TK's Emisar D4 review

I don’t have a way of measuring output, and I don’t have a clamp meter to measure current.

I built this D4 knowing that it wouldn’t be a powerhouse. It’s running ToyKeeper’s Andúril UI, which has a customizable ramp ceiling. I’ve set it to 50 levels below turbo, which visually appears to me as roughly half the brightness of turbo. Even so, I’ve been keeping it in muggle mode, which limits the highest output even more.

I admit that I’ve run the R9080 D4 in turbo a few times for just a couple of seconds. :stuck_out_tongue:

My D9080s are from Clemence’s most recent group buy. They’re NVSL219BT-V1 sw45kD220L2R9080 according to the box’s label. Click to embiggen:

A discussion in the Q8 modding thread about Nichias in a Q8 led to djozz mentioning:

djozz also shared a link to his thread about testing 219B emitters.

I love the 4500K R9080 tint. In addition to a D4, I have one in a Zebralight H51w, one in a Lumintop IYP365, and a loaded triple board waiting for the FW3A. :wink:

I also modded one of my D4s with 219BT-V1 sw45k-D220-L2-R9080. :slight_smile:
The tint with the 10623 optic is beautiful. In my eyes it’s perfect. :partying_face: It’s my daily driver now.
One easy thing with stock V2, to not worry about Amps and turbo is to use a low drain battery (GA, 35E etc). Of course it isn’t so bright, but doesn’t makes you nervous if you want to use turbo. :stuck_out_tongue:

Some whitewall shots, 5200K WB. All D4s are 1x7135.

Left: D4 219B 4500K R9080 10623 optic. Right: D4 219C 5000K R9050 10622 optic.

Left: D4 219B 4500K R9080 10623 optic. Right: D4 XP-L HI V2 5D-4000K 10622 optic.

Left: D4 219C 5000K R9050 10622 optic. Right: D4 XP-L HI V2 5D-4000K 10622 optic.

Note: In reality the Cree is not so yellow. It’s a nice yellow-rosy tint, but in comparison with Nichias… my phone :person_facepalming:

Great comparisons. The more recent batch of 5D XPL-HI in the flashlights I got from Intl is much more yellow than the older pure rosy 5D XP-L HI that I got from him.

Also that 219c 5000k looks wonderful, which I’m guessing is probably from an older batch because Hank said half a year ago that his current batch at the time had a lot of green in the tint.

I modded my D4 to sw40 9080’s, but it didn’t do it for me and I changed it back to 5D xp-g2’s. Usually I always like these emitters, probably the optic set the tint off a little???

Very happy with the 5d’s Again, gonna keep it this way. Now off to find an other host for the sw40s

What’s wrong with the tint? Too green/yellow or too rosy?

I also noted a tint shift with the quad TIR of my D4.
When I installed 4 LH351D 4000K 90CRI, I found them quite greenish… but in other lights I love them.

Thank you guys for your suggestions and various considerations. The ducts are old drywall & cement made, very uneven dotted with cement irregular dark inside wall surface, somewhat dirty, with some pipes running inside the ducts, definitely not smooth bright aluminum ducts. Access to the flashlight is limited once inserted into the duct via a narrow hole made in the duct wall. That makes it more difficult to adjust flashlight to zoom on a particular spot along its length. A portable endoscope camera with a circle of mini lights around its glass is inserted into the duct in a plastic protection pipe to push it through the duct. So the cam adjustability is limited too. What would be the best flashlight choice for these conditions? I tried an ordinary $5 CN flashlight, and it illuminates the duct just around its mount point, but the remote light is all consumed by the duct walls, so useless. The purpose is to assess pipes condition running inside the ducts mounted along the duct side and bottom walls.

Hmm, that worries me a little. I tried 3xLH351D 5000K 80CRI and found it also looks greenish. I figured the 90CRI ones wouldn’t have that issue though.

Maybe I’m just not running it at a high enough power to get good tint. Djozz noted the LH351D tends to get a bit green at low power, and most of the time I’m using only the 1x7135 power channel on a triple or a quad. So it’s 87 to 117 mA per emitter, and that might be low enough for the green effect. Not sure.

Most emitters are more white when running at higher power levels… but the range I care most about is under 150 lumens. And on a triple or quad, that’s only 40 or 50 lumens per emitter. So I guess I tend to select emitters for their tint at low levels like that. I should probably use single-emitter lights instead, but triples and quads seem more popular lately.

The LH351D 4000k 90CRI version is yellowish on the verge of green. It does get better at higher brightness but still not nice like the 219B 4000k. The two groupbuys for the LH351D used the T7 and T6 bin. If we can somehow get our hands on the T3 or T4 bin would be ideal for the FW3A.

I still think a throwy light like the Haikelite SC26 XHP35-HI NW or Lumintop GT Mini would work well for your purpose.

@DBCustom, you do know there’s a Nichia 219C version of the MF01, right?

I see green at low levels it seems… so it would be normal for this LEDs, and not due to optics then ?
I guess I’ll have to try the 3000K SST20 95CRI in my D4 when they’ll be there…

My 219c 5000k is from December. It has some green from moon to 1x7135 (only if you see it in comparison with other white/rosy tints on a white wall) from around there and up to turbo is a nice white.

Just received my silver/white D4 directly from Hank. Took 17 days from day of order . My first Emisar and loving it. The more I use side switch lights the more I think they will be the only type I buy from now on , especially with ramping. The UI is perfect and the thermal step down works flawlessly. Being able to get momentary on is also a plus. Tonight I get to put it through it’s paces if it would stop raining every single day. Emisars are actually more attractive than pictures do them credit. I see more in my future. :smiley:

The HVAC pics are a tough situation. Needs to be small for insertion and control, yet needs to make enough light for a demanding job, while not getting hot or stepping down. Most of the lights that can produce enough light to do this will step down in short order, or are too large for the situation. So I’m thinking the D4, the new D4S, or the DQG Tiny 7 XP-G2 lights are probably more inline with this odd situation. The new D4S will have the large cell and some programability, the DQG might get too warm and at higher levels will step down, maybe too soon. The D4 at the necessary power levels will probably get too hot.

An Raysoon F13 modified triple with CUTE-3 also uses the 26650, can be fit with a nice heat sink, would offer output and run time with program options through firmware selection, but of course this would be a build and not a readily available light.

Mateminco has a triple X6 coming out, quite floody, makes around 3000 lumens, can run quite long in the 6th of 7 levels without getting too hot, might be a likely candidate as well. Run time would be more limited due to the smaller cell size (18650)

Sofirn C8F triple? Decent price, not too large, in the 3000 lumens vicinity. Tends to be more throwy than the Mateminco X6 at similar output levels, both use the 18650 cell.

Emisar D4S
Sofirn C8F
Mateminco X6 triple

Check those out Zamar and see what you think, none of them should be extremely pricey, all are worthy fairly high powered lights. The Mateminco might not be available just yet…

Thanks again. What battery makes & models do you recommend for these flashlights? Are they sold anywhere on cheap? Some 50mm diameter flashlights I seen require 4x18650 batteries. Are these any better for my purpose than 1x18650 flashlights above, and which models?

Hello,
I have Emisar D4 and I have a question.

I took a photo of the reflector on lowest light settings and it looks like this. There are some scratches (marked green) and something that looks like dust specks (marked red)

I wonder mostly about the scratches, how did they get there and is this normal? And I know it is just a tiny detail, it doesn’t bother me too much…

https://imgur.com/a/f824xyq

Also my temperature readout is way off, showing 15 degrees more. But I’ve read I’m not the only one here :slight_smile:

As far as scratches goes I can’t help. As tar as the temperature setting goes you likely need to recalibrate. From page 1 of the thread,

10+ fast clicks then press and hold: Thermal config mode, added in v2. Hold the button until it gets to the action you want:
Blinks out current temperature limit. Release button to exit with no changes, or keep holding to continue.
“Buzzes” for 2 seconds. Release button to set temperature limit to maximum, or keep holding to continue.
Light goes to turbo. Hold button until the light feels hot enough, then let go to set a new temperature limit.

If you are adventurous you can put we firmware like Anduril

Yes, I’ve had it recalibrated already. Its now set at 65 and given the limit is 70, there is not much leeway left for higher settings. It would be nice if there would be higher limit. Or a more precise temp sensor.

I’m adventurous but I know myself - once I disasseble something its never the same again… :smiley: And not in a good way :frowning:

I don’t believe ( others may correct me) but I don’t think you can set the temperature with the original firmware. But once you set it up the way you want there’s no need to change it again.
If its not working for you then you need to change firmware or get a bigger light.