I won the Lottery!!!!!

I won the Lottery!!!

The tint lottery, that is.

I purchased three Zebralights this week: H52Fw, SC62d, and a (spare) SC62w. They all arrived today... which is funny... because I ordered all 3 on different days from 2 different venders. Anyway, I just finished unpacking, testing, and comparing brightnesses and tints.

The SC62d tint is unusual, and not in the least bit what I expected. I assumed it might be similar to a Nichia 219, with a subtle light tan tint. Instead, it was very close to perfect white, with just the very slightest hint of blue/green coloration. At first, I was sceptical and thought I might have got a bad tinted one, but I could only make out the blue/green on really white paper, and only if I was really looking for it. Shining the light around, looking at various surfaces and objects, I must say that this light really does resemble daylight - maybe a bit overcast, but really pure and clean like sunlight. I like it a lot so far, I would say that it is very close, if not the equal to a Nichia 219B emitter.

The H52Fw and SC62w have almost identical tint, a really light golden brown with just a hint of orange, with a light lavender spill. Almost the same as the H600Fw headlamp I recently purchased, but slightly less amounts of red/orange. I'm super happy with all 3, probably the best tints of any lights I own, outside of my Sunwayman V11R NW lights - which are the most pure, neutral, uncolored emitters I've ever seen.

Other observations: The SC62d is definitely lower output than the SC62w, but not by as much as you'd think. Reading the specs, you'd think the SC62w would be about 3x as bright, but comparing the two lights side by side, I wouldn't say it even looks twice as bright. Maybe visually 175% as bright, if even that much... those extra 600 lumens just don't seem as substantial as they should. Anyway, I would happily take either light with me on a night walk (which I'm planning for tonight) and not feel like I should have taken a brighter light. This is, of course, based entirely on messing with them in the basement, maybe out in the open world I'll change my mind... but so far I'm happy with the brightness of both lights, they both seem bright enough for my needs.

Final things I noticed: the switches on the SC62d and SC62w are identical. I could not tell any difference in feel, sound, or pressure required to activate them. Anodizing was slightly different, with the SC62d being just a touch darker. Both pocket clips are excellent, no looseness. I can't really say whether I like the SC62d or SC62w better, they are both really nice in their own way. I like the higher brightness of the SC62w, but the SC62d has such nice looking light... I'll just have to use both for a few days and see if I develop a clear preference for one over the other. So far it's a wash.

It seems like maybe Zebralight is starting to get more consistent in their production and emitter binning, either that or I just got VERY lucky this week!

All in all, a good day for lights.

"Sounds" like a very good day for Amelia. :twothumbs Enjoy your new lights!

~ Chance

Wow great job! While you're on a roll might as well order a SC32w and SC5w to complete the collection! I must say the SC32 is a TINY light but super powerful! I'm giving my dad the one I have as a gift for his birthday, he has a Romisen cr123 light right now and the battery only lasts about 1 hour and puts out about 90-100 lumens. This will be a big upgrade for him, I hate to give it away because it has such nice tint! Their tint has been great for me as well, first the 32w and then the SC5w which was excellent almost pure white. Now a SC62w coming Monday.. Quite addicting lights!

snowlover91 said:

Wow great job! While you're on a roll might as well order a SC32w and SC5w to complete the collection! I must say the SC32 is a TINY light but super powerful! I'm giving my dad the one I have as a gift for his birthday, he has a Romisen cr123 light right now and the battery only lasts about 1 hour and puts out about 90-100 lumens. This will be a big upgrade for him, I hate to give it away because it has such nice tint! Their tint has been great for me as well, first the 32w and then the SC5w which was excellent almost pure white. Now a SC62w coming Monday.. Quite addicting lights!

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Thanks!
They are addictive lights, really the only headlamps I'm interested in. The "SC" lights have a great UI, but I prefer magnetic rings for all-around EDC use. Zebralight SC's are great for hiking/camping trips though... so compact and light weight!

I'm probably going to skip the SC5w, too much redundancy with my SC52w, and lack of 14500 support kind of kills it for me anyway. However, the more I read on these forums about it, the more I like what I'm reading... so who knows! As for the H32w, I'm just plain not a fan of 1xCR123 format lights... I'm definitely passing, leaving more for the rest of you who do like them.

Me too!

Got my H600w in the other day, and I was worried about the tint after I read a bunch of things on the web - bad idea, I know.

My h600w is an even, slightly tan-ish tint. The spot is quite natural, actually. I love it. I did a very brief walk in the woods with it last night and I was pleased with the color rendition.

Compared to my EagleTac S200C2, the EagleTac's hotspot is whiter with a very slight tinge of green at the spill, which is only noticeable indoors when looking at a pure white wall at close range. Outdoors - no issues what so ever.

---

Oh, and much like you, the ZLs were the only headlamps I was interested in as well, even considering the fact that I JUST mailed in my h52w for repair. I looked around before getting the h600w, but nothing really appealed to me or met what I was looking for.

And lastly, thanks for the S200C2 recommendation. When I was out last night, I had both the h600w and the S600C2 with me, and they made a fine pair. the EagleTac throws just far enough, where any more throw would be beyond what my eyes can clearly discern at such distance at night. Plus, the spill it has is very usable.

Congratulations.

I ordered an H502D, and consider it to have an outstanding tint that I wouldn't improve in any way. I found the floody beam to be so useful that I bought a second one for the shop to use while woodworking. It has an identical tint to the other one.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to achieve a triple due to the ugliness that is my SC52W.

ahtoxa11 said:

...And lastly, thanks for the S200C2 recommendation. When I was out last night, I had both the h600w and the S600C2 with me, and they made a fine pair. the EagleTac throws just far enough, where any more throw would be beyond what my eyes can clearly discern at such distance at night. Plus, the spill it has is very usable.

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You're very welcome! The S200C2 is definitely my favorite thrower - it's compact enough to actually want to take places with me! I have a Thrunite TN32 throw monster, and it's very fun and somewhat useful as a normal light because of its low modes, but it's just too big and heavy to really want to hike with. It's more of a "things that go bump in the night" or take with me for trips in the car sort of light.

Now, when you're ready for a monster flooder to fill your back yard or camp site with smooth, beautiful, high-CRI light... take a look at the EagleTac MX25L3C Nichia 219. It's probably my favorite light of all time!

Amelia said:

You're very welcome! The S200C2 is definitely my favorite thrower - it's compact enough to actually want to take places with me! I have a Thrunite TN32 throw monster, and it's very fun and somewhat useful as a normal light because of its low modes, but it's just too big and heavy to really want to hike with. It's more of a "things that go bump in the night" or take with me for trips in the car sort of light.

Now, when you're ready for a monster flooder to fill your back yard or camp site with smooth, beautiful, high-CRI light... take a look at the EagleTac MX25L3C Nichia 219. It's probably my favorite light of all time!

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Have some mercy! I've spent enough money on lights, batteries and chargers in the last 2 months!

I won't even google those models. Just going to close the browser and walk aw....ah, dang it. *copy, paste, click* Ooooh, ahhhh......

Amelia said:

Thanks!
They are addictive lights, really the only headlamps I'm interested in. The "SC" lights have a great UI, but I prefer magnetic rings for all-around EDC use. Zebralight SC's are great for hiking/camping trips though... so compact and light weight!

I'm probably going to skip the SC5w, too much redundancy with my SC52w, and lack of 14500 support kind of kills it for me anyway. However, the more I read on these forums about it, the more I like what I'm reading... so who knows! As for the H32w, I'm just plain not a fan of 1xCR123 format lights... I'm definitely passing, leaving more for the rest of you who do like them.

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Haha it actually is better than the 52w in my opinion since it does give 500 lumens for 3 mins vs 1 without the need to use a different type of battery. You could always sell the 52w and get a SC5w I'm not a fan of cr123 lights but the SC32 changed that for me. It's actually the smallest light I own now and yet it puts out 450 lumens for about 45 mins and its thermally regulated. It completely disappears in my pocket. I'll stop here before you add another light to your "to buy" list. Oh and supposedly ZL may release a SC63 later this year, there was a thread on here about plans for a newer model this summer.

Yeah, I'm really curious about what the SC63 will be!

I just returned from a 1 mile night walk. Took the SC62d and SC62w with me, for comparisons.

First off, the SC62d is plenty bright - I had no problem seeing way down the road, especially on H1 high. The SC62w let me see maybe 50% further, reinforcing my earlier opinion that the difference in brightness between the 2 lights just isn't as much as it's made out to be. I would happily, at this point, take either light with me on a long hike and not worry about it being bright enough.

The SC62w did not render the colors of vegetation, especially gray-green plants, as well as the SC62d did. The SC62w seemed "starker" somehow, slightly yellower and with not as much "vividness" of the plant colors. Gravel looked more real and natural under the SC62d. Gravel under the Sc62w was slightly less "gray" and more brown/yellow. Overall, I found the SC62d to be a little more pleasant to view the world with - but not enough that I want to exchange the SC62w with its higher brightness and longer runtime for. Overall, I think I like the SC62d just SLIGHTLY better at this point, but I plan on taking them both for several more test drives before really forming a solid opinion.

Both are really great lights... thanks Zebralight!

Amelia said:

Yeah, I'm really curious about what the SC63 will be!

I just returned from a 1 mile night walk. Took the SC62d and SC62w with me, for comparisons.

First off, the SC62d is plenty bright - I had no problem seeing way down the road, especially on H1 high. The SC62w let me see maybe 50% further, reinforcing my earlier opinion that the difference in brightness between the 2 lights just isn't as much as it's made out to be. I would happily, at this point, take either light with me on a long hike and not worry about it being bright enough.

The SC62w did not render the colors of vegetation, especially gray-green plants, as well as the SC62d did. The SC62w seemed "starker" somehow, slightly yellower and with not as much "vividness" of the plant colors. Gravel looked more real and natural under the SC62d. Gravel under the Sc62w was slightly less "gray" and more brown/yellow. Overall, I found the SC62d to be a little more pleasant to view the world with - but not enough that I want to exchange the SC62w with its higher brightness and longer runtime for. Overall, I think I like the SC62d just SLIGHTLY better at this point, but I plan on taking them both for several more test drives before really forming a solid opinion.

Both are really great lights... thanks Zebralight!

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Well said, and an excellent opening post to this thread as well. We are in accord. Hopefully you will keep your lights for a good long time, as your taste in lights may fluctuate.

50 foot increase in usable throw for that type of beam sounds pretty good actually. I'm just wondering what real world application that would come in handy. And I am not quite sure what you mean by saying that the 62w has a longer runtime in the sense that we humans have a tendency to use the brighter levels if available, and brighter levels take quite a bit more juice.

Now I am hoping you will make some other interesting comparisons, such as sublumen and long duration-on-high-modes, among others...

Great thread/read Amelia, dont own a ZL..............yet but very tempted...........off to google

I have an SC32w with a much better tint than a Nichia 219 Prometheus Beta. Happens I guess.

Great review Amelia - Excellent!

Just to point out - To effect a 50% increase in throw (all else being equal) requires 225% the output.

Thank you,
-Chuck

KITROBASKIN said:

Well said, and an excellent opening post to this thread as well. We are in accord. Hopefully you will keep your lights for a good long time, as your taste in lights may fluctuate.

50 foot increase in usable throw for that type of beam sounds pretty good actually. I'm just wondering what real world application that would come in handy. And I am not quite sure what you mean by saying that the 62w has a longer runtime in the sense that we humans have a tendency to use the brighter levels if available, and brighter levels take quite a bit more juice.

Now I am hoping you will make some other interesting comparisons, such as sublumen and long duration-on-high-modes, among others...

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Thank you. I don't plan on getting rid of any of my Zebralights, they are simply the best lights on the market for light weight, compact size, and almost perfect UI.

What I meant by longer runtime is that when both lights are set to the same brightness level, the SC62w delivers more runtime than the SC62d. I don't tend to run most of my lights on high very often, I like to find just the right level needed to see what I'm doing plus a little, high is more of an "emergency mode" for me.

I'm looking forward to putting both of these lights through more testing, stsrting this weekend. I'll be camping on Sunday in an area with zero light pollution, and I'll get a good chance to use these lights outdoors in pitch black real-world conditions.

BTW, if you already have a pait of SC62d lights, I think it would be hard to justify buying the SC62w, unless you just want one for the sake of comparing or having one. Having compared the lights myself, I almost wish I had a pair of SC62d and a SC62w, instead of the other way around. In fact, at this point I'd almost be OK having what you have - just a pair of SC62d.

After some time, I am hoping you will describe what levels you have chosen for the 62d. Using mine every night, it is so common to do a quick double click from off to get a nice medium light level for around-the-house tasks. The flash does not bother me. And while I virtually never mess up getting a sublumen mode in the middle of the night when eyes are fully night adapted, occasionally I will accidentally go into strobe when I'm trying to click once, then double click to get to highest high (a little too quickly). I am curious to hear your experience.

KITROBASKIN said:

After some time, I am hoping you will describe what levels you have chosen for the 62d. Using mine every night, it is so common to do a quick double click from off to get a nice medium light level for around-the-house tasks. The flash does not bother me. And while I virtually never mess up getting a sublumen mode in the middle of the night when eyes are fully night adapted, occasionally I will accidentally go into strobe when I'm trying to click once, then double click to get to highest high (a little too quickly). I am curious to hear your experience.

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SC62d Levels:

This is how I have almost all of my Zebralights set up:

Programming:
H2 set to the lower of the 2 possibilities (66 Lm/23 hours for the SC62d)
M2 set to the lower of the 2 possibilities (6.6 Lm/11 days for the SC62d)
L2 set to the middle of the 3 possibilities (0.07Lm/4.2 months for the SC62d)

Usage:
Most of the time, for all my Zebralights, I keep the high mode set to H1. High is kind of an "Emergency mode" for me, so I want it to be at the highest level instantly when I do the short click or press/hold mode cycle. Since I spend most of my time at "medium", I also typically keep that at its highest level too... though I occasionally step down with a double-click if I don't need that much light. For low, I want the light to come on in "Moonlight mode", so I leave the light in L2. I will occasionally step up with a double-click if I need more light, but more often I'll press/hold and cycle to medium.

I also have occasional problems with the long click going to high (not long enough...) or medium (too long...). This is really my only complaint about what is otherwise Zebralight's near-perfect UI. It would work better for me if short click went to low, and press/hold went to high. Better yet, Zebralight could make it programmable (20 double-clicks to toggle short click behavior or something like that) so that we could all be happy!

I have mine set up similar for my lights as well. I do agree that a short click for low is more intuitive and a hold for turbo, similar to how the Nitecore EA41 works.