Thoughts on the XP-G S2 Emitters?

[bandaid]

So 4Sevens is beginning to end their S2 emitters and switching back the the R5 emitters.
You guys think the S2 versions will come back as standard and the R5s will be obsolete?

The R5s has proven it's worth but I was just wondering what you guys thought about the S2 emitters compared to others.

 

[SgtCuts]

I personally liked my Quark AA2 Tactical S2 but I prefer the R5 any day of the week

 

[Stephen Wallace]

I'm not saying that this IS the reason for the change, but it is a possibility.

There seems to be more of a 'tint lottery' with the S2 emitter then perhaps with any other recent LED. Lots of people have reported yellow and green tints and are not happy with the S2 lights as a result. That may have lead to 4Sevens wanting to use an emitter with a more consistent tint in order to avoid complaints/criticisms/returns etc.

 

[Outdoorsman5]

A few months ago I bought one of the quarks with the S2 LED, and did not like the greenish color at all. I wanted/needed a couple more quarks, but passed on them because of the S2. I prefer to gift the Quark AA2 over any other light, but recently I bought 2 Fenix LD20 R5's for my nephews over the Quark AA2 S2 because of my dislike of the greenish tint of those LED's.

I'm glad to see 4sevens go back to the R5's, but hope that something new comes along (just not something with such an aweful tint.) 4sevens told me that they will not be putting the XM-L LED's in the quark line (except for the new Turbo X with the large head) because the LED is too large for the quark's small head....would make them all flood with very little throw. So, for now it looks like the R5 is still top of the heap until CREE or one of the other manufacturers comes up with something better.

 

[Lighteous]

I bought a Quark AA2 with the XP-G S2 emitter several months ago. The first thing I noticed is the green tint. For that reason alone I'm not especially fond of it and should have sent it back. I was considering ordering the XP-G R5 version once they resume selling them. However, I have since found that I like the floodiness of the XM-L led and the ThruNite Neutron line. I may opt for the 2AA version of that line.

 

[tre]

I have not purchased any light with an S2 emitter due to the overwhelming number of reports about the very green tints - that and I prefer neutral tints too.

 

[GeoBruin]

I feel like most people were exposed to cool white (what I call blue) tints first, then saw what a neutral and "green" tint looks like. I read so much on CPF before I got my first light that I wound up with a 4300K light as my first LED. When I then received my first 6500K light, I found it to be incredibly "blue". I then got a quark which is admittedly green, but I found I prefer it to most lights on the bluer end of the spectrum.

It's all about perspective.

 

[rich297]

I have a couple of lights with S2 emitters and both have a greenish tint that I only really notice against a white surface. I suspect that for many users, the extra lumens that the S2 outputs (compared to the R5) is trumped by dislike of the tint.

 

[peterharvey73]

I have a Jetbeam TC-R2 which is a special titanium version of the RRT-0, but with an XP-G S2 emitter for 310 lumens over the R5's 255 lumens.
On it's own, the S2 is fine; bright, floody even.
However, side by side with an R5, the S2 seems yellow and less bright?
But most of the times, on its own, it's fine.
However, I probably wouldn't recommend Jb go for S2 anymore.
The other thing to consider is that with the R5 255 lumens, the RRT-0 is rated at 45 minutes run time.
With the S2 310 lumens, the TC-R2 is rated at only 30 minutes run time on the same CR123 battery.

 

[bandaid]

My first two quality flashlights are from 4Sevens
I've got the Preon 2 and the Quark mini aa2.
Though I don't have much eye experience determining it's tint. I guess I'll keep the S2s but like what you guys said, with the overwhelming feedback about their S2s makes me wonder if I should have gone for the R5s.
But in the end at least I've get a pair of really good lights and I'm not complaining about the tint.

 

[Jondrywall]

I think I have every 4sevens light and I can't stand the S2. It's green. It could easily be a hog hunting light.

 

[Sgt. LED]

It's funny, I just finished hunting for an S2 because I wanted the green hue.
To be honest it's not shipped yet so I'm just hoping.....
I like the long runtime of the Quark moon mode and my eyes seem to work better on low green VS low white.
I'm just weird.

 

[mmace1]

my eyes seem to work better on low green VS low white.
I'm just weird.

Mine too...though I still perhaps irrationally prefer what is currently called a good modern "cool", up to what is currently called "neutral" white. I definitely don't like "warm" emitters. Too much like I'm viewing things at sunset, with reduced lumens for no apparent reason.

That said - my TK41 has a green-ish tint at lower levels. To me...this just blends in with the color of what I usually use a high-power light for - illuminating spots in nature (my nature is mostly green here).

Often when evaluating the characteristics of flashlights - I like to think back to my first 'wow!' flashlight - a Streamlight ProPoly 4xAA Luxeon. Horribly cool tint by current standards. Also had an awesome single level 40 lumens. That said, it worked, just fine. I used it for everything. Makes me less of a everything-snob, definitely. At the time, my light was significantly better than anyone else around me even, and they still seemed to managed to accomplish things. As for tint: it's not as if I'm walking outside to memorize the particular tint of that tree's bark so that I can recreate it for my masterpiece...(though I acknowledge that hunters need to be able to pick up blood/etc.) But for everyone else...how important is the tint of your walking paths? Or making sure your countertop looks accurate?

edit: Though...as a hobby, everything goes of course. So really...preference and not practicality rule. And this is getting more hobbyish/less practical every year. I hope trends continue, and in 5 years I'm carrying around a 2xD sized light with a 7,000 lumen high that last for 2 hours, just for fun! Dear lord...when is tared lumens were generally counted in tens...now in *hundreds*, the tens don't even seem to matter much, what's 470 lumens vs. 550? Who cares...about that span that doubles the total capacity of my old Propoly... :0

 

[roadkill1109]

So 4Sevens is beginning to end their S2 emitters and switching back the the R5 emitters.
You guys think the S2 versions will come back as standard and the R5s will be obsolete?

The R5s has proven it's worth but I was just wondering what you guys thought about the S2 emitters compared to others.

I've used my Quark AA^2 Tactical S2 for several months now, so far so good, i find it a bit weak at times, the lumens is not as high as R5's but the S2 has a more "natural" light compared to the R5's and XML's which tend to "white out" anything that is hit by the hotspot in the middle.

Bottomline: If you want a utilitarian light which is cooler to the eyes and gives a more natural color to what you illuminate, then S2. If you want throw and hella white light, that's the R5.

 

[davecroft]

I ordered a Quark Mini AA S2 - supplier advertised it as '7% more output' (ie. from 90 max lumens to 95). Even to my untrained eye it was seriously green. There were other problems with the light and i sent it back for a refund. The supplier stopped selling the S2 shortly after and now has reverted to R5.

Why did 4Sevens think it would be acceptable to use such a poor led? The 7% increase in output would be unnoticeable in the vast majority of situations. The only good thing was the beam pattern which was as good as any I have seen.

To add insult to injury the S2 version cost almost 10% more than the R5. The experience with the Mini has left me with a bad taste in my mouth re. 4Sevens, but I haven't given up on them completely - just giving them a rest for a while.

 

[jak3All3n]

I have a Jetbeam TC-R2 which is a special titanium version of the RRT-0, but with an XP-G S2 emitter for 310 lumens over the R5's 255 lumens.
On it's own, the S2 is fine; bright, floody even.
However, side by side with an R5, the S2 seems yellow and less bright?
But most of the times, on its own, it's fine.
However, I probably wouldn't recommend Jb go for S2 anymore.
The other thing to consider is that with the R5 255 lumens, the RRT-0 is rated at 45 minutes run time.
With the S2 310 lumens, the TC-R2 is rated at only 30 minutes run time on the same CR123 battery.

I thought a higher flux bin would give off more lumens at the same current and thought the advantage of using an S2 is more lumens with everything else the same, runtime included otherwise what's the point?

I've got a Nailbender XP-G R5 P60 drop-in that he rates at 340 OTF lumens, so an R5 can do 310.

Maybe to produce 310 with an R5 in the RRT-0 means even shorter runtimes and unpractical? Which leads me to think that the gain you get in an S2 vs R5 is so small as is that they'd have to ramp up the current to produce gains we feel is worth the upgrade and price premium?

 

[Cypher_Aod]

Why did 4Sevens think it would be acceptable to use such a poor led? The 7% increase in output would be unnoticeable in the vast majority of situations.

4Sevens produced and sold XP-G S2 lights purely due to the demand for ever higher lumen outputs. that 7% means that the spec sheet looks healthier and thus people wanted the lights. there is a price-premium for the highest flux-bins due to them being made in considerably reduced quantities, which in addition to the high demand for greater output results in a price-premium for the "better" model.

4Sevens lights are not (usually) sold by tint. just because you didn't like the tint of the light doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with the LED or 4Sevens as a company.

Next time you buy a light, why not research the typical properties of it's LED before you buy it to avoid disappointment? :)

 

[davecroft]

Next time you buy a light, why not research the typical properties of it's LED before you buy it to avoid disappointment? :)

That's the problem, I did! The overwhelming views expressed on this forum are that 4Sevens are great lights. Well made, nice beams, good build quality etc. I took all this on board when making my choice. I admit I was unlucky and got a duffer, but I didn't expect that the beam would be so green - not 'warm' or even yellow, but green. I just lost out on the tint lottery. There were other issues as well - the anodising was poor, the threads very sloppy and the o ring was too big so it got squashed and shredded whenever I screwed the head down. I got a full refund as the light was obviously not up to standard.

I think we are all put off a bit when we get a duff light, especially when are expectations are high. I haven't ruled out 4Sevens in future - they make some very tempting lights.

 

[Sparky's Magic]

My only experience with S2 emitters is my EagleTac D25LC2 Mini. (18650). The beam is as pure white as it would be possible to get even in the lower modes. Of course, it's a Twisty which may not suit everyone but for those who don't mind a twisty action, this is a magnificent flashlight!

 

[luceat lux vestra]

Look at the beam shot about half way down.......................................
http://www.flashlight-blog.com/2010/12/difference-between-r5-and-s2-led.html
Does this answer your question??.........