The Official Zebralight Thread .

[Connor]

Lol, do you even know how little an emitter costs when you buy them in multiple spools of 1000. It is probably one of the cheapest components in a light. Some people, including myself, would be willing to pay $20-50US more for a light with a hand picked emitter close to or right on the black body radiation line. The premium price would easily offset throwing away a certain percentage of emitters. Or, they could even resell them to budget light makers at a discount. They don't have to do it for every line either, maybe just the C and D models. And, the lower MacAdam Ellipse step rated emitters they could purchase the lower the number of rejects there would be.

Yes, I do. Do you? It's probably the most expensive component in a ZebraLight (except for the machined body itself).
It's not economically feasible to throw away that many emitters. Even with the 2-step MacAdam ellipse region you probably have to throw away 90% for that near-perfect tint you are looking for.

Take a step out of your filter bubble and realize that there are only very few people like us who are looking for that really perfect tint. Most don't even care for neutral white or high(er) CRI.

 

[Tachead]

Yes, I do. Do you? It's probably the most expensive component in a ZebraLight (except for the machined body itself).
It's not economically feasible to throw away that many emitters. Even with the 2-step MacAdam ellipse region you probably have to throw away 90% for that near-perfect tint you are looking for.

Take a step out of your filter bubble and realize that there are only very few people like us who are looking for that really perfect tint. Most don't even care for neutral white or high(er) CRI.

Yes, I do. Around $3 an emitter for an XHP35(depending on quantity) and that is from a middle man. I am sure it would be even cheaper when ordered direct. It is no where near the most expensive component. How is it not economically feasible? I think you may need to take an economics or math course. They could throw out 50% of the emitters and if they even charged $20 more per light it would cover the thrown out emitters more then 3 times(many people would be willing to pay more then $20 more too). and, they could sell the left over emitters if they wanted to. 90%? What are you talking about? The C&D models use 2-step Easywhite emitters now and they are all close to perfect. I don't think I have even heard anyone complain about the tint on a C or D model. If they could source all 2-step emitters, they wouldn't even have to do any more then they are doing now. The problem is they cant because they are hard to get in numbers or don't exist for certain models.

People who buy the C&D models do care. Most normal people don't even know who ZL is. I would guess that a large part of the people who buy ZL care about tint.

More and more people are learning about the benefits of higher CRI, better tint, and chosing the right temp for the application every day. A shift is even happening in the household lighting market. Many new LED lights have at least 80 CRI because customers are starting to want the higher CRI models. They also come in all different temps now including 2700K, 3000K, 4000K, 5000K, etc. The days of the ignorant consumer are starting to come to an end when it comes to lighting. Many home decorating magazines and TV shows are doing segments and articles on CRI, colour temp, etc. too lately. Things are changing fast. More and more flashlight companies are offering different colour temps and high CRI options too. Even Nitecore(a much more mainstream and mass produced brand) has a bunch of High CRI options this year as well as many models with colour temp options.

 

[emarkd]

You can buy 3-step Nichia emitters from an individual "middle man" on blf right now for 4 bucks each. That's a very tight Nichia binning, bought in small quantities. I'm sure a big manufacturer can get them for less in bulk.

That said, I can only assume that supply is an issue with the "best" tint emitters. There's no other reason we don't see more of them. This is the first time I can remember the 3-step Nichia's showing up anywhere, this guy only got a handful of them, and he says he can't get more until February. So maybe it would be hard for a manufacturer to even supply a large order of them? I don't know, just thinking out loud.

 

[Connor]

How is it not economically feasible?

It's not feasible because they're not gonna sell more than a few hundred / low thousands of those more expensive lights (that's my guess!) while having to throw away hundreds if not thousands of emitters at ~$2 a piece.
BTW: I don't know the price for the 2-step / highest flux emitters but I assume they are considerably more expensive .. and very hard to get.

Regarding the rate of the "perfect tint" emitters: Look at what happened with the SC600Fd III+ with XHP50 / 3-step MacAdams ellipse region emitters.
This is by all means one of the better binnings and even then lots of CPF users were complaining about the tint. My personal SC600Fd III+ has a quite nice tint but it's definitely not perfect either.

Also: someone has to test all those emitters. This takes a lot of time and money, too. I still don't think it's possible to do this for $20 more .. it would have to be considerably more expensive. And then you end up with a light very few people are actually buying because they don't even know about the difference. I'd love to see a "guaranteed perfect tint" option by Zebralight, I just don't see it happening.

 

[Derek Dean]

I've been a tint snob from day one, but I quickly learned that it was an exercise in futility trying to get a light with a perfectly tinted LED.

Zebralight does what they do so well, with their wonderfully efficient drivers, and their precision machined bodies. I'm willing to take full responsibility for my obsessively compulsive need for good tint and simply do that part of it myself, adding filters to get me that final little way towards perfect. I've filtered all 4 of my Zebras (including the triple Nichia 219), and now they are all very nearly perfect, with only minor, and perfectly acceptable, loss of output.......... and it only cost pennies per light.

But hey, don't let me stop you'all from your quest for the perfectly tinted LED...... sometimes that's half the fun : )

 

[eraursls1984]

I've been a tint snob from day one, but I quickly learned that it was an exercise in futility trying to get a light with a perfectly tinted LED.

Zebralight does what they do so well, with their wonderfully efficient drivers, and their precision machined bodies. I'm willing to take full responsibility for my obsessively compulsive need for good tint and simply do that part of it myself, adding filters to get me that final little way towards perfect. I've filtered all 4 of my Zebras (including the triple Nichia 219), and now they are all very nearly perfect, with only minor, and perfectly acceptable, loss of output.......... and it only cost pennies per light.

But hey, don't let me stop you'all from your quest for the perfectly tinted LED...... sometimes that's half the fun : )

What filters did you use?

 

[tops2]

I've been a tint snob from day one, but I quickly learned that it was an exercise in futility trying to get a light with a perfectly tinted LED.

Zebralight does what they do so well, with their wonderfully efficient drivers, and their precision machined bodies. I'm willing to take full responsibility for my obsessively compulsive need for good tint and simply do that part of it myself, adding filters to get me that final little way towards perfect. I've filtered all 4 of my Zebras (including the triple Nichia 219), and now they are all very nearly perfect, with only minor, and perfectly acceptable, loss of output.......... and it only cost pennies per light.

But hey, don't let me stop you'all from your quest for the perfectly tinted LED...... sometimes that's half the fun : )

Just curious how do you attach the filter? Does it have the same effect as the "diffuser tape" though?

 

[Derek Dean]

What filters did you use?

Just curious how do you attach the filter? Does it have the same effect as the "diffuser tape" though?

So as not to hijack this thread, check out this link for all the information you need:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?320811-Changing-LED-Tint-With-Filters

Be aware that some of the links in my first post might be outdated, but a little Googling will get you up to date info. If you have any further questions, feel free to PM me and I'll be more than happy to answer them, at length, as I'm a HUGE filter advocate.

P.S. One CPF member uses a PINK Highlighter pen to add a bit of magenta to the front of his cover glass, getting rid of most of the irritating green tint he had. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[eraursls1984]

So as not to hijack this thread, check out this link for all the information you need:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?320811-Changing-LED-Tint-With-Filters

Thank you. I saw that thread years ago, couldn't remember where I saw it.

 

[tops2]

So as not to hijack this thread, check out this link for all the information you need:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?320811-Changing-LED-Tint-With-Filters

Be aware that some of the links in my first post might be outdated, but a little Googling will get you up to date info. If you have any further questions, feel free to PM me and I'll be more than happy to answer them, at length, as I'm a HUGE filter advocate.

P.S. One CPF member uses a PINK Highlighter pen to add a bit of magenta to the front of his cover glass, getting rid of most of the irritating green tint he had. Pretty cool stuff.

Wow! Didn't even know tips like this existed! Thanks! Time to dig through that thread and learn some more. :twothumbs

 

[Random Dan]

Just got my SC5Fc today. Most beautiful beam of any light I've used. The only problem is that the H2 mode has a quite noticeable high pitched whine. Is this typical of the SC5 or should I return it?

 

[dubliftment]

That would be great. I'd pay more too.

My HI tint is the exact same tint as the standard MKIII I had (sold). Both great lights, but decided to use my HI as the "do it all" light even though it's quite throwy.

The tint on my SC600w HI is astonishingly much better than the SC600w that I returned (coincidentally the refund and the HI arrived the same day.) The HI has an incredibly good tint. It is has nice color rendering too. No purple, almost no yellow. Heck, this light has a slightly cooler CCT than my SC52Fw. Actually, upon returning the SC600w and ordering the HI I specifically asked them to select a sample without tint shift to yellow and as cool as possible. So obviously they did. Only thing I did, because it is too throwy for me, I put some magic tape over the lens (which is only so lightly structured that you still can see the LED and the peeling of the reflector.)

 

[ridwan_neutron]

is there any built in rechargeable flashlight from zebralight?

 

[noboneshotdog]

is there any built in rechargeable flashlight from zebralight?

Not yet . But there are rumors there may be one coming.

 

[bexamous]

So here is my biggest issue with Zebralight... you buy a flashlight, year later some cool new thing is out and gotta get it.. but the old one is still awesome... I've now got...
SC600
SC600W
SC80W
SC600 MKII
S6330
SC600F MKIII Plus

The SC600 is still great flashlight... what do I need all these for? Also when can I preorder this C3 I hear of?

 

[tops2]

So here is my biggest issue with Zebralight... you buy a flashlight, year later some cool new thing is out and gotta get it.. but the old one is still awesome... I've now got...
SC600
SC600W
SC80W
SC600 MKII
S6330
SC600F MKIII Plus

The SC600 is still great flashlight... what do I need all these for? Also when can I preorder this C3 I hear of?

Wow! I notice you don't have any of the SC62(w)/63(w). Just curious of your reasoning?

 

[eraursls1984]

There was just an update. I think the SC5c XP-L 93-95 CRI is new.

 

[markr6]

There was just an update. I think the SC5c XP-L 93-95 CRI is new.

Good find! The SC5x line was too fat and heavy for a 1AA IMO, but I'm sure many will jump all over this one.

 

[emarkd]

Yeah I got an email notification too, and I agree that's probably the change. At least, I don't remember that light from before. I kinda like the SC5x form so I can see myself buying that light. Wonder what XP-L they're using though, cause I didn't know they were available with that high of a CRI.

 

[eraursls1984]

Good find! The SC5x line was too fat and heavy for a 1AA IMO, but I'm sure many will jump all over this one.

I agree, but a SC5c sure does temp me. I have a few more Zebralights higher up on the want list though.