Hi all,
I have 2 diving lights which I want to upgrade, one with 5mm reflector,the other 7mm.
I’m trying to find the best led for my setup - high cri thrower with 2000lm+ @ 3000k-3500k
I’ve already tested the following:
xp-l hi - good throw, not enough lumens
Lh351d - not enough of both
Xhp50.3 hi + xhp70.3 hi - very bright, but not enough throw.
Unfortunately sft-40 comes in cold white only.
I’ve ordered a GT-FC40 for the test.
Is there any other led that might fit my needs?
Thanks!
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I’ve ordered a GT-FC40 for the test.
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Is this a Convoy light? If so M21E has noticeably longer throw than M21F and M21B.
Not a convoy light.
A generic diving light with 30mm reflector
FC-40 has lower output and larger die than XHP70.3 HI, it’ll throw a lot less.
I mean, for any given reflector throw is directly related to the size of the die and the actual size of the emitting area. For example the SST-20 throws quite well while the LH351D is a bit floodier and the XHP50 will be very floody in the same reflector.
Do you know what your lumen goals are?
Probably as many as possible. High CRI is the though. I think Convoy L6 with GT-FC40 packs a punch, shines both bright and far.
Got one a few weeks ago. It’s similar to a car headlight in my opinion. It doesn’t have the super bright hotspot like SFT40, CSLNM1.TG, or SBT90.2 flashlights, so it’s not going to compete with those in a throwing contest. Nicer color, tint, and CRI, though.
I have ordered a smooth L6 reflector to swap out for the stock OP reflector to see if there’s a big difference in throw or beam artifacts. I’ll probably get it in a couple of weeks, if the Convoy shipping is consistent.
It does compete with them with CRI and it’s one of the priorities here.
It mops the floor with them in that area. Ultimately, there is no perfect light, only a series of tradeoffs that you need to match with your use case and your personal preferences.
Most of the time, I’m perfectly willing to trade away some lumens for better tint and higher CRI. The lights have been more than bright enough for most applications for a long time now.
Do I own any SBT90.2 and SFT40 lights or LEPs? Sure I do. They’re still fun, even though the tint and CRI are lousy.
The Luminus CFT-90 ist coming out in a high-cri variant. It will be very, very expensive, but will probably out perform all other high-cri LEDs. The older Luminus high-cri LEDs like the SBT-70 had almost perfect light quality (5600K, >95 CRI, R9>90, subjectively negative Duv, same tint in all emission angles), but terrible efficency. The new CFT-90 high-cri will have a much higher efficiency, but will be 6000K though, so a little cooler.
Sorry for reviving an old thread but you could try the Yinding L50 LED. If you are ok with warm white, the 3000k version is around 80cri and 1200 lumens. Not the highest amount of lumens but the small emitter die makes up for it in throw, comparable to an Osram W2.
No one has mentioned XHP35/XHP35.2 HI, might be a decent option. That’s the most throwy LED with warm tint, high lumens (~1400-1800) and available in 80 or 90 CRI.
Hard to find one with perfect tint, but they can be good. More lumens than XP-L HI and very very good throw.
The new/upcoming Nichia 719A seems promising but there isn’t really any data yet on just how well it will throw.
I think no one has mentioned the XHP35 is because it’s been discontinued for a while now. Are you aware of any currently available models still using it? I honestly can’t think of any.
Armytek tactical flashlights use them. Eagtac too. There are others.
XHP35 HI is discontinued, yes. That’s why I mentioned XHP35.2 HI.
Oh, I thought they were both discontinued.
I’ve actually never bought a flashlight from either of those companies, which would explain why I haven’t seen any for sale in a good while.
Could someone comment on this emitter: GT-FC40. How does it compare with the likes of SST/SFT40? Is it available in 5000K or about? Does it really show colours a little better than other throwy LEDs?
There are 2 LEDs in my collection that look uncannily like the famous 219b 4500k, one is E21a 4500k, and the second one is GT-FC40 4000-4500k (NOT the 5000-5500k version). But GT-FC40 is a larger LEDs so it cannot compete against dedicated throwers like SFT40. You buy GT-FC40 for the un-matched, beautiful color rendering and “medium” throw capability, not as a dedicated thrower. In M21B, M21F, M21E, the throw is 275-300m.
Tint lottery is a problem, at least with my Convoy lights. It is such a unique LED I recently bought a second M21E 4000k, only to find out the tint is completely screwed up (green-yellow), confirmed with Duv measurement.
What other LED is medium thrower with beautiful tint? IMHO not many, or even, not any, possibly EXCEPT new Firefly E04 Surge w/ FFL505A or Firefly X1L Elite w/ FFL707A (on fire sale ~30% off here). I have both of these coming, but they are gifts from the wife 
so can’t open 'til Xmas day.
Would that mean that the 5000K variant is much different, light quality wise, from the 4000K version?
The 5000k version is an excellent 5000k LED reviewed here, the problem is, it’s not 4000k 
. At higher CCT, the color rendering is more sterile bluish-whitish, which IMHO, and purely subjective (personal preference), is not the “best” color rendering. Shades of brown become more greyish, red becomes more violet, etc.
In the picture below, one of the question mark is 219b 4500k, the other is GT-FC40 4000k. The similarity is incredible. No other LED w/ 2000 lm output is like GT-FC40 4000k.
So is that the older emitter in these pic?
I am very interested in gt-fc40.
