Are there any videos available showing how to change optics on the FW3A?
I haven’t found any, but you’d just have to unscrew the bezel, change the optics and screw it back again.
Received my production FW3A w/ XP-L HI 3D today. Works perfectly, even though I did tighten the driver retaining ring before even turning the light on for the first time. The finish is just slightly lighter and bluer than the proto.
The little protrusion on the clip ring is perfectly fine. It helps with the cigar grip, while the proto with a narrower ring is a bit slippery.
The emitters aren’t rosy for sure, but I’ve noticed that lower CRI emitters don’t look as green as for example CRI90 219Cs with similar duvs. This measured 4600K duv 0.0063 at 1x7135, but visually was alright. Gets closer to BBL on higher modes (8x7135, FET). The fine visual experience is also explained by my current ambient lighting conditions that are even greener (4800K duv 0.0085) because of UV blocking windows and lots of trees outside.
Integrated, the tint is not as bad as in the hotspot. So there is some tint shift in the beam but it’s not very visible to the eye. Output is 139 lumens in the 1x7135 mode.
Nichia 219b sw40 integrated at 1x7135, 83 lumens:
Your 3D doesn’t look rosy? Mine sure does. I like it.
I'm not sure what the graphics all mean, never did understand, but where can I find the results regarding above/below the BBL? What's the test result relative to the BBL?
I find my 3D FW3A surprisingly more blue/green than rosy.
Duv (delta uv) is the metric which shows how far and in which direction the source is in reference to the BBL. Positive duv is green (yellow on low CCT sources), negative is rosy/pink/magenta. At least to me, some emitters seem visually more neutral on a white wall than others even with similar CCT and duv. Even a slight tint shift within the beam also affects how the beam on average is perceived even if it’s not obvious on non-rainbow like emitters like the XP-G3.
I would consider duv ±0.0030 neutral. The 219C CRI80 or XP-L HI in CRI70 look neutral even above 0.0030, but most CRI90 emitters do look greener even when they are closer to the BBL. SST-20 for me is the worst in this regard, looking greenish even when it’s near the BBL.
Objectively, the 3D in my FW3A is greenish, but much less so when evaluated visually. Most high CRI emitters we use would look pretty horrible at duv 0.0060.
The 3D had to give way for some dogfarts (LH351D 5000K CRI90) and a slight minus green filter (Zircon 804) and Carclo 10507.
1x7135 output dropped from 139 lm with XP-L HI to 125 lm with just the emitter change. 10507 brought it up to 126 lm and finishing with the minus green got me 112 lumens.
FET output at turn on (30Q):
XP-L HI 3D: 3035 lm
LH351D dogfarts: 2626 lm
with 804: 2334 lm
Final results is under BBL with 1x7135 and full FET.
maukka, any chance you have some comparison beamshots?
Nothing on the LH351D version, but here’s 219B sw40 vs. XP-L HI 3D on a white wall and a floor with reddish tint. Should be obvious which is which.
I appreciate it. I’m curious about the dogfarts with the 10507. Are you pleased with it? Beam profile-wise?
Maukka, did you have an XP-L HI 7A emitter in your hands? I am interested in measurements and how it falls in FW3A.
No, I don’t have the 7A.
Stock or de-domed/sliced?
Dome on.
It’s pretty much a wash between dedoming and filtering when it comes to output. If you want a tighter spot, then dedome away, but for me, I kinda like the wide even spot of the stock LH351D and 10507. Great for closeup work while still retaining some throw.
That matches my experience too. Perhaps I should finally get a sheet of minus-green material and stop being so picky about which emitters are used. Almost everything is going to look green, so I should put some rose-tinted glass over it to make things look better.
Lee Minus Green filters are great stuff!
I have a #279 filter in my modded FW3A right now. It’s not a Zircon filter so probably won’t last super-long in high-brightness LED applications. But on the other hand it came in a roll big enough for a hundred small flashlights.
It does reduce output 14% and makes the tint warmer though. Currently using it with 2x 5D and 1x 3D emitter.
Banggood.com have just sent me 2 XPL HI 5000K for review, I’m not sure why they sent me 2 but they are very very different
One has a frosted optic and Nichia Like tint the other has a clear optic and yellowish typical XPL 5000k tint.
The frosted one gets anywhere from 2800 to 3700 at turn on and the clear optic one gets 2600 every time.
The Frosted one is also temperamental in muggle mode, often doubling it’s power to 600ish lumens.
How do the optics look like?
Below is a sample of the “plastic optic”, Carclo 10511, and Carclo 10507 optic on the FW3A.
The frosted one looks like the middle light but my clear optic is different from the clear one in the pic, mine doesn’t have the 3 spokes in the middle.
It’s likely your clear one has the copied optics made in China. It’s supposed to have lower lumens and yours exhibits that behavior. Replace it with a factory Carclo 10507 and you should see a pretty nice lumens increase.