Emisar D4S review

I really like this light.

ow oke :slight_smile: I get it now. Thanks. Is that a reason people dont like cheaper lights with pwm for modes instead of regulated? and also flickerg in low modes right…

On some older or cheaper lights, PWM was slow and visible and unpleasantly like using a strobe light. Also, it tends to be less efficient than a true constant current circuit.

But on newer lights with faster PWM and multiple power channels, the visual difference is beyond human ability to perceive without tools, and the efficiency difference is relatively small. So there haven’t been a lot of complaints about it lately, except from people who are still thinking of the older models which weren’t very good. And a few who really, really care about efficiency or sophistication.

Annnd, most of the cheaper lights also have the blinkies on the main menu, no way to run through the modes without encountering Strobe, SOS, and Beacon. That gets really old really quick.

I just ordered a D4S with an SST20/5000K emitter. I have several fresh 26650 batteries at home to chose from.

What performance differences might I expect from these batteries? (No brand names below, just their advertised specifications):

Is their any risk to the emitter or driver if I use #1?
Will #3 provide enough amperage to realize the advertised output of the D4S/SST20 ?

1) 4,350Mah; Unprotected; Hybrid IMR; Max. Discharge current: 47A (5 Sec. ON /30 Sec. OFF);
Max. Continuous Discharge current: 36A (With cut off at 80C).

2) 5,250Mah; Protected*; Hybrid IMR; Max. Constant Current Discharge 15A (Protection circuit - cut off at 15A). *Note: This battery might be too long to fit: 69mm.

3) 5,750Mah; Unprotected; Hybrid IMR; Max. Discharge current: 30A (5 Sec. ON /30 Sec. OFF)
Max. Continuous Discharge current: 22A (With cut off at 80C).

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

The brand names are pretty critical for your question, just stating the printed capacity doesn’t give us any idea if the cell can actually meet the printing on the label.

Number 3 probably won’t deliver the specced output, difficult to say, again, without knowing who made the cell. Number 2 probably won’t either. Protected cells rarely do well with FET drivers. So it would look like, on the face of it, your number 1 cell will be the best performing. Blind guesswork of course.

So many tests of cells in net, just look for it, many people check cells. How is your emitter colour? I just ordered the same.

DB: Based on your thoughts, I will use the #1 cell.

Apologies. I would have given the brands, but they are all rewraps - all Orbtronics. Orbtronic, to its credit, seems to rewrap only quality, proven cells. Sol, the owner, makes his living on that reputation and his personal, knowledgable service. All the cells I have purchased from him have met or exceeded the specs I can measure. (I buy from him because the other reputable U.S. vendors won’t ship to Alaska. He gets the cells to me in 3 days - and from Florida no less. Costs more, but that’s part of living in Alaska.)

Kajman - I have not received the D4S SST20/5,000K yet. Should arrive in 2 weeks. When is does I will try to post some beam shots - comparing it to my D4S XP-L HI V2 3A (also 5000K). I bought this additional one hoping for a bit more throw distance

Exactly same reason, I have D4 and there is lack of distance at lower power.

I have been thinking about Sofirn BLF SP36 (blf q8 mini) too (additional to d4s) but I wonder if it is not really almost the same to D4S…. And as most of us I have too many similiar lights :wink:

My d4s sst20 5000k will be here soon. I wonder how it compares beam wise with the blf q8.

I guess Q8 will have more throw.

Yet another package from Hank arrived today; my third D4S - this time a grey one with sst20 3000K and amber aux. :smiley:

Also got a replacement aux board to fix the one with dead leds.

Hello guys.

I have some questions about led efficiency and the heat generated for each of this led, specifically the XP-L hi 5k Vs the SST-20 5K i made some research about this but it's not always very easy to find a clear comparison, so if somebody here would be nice enough to confirm my assumption or correct me it would be very cool.

I'll focus on the led options around 5000k cause i like neutral tint, and my question is really about the heat generated/efficiency/run time, so putting aside the tint aspect of this leds, and the flood vs the throw.

They are 4 options available for the Emisar D4S:

Neutral White - Nichia 219CT 90CRI, 5000K
Neutral White - SST20 5000K
Neutral White - XP-L HI V2 3A, 5000K
Neutral White - XP-L HD V6 3D, 5000K


-1 In terms of pure heat generated/efficiency is this ranking correct?

XP-L HD V6 3D > XP-L HI V2 3A > SST20 > Nichia 219CT 90CRI


-2 In general with the same battery/driver/host can we assume that leds options with more lumen always mean more efficiency so less heat generated?


I was interested by the SST20 5000k seem a nice option with no extra cost for a pretty balanced beam, but most of the talking in this thread revolve around the 3k/4k version with a high CRI and i can't manage to find a clear comparison about the power consumption/heat generated of the XP-L HI V2 3A 5k vs the SST-20 5k.

For people who like high CRI the SST-20 3k/4k seem to be an obvious choice and a nice upgrade over the Nichia 219C, more lumen, less heat generated and still a nice tint.

For the neutral tint the XP-L HI V2 3A 5K still seem to be the best choice over the SST-20 5K. ( i'm putting aside the 15$ extra cost and still talking about pure efficiency/heat generated/run time )
I have read on this forum that the SST-20 pulls more current with a fet driver, that was around 25% more over the XP-L hi, but the led tint was not specified so I'm still a bit lost and can't manage to find exact numbers for the 5k version.

-3 So last but main question, the difference between the XP-L HI V2 3A, 5000K and the SST20 5000K is really noticeable in terms of heat generated or it's more of a close gap?

About the power consumption with a fet driver the SST-20 will consume 10/15/20/25% more current over the XP-L HI?

Any insight will be appreciated. Thanks guys.

Can you post some beamshots?

I have been experimenting with XPL-Hd and XPL-Hi in 3000k 80+ CRI and find that they have noticeable pink undertones. Curious if these are closer to the blackbody line.

3000K SST20 is under the BBL. 4000K above. A 3500 2x4000K + 2x3000K mix should result in a great rosy tint if someone is into 3500K (I am).

Anyone know if D4Ses with SST use the firmware for XPL or the throttled version for 219C?

It shouldn’t be using the same firmware since it has a higher VF, and will draw less current.

You can check some beamshot comparisons:

Emisar D4S (XPL-Hi V2-3A) vs Sofirn SP36 (4x XP-L2)

Sofirn SP36 (4x XP-L2) vs BLF Q8 (4x XPL-HD)

Sofirn SP36 (4x XP-L2) vs Sofirn Q8 (4x XPL-Hi)

The Sofirn Q8 is the most throwy, followed by the BLF Q8.

I would say the SP36 is slightly less throwy than the BLF Q8.

While the D4S (XPL-Hi) seems to be almost at par as the SP36, probably just a bit less throwy...

I was thinking in terms of which version of Anduril I should flash. I don’t see an SST version.