Hey folks! Long time lurker, first time poster here!
**– Gifting –**
I’m a photog/videog in the market for some Convoy lights as a Xmas gift for 5-6 of my crew, plus 1-2 friends who aren’t into that career, but who are into gadgets and tinkering.
For the Xmas gifting, none of my friends own 18650 batteries or chargers, thus I need to get either the S21E (USB-C charging) or S2+ and an external charger. All of them should be fine with an external charger (that I should provide) if the choice is to go with S2+, so either should be fine.
An \[S21E + 21700\] doesn’t cost much more than a \[S2+ with 18650 and external charger\] so I think the cost difference is moot.
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**– Emitters –**
For the photogs, having a high-CRI light is a good idea; we want our reds to stay red, not brown. Thus, 519A seems to be a good idea, and the most value-friendly cost as a gift.
For the non-photogs, I believe battery efficiency and/or throw might be a better idea; one of them works in the military in my country anyway. Should I get the SFT40 for them? Or is there something else that I should get?
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**– Thermal Management –**
Re the S21E: I’ve read multiple reviews from more than a year ago stating that the S21E has terrible thermals. However, the more recent reviews and sharing doesn’t really talk about that as much. Has anything improved since then?
With that \^ in mind, would the S2+ be a better/safer option as a gift?
For the giftees, I’ll be sure to mention to them to do a hard lockout by twisting the tailcap lest they burn their pants / bags as first-time proper flashlight owners.
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**– Light-up switch –**
I know I can mod the switch on the S2+ and the S21A/B but I’m assuming the S21E switch can’t be modded, right? I ask this specifically only for “military guy” because I’m not sure about having the rubber switch LED light be turned on while he uses it in moonlight mode, for example… Tactical-awareness and all. Most of us guys are ex-conscription-military so I personally suspect that “military guy” will be chewed out by his team if he uses a flashlight with a light-up switch.
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**– Color Temperature –**
Any advice for this? I’m very aware of what the color temps mean, and I suspect I’m more of a 4500 – 5000k guy, coming from a photog whose strobe / video lights are always set at 5000K – 5500k. For light painting I have small gels that I can always attach to the light if required.
I think the SST40 6500k is too cool and too green. Nitecore MT26 / SRT7 with CREE XM-L2 T6 is quite a bit too cool as well. Nitecore EC22 was alright but way too green. Manker U11 looked nice to me (no idea about what Kelvin this is at). So I suppose… 5000K is the safe bet for gifts as well?
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**– Personal –**
Apart from that, I’m also looking to upgrade my stash of Nitecore lights at home to higher-CRI models. Photo of my current set here: [https://imgur.com/a/YsiZTAX](https://imgur.com/a/YsiZTAX)
I also personally own the Nitecore MH12S with Luminus SST40 6500K (amongst 6 other flashlights) and I feel them lacking in terms of CRI. Thus, I will also change out my older Nitecores / Fenix / Manker to probably a few S21E or S21A personally (I own a 21700/18650 external charger) in 519A. Or would the B35AM be a better idea?
I’m looking for floody beam profiles for my personal use (2-3 in different EDC bags / camera bags), and one slightly spottier one for checking things outside my home- I heard about dedoming a 519A for that?
I’m going to buy a few S21A for myself and mod the metal LED tailcap switches to find them around the house or in my bags. I read about the LED brightness being different for different colors and outputs / drivers? –EDIT: I just read that there’s something related to modding the light with Biscotti firmware? What’s that mean to me? —
Also, can the S21E switch light glow when the light is turned off? It might be handy for finding it in the dark for my friends, especially when we’re on set or when it’s chucked in the car.
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That’s all folks! Lengthy questions but I hope I can get some clarity on this! Thanks yall!
by Pandawithacam
