Very useful comparisons, but there is something to add, namely descriptions as to how you experience these various LEDs, in various situations. I mean the actual experience vs. pictures is not the same because we watch pictures on a web page (with more stuff on that page around that picture), in a room which has still more stuff that we can all see at the same time as that beamshot picture, such that actually what you show is not what you will experience when using it because our own white balance depends on the whole picture we see, so unless you watch in a dark room and only see the picture on the computer screen, what you see in reality is not what the picture shows. The more is on screen in the picture (the room) the better it is but it still wonāt be the same so a description on whether āI get a pink feelingā experience occurs for example would be useful.
This is also a problem with beam patterns for cutoff lighting, actually even more so, which I analysed and explained on my website. I havenāt done this in in detail about the white balance, but I did mention on my site the issue with beam shots not showing what you experience due to perspective, the aim of your view (what you look at, and at what distance).
So various things that are obvious in your pictures may not be obvious in reality except in special circumstances. In your pictures the 219b shots I all see as pinkish, very unnatural, but perhaps in reality it works well in many situations, but not all situations! I ordered a D4V2 with 219b 4500K so I can try out different firmwares and try out these LEDs, will likely only arrive in a few weeks at best. I read comments that some people dislike the 219b in some situations, especially when there is snow, and that makes sense, it would give a pink glow then to what you see.
This is likely also my problem with the LH351D, in that the situation with lots of wood colours, things are off. I will do a beamshot session with the 219b 4500k, 219c 4000K, XML 4C, SST20 4000K and LH351D when the D4V2 arrives to see about the situations that I feel are problematic. I estimate that the SST20 4000K and 519A also ca. 4000K will be the best in giving good colours under all circumstances. I will try to get hold of some 519As in 4000K and 4500Kā¦
Oh, something else, lit tail caps. According to Simonās aliexpress pages of his lit tail caps, these take about 9-14 mA with a full battery, dropping off when the voltage drops. This would mean these suck an 18650 empty in a bit more than 10 days. That seems far too much (small LEDs donāt need so much power, e.g. you can run a 3mm standard LED that is rated to 20 mA at 1 mA and it will still be quite visible). In the thread āD.I.Y. Illuminated tailcapā a current is mentioned of 0.29mA, which is a lot better, that would take more than a year to drain an 18650 ca. 3400mAh battery.
Have you noticed such a high drain with those lit caps from Simon?
@swhs, thank you for the thoughtful analysis. You brought up some very good pointsā¦
1. Metal switch: The switch is nicely bright so I suspect it is draining on the high side. I have used the light continuously so canāt tell. When battery voltage is 4.2V, the current for blue light is 9.4 mA, when voltage is 3V then current drain decreases to 2.74 ma. How to calculate how long this will last in a 5000 mAh battery? Any expert please chime in if Iām wrong: Is it 5000mAh/9.4mA = about 500 hours minimum? Current drain goes down with lower voltage so I believe actual drain time will be longer than 500 hours.
2. This is obviously not the place for a lengthy photography discussion, but yes, there is NO replacement for ālive viewā and photography must be used in conjunction, not replacing. Where pictures are useful is when the difference is small, and when you need to confirm your suspicion in ālive view.ā One example is the Nichia E21a: Iāve read all sorts of posts, some hate it, some think itās the second coming. Photography confirms for me that it looks very similar to 219b. Only photography could āfreeze frameā (vs fleeting visual memory) what we see and allow us to share the scene, often enough āmore reliableā than our words of description.
3. Magenta or not? Multiple discussions already and subjectively how nice it is, depends on personal preference, no right or wrong. I would like to emphasize that objectively, the 219b is unmatched in its CRI numbers. IOW itās still the king, especially for the color red (R9). Used daily in nature or in my cluttered living room, it distinguishes subjectsā colors better. For this reason IMHO a 219b 4500k flashlight is a good first start for any light collection. And for various reasons the Convoy S21D with that LED is the very top choice for me.
4. Lastly IMHO, if I want a happy flashlight life, I would stop doing comparison . Really, whether live view or photographically, comparison āmagnifiesā differences (partly why itās so important for hobbyists). I never thought my SST20 4000k or LH351D 4000k were green until I compared them with 219b.
Where are the objective data to show that the SW45K is unmatched in its CRI numbers? The SW45K has been famous for being a subjectively pretty emitter, but it has healthy company for R9080 rating.
Here are some actual objective data courtesy of Maukka:
1 mA might be too dim to see? I have a Wurkkos TS21 that has the same problem with light button drain, but since it has Anduril I could change the light it to lower output setting. Donāt know what the drain is but then itās so dim I canāt see it.
One other reason I recommend 219b over E21a @4500k is, at least with my Emisar, the E21a requires frosted optic 10623 which makes it looks dimmer, and too dim for me.
When I replaced that frosted optic with a clear one, brightness is better but then I discovered the beam shot has yellow greenish ring/corona. 219b 4500k with same clear optic still shows beautiful & smooth magenta beam.
My green lighted switches run at around 0.07mA (5.7 years on a 3500mAh battery) and blues at 0.15mA (2.6 years). Plenty bright under clear silicone switch boots.
The green 0805 SMD LEDs are by far the most efficient of the available colors.
My criteria is that I need to get a year or more run time with my lighted tail switches, given the color/battery combination.
What lit tailcap do you use, self made, modified, or say one of led4powerās ILCs ? And were any mods such as bleeder resistor required?
(Iām interested in one for a Jaxman E2L, for me same requirement: 1 year minimum runtime not using the main LED, low voltage protection would be nice but at 1 year not that essential)
Keep in mind too that different drivers respond differently to lighted tailcaps. I need to use more resistance for the same amount of brightness with a Mountain Electronics MTN-DDm driver than with a Convoy SST40 driver.
And people have different preferences on how bright they want them to be.
But if you like modding your flashlights, lighted tailcaps is a fun (and sometimes challenging) sidebar!
The rubber boot requires this black plastic āspacerā? Not sure exactly whats its called, but since its not clear, it completely blocks the light from being visable at all.
EDIT: Nevermind, I just seen the lighted switch comes with a clear version of the plastic ring.
Interesting to see how a frosted TIR optic smooths out the beam.
Upper is Emisar E21a 4500k with clear optic, lower is same Emisar with frosted optic.
(The 219b light has clear optic in both pics.)
You are going to get me in trouble answering this question. :innocent: There are a lot of passionate fans on either side of these 2 brands. I actually have more Emisar D4V2ās than Convoy S21D because Emisar offers 219b in multiple CCT choices, whereas Convoy only offers the most famous and popular one, 219b 4500k. Some considerations strictly IMHO-YMMV
Emisar D4V2: IMHO a āprettierā light than Convoy, with beautifully-done knurling and multiple colors and metal available (although the brass and copper versions are very heavy, almost too heavy). Smaller and fit very nicely in the hand. Battery 18650 so lower capacity. If you get this light donāt get the option of raised ring around the button (I really dislike it in use) unless you really need it to prevent accidental activation. D4V2 has Anduril UI which I much prefer to Convoy UI. Set at 55 max temp the central hotpot is brighter than Convoy at Turbo start, but after a couple minutes, step-downs occur and brightness begins falling behind Convoy and the beam covers a smaller area. I think this is due to the smaller thermal mass of the Emisar. Convoy S21D: Bigger light & less expensive than Emisar. Does not look as nice as Emisar to my eyes but at 30 bucks Iām not complaining. 21700 battery a plus. The beam covers more area and stays brighter longer.
If I were to have just 1 light it would be Convoy S21D w/ Nichia 219b 4500k (aka sw45k) because of the 21700 battery and better brightness, but this is personal preference. Some people prefer D4V2 for reasons listed above. But why not get two lights: Convoy S21D 219b 4500k and Emisar D4V2 219b 3500k - this would be a great Nichia 219b start and IMHO 219b is a classic and will never become obsolete. Some examples of newer Nichiaās (E21a 4500k - very close but yellow greenish corona with clear optic, 519a 4500k - yellow tint; pictures and discussion previously in this thread) have not matched that legendary tint of 219b and I donāt think this will change.