Please note that I recently purchased a calibrated photography monitor and discovered my beamshot photos were way too bright. All reviews from the Sofirn SP10 Pro forwards are now using more accurate camera settings. Focus on the video rather than the still photos. The photos are still good for showing the difference between the 3 models.
Love your dark sky in the background of that last drone shot. Supposed to be a blue moon here over the next few days so I hope I can get to see that well and I just got an if22a today in the post from the other side of the planet lol.
Thanks for the review! Love the drone footage. All three lights perform similarly. If you own anyone of them, there's not much of a reason to get buy of the others. Best thing is to wait for the next generation of flashlights and determine if there's enough of a performance upgrade to buy again. There's a rumor out that Convoy may be introducing a new thrower sometime soon (within the next month or so).
Glad to enjoyed it. All I know is that Convoy is making me the L21B again with USB C charging. My customers keep asking for something with on board charging to mount on the rifle.
@@PiercingTheDarkness USB C charging would be a welcome upgrade! Glad Convoy continues to innovate. Of all the flashlights I own, the one I always reach for is the humble Convoy S21E, it's small, bright, has USB-C charging, good battery life and inexpensive. Would be curious to know what your favorite EDC is?
@@polymathematics5837 Honestly, I'm not hard out into flashlights, I just enjoy making reviews and presenting the night footage to you guys. Everything I review goes straight back into its box and only used for comparisons in other videos. I'm happy just using a Convoy T2 with LH531D 2700K as my EDC. The only other flashlights I use are the BLF A6 and X6 I modified, and a Cyansky HS6R headlamp. Nothing fancy.
@@PiercingTheDarkness I enjoyed reading your reply🙂The flashlight reviews you create are the most beautiful and artistic I've seen. The side-by-side comparisons, the music, and the drone views set a standard that's hard to beat, not to mention the beautiful area that you live in. Kudos, for not being hard into flashlights. I like that you have just a few pocket-sized everyday carries as your favorites. I have 13 flashlights ranging from the Sofirn SC18 to the Sofirn Q8Plus and two headlamps, a Fenix HL33 and an Acebeam H30. Likewise, I plan on giving away a couple of my flashlights that I rarely use as to thin down my collection to a more practical size. As mentioned earlier, my favorite EDC is the humble Convoy S21E, followed by the even humbler Sofirn SC18. In my opinion, the best flashlight is the one you use the most, which is the flashlight you carry the most and this is usually a pocket sized model. The headlamp I use most often is the now discontinued Fenix HL55, which puts out 900 lumens and has a nice mechanical swivel mount, as I am not fond of the ubiquitous rubber friction mounts found on most headlamps. If the HL55 bites the dust, I'll replace it with the Sofirn SH20 with the SFT40 option, a decision based on watching one of your videos. Love your work, friend!
Came to this video because your thumbnail caught my eye-- I was initially thinking "alien abduction" when I saw that frame! A buddy of mine has a large plot of land to protect, and we've talked about mounting a light to a drone to ID and possibly mark targets.
Haha. Then you'd really think that if you go and see my Amutorch BT35 thumbnail, that's with an LEP mounted. Just don't try and mount a light that has any magnetic component or it'll mess with the onboard compass, found that out the hard way when it started flying the wrong way lol.
Nice, Good balanced beam, (shows in the drone shot). Its only lacks the direct on from ss in the Duty mode. Wonder if you spring bypass the tail, there'll be a jump in lumens . Thanks J Cheers🍻🌿🔦
Not sure I'd want to have a standby in the Tac UI, unless Sofirn made it so it could always turn on from the tail switch. The C8G and C8F will turn on in standby if that was its last used state. This would be very bad in a high stress situation, as you could imagine
@@PiercingTheDarkness Sorry, Duty mode means Daily/Outdoor mode. So this getting closer to Acebeam L16 Tactical feature. (But when in daily mode; L16 tailswitch can override and give direct turbo.) and the beam is solid.This is an improvement also
Awesome video, thank you! The drone shots really add value. A few questions if I may please. In tactical mode can you still use the shortcut to get to Eco (hold side switch and then click tail switch)? If yes, what happens when you then click the side switch once on in Eco. Does it go to Medium or Turbo? In normal mode in the same situation does clicking the side switch in Eco (accessed via shortcut from off) go to Low or memory? Thank you for your time!
Great video, thanks. What would be your particular choice? I'm looking for a long-range flashlight. The if22a has a more defined hotspot and seems to launch slightly further. But it has ym spill fuzzy and not even marked While the cl8 has a good hotspot and a well-defined and large spill. But I think it loses in a matter of a few feet of range to if22a, am I right?
Excellent comparison between the three sofins and there is not a lot between them realy. the only thing that makes a difference is that the IF 22A is the most compact in would fit the pocket much better on the brightness and beam distance they are on par
amaaaaaaaaaaazing video,,,, So im in the jungle and see lights like this above my head... I would be sure the aliens are coming,,, not so,,,, its just another "piercing the darkness" chapter,,,, :P
I always say that it entirely depends on what each individual needs. I personally enjoy the wider beam on the C8L for walking and general use. The IF22A is great for longer range as a smaller pocketable model, but lacks the spill on lower modes to be good for walking.
Great Review. Loved the drone shots! I'm just a bit puzzled by the discrepancy with the lumens read out. Is it possible you may have defective driver or battery? Maybe using some Samsung battery would improve the lumens? Would be interesting to find out. Mine is on the way so I still have to wait a couple of weeks or so to test it.
Bypassed both springs and it makes no difference whether I use the Sofirn cell or a Samsung 40T, still the same lumens. Sofirn usually spec many of their models much higher than they actually are. The IF22A was rated at 2100 lumens and I only measured just over 1600. 1Lumen got 1735, and Zeroair got 1457. Sometimes Sofirn get it right, but most of the time it's way less.
A good way to know whether it's providing the same output is to look at the range. My range measurement was only slightly less than spec, so you know it's running correctly. It would be interesting to see other models using this LED and see what the highest output is.
@@PiercingTheDarkness Maybe I was lucky with both my Sofirn. SC31 Pro and iF25a. They both came extremely close to spec. I will check when my C8L arrives. 700 lumens difference is way too much imo.I understand the range spec almost matching but still.
@@PiercingTheDarkness I find this to be common amongst flashlight manufacturers. They all seem to fudge the numbers, I just expect a light to perform less than advertised out of the box, no matter who makes it.
@@_Frimer_ The HS05 headlamp was very close as well that I reviewed. No idea why they get some so close and others are way below. Maybe their prototype has higher quality components or high emitter bin. Cutting costs happens quite often. The SP70 was meant to use Beryllium copper springs for 8K lumens and ended up with low current springs and a poorly performing mosfet for 5K, bypassing springs boosted that to 6K. Interestingly the TK70 achieved 8K lumens with bypasses which pointed to the mosfet on the SP70 being the limiting factor. The huge pro on this C8L is seeing how well the thermal regulation works, finally we don't need Anduril for it to work correctly.
Hello there, thanks for the review. I'm going to use the C8L on a bike mount and idk if it will fit. Please, can you tell me the outside width measurements on the body/battery compartment (right on the battery symbol)?. Thanks!
