Regarding emitter options: Iād actually prefer SST-20 over LH351D in this light. In fact, Iāll be installing some regardless. I know that means my vote shouldnāt count for much, but at least consider my reasoning.
Itās 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, letās not get bogged down with comparisons to the XP-L HI since thatās an excellent choice and is getting produced either way. And the SST-20 isnāt going to have significantly worse tint than the LH351D; theyāre both known to have fairly green binning on average if you donāt 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 itās going to be wasteful. Youāre 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 arenāt 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 - youāre going to ramp to the same number of lux on a particular target, because thatās 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 youāre concerned more with CRI (especially R9), in actual use the SST-20 is a great option. Iāve 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 LH351Dās, 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.
Hereās 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. Itās not as blue as the previous photo would suggest. Very slight bluish shift on the grey.
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.
Itās only slightly blue-tinted. If I take an average color value from each of three peopleās pictures, and normalize them, hereās 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
Maukkaās pictures are color-calibrated, so Iād trust those values the most. If I understand correctly, the others used auto white balance so their colors may be skewed.
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.
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 ātried and trueā. :+1:
teacher, that $10.99 is less than the cost of an S2+ host plus itās got a biscotti driver. I say you came out way ahead. Just swap in your favorite led. I have one from Hank and ordered 4 more from banggood for giveaways.
Yeah, great deal, and a great way to try the SST-20. Our standards have changed quickly (meaning we are getting spoiled by more great lights at great prices), but this should be a very solid and useful flashlight.