The Official Zebralight Thread .

[neutralwhite]

will the UI change you think on these new releases ?
thanks.

 

[chillinn]

will the UI change you think on these new releases ?
thanks.

No.

 

[ilikeguns40]

I would think the only way they would change the UI would be if the models were say SC54, SC65

 

[chillinn]

The UI is infinitely configurable for every step available. It can be anything you want in two different mode groups. LMH, LHM, HML, HLM, MLH, MHL, etc. etc.. The only change that could be made is to degrade it. It's not changing.

 

[ilikeguns40]

I agree. Zebras UI is one of the best Ive used. Direct access to moonlight, medium, and high. Double clicks can also be programmed for a low/high only. Possibilities are endless

 

[Derek Dean]

In for my first Zebra. 519 without paying for modding?! I need to go study the programming to get ready = )

It can take a bit to get used the UI, but once you get the hang of it, it's quick and easy to get just right amount of light. And best of all, their electronics are extremely efficient, giving you great runtimes from high power to very low power output.

 

[desert.snake]

I hope in new models they will include the ability to block of the programming. Already tired after the flashlight is in the wrong hands, reconfigure it again.

 

[SYZYGY]

The only change that could be made is to degrade it. It's not changing.

lol, i'm clearly a ZL fanboy, but even i think the UI has a lot of room for improvement.

they could make programming easier, for one thing. fully programming a zebralight is several hundred clicks, which is honestly fuked. and if you know what you like, you can only reproduce it with relative counting by either counting up from the floor or counting down from the ceil. relative counting sucks because you have to waste time getting to the floor or ceil first, and that takes up to like 11*2 or 11*3 clicks to traverse depending on if you're going up or down.

they should make an 'expert programming mode' that works like this when you enter it: it steps through each of the six (sub) modes (H1,H2,M1,M2,L1,L2), and when you're on that mode, you click 1-12 times (because 12 brightness levels exist). i.e. you input in absolute terms the brightness for that mode. example for G6 or G7:

• it flashes once to indicate mode 1 ('H1' in legacy ZL speak): you click three times to indicate you want brightness level 3 (of 12, where 12 is max brightness). then, after a timeout of no input for 2s, it flashes rapidly a few times.
• after a pause, it flashes twice to indicate mode 2 (H2). you click 5 times to program brightness level 5/12. you wait a couple seconds for timeout, and it rapidly flashes.
• after a pause, it flashes three times to indicate mode 3 (M1). ...you get the idea

this, to me, would be far faster and less frustrating. i'm someone who has programed tons of them not just for me but for family and friends, so i already have my preferred brightness settings in my notes for each model.

another improvement they could make is a setting to enable or disable submode memory. i.e. is M1 vs M2 remembered when you go back to M, or does M1 come on first every time?

 

[desert.snake]

lol, i'm clearly a ZL fanboy, but even i think the UI has a lot of room for improvement.

they could make programming easier, for one thing. fully programming a zebralight is several hundred clicks, which is honestly fuked. and if you know what you like, you can only reproduce it with relative counting by either counting up from the floor or counting down from the ceil. relative counting sucks because you have to waste time getting to the floor or ceil first.

they should make an 'expert mode' that works like this when you enter it: it steps through each of the six (sub) modes, and when you're on that mode, you click 1-12 times (because 12 brightness levels exist). i.e. you input in absolute terms the brightness for that mode. example for G6 or G7:

• it flashes once to indicate mode 1 ('H1' in legacy ZL speak): you click three times to indicate you want brightness level 3 (of 12, where 12 is max brightness). then, after a timeout of no input for 2s, it flashes rapidly a few times.
• after a pause, it flashes twice to indicate mode 2 (H2). you click 5 times to program brightness level 5/12. you wait a couple seconds for timeout, and it rapidly flashes.
• after a pause, it flashes three times to indicate mode 3 (M1). ...you get the idea

this, to me, would be far less frustrating. i'm someone who has programed tons of them not just for me but for family and friends, so i already have my preferred brightness settings in my notes for each model.

another improvement they could make is a setting to enable or disable submode memory. i.e. is M1 vs M2 remembered when you go back to M, or does M1 come on first every time?

I like the idea with on/off memory in one of the mode groups

 

[chillinn]

fully programming a zebralight is several hundred clicks

This is an exaggeration, as it does not take more than two hundred presses. I estimate it takes about eighty to fully program every mode and submode, but assuming all modes start at brightest level and are programmed for dimmest level (which would never happen and be pretty silly), it would take no more than 120 presses.

 

[lampeDépêche]

I fully realize that lumens are not the most important measure of light quality, and the Nichia 519A is going to give beautiful light.
Still, does anyone have a guess as to how output will compare to the last generation of SC53 with the XP-L2?
Assuming that the driver will be the same, and so feed roughly the same wattage to the emitter, I suppose this question could be answered simply by looking up the mfr specs. But if anyone knows offhand, that could be quicker.
Then of course the other big question: will it run off 14500s, despite the warning label, the way that the SC53/H53 do?

 

[SYZYGY]

This is an exaggeration, as it does not take more than two hundred presses. I estimate it takes about eighty to fully program every mode and submode, but assuming all modes start at brightest level and are programmed for dimmest level (which would never happen and be pretty silly), it would take no more than 120 presses.

please don't assume that i exaggerate when i write a detailed post like that, lol. i rarely exaggerate.
also, please provide a calculation to support your claim.

sc64w hi example settings:

g6:
H: 2, 4 (brightness levels 2 and 4 of 12 – i use H as low)
M: 6, 7
L: 9, 11 (i use L as high)
g7:
H: 1, 4
M: 6, 7
L: 9, 12

• 12 submodes (g6&g7), 12 clicks each to enter programming mode.. uh oh, at 144 clicks, you can see it's already not looking good for your estimate at statement 1 of execution
  • 12*12
• + initialization pass: move all sublevels to floor or ceil for relative counting (then multiplied by 2 (g6&g7)):
  • H1 and H2 to floor (i use H as low): 11 (H1: 12→1) + 10 (H2: 11→1)
  • M1,M2 to floor: 7 + 6
  • L1,L2 to ceil (use L as high): 8 + 9
  • + 6 clicks to turn the light off (one click each time)
• + programming pass: in practice, i do the actual level setting in another pass as it's easier for me to keep my train of thought and count that way. but you may subtract 12*12 from the result if you think this inefficiency for the sake of sanity is unfair exaggeration.
  • 12*12 to again enter programming mode to finally set the levels
  • g6:
    • H: 1 + 3
    • M: 5 + 6
    • L: 3 + 1
    • + 6 for off
  • g7:
    • H: 0 + 3
    • M: 5 + 6
    • L: 3 + 0
    • + 6 for off

12*12 + 2*(11+10+7+6+8+9+6) + 12*12 + (1+3+5+6+3+1+6) + (0+3+5+6+3+0+6)
= 450 clicks by this estimation
(or over 300 clicks if you demand that i exert my brain more than i care to during programming and not do multiple passes)

in practice it is even more clicks because i do extra clicks when i get to floor or ceil to confirm i'm really there. i keep spamming the button until the brightness doesn't change, and that's how i know.

edit: i just noticed that this fails to account for the fact that it takes 2 clicks to shift up and 3 clicks to shift down in brightness.

12*12 + 2*(3*(11+10+7+6)+2*(8+9)+6) + 12*12 + (2*(1+3+5+6)+3*(3+1)+6) + (2*(0+3+5+6)+3*(3+0)+6)
= 663 clicks

 

[SYZYGY]

another thought...

you would be right to assume that i could have a very dialed in process whereby i could use relative counting to go directly from the factory settings to my desired settings without moving to floor or ceil first.

trust me, i have tried that, and i found later after a few lights that they did not agree with my brightness settings side by side with the floor/ceil method. i am positive that i did not make a mistake after re-verifying.

what i found is that sometimes the ZL presets as-received are not guaranteed to match the documentation on the website. surprising but true.

in practice, almost no one would notice or care if a medium level is 5 instead of 6 or something if the light came that way from ZL. probably a driver programming eeprom error. maybe they used a bin from another light sometimes idk.

also, even if that method did work, it would be far more frustrating and error prone. imagine you made a mistake. would you go to floor or ceil to fix it and then determine a new relative offset based on that? would you be tempted to do a full factory reset? lol

 

[ilikeguns40]

please don't assume that i exaggerate when i write a detailed post like that, lol. i rarely exaggerate.
also, please provide a calculation to support your claim.

sc64w hi example settings:

g6:
H: 2, 4 (brightness levels 2 and 4 of 12 – i use H as low)
M: 6, 7
L: 9, 11 (i use L as high)
g7:
H: 1, 4
M: 6, 7
L: 9, 12

• 12 submodes (g6&g7), 12 clicks each to enter programming mode.. uh oh, at 144 clicks, you can see it's already not looking for your estimate at statement 1 of execution
  • 12*12
• + initialization pass: move all sublevels to floor or ceil for relative counting (then multiplied by 2 (g6&g7)):
  • H1 and H2 to floor (i use H as low): 11 (H1: 12→1) + 10 (H2: 11→1)
  • M1,M2 to floor: 7 + 6
  • L1,L2 to ceil (use L as high): 8 + 9
  • + 6 clicks to turn the light off (one click each time)
• + programming pass: in practice, i do the actual level setting in another pass as it's easier for me to keep my train of thought and count that way. but you may subtract 12*12 from the result if you think this inefficiency for the sake of sanity is unfair exaggeration.
  • 12*12 to again enter programming mode to finally set the levels
  • g6:
    • H: 1 + 3
    • M: 5 + 6
    • L: 3 + 1
    • + 6 for off
  • g7:
    • H: 0 + 3
    • M: 5 + 6
    • L: 3 + 0
    • + 6 for off

12*12 + 2*(11+10+7+6+8+9+6) + 12*12 + (1+3+5+6+3+1+6) + (0+3+5+6+3+0+6)
= 450 clicks by this estimation
(or over 300 clicks if you demand that i exert my brain more than i care to during programming and not do multiple passes)

in practice it is even more clicks because i do extra clicks when i get to floor or ceil to confirm i'm really there. i keep spamming the button until the brightness doesn't change, and that's how i know.

This guy Zebralights

 

[chillinn]

12 submodes

There are 3 submodes and 3 modes for each group, so even if you're moving goal posts and talking about programming all three groups and not just one, that's 9 submodes maximum and 9 modes maximum, and it would go over 200 presses if you wanted to program all three mode groups immediately. But I think your complaint is unreasonable because you're never using all three mode groups, you're only using one or two at the very most, and once you switch to a mode group, you're not switching back and forth between mode groups constantly. There are 12 light levels. Undoubtedly you're using between one and three of them no matter how you program the groups.

While you complained about the interface being unnecessarily complex, your solution

they should make an 'expert programming mode' that works like this

was to add even more complexity, technically speaking.

 

[SYZYGY]

There are 3 submodes and 3 modes for each group, so even if you're talking about programming all three groups and not just one, that's 9 submodes maximum.

please explain

there are six submodes (or maybe sublevels in ZL speak) in each group.
H1,H2,M1,M2,L1,L2

two groups (g6,g7)

twelve total.

 

[chillinn]

I see the problem.

Zebralight literature describes that any mode group only has three modes (H1, M1, L1). Each mode has one submode (H2, M2, L2).

There are three groups. G5, G6, G7.
G5 has some constraints, but G6 and G7 are fully programmable.

 

[SYZYGY]

so.. how many clicks does it take to get to the center of a tootise pop?

do you see my point yet?

 

[chillinn]

Three.

There is one button, three groups, three modes, three submodes and twelve light levels. The programming may not be ideal, but it is simple, and nearly all Zebralighters don't even bother with programming and just use G5 as it comes from the factory. For every CPF member, there are probably 100 million normal people.

 

[SYZYGY]

While you complained about the interface being unnecessarily complex, your solution
was to add even more complexity, technically speaking.

their programming method is not terrible for someone doing this once, and it lets you see the brightness to help you decide.

what i contend is that it's terrible for someone who already knows what they want and has to do this for several lights. i have programmed probably like 20 lights personally.