Zebralight H52Fw Impressions

6-15-2015
Received my H52Fw headlamp today, my first Zebralight.
Such a compact light, much smaller than I imagined.
No visible exterior blemishes or defects.
Tail threads are gritty.
Tail end has very tiny spots of missing anodizing. Nevertheless, acceptable.
Some lube has migrated to the bottom of the tailcap.

Functions correctly powered by Eneloop. Will test for correct function powered by 14500 in future.
Accurate and even tint to my eyes.
Good beam.
90 degree beam not as wide as I imagined. Prefer even wider beam angle, perhaps 120 degrees of the H502w, but did not want to lose intensity. Nevertheless, acceptable.

Really like the mode options. Outputs below are from ZL website.
In actual use, noticeable but little difference between (H1) 266 lm and (H2a) 163 lm modes.
Relatively more noticeable difference between (H2a) 163 lm and (H2b) 102 lm modes. Strange.
Can do without 266 mode, but nice wow factor.
Little difference between (H2b) 102 lm and (M1) 47 lm modes. Strange.
Little difference between (M2a) 23 lm and (M2b) 11 lm modes.
(L1) 2.6 lm mode is bright, can't look into it.
(L2a) 0.32 lm mode probably most practical of the 3 sub-lumen modes.
(L2b) 0.06 lm mode MIGHT be useful in pitch black up close, VERY close.
Can do without (L2c) 0.01 lm mode.

Personal settings:
H: 266/102
M: 47/11
L: 2.6/0.32

Will turn on and submerge in 18 inches of room temp water for 60 mins tonight to test waterproofness.
Hope IPX rating of 2 meters for 30 mins is true.

Additional Observations/Updates:

6-15-2015
There is a thin, uniform, ring of un-anodized metal (bare AL or SS?) right below the head, around the top of the groove for the clip.
Also similar rings at ends of groove for clip at tail.

6-16-2015
18 inches of room temp water for 90 mins submersion test while on (H2b) 102lm: PASS!
Incidental pseudo runtime test: after 90 mins on H2b: battery indicator flashed 3 times.

Turned out (L2c) 0.01 lm was useful when I needed just enough light to very barely make out known objects within a 1m radius.
(L2b) 0.06 lm was a bit more useful but might disturb others within a 1.5m radius.
(L2a) 0.32 lm was great for moving around the house at night. It might very well be perfect for going to the bathroom at night while remaining half asleep.
(L1) 2.6 lm was plenty for doing many common tasks in the dark.

For me the light is too small to hold comfortably when used as a flashlight for long periods. Index finger keeps getting into the beam. It is a headlamp after all.
But it is perfect as a lantern because it tail-stands.
Like it very much so far.

Small discovery: with the light on, a slow click does nothing.

Personal preferences so far:
Ridges on body and edges on head should have been rounded to reduce wear.
The side button like that on the Armytec headlamps offers better ergo operation than ZL's top button.

6-27-2015
Can run on AAA because spring is long enough. Just don't shake it around too much and contact can be maintained. Handy in a pinch.
Battery capacity indicator seems to test battery based on its voltage.

Ran the light until battery was low tonight, and discovered that the light had started using PWM.
Very noticeable PWM in fact.
Is this typical of the AA lights or across the board?
If this is not a defect, then it's false advertisement, as the ZL website claims the light is current controlled.

Threads remain gritty after initial thorough cleaning.
In addition, anodizing in the valleys of the threads has begun to wear off.

scs said:

Ran the light until battery was low tonight, and discovered that the light had started using PWM.
Very noticeable PWM in fact.
Is this typical of the AA lights or across the board?
If this is not a defect, then it's false advertisement, as the ZL website claims the light is current controlled.

Click to expand...

I could be wrong but I though Zebra used Pwm to allow low moonlight modes?
Iirc, it's hard to do low lumen on CC without huge losses of unneeded power consumption.

Please correct where needed gang, just throwing it out there as my two cents on what I believe I know.

Thanks, have a great day.

WarRaven said:

I could be wrong but I though Zebra used Pwm to allow low moonlight modes?
Iirc, it's hard to do low lumen on CC

Click to expand...

Not since revision 2 of the H51. There is a flicker reported for some people at low levels but it isn't pwm. It is like you said, constant current is hard to do at low levels. It may be the battery so try different batteries. It sounded like the poster ran it until the battery was low

Mr Floppy said:

Not since revision 2 of the H51. There is a flicker reported for some people at low levels but it isn't pwm. It is like you said, constant current is hard to do at low levels. It may be the battery so try different batteries. It sounded like the poster ran it until the battery was low

Click to expand...

Ah, most likely a low voltage situation.
Thank you.

Great posts!
The H52Fw is my favorite AA headlamp, I love just about everything about it. I haven't done a dunk test on any of mine yet, but I've worn them in heavy rain. I think I'll "take the plunge" later this evening!

Thanks for the response regarding the PWM, guys.
The low voltage warning did kick in after I turned off the light. According to ZL's website, that happens when the voltage is below 1.06V.

When I noticed the PWM, I think it was maintaining output somewhere between (M2b) 11 lm and (L1) 2.6 lm, inclusive. Double-clicking changed modes, but the difference in brightness was almost indistinguishable; the PWM frequency, though, did change.

I'm a bit surprised how quickly the Eneloop was drained. It had been purchased only recently, less than 3 months ago. I will do a rough parasitic drain test: fully charge 2 Eneloops from the same batch purchased, measure the voltages, leave one in the light for a week without operating the light at anytime, and then compare the voltages.

On another note, if the outputs of my sample are close enough to specs, I need to reassess my personal preference for level spacing. I think 2.5x-3x spacing above 100 lm and 3.5x-4x spacing below 100 lm is what I prefer.

Amelia, are you confident enough in your light to not just dunk it, but submerge it?
On paper, the 18" of water (94 psf) I subjected my light to (albeit for 90 mins) should be nothing compared to the light's 2m (409 psf) for 30 mins resistance rating.

Another impression: I'll need to wear a bandana underneath the headband. One hour wearing the headband put two 2mm deep impressions (from the ends of the holder) into my forehead and gave me a small headache, which disappeared immediately after I took it off. I don't think I over-tightened the headband as it barely prevented the holder from slipping off my forehead.

scs said:

Another impression: I'll need to wear a bandana underneath the headband. One hour wearing the headband put two 2mm deep impressions (from the ends of the holder) into my forehead and gave me a small headache, which disappeared immediately after I took it off. I don't think I over-tightened the headband as it barely prevented the holder from slipping off my forehead.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I call them Zebralight horns. I wear mine on the loose side to prevent a headache, because a tight band gives me headaches similar to you.

The good thing is that it's light enough to not need much headband tension to be stable.

ahtoxa11 said:

Yeah, I call them Zebralight horns. I wear mine on the loose side to prevent a headache, because a tight band gives me headaches similar to you.

The good thing is that it's light enough to not need much headband tension to be stable.

Click to expand...

Yeah, now I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be comfortable wearing an 18650 headlamp, as I would have to tighten the headband to hold up the extra weight.

scs said:

Yeah, now I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be comfortable wearing an 18650 headlamp, as I would have to tighten the headband to hold up the extra weight.

Click to expand...

Not an issue with the h600w that I have as well. The top strap takes the extra wight (not much of it) and is even more solidly mounted.

I mostly use the 18650 powered h600w. Mostly because of increased runtime and better versatility in case I truly need a ton of output.

scs said:

...Amelia, are you confident enough in your light to not just dunk it, but submerge it?
On paper, the 18" of water (94 psf) I subjected my light to (albeit for 90 mins) should be nothing compared to the light's 2m (409 psf) for 30 mins resistance rating.

Click to expand...

I have spares, so it's not that I don't dare full 2M submersion - it's just that I don't see the point of it from a real-world usage perspective. The deepest my Zebra's are ever likely to be submerged is maybe a foot or two if they're dropped while I hike across a creek, I never go boating or diving or anything like that.

I'll probably just take one to the bathtub this evening and give it a foot or so dunking for half an hour. That should be far worse than anything it will encounter during my normal routine.

I attempted to measure the parasitic drain with my DMM.
I inserted a fresh eneloop, placed one lead on the negative end of the battery and the other lead on the tail end.
Is this the right way to do it?
I consistently got either readings of 1922 micro amps or 2.6 micro amps.
I'm not sure what's causing the different readings. When I switched to mA instead, nothing registered on the meter.
Faulty meter?
Well if the 2.6 micro amp reading is correct then it is well below the self discharge rate of the battery, as claimed, but if the 1922 micro amp reading is correct, then something else is going on.
Any tips?
Thanks.

scs said:

Another impression: I'll need to wear a bandana underneath the headband. One hour wearing the headband put two 2mm deep impressions (from the ends of the holder) into my forehead and gave me a small headache, which disappeared immediately after I took it off. I don't think I over-tightened the headband as it barely prevented the holder from slipping off my forehead.

Click to expand...

It isn't the best design. But if you reroute the elastic band thru the rings that the light actualy sits in, then put the lamp back in there, you won't believe the difference! It doesn't sound right putting the band thru the same o-shape rings as the lamp itself, but it works great. It also holds the lamp a bit tighter so it will never move unless you want it to. Most importantly, it spreads the weight/pressure out so NO pressure points or dents in your head.

markr6 said:

It isn't the best design. But if you reroute the elastic band thru the rings that the light actualy sits in, then put the lamp back in there, you won't believe the difference! It doesn't sound right putting the band thru the same o-shape rings as the lamp itself, but it works great. It also holds the lamp a bit tighter so it will never move unless you want it to. Most importantly, it spreads the weight/pressure out so NO pressure points or dents in your head.

Click to expand...

If I understand you correctly, that would allow the entire back of the holder to rest flush against the forehead, and that means no more forehead impressions and perhaps no more headaches. Thanks for the tip. I will try it.

scs said:

If I understand you correctly, that would allow the entire back of the holder to rest flush against the forehead, and that means no more forehead impressions and perhaps no more headaches. Thanks for the tip. I will try it.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you got it. This is the only photo I have access to at the moment. You can sort of see it on this H52w. There are also some other ways to reroute the band somewhere on this forum., but I like this one the best. Or just use a NiteIze headband - I use it for running with the H600 so it doesn't bounce around.

markr6 said:

Click to expand...

Thanks for the pic, markr6. I notice the frosty lens on the older models is different, like a LOP.
The one on the current model looks somewhat like, as best as I can describe it, the sheen on the smooth inside face of a mussel shell. It renders a very even beam. I wonder if it's any different from that of yours.

scs said:

Thanks for the pic, markr6. I notice the frosty lens on the older models is different, like a LOP.
The one on the current model looks somewhat like, as best as I can describe it, the sheen on the smooth inside face of a mussel shell. It renders a very even beam. I wonder if it's any different from that of yours.

Click to expand...

This is d-c-fix diffuser film on an H600w and H52w. I find I like the beam better than an H600Fw. Close, but the diffuser film makes it floody while still keeping a slight hotspot with a very gradual transition into the spill. Perfect for hiking and backpacking which is mostly what I use this for.

markr6 said:

This is d-c-fix diffuser film on an H600w and H52w. I find I like the beam better than an H600Fw. Close, but the diffuser film makes it floody while still keeping a slight hotspot with a very gradual transition into the spill. Perfect for hiking and backpacking which is mostly what I use this for.

Click to expand...

I've also tried the "Sand Pattern" DC Fix diffuser film on my H600w, and compared to my H600Fw lights. It is true that the DC fix gives a little more pronounced hot spot, with the H600Fw being more diffuse and smooth (less of an "edge" on the hot spot). I also noticed that the DC Fix light has just a SLIGHT bit more throw, but you really have to be looking for it to notice this. For my personal tastes and preferences, I prefer the H600Fw over the DC fix, but it's a very personal and subjective thing. Either one is an improvement over the "bouncing hot spot" of a stock H600w!