ZebraLight H502 XM-L

[melty]

How's the rest of the light? Any response to what firemedic is experiencing?

The rest of the light seems perfectly fine. Firemedic's main complaint appears to be brightness vs his other H502; I don't have any other H502 model, so I can't comment. I do have a late model SC31 running on lithium-ion that seems comparable, but the large difference in beam shape makes it decidedly unscientific.

I have noticed that bare LED's seem to have a bit of corona to them. I wonder if there's something in that? The cool white XM-L in my malkoff mag dropin has a greenish corona. I didn't really notice it before but I usually have the reflector on. There were people complaining about the corona in the cool white H502 too, with much blame on the GITD reflector.

I'm fairly certain the majority of the effect is not due to the GITD reflector. I can stare directly at the LED and watch the surface of the LED change color as I approach the edge of the beam. The brightness of the LED vs the GTID material leads me to believe that the GTID material has little to no effect on the color of the beam (unless the GITD light is being reflected back onto the surface of the LED).

 

[firemedic]

Yea, my only issue was the lack of obvious light output from 145 lumens to 260 lumens. I do love the light and will not be sending it back like had thought about. I emailed zebralight before i purchased the h502w and was told that if i wanted more light output the h502w was what i needed. Lesson learned. To the eye, same output/different color. Both of my 502's have that greenish tint at the edges of the light on walls ect... It doesnt bother me as much as not being able to see a difference in over 100 more lumens, but I'm wondering if that silver ring around the lense is reflecting light back to pick up the green from the GITD part?

 

[Mr Floppy]

I'm fairly certain the majority of the effect is not due to the GITD reflector. I can stare directly at the LED and watch the surface of the LED change color as I approach the edge of the beam. The brightness of the LED vs the GTID material leads me to believe that the GTID material has little to no effect on the color of the beam (unless the GITD light is being reflected back onto the surface of the LED).

I don't think it's the GITD reflector either. Myth pretty much debunked in this thread.

What do you think of the tint?

 

[firemedic]

I'm just not happy with the h502w. I'm hoping they let me return it and pay extra for a h600w since I have only had it 2 weeks. My $17.00 uf-v4 puts out more light, but has less spill and a hotspot.

 

[melty]

I don't think it's the GITD reflector either. Myth pretty much debunked in this thread.

What do you think of the tint?

I like the tint. It seems right on par with the other "w" lights I have from Zebra (SC600w and SC31w). My SC31w has the best uniformity; it's creamy white from hotspot to spill. The SC600w has a slightly yellow corona around the hotspot. In practice, I don't notice the off-color corona of either the SC600w or H502w.

 

[Mr Floppy]

I like the tint. It seems right on par with the other "w" lights I have from Zebra (SC600w and SC31w). My SC31w has the best uniformity;

I have the H51w and I'd describe it the same way you described the SC31w. It was one of my favourites before I got a DQG IV NW. That's good to hear though. If anything the H501w seem a bit dull but that was a favourite too.

 

[kwak]

I'm just not happy with the h502w. I'm hoping they let me return it and pay extra for a h600w since I have only had it 2 weeks. My $17.00 uf-v4 puts out more light, but has less spill and a hotspot.

So you bought a light that's specifically aimed at people that want flood then complain because it doesn't have a hotspot

Might be worth spending 5 mins searching and reading up on a light before buying in the future

 

[bradthebold]

Not sure if this had been said recently, or if it's even true based off of their history with these claims, but I asked ZL when the H602 would be out and they said it would be announced at the end of this month along with the w version.

I am currently trying to decide on the H602 or an H600fw. Not sure how much flood/throw I would need or would be useful.

 

[firemedic]

So you bought a light that's specifically aimed at people that want flood then complain because it doesn't have a hotspot

Might be worth spending 5 mins searching and reading up on a light before buying in the future

I have 2 h502's. I was just describing the light the uf-b4 put out. I love the flood without the hotspot. You might need to review back a little more in this thread.

 

[bbb74]

My h502w arrived I haven't had much time to play with it apart from make sure it works (it does) and compare output on H1 to my h502c.

Rest assured output is significantly brighter than the h502c, as much as I had hoped for. I liked the tint from what I briefly saw of it.

The black silicone holder though is so loose on the body the light freely turns in it. Unless I put one end of the holder around the bit where the clip is meant to go as that part is thicker. I wonder if I got a holder for the wrong model.

Looking forward to my sc52w now

 

[smokey616]

The black silicone holder though is so loose on the body the light freely turns in it. Unless I put one end of the holder around the bit where the clip is meant to go as that part is thicker. I wonder if I got a holder for the wrong model.

Nope, mine does that too, though there's still enough friction that it doesn't spin freely. Might be a problem when used for jogging etc. but I don't think it'll be an issue for me.

Otherwise it's a great light and I'm happy to finally have a proper flood light.

 

[bbb74]

Nope, mine does that too, though there's still enough friction that it doesn't spin freely. Might be a problem when used for jogging etc. but I don't think it'll be an issue for me.

Otherwise it's a great light and I'm happy to finally have a proper flood light.

No unless I put mine in the clip part, it spins very freely. I've got spare ones so while its a bit annoying its not the end of the world.

 

[firemedic]

My h502w arrived I haven't had much time to play with it apart from make sure it works (it does) and compare output on H1 to my h502c.

Rest assured output is significantly brighter than the h502c, as much as I had hoped for. I liked the tint from what I briefly saw of it.


now

So your h502w is significantly brighter than your h502c? Like over 100lumens brighter? I wonder if light output varies from one flashlight to another. I guess the silicone headbands do because my flashlight fit very tight and didn't want to turn. Don't get me wrong, now that I have been exposed to zebralight I'll probably allways be shopping with them. They let me send my h502w back and my h600w is on the way.

 

[bbb74]

So your h502w is significantly brighter than your h502c? Like over 100lumens brighter? I wonder if light output varies from one flashlight to another. I guess the silicone headbands do because my flashlight fit very tight and didn't want to turn. Don't get me wrong, now that I have been exposed to zebralight I'll probably allways be shopping with them. They let me send my h502w back and my h600w is on the way.

I'd say so. Its very hard to judge though. I just metered them both in H1 using my SLR, with each light aimed at a white wall. The metered difference was 2/3rds of a stop, ie 66% brighter. The camera only does 1/3rd stop increments though.

There's a slight smudge or fingerprint on the xml in my h502w I've noticed

 

[DIΩDΣ]

No unless I put mine in the clip part, it spins very freely. I've got spare ones so while its a bit annoying its not the end of the world.

I noticed that too. Mine is loose inside the holder. I've been meaning to get out my h51 headband to see if it fits that one but I've been unable to find it. I mainly use my nite-ize headband and it works just fine in that.

 

[moses]

Quick question. I do have the 502c. For the most part, I'm OK with the quantity of light but yest, at times I would like a higher maximum. However, I got the c because color rendition is important to me.

How does the color rendition ofr the h502w compare to the h502c? The 502c makes colors 'pop' compared to my other LED lights. Just wondering about whether to upgrade or not....

Thanks,
Mo

My h502w arrived I haven't had much time to play with it apart from make sure it works (it does) and compare output on H1 to my h502c.

Rest assured output is significantly brighter than the h502c, as much as I had hoped for. I liked the tint from what I briefly saw of it.

The black silicone holder though is so loose on the body the light freely turns in it. Unless I put one end of the holder around the bit where the clip is meant to go as that part is thicker. I wonder if I got a holder for the wrong model.

Looking forward to my sc52w now

 

[bbb74]

Quick question. I do have the 502c. For the most part, I'm OK with the quantity of light but yest, at times I would like a higher maximum. However, I got the c because color rendition is important to me.

How does the color rendition ofr the h502w compare to the h502c? The 502c makes colors 'pop' compared to my other LED lights. Just wondering about whether to upgrade or not....

Thanks,
Mo

They don't pop quite so much, but I was comparing by looking at a childrens book with lots of saturated colours including aqua, orange, yellow, red etc. Better than a cool white though. The tint of mine is about the "whitest" of any light I have. Its noticeably not as warm as the h502c (4400 vs 4000K), but it doesn't appear cold - its more in keeping with what a "neutral" light should be to my mind - its neither cold or warm. The h502c and my sc51w are both "warm" to me even though I know on this forum they wouldn't really be considered warm.

 

[LlF]

when the battery is very low, and the light is on L3(0.06lm), it would cut off 1 sec after i turn it on. but if i double click it before it turns off itself, it would go up to L2(.34lm), and it would stay on. strange behaviour

 

[garbman]

Hi guys
because I don't have the patience to read all this thread, can someone tell me
some differences between this headlamp and the h52fw.
i have looked at the IS site and I see that they are very similar...
so am I missing something here?

 

[LlF]

well im definitely no expert, but from zl site's specs, h52f is a narrower flood than 502, 90 degree vs 120, and it's achieved by frosted lens, instead of _____(?)