Hi there. Just wanted to post some pics of my Convoy S2. I’m quite impressed with the overall quality of this light, given its price point. I’ve owned a whole lot of lights in this price range (mostly given away), and this one does stand out from the rest. Basicallly, the plus points are:
Bright
Well made,
good machining; very good and even anodizing
parts fit well
Reflector/glass clean, no blemishes
nice colour
The only downside is the level-spacing. There is no real low mode, and the medium level could be a bit lower. I would have preferred 5–40–100% but that’s just me. Anyway, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Nice light and great pics! I am waiting for an S3, an M1 and an M2 to arrive from Fasttech and I hope they are machined and finished as well as your S2. I didn't get the S2 because it''s longer than the S3 and the SS bezel on the S3 should make it more durable if dropped. The machining and finish on that S2 of yours is gorgeous and the equal of any other light in it's size class. Great stuff, quality components, and affordable pricing makes Convoy in it to win it!
Yes, I’ve got an M1 on the way as well. I ordered the 3C tint version and I’m hoping it’s as good as my S2.
Pity it only comes in black, though…. Would have liked it in gun-metal grey or something like that.
Btw, I’m in no way connected to FastTech or anything. Just wanted to share a good experience with one and all
I had ordered and received a Convoy S2 Cree XM-L T4-7C. I like it, but the tint was a little yellow to suit me. This one is 2100 MA. I decided I wanted one that was a little whiter tint and decided to go with run time instead of brightness. I ordered, and received today a Convoy S2 Cree XM-L U2-1B 1050 mA. Inside my garage I cannot tell any difference in brightness, but like the tint better.
Overall I am very pleased with these lights, and also with FT speed in shipment. I also like the way you can go to the FT site, and keep up with orders and status. FT is the best in this area. I am sold on FT considering price, quality, speed of shipment, and ease of determining the status.
Keep up the good work FT.
Back to the Convoy S2, the size of the 18650 makes them a littler larger than I wish. However, it is an excellent light, and well worth the price. It would go with me on camping trips if I were still doing such. I wish I could get a light of like quality and price that would take the cr123A and AA batteries.
As a long time lurker before joining, BanglaBob, I think you’ve set a new standard.
I opened them to your full uploaded resolution and they’re even more outstanding than the smaller images formatted for the forum. What struck me though was, how can I put it, a somewhat “synthetic” look to the shots?
Then I realized I was viewing and appreciating what I used to see when looking at a really good photo that was shot with film and had a master in the darkroom (it was lacking what I currently see as the artificially accurate nature of digital production). It’s not that it was synthetic but “true-to-life”.
Seems that the former posters are appreciating your results too.
I loaded the EXIF but all that came up was information referencing gd-jpeg? And PHP???
Would truly appreciate more information on your gear and workflow (gd-jpeg in multiple search engines was for naught)
My thoughts exactly. I would have liked to have the S2 in the 3C tint, but Fasttech doesn’t offer that option - and the 7C I thought would’ve been too yellow. If they do offer it in the future (3C tint) I’ll buy another one 8)
Thanks, A.L. !
I shot those hand-held with my trusty (cheapo) Nikon D5000 which I bought second-hand for a steal
The lens I used was a 40-year-old (!) Nikon macro lens (55mm f3.5). I shoot jpegs, large/normal and for shots like these I use manual-mode (@f8), because it’s actually quicker that way. Most time I’ll just use whatever lens is on the camera, though.
Then I pop them into my PC and do the usual levels/colourbalance/curves and cropping in Photoshop. For a couple of them I used a TINY amount of sharpening (don’t like over-sharpened images - they look artificial/yukky). And that’s about it…. can’t really afford to spend too much time mucking about. I’d much rather play with my flashlights
Haha…. Do you know that it is more than most of us do? You are lucky if someone loaded the picture and crop and resize for the forum…… That is why you see lots of pictures going to the right ……. and going and going and going……
The Convoy S2 with the Nanjg 105c driver (2.1a-2.8a) will have a shorter spring than the one with the AK-105 driver that has a longer spring soldered to the contact board. They are the same 2/5 group nanjg drivers that FT sells on their website separately.
To use the 105c light with unprotected cells a spacer magnet is provided however I don’t like it since it can slip. However the isolator for the tail cap plunger (Also holds the plunger in place) can be removed (Leaving the bare spring) and it allows the spring to decompress a few mm’s allowing for contact with unprotected cells. I soldered my plunger on as well since I thought it looked a bit nicer and it probably added some length, however it worked without soldering it as well (Bare spring).
(like that light, btw)
