FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

Amen!! . :+1: . :beer: :beer:

yes i agree with others all colors so far looks good.

Regarding emitter options: Iā€™d actually prefer SST-20 over LH351D in this light. In fact, Iā€™ll be installing some regardless. I know that means my vote shouldnā€™t count for much, but at least consider my reasoning.

Itā€™s true that the SST-20 are dimmer than either the LH351D or the XP-L HI, and almost certainly have worse tint than the XP-L HI. However, letā€™s not get bogged down with comparisons to the XP-L HI since thatā€™s an excellent choice and is getting produced either way. And the SST-20 isnā€™t going to have significantly worse tint than the LH351D; theyā€™re both known to have fairly green binning on average if you donā€™t shop carefully.

The LH351D is a much floodier emitter than theSST-20 (which throws more like the XP-L HI), and in an already-floody 20mm triple TIR itā€™s going to be wasteful. Youā€™re going to need to run a higher brightness level to light up a particular distance away. The SST-20 is much less efficient in an integrating sphere, but especially in a ramping light you arenā€™t going to ramp up to the same number of lumens on both options and then complain about how much hotter the SST-20 is getting - youā€™re going to ramp to the same number of lux on a particular target, because thatā€™s the brightness you can perceive. And the SST-20 will be using less power than the LH351D to get there, not more.

If you care mostly about tint and efficiency, the XP-L HI is still your choice. But if youā€™re concerned more with CRI (especially R9), in actual use the SST-20 is a great option. Iā€™ve got them in my Emisar D4 and their tight beam makes the light far more useful than the numbers would suggest. And, for a back-to-back comparison, I pulled the SST-20 out of my D4S and installed LH351Dā€™s, because in that larger head they were too focused.

I like the beamshots with the 10508 Carclo a lot. I will mostly use this light to light up thing close distance. So a very evenly floody beam would be nice.
So i hope they can get the LH351D. And i will most likely try to change the optic to a 10508 or something similar.

Hereā€™s a calibrated photo of the FW3A. Used the X-rite colorchecker passport to generate a .dcp color correction profile for the Viltrox LED panel and Panasonic DMC-GM1 mirrorless SLR. Itā€™s not as blue as the previous photo would suggest. Very slight bluish shift on the grey.

Thanks maukka, nice work & pictures!! . :+1: . :beer:

Of all the 50 shades of grey, this is a particular nice one!
Thanks maukka :+1:

+1 awesome stuff :+1:

That looks so smart. Canā€™t wait to get mine

Fantastic picture maukka. Looks classy! I really like the colour.

The anodising is grey, which behaves similar like white surfaces. Depending on the surrounding color you get a slight color on grey or white. E.g. wear a blue shirt it looks blue and with a green jacket greenish.

In a white fotobox it sould look grey.

Edit: Or you simply look at Maukkas picture :wink:

Itā€™s only slightly blue-tinted. If I take an average color value from each of three peopleā€™s pictures, and normalize them, hereā€™s what I found:

  • R/G/B = 77.7% / 88.3% / 100.0% Bluzie
  • R/G/B = 89.0% / 93.8% / 100.0% TK
  • R/G/B = 94.0% / 97.0% / 100.0% Maukka

Maukkaā€™s pictures are color-calibrated, so Iā€™d trust those values the most. If I understand correctly, the others used auto white balance so their colors may be skewed.

Bluzie:

TK:

Maukka:

Please please please, yes I would like 1. Dark grey XPL-HI.

Iā€™m changing my mind on emitter, Iā€™ll want to go with an XP-L instead of the LH351D. Edited my original post.

It doesnā€™t matter. The list is just for how many total lights you want.

Iā€™m in.
Dark grey LH351D 4000K 90CRI
Thanks

Iā€™m already down for 2 so maybe I should take a 3rd for my father in law :disappointed:
Forgot to say- Also XPL for the 3rd

Iā€™m in for for one xpl-hi

I use XP-L 4000k 5D in everything. Always very nice tint and usually goes a little pink.

Yep, the XP-L HI is my choice too. I am usually good with 2D to 4Aā€¦ with 3A - 3D being the sweet spot.

Your probably right too about some people wanting to try another emitter. In fact, i had been hearing so much about the SST-20; I ordered a S2+ to try the 4000K 95CRI version. But after reading THIS that may well have been a mistake unless I just happen to get a good tint. Oh well, it was on sale for $10.99. :wink:

Will probably try a LH351D sometime too, if I know for sure it is a good tint.

Choosing an emitter solely based on saving money is a mistake from the start in my book.

For me, and this applies to most anything in life; sometimes the latest is not the greatest.
There is always a lot to be said for the ā€˜tried and trueā€™. :+1: