SC52W - "Green tint" poll
- Thread starter creyc
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Got mine today.
Very nice tint, no green.
It looks just neutral, my SC30w and H31w are a tiny bit warmer.
Let's see pictures of the beams from all (or most) of your ZL's. Consider adjusting white balance on your camera to reflect what you see in reality. Your command of the English language is quite good.
creyc
Enlightened
Have they given you any grief about the return? I'm really considering it while my light is pristine. It's not supposed to be a cheap-o light, and I hate the idea of keeping an expensive light I'm not satisfied with.
markr6
Flashaholic
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My return was smooth. Took 2 business days for them to respond with an RMA. I sent it back via USPS. Just got an email stating the full refund has been put back into my paypal account.
Diablo_331
Enlightened
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I got mine the mail yesterday. In short: great neutral tint with no green. Very similar to my SC600w XML. Light flickers on the lowest setting. The battery level indicator is garbage but the one on my 502c works great. Overall I'm happy with it if only for the tint. I ordered mine off of Amazon fwiw.
Got a RMA within 2 days. Told them only that I want an exchange and nothing else, but no questions asked from them.
TronPlayer
Newly Enlightened
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I love the tint on my SC52w. It seems slightly yellow, not really green at all. Here is a shot of the SC52w next to the GX25A3 Neutral White.
markr6
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I posted it in the other SC52w thread, but seems even more appropriate here:
My SECOND SC52g on the left, SC600w on right. White bed sheet. Absolutely rediculous. Is a few extra lumen from the "newest" emitter worth the green tint? Not for me! Clearly I would have been happy with the old emitter from my H51w or H600w.
My SECOND SC52g on the left, SC600w on right. White bed sheet. Absolutely rediculous. Is a few extra lumen from the "newest" emitter worth the green tint? Not for me! Clearly I would have been happy with the old emitter from my H51w or H600w.
jimboutilier
Enlightened
Definite Green/Yellow Tint
Overall I'm pretty pleased with my SC52w (cool white). But it does have a definite green/yellow tint.
I have a sizable collection and history of LED lights and this is by far the "warmest" I've owned. I haven't decided if this is a reason to dislike it yet but it is taking some getting used to.
On the other hand, as single AA/14500 lights go, this is hard to beat in size, quality, ergonomics, and brightness.
Overall I'm pretty pleased with my SC52w (cool white). But it does have a definite green/yellow tint.
I have a sizable collection and history of LED lights and this is by far the "warmest" I've owned. I haven't decided if this is a reason to dislike it yet but it is taking some getting used to.
On the other hand, as single AA/14500 lights go, this is hard to beat in size, quality, ergonomics, and brightness.
sticktodrum
Enlightened
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I'm confused... The SC52w is not the cool white light, that's the SC52 right?
jimboutilier
Enlightened
Not sure. I ordered the cool white version from Amazon and the box that arrived was marked SC52w. I assumed the "w" meant "white " but maybe it means "warm" or what Zebralight calls neutral. In any case it's got a green/yellow tint I've never seen before and definitely not what I would call cool white. Did they ship me the wrong one?
PoliceScannerMan
Flashaholic
Yes.
I love the tint on my SC52w. It seems slightly yellow, not really green at all. Here is a shot of the SC52w next to the GX25A3 Neutral White.
From your picture the SC52W you have looks a bit green actually.
creyc
Enlightened
Sounds like a mixup somewhere.
The SC52 uses an XM-L emitter and has been out since November 2012. It is described as "cool white".
The SC52W uses an XM-L2 and was just released June 2013. This is referred to as "neutral white".
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2
jimboutilier
Enlightened
Thanks for the info. Got my new "SC52" (no "w") marked light in a box marked "cool white" today. While its not as green as the "w" model I got by mistake, its still no where near what I would call "cool white". This is my first Zebralight and they may just tend toward warmer tints.
There are so many other great features of this light - the unibody design, the size, sturdiness, brightness, its UI etc, that its still a keeper. Its warmer and floodier than I'm used to but a fine light nonetheless. Thinking about an H502 now :thinking:
RedForest UK
Flashlight Enthusiast
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- Nov 28, 2009
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I received mine from Illumination-Supply today, great service as always from Craig and Calvin 
The tint is certainly a traditional 'warm' i.e. what warm used to be called when I remember them first becoming popular with the TK20 and Nitecore's early introdiction of them into the EZ series. This means quite yellow, though mine doesn't seem to have much green at all; it renders reds and greens equally well.
If I had to put a guess on the bin it would have to be 5B2 or 5B3. It's not my favourite tint to be honest, I prefer slightly cooler in the 3-4 range, but is still a good one which I'm happy with.
The tint is certainly a traditional 'warm' i.e. what warm used to be called when I remember them first becoming popular with the TK20 and Nitecore's early introdiction of them into the EZ series. This means quite yellow, though mine doesn't seem to have much green at all; it renders reds and greens equally well.
If I had to put a guess on the bin it would have to be 5B2 or 5B3. It's not my favourite tint to be honest, I prefer slightly cooler in the 3-4 range, but is still a good one which I'm happy with.
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EZO
Flashlight Enthusiast
This "poll" bothers me as it reminds me of one of those "push polls" we see around election time that are designed to support a specific trend or opinion and that do not allow for answers that don't quite prove the point the pollster wants to make.
While I have no doubt that many are experiencing this problem, perhaps some worse than others, a lot of the photographs we are being presented with seem overly saturated and do not appear as how flashlight beams would normally appear in the real world. The color differences may be there but the intensity of the color casts seem way off. What troubles me is that the photographs seem to correspond with the bias of the poll that seeks to want to make the case that most folks are noticing a strong saturated green bias.
Let me be clear. My SC52w has a greenish cast to the tint too and it is nowhere as creamy as my other neutral lights. I am certainly not pleased. On the other hand, the tint is quite subtle and most of the time I don't even notice it. What bothers me about this poll is that there is no option to report my experience. The "pollster" wants to hear about a "Strong Green/Yellow tint" but is not interested at all to learn whether anyone has a "Subtle Green tint" to their light. The closest option is "other" which doesn't really address the question being asked. A properly designed poll would need an option for "slight green tint"
Sometimes I get the impression that many CPFers spend most of the time pointing their lights at the wall or the ceiling and then get upset about the tint. (or rings and artifacts) I know, I've been there too. But I buy lights to actually use as tools. When I take my "greenish tinted" SC52w out into the real world, like the woods out on my property for example, it performs beautifully and the tint issues become completely irrelevant. Perhaps some of the folks who are so upset about the green tint should try going outside and using these lights in the "real world". You may find that the tint problems recede and that you start enjoying your new light more than you thought you did. You know, it wasn't all that long ago that all LED lights had a horrible blue or purple cast and nobody worried much about that because of all the other benefits we were seeing from LED lighting technology. I hope that future versions of this light will have an improved tint but the fact is that this is hands down the best small form factor EDC light I own and I am otherwise delighted with it.
Edit: Obviously, If anyone is experiencing the extreme level of green that some are complaining about then this is entirely unacceptable and those lights should be replaced and Zebra should address this issue. My point here is that we should all try to keep a little perspective about how crazy a slight tint is going to make us.
While I have no doubt that many are experiencing this problem, perhaps some worse than others, a lot of the photographs we are being presented with seem overly saturated and do not appear as how flashlight beams would normally appear in the real world. The color differences may be there but the intensity of the color casts seem way off. What troubles me is that the photographs seem to correspond with the bias of the poll that seeks to want to make the case that most folks are noticing a strong saturated green bias.
Let me be clear. My SC52w has a greenish cast to the tint too and it is nowhere as creamy as my other neutral lights. I am certainly not pleased. On the other hand, the tint is quite subtle and most of the time I don't even notice it. What bothers me about this poll is that there is no option to report my experience. The "pollster" wants to hear about a "Strong Green/Yellow tint" but is not interested at all to learn whether anyone has a "Subtle Green tint" to their light. The closest option is "other" which doesn't really address the question being asked. A properly designed poll would need an option for "slight green tint"
Sometimes I get the impression that many CPFers spend most of the time pointing their lights at the wall or the ceiling and then get upset about the tint. (or rings and artifacts) I know, I've been there too. But I buy lights to actually use as tools. When I take my "greenish tinted" SC52w out into the real world, like the woods out on my property for example, it performs beautifully and the tint issues become completely irrelevant. Perhaps some of the folks who are so upset about the green tint should try going outside and using these lights in the "real world". You may find that the tint problems recede and that you start enjoying your new light more than you thought you did. You know, it wasn't all that long ago that all LED lights had a horrible blue or purple cast and nobody worried much about that because of all the other benefits we were seeing from LED lighting technology. I hope that future versions of this light will have an improved tint but the fact is that this is hands down the best small form factor EDC light I own and I am otherwise delighted with it.
Edit: Obviously, If anyone is experiencing the extreme level of green that some are complaining about then this is entirely unacceptable and those lights should be replaced and Zebra should address this issue. My point here is that we should all try to keep a little perspective about how crazy a slight tint is going to make us.
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markr6
Flashaholic
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- Jul 16, 2012
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Very well put and I agree. I have been using both of my SC52's for walking the dog and they both excel outdoors. But the bottom line for me is that when my 2 year old H51w looks SOOO much better than this new SC52w, it really irritates me...white wall hunting or not. And at $64, it makes it that much more disappointing. I've purchases 3 now and compared 10 in total...all COMPLETELY different tints. But to be honest, my two Nichia 219 lights are the ONLY ones I've had with mathcing tints, so I guess that's just how it goes.
