The Official Zebralight Thread .

[Dio]

The problem is, most people here aren't buying lights because they need them.

When you aren't buying a light because you need to look at something it seems to cause most owners to see the tint shift. Maybe using the light to actually see something they were looking for or to light a path through the bush to illuminte hazards, would distract them enough from the tint shift to the point where they realized their lights were actually not that bad afterall.

I guess until we buy lights to use and not because we're just a sad bunch of people obsessed with the colour of the light coming out of our devices - even if it has absolutely no negative impact - posts about tint will never stop.. Wait, what am I saying?!? 3 people on here have over 1000 posts on how bad tint shift is so it must be so!!!


GO AND USE YOUR DAMN LIGHTS

 

[gurdygurds]

You being serious?

The problem is, most people here aren't buying lights because they need them.

When you aren't buying a light because you need to look at something it seems to cause most owners to see the tint shift. Maybe using the light to actually see something they were looking for or to light a path through the bush to illuminte hazards, would distract them enough from the tint shift to the point where they realized their lights were actually not that bad afterall.

I guess until we buy lights to use and not because we're just a sad bunch of people obsessed with the colour of the light coming out of our devices - even if it has absolutely no negative impact - posts about tint will never stop.. Wait, what am I saying?!? 3 people on here have over 1000 posts on how bad tint shift is so it must be so!!!


GO AND USE YOUR DAMN LIGHTS

 

[bykfixer]

I was just reading through the sc64c thread and it's almost ALL posts about tint, at least once the light got into peoples hands. So I'd say the tint lottery is still very much a thing and again makes me wonder why zebralight chooses the leds that they do.

GG; Your inbox is full.


Good points Dio. Pressing inviso like button for post 2301.

 

[gurdygurds]

To rant about how everyone is wasting their time and should go USE YOUR DAMN LIGHTS seems extremely lame. Especially when Dio's posts shows plenty of talk about tint and color shift etc. Poor form sir. Pressing invisible LAME button.

GG; Your inbox is full.


Good points Dio. Pressing inviso like button for post 2301.

 

[Zak]

When you aren't buying a light because you need to look at something it seems to cause most owners to see the tint shift. Maybe using the light to actually see something they were looking for or to light a path through the bush to illuminte hazards, would distract them enough from the tint shift to the point where they realized their lights were actually not that bad afterall.

If you were to buy a BMW M3 and found the steering numb and the exhaust note uninspired, it would be entirely reasonable to express disappointment. Sure, it can still drive you from here to there just fine, but so can a Chevrolet Spark that costs 1/5 as much. You didn't buy a performance-oriented version of an already premium car just for its ability to adequately get from here to there.

Similarly, if you buy a high-CRI Zebralight, you're paying a fairly high price for a flashlight marketed in part based on its color quality. It's reasonable to complain when something about the color quality isn't awesome. The enthusiast community has done enough experimentation with different emitters that Zebralight could just pick one we generally like without doing any work on its own. Currently, the Samsung LH351D would make a lot of sense, and has already been shown to work well in the SC64c.

I use my lights. The ones I use a lot have high CRI and nice tint.

 

[Derek Dean]

The problem is, most people here aren't buying lights because they need them.

When you aren't buying a light because you need to look at something it seems to cause most owners to see the tint shift. Maybe using the light to actually see something they were looking for or to light a path through the bush to illuminte hazards, would distract them enough from the tint shift to the point where they realized their lights were actually not that bad afterall.

I guess until we buy lights to use and not because we're just a sad bunch of people obsessed with the colour of the light coming out of our devices - even if it has absolutely no negative impact - posts about tint will never stop.. Wait, what am I saying?!? 3 people on here have over 1000 posts on how bad tint shift is so it must be so!!!


GO AND USE YOUR DAMN LIGHTS

I think we should simply chalk this post up to a somewhat new member's misunderstanding of our community. From my time here, I've come to know that a great many folks who frequent this forum use their lights extensively, often, like myself, on their job every night. In fact, it's precisely because of this dependence on our lights that we are constantly searching for better tools to help us do our jobs better.

For some, that job might simply be walking the dog at night, for others it's inspecting aircraft in a hanger or attaching color coded wires in a computer system, and yet for others it might be an emergency rescue where a light will be used to help check for vital signs, a situation where the color of the light can be extremely important.

So, when it seems that we tend to obsess about little things like beam shape, or tint, it's often because we find these things do indeed make a difference in how we use our lights.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

I was just reading through the sc64c thread and it's almost ALL posts about tint, at least once the light got into peoples hands. So I'd say the tint lottery is still very much a thing and again makes me wonder why zebralight chooses the leds that they do.

Fair enough. Almost all my Zebras are "w" tints, not the "c" tints which seem to have more reports about them.

However, it would be interesting to know what the REAL "bad tint" rate is with the "c" tints. It's very possible that most of them are very good, and there's just a few bad tints out of every 1000 lights or something. Generally, I expect that people who are buying the "c" tints are more demanding of color than most people, and that may be a cause of some of the reports too.

I won't be buying any of the "c" tints anytime soon, though that's because I buy Zebras for their output and efficiency (and small size) more than for CRI.

 

[Bob_McBob]

A wild Samsung appeared!

(SC64c with 4000K LH351D on the left, SC63w on the right)

 

[dmsoule]

Nice! What did you use to remove the bezel?

 

[ven]

Awesome!!!

 

[markr6]

"GO AND USE YOUR DAMN LIGHTS"

I'm going to join a Corvette forum. When people start complaining about aesthetics on a $60,000 car, I'll say "GO AND DRIVE YOUR DAMN CAR".

 

[archimedes]

The problem is, most people here aren't buying lights because they need them.

Curious as to the basis for your assertion here.

When you aren't buying a light because you need to look at something it seems to cause most owners to see the tint shift. Maybe using the light to actually see something they were looking for or to light a path through the bush to illuminte hazards, would distract them enough from the tint shift to the point where they realized their lights were actually not that bad afterall.

I guess until we buy lights to use and not because we're just a sad bunch of people obsessed with the colour of the light coming out of our devices - even if it has absolutely no negative impact - posts about tint will never stop.. Wait, what am I saying?!? 3 people on here have over 1000 posts on how bad tint shift is so it must be so!!!

GO AND USE YOUR DAMN LIGHTS

Leaving aside the aggressive and unpleasant tone, why on earth would I care about the tint of a light that I never use ???

I am truly confused by this.

I have many flashlights, and regularly use the vast majority of these. Others are certainly welcome to their opinion and preferences, but for me personally, tint specifically is one of the very most important characteristics of the quality of light produced by these tools. If the tint doesn't suit my preferences, or is at least acceptable, I generally have no use for it at all.

The exception to this includes a few flashlights which I do keep essentially as "collectibles" .... For one reason or another, they are historical or vintage items , or "metal art" , or similar. And yes, those rarely or ever are even turned on. And yes, for those, I don't really care much about the tint (and several are indeed from the early "alien blue or squid green" emitter era) .

No need to be attacking others for simply having different preferences. There are plenty of people on CPF who care more about maximum output, than tint or CRI, and that's fine too ... :shrug:

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

The problem is, most people here aren't buying lights because they need them.

Curious as to the basis for your assertion here.

I'm pretty confident that most people on this flashaholic group, don't actually need yet another light to add to their existing pile of 20, 30, or 50 lights. For the most part, we buy them as toys. The vast majority of people need about 1 or maybe 2 lights, and those are $10 department store lights, not $100+ lights.

Sure, we can try to justify the purchase of another $100 light, but I've given up trying to spin that story. It's a toy. I want it. Gimmee!!

That said, I think the fact it's a toy is a reason to expect good tint, not accept poor tint. But I'm still unconvinced that Zebralight has any worse tint issue than any other manufacturer that uses Cree LEDs.

 

[archimedes]

I think it's fine to speak for oneself, if you feel that you don't want or need another light, if that is the case. Or if you do, for any reason, or no reason at all.

I think making assumptions about others' wants or needs, is a little less obvious.

 

[Bob_McBob]

Nice! What did you use to remove the bezel?

I used a cheap carving wedge I sharpened and polished beforehand. The o-ring behind the lens has enough give you can slightly compress it while inserting a thin tool under the bezel. Work your way around, very gently prying, and it will eventually pop off. That's the easy part of the mod though.

The entire process is documented here:

https://imgur.com/a/N9scBiB

 

[markr6]

Well done! Dammit Zebralight...please just start doing customs already!!!

 

[ven]

:goodjob::rock:

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

I think it's fine to speak for oneself, if you feel that you don't want or need another light, if that is the case. Or if you do, for any reason, or no reason at all.

I think making assumptions about others' wants or needs, is a little less obvious.

No, I think it's pretty obvious that someone doesn't need 20+ flashlights.

Anyone here have less than that? If so, it won't be long before you have more.

 

[gurdygurds]

I have 12 lights currently, and that includes two photon freedoms. The Zebras however are so stinking versatile, that they do the job of all my lights in one tidy package. Cool mod Bob McBob! Don't see many that able to pull that off. Did you re-pot everything once you finished?

 

[Bob_McBob]

Cool mod Bob McBob! Don't see many that able to pull that off. Did you re-pot everything once you finished?

The potting material below the board stays in place nicely, so the components slip back in with a perfect fit. I didn't bother repotting the top. I'm not convinced it's doing a whole lot other than perhaps stabilizing the wire that runs through it, and soft silicone potting material is prohibitively expensive if you only need a small amount ($200+).