Convoy S21D w/ legendary Nichia 219b :) - Review & comparison w/ Nichia 519a, E21a & other lights with Nichia LEDs incl. Emisar D4V2, Convoy S21F. (Summary & measurements on P. 1)

BTW, Carlo Optics for Emisar D4V2 fanboys like me lol/JK. I replaced the frosted optic 10623 in my E21a 4500k with clear 10622 and liked the brighter hotspot much better. I also have 10621 but haven’t had time or a reason to try it yet.

Hank uses frosted optic in E21a 4500k for sure, but I do not know if he uses it for other E21a’s CCT’s. He puts some kind of grey gluee stuff around the legs so be careful not to smear it on the lens. The gluee stuff makes it hard to get the lens out; just use the tip of a needle to pry it out at the edge. And careful with the lens, it falls out and cracks very easily :person_facepalming: .

The optics are very inexpensive and fun to play with. I ordered it at the same time I ordered the lights from Hank to save on shipping and avoid the excruciating wait for toys from China.

I replaced the optic in my S21D with the clear Sofirn optic and have found it much more useable so far as well.

I think more useable is subjective to the degree of the TIR lens itself… Any idea what is the degree of the Sofirn TIR?

I don’t think they state it directly but there is good info here including beam shots. That’s where I found out about it.

Yes, I don’t remember seeing Sofirn state it. I mean as in I will use the S21D 60deg TIR inside my house for close range(more flood), while I will use the Sofirn Lens(on beamshot, maybe a 30deg TIR) for my garden(longer range).

Which CCT 519a de-domed is very close to the sw45k?

Thinking about grabbing another S21D now that Simon has them in different CCTs

5700k

But you may have missed your window of opportunity. We cleaned him out yesterday.

5700K dedomed is as close as you'd get. From what I've seen, it has sw45k level rosiness but at a slightly warmer CCT (4100-4300 depending on current).

That’s not glue, it’s the thermal compound used underneath the top aux board. I use a roll of tape and press it down on top of the optics with my thumb to pull optics out of my KR4. A small suction cup would work fine too.

I like 10622 best so far. I would love 10621, but it has a little too much artifacts for me.

Y’all too fast! Sold out :[

Oh so that’s what it is - thanks. Hank had told me when installing the new optic make sure to press it down hard/tight in and that’s why I thought he had put some glue on to hold it down in place.

I searched and did see a post (probably yours?) mentioning the tape method to remove optic, but mine was down really, really tight so I used the hand-sewing needle and just carefully pried the optic up from the edge. I (perhaps a littler over-OCD lol) also didn’t want to leave any tape residue on the surface of optic.

Great review, lots of very useful details. I don’t see the S21D on the AliExpress Convoy store. I’m guessing it should come back eventually. Will there be an option for domed or de-domed, or do you have to explicitly request it?

Thanks. I think it’s just temporary out of stock - maybe getting too popular because it is such a fantastic light for the give-away cost :slight_smile: ? I’ve just PM’ed Simon to confirm.

I do not know if Convoy offers custom-order de-domed version of LED in the past (does anyone know?); I’ve asked him about this also.

Right now, I don’t think Simon offers dedomed.

And if you are asking about dedomed 519a 4500k, which when dedomed becomes 3500k (? anyone correct me as needed), a fantastic alternative is 219b in 3500k form. Convoy doesn’t have 219b 3500k but Emisar does Emisar D4V2 High Power LED Flashlight. It is a LED with beautiful beam color and world class CRI of R9080, the very highest rating possible. The magenta tint of 219b 4500k could be too much (too magenta’ish lol) and at times I much prefer the color of 219b 3500k. More calming golden so to speak, without any trace of undesirable green. In other words, as “perfect” a 3500k LED as could be imho.

Based on the too many :slight_smile: Nichia comparisons that I’ve done, I suspect whether dedomed 519a 4500k (which I don’t have) is “better” than 219b 3500k will likely come down to personal preference.

Doesn’t dedoming also extend throw and cut back a bit on spill, all things being equal with the same optic?

I enjoy tints that lean rosy, but not too much. A bit more towards golden seems more natural, closer to incandescent. But yeah, the green… I absolutely loathe it. Especially a puke green with yellowish overtones. I’d bought a few lights with tints like that in the deep past, the worst being an Olight M2 Warrior. The artifacts in the beam were also atrocious. Olight has surely come a long way from those days!

From Simon: no dedomed offering for now.

Yes - it is personal preference, there’s no right or wrong (well except for some egregious examples like my copy of Thrunite TT2 w/ green hell Cree NW XHP70.2). Some love the 219b 4500k always, I love it for the stunning color rendering, but NOT always because I find the magenta tint not as relaxing as a more golden hue. Like all hobbies, audio, photography, cars, etc., there are choices for any kind of “toy,” and the lucky ones get to experience all the flavors. Each not necessarily better than another, just different.

Personally were I to start a collection of Nichia, this is what I would like to get IMHO/YMMV:
1. Convoy S21D with Nichia 219b 4500k
2a. Emisar D4V2 with Nichia 219b 3500k. Because it has a warmer CCT that any Nichia hobbyist should experience and is a 219b R9080.
2b. Convoy S21D with Nichia 519a 4500k original, NOT dedomed. Because it has a relaxing “golden” hue and doesn’t cause me to over analyze everything I see :slight_smile: . It “feels” most like the incandescent or warm-white LED light bulbs in my house, ie “normal” lighting.

Hey cannga, I got the metal tail switch that you recommended and I love the function of it. Although, I notice the blue light on the switch is getting dimmer, almost like its failing. Is this normal for you also?

I have too many lights with so many different types of accessory lights so I may not notice when something is off, but no I haven’t noticed any such problem. I’ll check later when I’m home.