UPDATED: D3AA Emitter Guide

This will be updated as new info comes available (please share if you have data!). The [D3AA](https://imgur.com/a/iQfBMkQ) is an awesome little light, and maybe this post will help some people dial in on which emitters to get.

Big shout out to u/Bean_Master7 and u/AlexanderBlueFire. Their posts and knowledge are the backbone of this post. Basically, all of the data being used here came from them. I just arranged and adjusted it for the D3AA. That said, please let me know if you have additional info or spot any discrepancies.

[519a dedomed mix. Clip: Olight H1 modified to fit.](https://preview.redd.it/sbj6ybl6ocad1.jpg?width=1936&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce0998165e8a41a7dec2ddd5923c0b607eabba97)

|D3AA Emitter Options|Lm/Emitter|Gross Lumens|Actual OTF Lumens (85% eff.)|Est. Candela|Est. Throw (m)|Notes|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|SST20 6500k 70CRI|767|2,301|1,956|11,901|218m|10507 optic|
|W1 (CSLNM1.TG) 70 CRI|539|1,617|1,374|26,469|325|10507 optic|
|W2 (CSLPM1.TG) 70 CRI|642|1,926|1,637|12,774|226|10507 optic|
|SST20 4000k 95 CRI|538|1,614|1,372|8,348|183|10507 optic|
|219b sw45k D220 R9080|468|1,404|1,196|-|-|-|
|519a sm455 4500k R9080|605|1,815|1,543|4,794|138|10507 optic|
|519a sm455 4500k R9080 Dedomed|526|1,578|1,341|7,942|178|10507 optic|
|FFL351A 5000k|541|1,624|1,380|7,823|177|10511 optic|

\*Data in this chart is based on 2A per emitter. Most of the throw estimates are using the “throwy” 10507 optic. This may produce artifacts and “star-bursting” in the beam. Going to the stock 10511 optic will reduce throw by an estimated 10-15m.

**My Takeaways**

* D3AA is a very nice light and an excellent driver. I wish it had a better clip. And I wish it had some better chamfering on the edges of the light to make it feel a little more refined. It has stolen a lot of pocket time away from my normal Zebralights that I usually carry.
* Unsurprisingly, 519a is a great option in this light. I prefer the extra throw and rosier tint of the dedomed 519a, but domed are good, as well.
* W1’s are a great option for some very nice throw out of a 25mm light. These emitters really do well at 2A each.
* W2’s don’t make much sense to me. Similar lumens to 519a, but worse tint and CRI. Slightly more throw than dedomed 519a or SST20 4000k, but not enough for me to care. W1 seem to be a much better option for throw.
* SST20 6500k is a chastised option, but it is kind of interesting. 2,000 lumens, 220m throw and a fairly efficient emitter. The tint is well above the BBL, but so is W1 and W2 when ran at only 2A. Plus, blue-ish CCT mixed with green-ish tint makes for somewhat turquoise light. It really isn’t that objectionable.

**Why are these outputs different than Hank’s website?**

Hank seems to use data from the data sheet. Sometimes. And when he does, it doesn’t appear that he is accounting for losses from the optic, lens, etc. These lumen figures in this post are derived from estimates from that excellent post from u/Bean_Master7, and they seem to be very close to what tests and reviews have shown. I put more faith into Bean\_Master’s estimates than what Hank posts on his site. There have been examples where the figures on the site don’t match testing (KR1 SFT40 by TacGriz, for example).

**Optics** – inspired by the [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/1bwy316/quick_guide_to_carclo_optic_selection/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) by u/QReciprocity42 comparing the various Carclo triple optics and their corresponding quad optics, for those familiar with the quads.

|Triple|Description|Quad Equivalent|Notes|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|10507|Narrow Spot|10621||
|10508|Frosted Medium Spot|10623||
|10509|Frosted Wide Spot|10624||
|10511|Frosted Narrow Spot|10622|same optic geometry, but 10511 has light frosting|

**Other Reviews**

1Lumen did a [great review](https://1lumen.com/review/emisar-d3aa/) of the D3AA with domed 519a. The measurements are very close to the estimates in this chart.

**Source: Lumen Output**

Most of the lumen data is derived from [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/uewiqz/more_estimates_of_outputs_of_various_emitters_for/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) from u/Bean_Master7.

**Source: Throw**

The throw data is hodgepodged together from a few different sources (details below). I am open to feedback and will update this post as needed. This section is confusing with all of the references, and I am happy to share the details of my calculations.

* **SST20 6500k 70CRI throw data** – extrapolated from the SST20 4000k data by calculating the percentage of increase in lumens and applying that percentage increase to the candela.
* **W1 throw data** – 2 sources used: u/alexanderbluefire made an [excellent post](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/mjh6sk/review_emisar_d4v2_osram_w1_and_w2_pushing_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) describing throw of W1’s in a D4V2 and the other source is again u/Bean_Master7 in this discussion [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/uewiqz/comment/j0q4a3e/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). This adjusted the candela from a quad to a triple, then used a factor of 67% on that candela to approximate running at 2A per emitter.
* **W2 throw data** – 2 sources used: u/alexanderbluefire made an excellent post describing throw of W2’s in a FET D4V2 using a 30Q and 10621 (linked above). This was then adjusted by 33%, which is the lumen output of the triple at 2A divided by the lumen output of the quad FET from Bean\_Master’s post linked above. That same 33% was then used to multiply by the candela from u/AlexanderBlueFire, because lumens and candela scale together.
* **SST20 4000k 95 CRI throw data** – same calculations as the W2 throw, but the adjustment factor calculates out to 45% (instead of 33%).
* **519a sm455 4500k R9080 throw data** – here is another post from u/Bean_Master7 showing the [lumens and throw of 519a domed vs dedomed](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/twiik4/rough_comparison_measurements_of_output_and_throw/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) in a Carclo triple 10507 but using a FET driver. I then divided the lumens at 2A from a triple by the output measured by Bean\_Master (which equals 36%) and multiplied that by the candela he also measured to adjust it to 2A. Of note, this data is for the sm573, not the sm455 from the lumen section. This has not been accounted for in this dataset, but the difference should be fairly small.
* **519a sm455 4500k R9080 Dedomed throw data** – same calculations as the domed 519a above, which also came out to a 36% adjustment factor.
* **FFL351A 5000k** – [single data source](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/1clxgav/comment/l2yupuv/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) on this, but want to start recording info on these FFL emitters.

by natsac4