H600fc MK3 and sc5fd beam shots plus quick thoughts.

My thoughts/ brief review on the new zebralights with the XM-L2 Easywhites:

H600fc
H600fc is more of a warm white than a neutral measuring at 3550K (to my eyes, this I would just barely classify it as warm white)
I suspect the 800 lumen mode is closer to 1000 - 1200 lumens
Frosted lens might be given 90° for the hotspot but the spill is closer to 170°
Run time tested on the 234 lumen setting was 4 hours 12 minutes before it stepped down (spec'ed at 3.9 with 3400mAH, this test was using a Panasonic ncr18650B)
When it stepped down, instead of going from H2 to m1/2 it went to L1 instead.
There is a hotspot with the frosted lens, you'll just have a really hard time pointing it out.
The 3550k tint seems to be the right tint to penetrate dust, fog, and other particles in the air. (I noticed this when taking the beamshots. while the sc5fd was the worst)
Although, I am having a hard time comparing the lights for color rendering, one thing seem to stand out for the h600fc is the ever so slight improved depth perception and glare reduction. It is hard to explain, but it seems to make a difference when comparing the lights.
Using the H600fc has a tendency to shine on the users face due to the wide spill when pointing downwards. I'd like to know what users of the mule or frosted ZL have done to prevent this.

Added 10/4/15: Something I noticed over the last few days of using the H600fc, this like does an amazing job of showing the difference between tones of whites. None of my other lights even compare!
The color temp of this light is seriously growing on me, there is just something about this light that is genuinely unique.

SF5fD

The SC5fd is appears really close to being a neutral white, this is however, debatable.
Vegetation looks a tad washed out in real life.
I detect a hint of blue/green tint in my sc5fd.
There is a slight whine on some settings, but it is acceptable amount.

I don't think the H600fc will be a replacement for my H600w, it will be a it's companion.



First: ISO 1600 f/2.8 2.5th sec, second: 1/5 sec, third: 1/10 sec. All lights were set to their 230-240 lumen modes except the H51c. Camera set to 4000k


H600fc mkIII





SC5fd



H600w MKI



H51c

I'm surprised at how blue-green looking that SC5FD is, looks more like a cool white in this picture, nut it could just be the 4000k white balance.

The floody pattern of the frosted lens makes hiking a joy!

I prefer the H600w MKI here with the current white balance. It's nice and warm, but not overly yellow like the 600FC in these pics. If the white balance was closer to 5-5500k, I'd probably prefer the D variant.

twistedraven said:

I'm surprised at how blue-green looking that SC5FD is, looks more like a cool white in this picture, nut it could just be the 4000k white balance.

The floody pattern of the frosted lens makes hiking a joy!

I prefer the H600w MKI here with the current white balance. It's nice and warm, but not overly yellow like the 600FC in these pics. If the white balance was closer to 5-5500k, I'd probably prefer the D variant.

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It doesn't look yellow at all IRL, it is more orange/ warm.

Using not 800/500 lm modes, wearing headlamp under visor caps.
Thanks for beamshots, now I'm afraid of my 4000K selection. Waiting for ZL delivery...

Thanks insanefred for the great pictures. Unfortunately for me it's gonna cost me some money as I really like the look of the H600fc mkIII. I already have the h600w and h602w, but no frosted lens versions yet. Been using the magic tape trick on the h600w for a while now and like that beam the best so the frosted lens with the warmer color should be great for me. I use the H600w on the head and the H602w waist mounted on a runner's belt that I own or also the head band stretches enough to go around my waist after the top strap is removed. Works out better I think to have one light lower and one higher than your eyes.

twistedraven said:

I'm surprised at how blue-green looking that SC5FD is, looks more like a cool white in this picture, nut it could just be the 4000k white balance.

The floody pattern of the frosted lens makes hiking a joy!

I prefer the H600w MKI here with the current white balance. It's nice and warm, but not overly yellow like the 600FC in these pics. If the white balance was closer to 5-5500k, I'd probably prefer the D variant.

Click to expand...

Probably because the camera settings had white balance set to 4000k by the OP. Any light with a higher color temp like the SC5fd at 5000k will appear "cool white."

Maybe be try using auto white balance and see what the pics of each light look like, I typically do that for my beam shots of individual lights and it seems to get the real life color/tint better.

Setting the camera's white balance to 4000K, and then photographing the "C" versions is revealing. Their tints appear somewhat warm in the resulting images. That supports your contention that those flashlights are putting out light that is closer to 3700K.

The "D" versions, which put out a nominal 5000K beam, look cool when the camera's white balance is set to 4000K. I don't think we can draw any conclusion about the tints of those flashlights, except to say they are "cooler" than 4000K.

Wonder how the H600Fc does it against the ArmyTek Wizard warm. Have the Wizard warm, but like the ZL UI more.

If there are raw versions still of these files, can we get a batch set to a sunlight white balance of 5500k?

kj2 said:

Wonder how the H600Fc does it against the ArmyTek Wizard warm. Have the Wizard warm, but like the ZL UI more.

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I have a wizard pro warm v1.5 and a H600fc on the way, so I can compare them.

twistedraven said:

I prefer the H600w MKI here with the current white balance. It's nice and warm, but not overly yellow like the 600FC in these pics. If the white balance was closer to 5-5500k, I'd probably prefer the D variant.

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Never giving up my H600w II! Never!! It's in between and perfect for outdoor use IMO.

Thanks for these shots!

twistedraven said:

The floody pattern of the frosted lens makes hiking a joy!

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I agree. In these pictures, at least, the lights with the frosted lens put out the most even illumination.

I've got the H600Fd Mk III on my radar!

LessDark said:

I have a wizard pro warm v1.5 and a H600fc on the way, so I can compare them.

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Great! Thanks :twothumbs

WigglyTheGreat said:

Thanks insanefred for the great pictures. Unfortunately for me it's gonna cost me some money as I really like the look of the H600fc mkIII. I already have the h600w and h602w, but no frosted lens versions yet. Been using the magic tape trick on the h600w for a while now and like that beam the best so the frosted lens with the warmer color should be great for me. I use the H600w on the head and the H602w waist mounted on a runner's belt that I own or also the head band stretches enough to go around my waist after the top strap is removed. Works out better I think to have one light lower and one higher than your eyes.

Click to expand...

Sulik said:

Using not 800/500 lm modes, wearing headlamp under visor caps.
Thanks for beamshots, now I'm afraid of my 4000K selection. Waiting for ZL delivery...

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Thanks guys.

Can you do me a favor and e-mail ZL, letting them know that you would be interested in some type of accessory that blocks the light from hitting your face too. I am sure if enough people e-mail them, they will design something to mitigate or prevent this. IMO, have a lot of modes to chose from is about controlling light, an accessory to control spill is no different.

Somebody, invent flashlight with such optics as car daytime running lights. Horizontal curtain... Or somthing... There no need in a beam higher than standing human eyes in 90% times.

Sulik said:

Somebody, invent flashlight with such optics as car daytime running lights. Horizontal curtain... Or somthing... There no need in a beam higher than standing human eyes in 90% times.

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Yes! I've been looking for that for a while.

Wouldn't you have to hold it the right way each time to keep it horizontal?
A half snoot like the thread going on here lately for a bike light?

Sulik said:

Somebody, invent flashlight with such optics as car daytime running lights. Horizontal curtain... Or somthing... There no need in a beam higher than standing human eyes in 90% times.

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I guess what we are talking about is the spill. In general, hot spots are already focused well enough so that little light is wasted.

The idea makes sense for a headlamp. If a reflector could be designed so that some of the light that normally shoots up could be redirected ahead, you would get a few extra lumens on target. A headlamp would usually be oriented correctly. You would not need to rotate the body to get the proper orientation as you would with a hand-held flashlight.

In practice, this may not be as useful as it sounds. I imagine that the energy used to generate the spill is small already (compared to the hot spot), and only part of the spill is misdirected upwards. Of course, every little bit matters.

I am just guessing here, so hopefully someone will correct if I am wrong.

Insanefred, can you test runtime of M1 (57lm.) mode? It says, it must me a 30 hours mode. In my H600Fc it heats and runtime is less then 9 hours.

Sulik said:

Insanefred, can you test runtime of M1 (57lm.) mode? It says, it must me a 30 hours mode. In my H600Fc it heats and runtime is less then 9 hours.

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I can, but can you tell me what battery you are using?