New Sofirn SP33 V3 !!

Yes, this is the only way to measure it. I’m not sure the voltage sag matters as I’ve tried 18650 and 26650 and the resting voltage seems to determine whether Turbo works or not.

I am removing the battery and measuring the voltage. I realize the load voltage will be somewhat less but these are new cells fresh off the charger so it seems too soon to lose turbo. I have been meaning to see what voltage I lose high. That’s more important to me. It is annoying having to double press to get to high after dropping turbo.

After about 1.5 hrs rest the Sofirn 26650 5500mAh measured 4.14v,almost the same as measured soon after the USB charging finished and the blue power button led on.Placed in the Xtar VC4 charger it gained 190mAH capacity at 4.20v

The Sofirn 3000mAh 18650 dropped a point to 4.13v after about 1 hr rest.

****While USB charging if I loosened the tail cap ever so slightly the USB charging stopped.

****Also the light can easily be turned on accidentally.I find the side switch is quite sensitive.

Run Times and Measured Surface Heat.

Items used:

Sofirn SP33v3 original and unmodded using Group 1

Sofirn branded 5500mAh 26650,fully charged to 4.20v

Thin Wire digital temperature sensor

Android Cell Phone timer

I attached the thin wire temperature sensor to the head of the SP33v3 on a flat area on the left of the power button using a small swatch of duct tape.The sensor is powered off a SATA power connector in my desktop PC so it's about 0.25meters away from the PC.

The room is 22.2C but near the PC it's 24.7C

With the senor displaying temperature at 24.7C I double clicked the power button turning the flashlight on in Turbo mode.At the same time I started the timer on the cell phone.

Turbo Mode ran for 1 minute 7 seconds and reached a displayed temperature of 56.0C at which point the SP33v3 stepped down to High Mode.It ran in High Mode for 2 hours and 50 minutes before going into Medium Mode and the power button started flashing red.

At this point I shut the light off and removed the 26650.

The 26650,within 30 seconds of removal,measured at 2.80v.

After quickly putting the 26650 back in the SP33v3 I restarted it on Medium.

In Medium Mode the surface head temperature displays at 27.4C

I'm now waiting to measure the volts when the light goes off.

Light shut off at 2.61v

What is the lumen on high mode? Was it regulated output?

These are my tests done with the tools at hand.If they are of any value to anyone reading them then the post has served it's purpose.

If you wish to supply me with the tools and instructions to get the things you mention I'll be more than happy to accept.

Has anyone seen any info or pictures of the driver?

Lower modes should be regulated, but we need to see the driver to know more detail.

You don’t need to swap emitters to kick down the [perceived] color temperature, an amber filter under the cover lens will suffice. Probably about the same loss of lumens as substituting a warmer phosphor, which isn’t available for the SP33V3 at this time anyway.

The Rosco Roscolux #02 Filter - Bastard Amber comes pretty close — I have a whole new sheet on order so if anyone here is interested just PM me for my mailing address, a SASE will get you a 1.5” square to try out.

I’m comparing the ceiling bounce to my FT03 and assuming it’s 2000lm though it’s probably a bit less. The numbers seem a bit low for the SP33 and EC01. I’m getting about 3000lm for the EC01 (Molicel P42A) which seems a bit low but it is noticeably dimmer that my NI40 which is meant to be a bit over 4000. The SP33 is 2400 with a shockli but I’m not sure it was fully charged when I tested it.

Okay, I see. What I’ve learned is that ceiling bounce tests are only good for testing mods on that same light. It’s no good for lumens. Your FT03 has a much narrower beam than the SP33, so the amount of light that bounces back is different.

You also my be seeing differences in intensity and confusing that with lumens. Two lights with the same lumens, but different hot spot sizes, will appear to have different lumens. The light with the smaller hotspot is focusing the lumens into a smaller area so it’s more intense and looks brighter. It’s vaguely similar to a zoomie where you zoom in and the brightness appears to go up even though the led output has not changed. For measuring lumens you really need to capture all the light and mix it up then measure it. This is what integrating spheres and lumen tubes do. That’s the best way and even that is tricky to get accurate lumens.

I did try putting the light closer to the ceiling and the numbers didn’t really change. The NI40 is not a lot brighter but the difference is noticeable when comparing ceiling bounce.

whatsthepoint Your observations are consistent with mine: a 0.01-0.02V drop in the immediately-measured voltage of the charged cells within one day.

Considering the resting voltages represent only ~5% less capacity than a full charge at 4.2V, I’m not overly concerned about it, as I prefer a built-in charger to err on the side of safety. Battery charge percent

Unscrewing the tail cap will stop charging since it breaks the contact between the unanodized part of the tube and the tail cap. I like how little it needs to be unscrewed because it makes mechanical lockout easy and reliable. That is the case for both the SP40 and SP33v3.

I have not found the side switch too sensitive in my case. Actually if pressed softly from an edge sometimes the press does not register at all.

During your runtime test starting on Turbo, after stepping down, did it never step back up again? In my test of the SP33v3 the brightness oscillated based on temperature and I did not notice any abrupt changes corresponding to modes.

Also, it’s been a while but I think the Sofirn 18650 was at 2.5-2.6V when the SP33v3 finally shut off. I forget what the voltage was in the SP40, but it was higher, maybe 2.8V. For both flashlights, the light output was quite dim by then, so in actual use I would have swapped cells or recharged it before that point.

Now that both regulated and unregulated models are out, any opinions on which is best? I’m not seeing the advantage of the regulated v2 model. Can’t the battery be self regulating, only gradual as opposed to stepped?

During the early part of the 2 hr 50 min run on high the displayed surface temperature of the head fluctuated between 47.3C and 48.1C but later increased to a high near 49.0C.

After the voltage measurement when the light stepped down to Medium the reinserted battery was able to go into High but not for very long before going back down to Medium until it finally shut off several hours later at 2.61v.

My 2 ShockLi 5500mAh cells discharge capacity test more than 500mAh greater than the Sofirn 5500mAh does so run time should be better using them.

The aluminum driver retaining ring,bezel and power button ring unscrew easily but the driver is in there very tight.Does it push out the top or bottom of the head?

I only have the V2, but I’ve had similar lights to V3 with FET drivers. I think it depends on your needs as far as which is better. The V3 can get brighter, but it also gets hotter quicker and the brightness/battery voltage goes down faster due to the higher amperage.

Personally, I prefer the V2 with it’s Boost driver. I like the consistency in output and the longer runtimes. (I use it every day for work purposes)

If you don’t need consistency and longer runtimes and prefer a light that maxes out higher and don’t mind that it heats up faster (on Turbo), then V3 might be better.

How many max. candellas is Sp33 v3? i cant seem to find this info anywhere
thanks

Hi All
I have been following this thread with interest as I had a SP33 V3 on order. It arrived a couple of days ago.

I am very happy with it. I ordered it with a battery so I’m not sure if the included battery can provde enough amps to allow LED to run at its max brightness but in Turb mode it is still very very bright, quite enought for the WOW factor :laughing: I dont have any other 26650 to test, may see what 18650s I have.
I find the switch a bit of a problem, it does need improvement. I have to click it just right otherwise it dosn’t respond. Probably as I get used to the switch it will ‘improve’. The 2 ‘ramps’ are a bonus.
I really like the built-in charging, the main reason I bought it, plus the extended run time with the big battery.
My Convoy C8 has a better throw so this complements it quite nicely.

cm64,imo the Sofirn 26650 5500mAh is a good cell but there are better.

If you want the longest run times then look for greatest capacity.The ShockLi 26650 5500mAH comes close to or goes over 6000mAH in testing the 2 I have.They offer capacity and continuous 20A to 30A

Some here on the forum recommend the Golisi Gold 26650 4300mAH for max lumens.

A Molicel 21700 4200mAh 45A in the plastic sleeve may also give some measure of higher lumens.

I don’t know if banggood sold me a fake Shockli 26650 cell or what but my orbotronics 26650 Cells blow the Shokli out of the sky . When I compare them at same voltage I get much more lumens out of orbotronics 22a continuous discharge

Which cells?
Orbtronic 5750mah and Shockli 5500mah?

Those should be the same cell, the PLB-55. Do the ends look identical? Does your charger show about the same internal resistance (clean contacts, try several times, only use the lowest few results). Have you tried measuring their capacity?

BTW, what is “22a”? Orbtronic only shows a 30A rating which is not the continuous rating. Did you measure 22 amps? If so, how did you measure and what was the amps for the Shockli?