Yea i don’t know how to use google photos properly still learning. This may or may not work.
Touting the advantages of a SMO reflector but saying Sofirn’s “light” OP only reduces throw by a few % doesn’t even make sense. I’ll believe it when someone with a lot of experience from the forum is able to test the SMO with proper focus and accurately measure throw. Too many variables to consider to just take their word at that when in practice the difference is quite a bit larger for other lights. Assuming it truly is only a few percent it must be due to some other attributes of the reflector shape and likely not OP vs SMO being the sole factor.
I would not trust Sofirn to be very accurate either, but the difference between smooth and OP reflector has been measured before to be limited in specific circumstances: I would expect the difference to be smallest with large die leds in small reflectors and largest with small die leds in big reflectors. Back in 2015 I made a rig for reflector testing and although I never did many actual measurements (got bored, I found making the rig more fun than actually using it) it may be interesting to check it: Ongoing project: reflector testing
From the #'s quoted above, yes 3.9% on loss of distance equates to a 7.5% loss in candela, or 8.1% gain in candela going from their OP to SMO. So to me an 8.1% gain is getting substantial. I'll spend time and money for getting less gain than that, either from optic changes/tweaks, getting more amps, focusing, etc.
Bottom line is if an SMO is offered, I'd be interested, if not, ok, least I know what's being sacrificed. I'm glad they did the testing they did do.
What other lights are you refering to?
Maybe you are thinking of a regular OP compared to a SMO? Maybe like the 2 reflectors on the L6?
I’ve done some back-to-back tests on my L6. One of the earlier tests with the SMO gave 86kcd and the OP gave 71.5kcd. This is 587 meters and 534 meters. This is a 9% drop in meters. Or you could say it is a 10% increase in meters. Either way you look at it it’s not a huge difference.
Maybe your thinking of the big differences you get by slicing the dome?
Sofirn is going to send me a sample light to test, but I don’t know if they are also going to send the SMO reflector to test. That might come later.
Candela is not linear. You can’t use percentages that way. It’s confusing.
All I will say is you should push for a SMO sample included in the box. If you do an apples to apples comparison I would be more confident it was correct. Anyways, it would be good feedback for any future versions or upgrade parts if you had it to test.
I thought I was done talking about reflectors 5 months ago. 
Here is the SMO reflector and beam.
Here is the slightly OP reflector and beam.
Yes, I think the SMO reflector height can be tweaked to make a nicer looking beam as I did the same with my L6.
Keep in mind that making the beam look nicer typically results in slightly less throw. So we might end up right back at the same throw distance as the slightly OP reflector. Frankly, I’d rather have a nicer-looking beam then maximum throw distance.
The current production of the SP70 is using this slightly OP reflector. We have to wait until later to test out the SMO.
slightly OP and regular OP is beyond my skill level to identify in pictures much less to be able to infer how it effects measured throw. I guess I have a lot to learn
Candela is lineair (as in: all else equal, double the output will double the candela) , it is the throw distance that is not.
Remember that we are dealing with a fixed lumen output and are simply comparing reflectors.
What I mean is 20k candela is not twice as far as 10k candela. Nobody can really picture in their head what a candela is. On the other hand, everyone can picture distance in their head.
10kcd is 200m
20kcd is 283m
30kcd is 346m
40kcd is 400m
Your candela has to go up by 4 times to double the distance. Technically that is linear, but it’s not logical to the average person.
Your calculation of a 7.5% loss doesn’t make sense. You based it on 80kcd being 50% of 160kcd. I think 50% of 160kcd would be 40kcd. So a loss of 12kcd from 160kcd would be about 3.75%. It’s just plain confusing, to me at least. :weary:
LOL, my brain can’t work with throw distance because it is not lineair with output/reflector surface area, die area etc., I always have to calculate back to kcd to get a feel for what throw a light actually has.
You have exactly the opposite, throw distance is your reference, meaning that nothing else is lineair to that.
There’s no right or wrong here, just what you are used to.
Ahhh, but I think in numbers, and the 1:1 relationship of candela and lumens makes sense to me. Math always came easy to me - that's why I got into engineering and software.
It's perfectly fine when you say a percentage as a gain or loss and identify what units you are talking about, as long as you do the math right. I always look at kcd as the metric for throw, not distance, so it's definitely easier for me to understand candela. I have greater difficulty judging distances - what's the distance to that fence line? No idea...
Where's Tom Tom when you need him? 
Oops, I see djozz is say'n pretty much the same thing - you know, great minds... 
Jackie has posted a new link to the HD 26650 batteries. The shipping price has came down to $6 something dollars.
The pics still show the old wrappers, though. I hope the new wrappers are different for easy identification.
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“NOTE: 1. the light is supposed to has 2 versions: one is sofirn SP70 for muggles, the other is sofirn SP70 - BLF Edition for flasholics. Sofirn SP70 is released first 2. the light officially gives out 5500LM via normal 5500mAh 26650 batteries, while it gives almost 7000LM via HD 26650 batteries and more than 7000LM via 21700 batteries, you need to purchase the batteries seperately. 3. sofirn officailly suggest 5500mAh 26650 batteries for muggles.”
Can someone clarify this? Unless I missed it I haven’t seen how it’s two versions and how will Aliexpress know which one to put in the order?
What have you done with your L6 to get a nicer beam with the SMO reflector? I have such a flashlight with XHP70.2 and SMO too.
This is looking REALLY nice. Thanks for the comparative image, @JasonWW. I’m going to wait for the warmer tint. Definitely interested.
Does anyone know if you order the SP70 “with battery charger” at a $14 premium what 2x 26650 batteries it comes with?
Also, Sofirn mentioned 21700 but these could damage the springs? How big of a concern is this?
Do we have to order during the 4 day sale to get the BLF $50 price or will it still be available to BLF at this price after the sale.
Can I still place an order in the group buy order?