Zebralight SC63 Question: Is a Hard Yellow Center Spot Normal?

I just received my SC63 and it's near perfect in most ways. Even anodizing, a well-centered LED, and a pleasing tint overall. But there's one thing that seems odd: In the dead center of the hot spot there's a distinct yellow spot that's plainly visible at all lumen levels, and even when I'm a good distance from the surface it's pointed at. As the beam moves around, the center spot appears to stain whatever it illuminates. Is this normal for this light, or did I get a bum LED? How "clean" is the beam supposed to be?

Hot spot tint should be uniform, although now I see cclin's post I'm not sure if you are talking about the existence of a hot spot or the centre of hot spot has an extra yellow spot. If the extra yellow spot is the case there has to be something wrong with the LED/reflector.

LEDs have tint variations so A's SC63w can produce a very warm beam while B's SC63W puts out a rather cool one, so you can only expect the tint of your LED to lie within a certain range.

Thanks guys. To clarify, I'm not referring to the existence of an intense hotspot, but a small, distinctly yellow circle at the very center of the hotspot that is far more yellow than the rest of the hotspot, corona, and spill that surrounds it.

Definitely something wrong here. Email Zebralight for replacement maybe.

MoonlightMode said:

Thanks guys. To clarify, I'm not referring to the existence of an intense hotspot, but a small, distinctly yellow circle at the very center of the hotspot that is far more yellow than the rest of the hotspot, corona, and spill that surrounds it.

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Would you be able to post a pic of it? This might help out somewhat with determining what it could be.

This is similar to the issue some people experienced with the original SC5 (since replaced by OP version) where certain lights had what quickly got dubbed the 'monster eye' however it seemed more purple than yellow which your sample displays.

I got a SC600 HI for my brother and it also exhibited this dark yellow spot. It was horribly distracting so I sent it back and got the replacement just in time for his birthday. The replacement has possobly the best tint and beam profile out of any ZL I have ever handled. A lot of custom lights worth 4 times as much struggled to keep up IMO...

Just contact ZL and tell them you want to get yours exchanged for a non-defective unit. Make note asking to have them test the next one to make sure it has a hotspot with no dark centre and uniform colour.

Even if this doesn't really bother you, when you get the replacement, you will be glad you swapped it!

Well, just noticed Illumn has this light in stock now. But they have a note mentioning a colored donut hole in the beam. Maybe it's the same thing you're seeing?

Here's a photo, which I darkened a touch to show what the beam looks like in real life.

tops2, thanks for pointing me to Illumn. It's interesting that they've found this to be common enough to note prominently and disallow returns because of it. Before purchasing this light I read everything I could find about it here and elsewhere, and aside from one pic of a purple monster eye, there weren't a lot of complaints about beam artifacts. Am I just over-picky, or is it something most people aren't seeing in their samples of the light?


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I remember when Illumn got the SC600 MKIII they noticed the inductor whine and placed a note of it for those lights. But most people here don't notice it or its minor enough to ignore. Not sure and not guessing anyone's age here..the guys at Illumn looks really young when I stop by there to browse lights.

MoonlightMode said:

Here's a photo, which I darkened a touch to show what the beam looks like in real life.

tops2, thanks for pointing me to Illumn. It's interesting that they've found this to be common enough to note prominently and disallow returns because of it. Before purchasing this light I read everything I could find about it here and elsewhere, and aside from one pic of a purple monster eye, there weren't a lot of complaints about beam artifacts. Am I just over-picky, or is it something most people aren't seeing in their samples of the light?

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My H600w MK III has the same donut hole (looks green on mine). Once you see it, you can't unsee it. It doesn't just show against a white wall, the hole is obvious when looking directly at any object. The headlamp is going back and I'll try the H600Fw. If you aren't happy with yours, send it back... I've read everything from it's just normal to using a sharpie on the bezel. That may be fine for someone else, but if it really bugs me, it's going back.

That definitely doesn't look normal to me, mine doesn't exhibit that behavior. I would contact ZL and get a replacement, it looks like a possible problem with either the coating on the LED or it could be a reflector problem.


I think Illumn may have received a bad batch as most on here don't have the inductor issue or any other widespread issues like they mentioned. Ive had lights with inductor whine and the only ZL with this issue was my SC5fd but it went away after a few days of use.

I had this issue with a Nitecore P12GT.
See post 79 and 80 in this post.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...*-New-GT-Series-Flash-Light-By-Nitecore-P12GT

Definitely get it changed,wouldn't be happy with that!

snowlover91 said:

That definitely doesn't look normal to me, mine doesn't exhibit that behavior. I would contact ZL and get a replacement, it looks like a possible problem with either the coating on the LED or it could be a reflector problem.

I think Illumn may have received a bad batch as most on here don't have the inductor issue or any other widespread issues like they mentioned. Ive had lights with inductor whine and the only ZL with this issue was my SC5fd but it went away after a few days of use.

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I agree. NO spot on my SC63w at all. Just a perfect beam. And no whine either. I'd definitely return it and try another one.

Unacceptable

MoonlightMode,

It looks really ugly in my opinion. I had something similar with a Terralux dropin to MiniMaglite several years ago. I don't remember if it was the hotspot or the spill which was pee yellow but it was so nasty I didn't use it. And based on your picture I am sure I would not accept such a ugly colored center of the beam.

Many thanks for the comments and good advice, everyone. I returned the SC63 and opted for a SC600 Mark III HI instead, largely because of so many positive reviews here. I'm glad I did. The beam is very clean and well-balanced between spot and flood, with a beautiful, even tint from center to spill. It's remarkable how long it can stay in high mode before it bumps down; the PID in my SC63 kicked in after about 20 seconds. I greatly prefer the 63's smaller size and lighter weight, but I can live with the tradeoff given the many pluses of the 600.

I've purchased three xhp35 lights from zebralight and two (sc600w mk3 hi and a h600w mk3) have green/yellow donut holes like this. I'm done with this emitter. No excuse for 2 out of 3 lights. No wonder they decided to use a frosted lens for for the only xhp50. My first sc600w mk3 hi has a perfect beam. The two lights that followed, not so much. They've gone from a tint to a donut hole lottery and I've lost twice...

glad you got your HI OP. Hell of a light one of the best I have ever bought. That pic you posted man....wow that is bad

FWIW while we are chiming in I have an SC62w and an SC63 XHP35 cool white. No donuts or spots in the middle or anything. Also no whine. Just great lights.