Sunwayman T40CS PLUS review:
Sunwayman T40CS plus intro:
What you get:
- Sunwayman T40CS PLUS flashlight
- Cardboard box
- Lanyard + attachment ring
- Spare O-rings
- Rubber rings
- Holster
- Manual, brochure and a warranty card
Handling of the light
From the pictures the light looks longer than in reality. It`s certainly not overwhelmingly heavy, and holding it in 1 hand, with the thumb on the switchm doesn`t feel very heavy.
The light is well balanced. The side switch can be utilized to power the light on and off, and also has mode memory, so you don`t need to switch the hand position to turn off the light.
Although the body hasnt been updated since the first model because they knew what they had in house with their original T40CS xml.
With the rubber pistol grip ring, and the additional 5 rubber rings the light has enough grip.
The negative of the rubber rings is that they get dusty too easily. You can wash them to return their original look. They also included a lanyard ring that attaches the lanyard to the body. It sits just behind the little bump on the battery tube, behind the O-ring.
If you just want to have it on your belt, you can use their included holster.
Knurling
The body of the T40CS has grooves and a flat surface to improve the grip. It also has the matte finish, just like the F40A I reviewed.Although this T40CS PLUS is an updated version of the origignal T40CS, I would have liked a little cosmetic changes.
Anodizing
On the head and body it has prints, which are done well. Only after disassembling the light I noticed that the rear threads were damaged and came unlubricated.
Threads
The threads near the tail-cap are anodized. The threads on the rear part came unlubed, and I noticed some problems with anodization on those threads. Which is pretty bad for this kind of light.I applied some grease to the rear threads, and they go smooth again.I would like to point that out to Sunwayman.. This is pretty bad.
Lens and reflector
The T40CS has a stainless steel bezel. The reflector used in the T40CS Plus is smooth, but not supersmooth. Some sort of rings/marks are visible.
Reflector
Width inside is max: 54mm
Depth: 33mm
The lens is coated.
Lens
60mm dia
2.05mm thick.
The MTG-2 has a platic spacer to protect from a short with the reflector.
The pill is solid,and has a 4-5mm thick shelf which can help for some modding. The MCPCB (led board) is Aluminum, and not DTP.. so that would reduce the output and increase heat sag. (getting less bright because of the heat)
Dimensions and weight:
Diameter max: 64mm
Reflector: 54mm x 33mm depth
Lens: 60mm by 2mm
Weight :301grams (with the 7 rings and pistol grip ring)
Weight with batteries: 397grams (with the 7 rings and pistol grip ring)
User Interface:
Changing modes is done by using the Side switch with a PRESS and HOLD, and you can also turn the light off with the side switch. This will have a very low parasitic drain, of 50μA according the specifications.The order of modes are in the following order:
- Turbo
- High
- Medium
- Low
I personally dont like switching modes with a press and hold. So this is definitely one Con.
Blinkies/SOS/beacon:
- None
PWM:
- None
Performance:
Ceiling bounce in lux (ceiling at about 1.5 meters above meter)
T40CS Plus | Turbo | High | Medium | Low |
Lux | 206 | 160 | 63 | 1 |
% | 100 | 77 | 30 | 0 |
High: 160 lux
Medium: 63 lux
Low: 1 lux
which equals to: 100% - 77% - 30% - 0%For reference;
My ceiling bounce numbers, they can not be compared with other members` numbers, because of my setup..
They however, can be compared with my other numbers, using the same setup. To estimate the total output.
Ceiling bounce | Lumens mfg specs | |
158lux (4th mode) | 1150 lumens | |
Acebeam K40M MTG2 | 263lux (5th mode) | 1900 lumens |
Sunwayman T45C XML2 | 137lux (max) | 980 lumens |
Sunwayman F40A XML2 | 130lux (max) | 880 lumens |
Sunwayman T40CS plus MTG2 | 206lux (max) | 1488 lumens |
Current Draw:
For the current draw at the Emitter, I unsoldered the Positive wire, and used my DMM to measure the Amps.
The Amps at the LED look higher than at the tailcap!
Turbo | High | Medium | Low | |
Amp @ tailcap | 2.2A | 1.35A | 0.45A | 0.04A |
Amp @ LED | 2.3A | 1.62A | 0.57A | 0.04A |
Runtime
After the light was off, 1 battery was below 2.6volts,and the other around 3.3V. Which is bad for the battery.
I hoped the protection would cut off below 3V.. but I guess at that point it was drawing too less amps to actually activiate the protection.
They are the exact same batteries, protected, but not from the same batch, and not from the same production date.
You better use Protected batteries from the same batch, and same production date, and same usage.Time recorded with my Canon EOS40D with digital timer remote control.
Unfortunately the remote control is not very precise... so its actually a bit less than 5 minute intervals.
Click on pic for larger sizeTURBOHIGH
Sunwayman claimed 4 hours on 2x2600mAh batteries in their manual.
The light will be going for another 20 minutes before its really dim.
THROW
That being said, its a very useful light for nightguards for example. If you want to look for real throwers, check out the overview. If you want to have something with amazing throw and enough spill, take a look at the Acebeam K65 review.
Beamshots
Taken with a Fujifilm F200EXR on Manual setting ISO400 f3 ½ second
Where to alternatives in the USA:
Not for sale anymore