supposed to do, use different multipliers for different lumen output ranges? And how would I know what I am doing is reasonably accurate Ugh! I need to move this discussion over to one of the sphere threads.

-Garry

I put some diffusion film under the lens (#7 from DC-Fix Diffusion Film Sale is my preference for this headlamp/worklight) to get a smoother beam profile with less hotspot and less tint shift. I think it really improves this flashlight!

I don’t mind the 5000K now. I find a smooth beam profile without artifacts is what makes a light really useful and pleasant.

Now the biggest need in an improved SP40 is regulated output, more so than moonlight. That would make it a damn near perfect headlamp.