Imalent SA04 Variable Color Temperature 4xAA Flashlight

Howdy,
I've done searches on CPF, and Google in general, and I don't see much information about the Imalent SA04. I'm primarily interested because of it's ability to offer variable color temperature. In the past few years color temperature and CRI have received a lot of attention on CPF, and this new light from Imalent, a company I'm not familiar with, seems to offer a very interesting approach to satisfying a very real desire among flashlight aficionados in their search for the perfect tint.

I did find several Selfbuilt reviews on other Imalent lights, which were generally favorable, so that's encouraging, but I must admit that I'm a bit skeptical of the LCD touch interface, which seems like it might be the weak link for this light, in that if it goes out, so does the light, and after all, once you dial in the color temperature you like, it's basically a tool, and tools tend to get used and abused, so it's vital that it be able to stand up to the rigors of everyday use.

Anyway, I'm curious if anybody else finds this light interesting, and would love to hear if anybody has gotten one yet.

WOW! This is interesting. I guessing there's a chance the tint (all along the scale) could be really nasty, but won't know until we see some reviews.

I was joking about this over a year ago, where I photoshopped a sliding lever to change tints on a light. So...it's finally here!

Wow! This looks awesome! I wonder if they'll have a 1x18650 version with variable color temperature.

Colour temperature is one thing, but I suspect they'll have problems with CRI.

Yes, I'd be very curious to see a spectral graph of the light output at 5000 kelvin. I wonder if it would show spikes in the red/green/blue areas, because of the narrow spectrum of those individual LEDs, or if it might actually show a more even combination of those colors. I'm looking forward to someone with the proper equipment being able to take a look at it.

I guess the color temp changing involves only the two xm-l2, sounds like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist,

It looks fun, using XML's it probably won't achieve more than 80 cri but if it blends em into a single beam decent it's got potential, probably needs a diffuser lens

romteb said:

...sounds like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist,

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Yeah when I saw this I thought wow cool.... now why would I need that?

However, I suppose it could have some niche applications. Maybe some photographers might like to have the ability to adjust the color temperature and use this for accent lighting. I've seen on these forums that there are some people like different tints for different situations/settings.

I am curious how these Imalent lights are holding up over time. It will certainly be interesting to see a more technical review of this light!

romteb said:

I guess the color temp changing involves only the two xm-l2, sounds like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist,

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You know, I could easily be wrong (it certainly wouldn't be the first time ), but my take, after reading the ad copy and looking at the photos on their site, is that there are two different color temp XM-L LEDs AND some individually colored red, green, & blue LEDs:

"Utilizes two Cree XM-L2 LEDs, and two pcs LEDs of each color, red,green and blue, with a lifetime of up to 50,000 hours"

I think I'll contact Imalent and find out exactly how many LEDs are being used, and if they have any kind of spectral graph of the light output.

I'm interested in this light as well, it looks like Imalent is trying some interesting things. My impression is that there is one warm XM-L, one cool XM-L, two red, two green, and two blue. I'm guessing the UI allows you to turn various of the emitters on or off, maybe set the intensity too, so that you get different mixtures of light. I've contacted Imalent about the possibility of having a review done, in which case I'd subject it to my spectrometer

Bigmac_79 said:

I'm interested in this light as well, it looks like Imalent is trying some interesting things. My impression is that there is one warm XM-L, one cool XM-L, two red, two green, and two blue. I'm guessing the UI allows you to turn various of the emitters on or off, maybe set the intensity too, so that you get different mixtures of light. I've contacted Imalent about the possibility of having a review done, in which case I'd subject it to my spectrometer

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I hope you get one, I'd like to see a review of this one before I buy. The concept is cool but how well it's implamented remains to be seen

CarpentryHero said:

... The concept is cool but how well it's implamented remains to be seen

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I agree, if the features are well implemented this could be a very cool light, but if not it will just be awkward. And if you want to see a review, be sure to let Imalent know



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