Why AR coating on SC52w but not SC62w?

uofaengr · Oct 15, 2015

Something I've wondered for awhile just never got around to asking. My SC52w has a purple AR coating while my SC62w appears to be clear. I should also mention my SC52w has a much warmer tint (greenish noticeable on lower modes) than the 62w which is basically creamy white and best tint I've seen of my 3 or 4 neutral XM-L2 lights. I feel like the 52w tint would be improved if not for the coating. Has anyone else noticed this, and what would be the reason for them not being the same?

KeepingItLight · Oct 15, 2015

This was noticed by another CPF member a while back. The Zebralight web page for the Zebralight SC62w does not mention AR coating. It says only, "Tempered optical grade glass." Interestingly, the web page for the Zebralight SC52w L2, says the same thing.

LeukTech said:
Curious, does your SC62 have an AR (anti-reflective) coating on the lens? Because oddly enough my SC62d (which was ordered directly from ZL) does not have a AR coated lens. Which actually is quite surprising, as any and all higher end flashlights have AR coatings on their lenses.

Way to test this is to stand in front of any light source so the light is hitting your face (like a desk lamp) and look directly into the reflector with the flashlight off, and move your head left to right. If you see any reflections from your face (or any reflections at all), then it has no AR coating (or a poor AR coating).

My SC600w/SC51c have an AR lens that reflects absolutely nothing back when looking at the lens straight on, and I am surprised my SC62d lacks this coating. So I am curious if ZL fixed this mistake with the new SC62 lights.

kbuzbee said:
ZL specs don't call out AR coating for the SC62C, and yes, I can see a reflection if I hold it just right. The odd thing is, if I'm reflecting a light source, it's purple, which is also an indicator of AR coating. I wonder if it might be AR coated only on the inside?

Ken

WalkIntoTheLight said:
Interesting about the AR coating. My old SC52 shows no reflections at all, and a slight purple sheen at an angle. However, my new SC52w-L2 does show reflections, and I can't see any colour at an angle. However, it doesn't appear to affect the brightness of the light. I wonder if they have changed coatings, and perhaps only apply it on the inside surface now?

kbuzbee said:
What color is the reflection if you reflect off a warm light in a dim room? I have the 2700K CREE bulbs in a fixture and if I focus to look at them reflected on the lens of the SC62C, they are lavender/purple.

Not at all the tint you'd see reflecting it on plain glass... The screen of my iPad, for example, is showing the 2700K bulbs true.

Ken

WalkIntoTheLight said:
Purple on my old SC52. No colour (just a plain reflection) on my new SC52w-L2. I think they definitely either changed or removed at least one coating in the newer models. Strange....

WalkIntoTheLight · Oct 15, 2015

Just to add to the thread, of my Zebralights:

- My SC52 has a purple anti-reflection coating
- My SC52w-L2 has no anti-reflection coating
- My SC5w has a green anti-reflection coating

So, there doesn't appear to be any consistency on if/when they use a coating.

Other brands, like 4sevens etc., don't seem to use any AR coating. The only brands I have that uses it (other than sometimes Zebralight) is Sunwayman (purple) and Armytek (green).

markr6 · Oct 15, 2015

Great question.

SC52w, SC62w = I don't see a coating (no matter the angle of the light/camera)
SC600w = pretty heavy coating

My SC5w OP is not in the photo, but I do not see any coating on it either.

Also an Eagletac D25LC2 is pretty obvious

uofaengr · Oct 15, 2015

That's strange. Guess I should add my SC52w is actually a SC52w-L2, but most here probably already assumed that. Assuming they don't cut and make each lens themselves and outsource them, it's almost like they just get a crap shoot bin from a supplier who doesn't even sort them and apparently ZL hasn't noticed. Just a wild guess...

Maybe this is common because I had mentioned in another thread on the BLF A6 special edition light, users on BLF are reporting receiving either a clear, purple coated, or green coated lens with the latter two seemingly affecting tint, namely the pleasant 3D tint.

wjv · Oct 15, 2015

So I have to ask.

What is the AR coating suppose to accomplish? As in, what benefit does it provide in a flashlight?

uofaengr · Oct 15, 2015

Assuming it's so that less light is reflected internally therefore allowing more light to exit the front?

18650 · Oct 15, 2015

uofaengr said:
Assuming it's so that less light is reflected internally therefore allowing more light to exit the front?

Yes. Preferably coatings on both surfaces of the lens.

wjv · Oct 15, 2015

OK! Thanks!

Too bad it messes with the tint

twistedraven · Oct 15, 2015

Is there any correlations between ar coating color, and tint variations on the beam itself?

snowlover91 · Oct 16, 2015

My SC62w has it while my SC5w doesn't appear to. Interestingly enough the SC5w has a better tint to me than the SC62w, although both are very nice.

easilyled · Oct 16, 2015

Maybe the fact that the SC62w has such a high output on high that losing a few percent of it is not going to make much difference?

markr6 · Oct 16, 2015

twistedraven said:
Is there any correlations between ar coating color, and tint variations on the beam itself?

In my photo above, you can see the heavy purplish coating. It turns out, this light has a GREAT tint...neutral but cool at the same time, hard to explain. I love it. I'm pretty sure it's due to the coating but cant be sure. I've had other lights with removable lenses and I compared with/without lens and the difference wasn't very noticable, but I guess it depends on the coating. On my Nitecore EC4S, the lens/coating adds just a tiny bit of greenish tint.

easilyled said:
Maybe the fact that the SC62w has such a high output on high that losing a few percent of it is not going to make much difference?

Yeah, I couldn't care less. I just put a ~89% transmission filter on a light and I'll take that better tint over more output any day (as long as it's not noticeable to the naked eye)

Why AR coating on SC52w but not SC62w?

uofaengr

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KeepingItLight

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WalkIntoTheLight

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markr6

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uofaengr

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wjv

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18650

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