Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression (pic heavy)

[jon_slider]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

From ZL: never found any Nichia LEDs that are bright enough
…
We actually measured all LEDs that we put inside the first batch SC600Fd III Plus.
...
we haven't found any takers for the 'leftover' if we were to do cherry picking
…
tint from the SC600Fd Plus will vary slightly more compared to H600Fd/Fc headlamps
…
Cree high CRI LEDs in general stays closer to the black body radiation line, compared to Nichia LEDs

My interpretations of those quotes:

ZL does not consider Nichia bright enough

They measured the LEDs in the first batch of SC600Fd III, but they also said they do NOT cherry pick anything. imho they were just measuring for brightness spec. ZL markets primarily for max brightness, not CRI or tint.

Looks like the rest of us early adopters are going to get more consistent tint for their Plus.

ZL shipped you a green tinted LED, that passed their testing.

All ZL said is that the Tint variation is wider on the XHP35 than on the XHP50, not that they cherry pick anything.

imho Cree LEDs Tint varies more towards the green tint than pink. IOW, Cree produces LEDs that tend to vary ABOVE the BBL, while Nichia tends to vary BELOW the BBL.

most people prefer Tint variation below the BBL, and dislike Tint variation into the Green zone, but ZL does not reject those LEDs, because ZL cares most about BRIGHTNESS. That is also true about most of the people in this thread, they are motivated by brightness, not CRI.

The Jaxman has NO PROBLEM using Nichia that is almost exactly on the BBL, but the Jaxman is nowhere near as bright as a ZL.

 

[Mr. Tone]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Spacing is good for me. My setup is 0.37-2.9-34-100-429-1500. Occasionally I swap M2 to 19 if needed. You are right that the Plus is not top notch when it comes to efficiency, a price we pay for high CRI

Your personal spacing setup looks great to me. Thanks for letting us know your impressions. I still haven't received a shipping notice so I have no idea when I'll receive it yet. I placed my order on 09/19/2016.

 

[markr6]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

They measured the LEDs in the first batch of SC600Fd III, but they also said they do NOT cherry pick anything. imho they were just measuring for brightness spec. ZL markets primarily for max brightness, not CRI or tint.

I really wish they cherry picked these. Given the high CRI, people are expecting a lot from this one...at least I am.

I think they put a decent amount of effort into tints, at least more than some manufacturers. But they probably don't focus any more on the tint because many people don't care. It's funny to identify these people on sites like amazon where the raving review is something like "OMG I freaking blinded myself with this thing...SO bright!! Best light ever!!" in contrast to us here that actually pay attention to the tint as much as other aspects. And many of us do it objectively, instead of just using a cop-out like "in real life it doesn't matter, it still lights things up". Yeah well, a moped "still gets you around" but you won't see me trading in my car for one. There's using a light as a tool, using a light and enjoying it, and both. I like to do both every time I hit that switch.

 

[18650]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

I think ZL is trying to say that compared to Nichia's pinkish tints which everyone seem to like, they prefer CREE which is statistically closer to the black body radiation line than the Nichia LEDs they could source, not that tint isn't measurable or quantifiable, because they have been doing the cherry picking for their H600Fd/c and SC5Fd/c line.

The new SW57 R9050 Nichia's have a much more balanced looking emission spectrum than any high CRI Cree I've ever seen, just going by paper specs. The 219 sample tested in the Jaxman thread (with similar emission spectrum on paper) was even better than the minimum spec. The new 6V emitter is rated for 1050 lumens at 1400mA (3000mA max). I think it would make a very nice emitter because it doesn't have that pink hue that not everyone likes.

 

[lampeDépêche]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Mine turned up. A quick test in the stair well at work, with the lights off...

Floodier than my H600Fc iii, such that I'd put it between the H600Fc and H603c (although my Fc throws quite well and doesn't sound as floody as some others here). A Mule with throw?

Cleaner beam pattern too, just about perfect in fact....
No way it's going to throw as far as a SC600 iii, I wonder if it will match the H600Fc. Probably....
Very happy so far.

I'm hoping someone is going to create some GIFs showing this new light alternating with a couple of other ZLs and standard references. Show me PLUS on turbo, then H600 on turbo, then SC600 III HI on turbo, and so on. Show me inside and outside.

I'm still pretty psyched about this light, despite the OP's getting a greenish tint. When I see that tree lit up, and compare it to the Noctigon, it looks pretty impressive, given that this is a single 18650 that you can easily EDC, whereas the Noctigon is a 3-cell (4-cell?) light that you cannot possibly put in your front pocket.

 

[evgeniy]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

The Jaxman has NO PROBLEM using Nichia that is almost exactly on the BBL, but the Jaxman is nowhere near as bright as a ZL.

Jaxman E2 with 1 hi-cri Nichia 219b LED has ~300lm output (1.4A, light overdrive, light over-heat),
(4x 219b LEDs has ~1200lm output in max./turbo mode. )

ZebraLight SC600Fd+ III with 1 Cree XHP hi-cri LED has ~1500lm max. output (overdrive), and 270 / 429 lm (no overdrive, no over-heat).

 

[markr6]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

I'm hoping someone is going to create some GIFs showing this new light alternating with a couple of other ZLs and standard references. Show me PLUS on turbo, then H600 on turbo, then SC600 III HI on turbo, and so on. Show me inside and outside.

I want to do all that, but will be leaving the day after getting this. So my comparisons probably won't come until next week.

 

[lampeDépêche]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

I want to do all that, but will be leaving the day after getting this. So my comparisons probably won't come until next week.

Thanks, Markr6! I realize that sometimes life can get in the way of flashlights.

 

[jon_slider]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Jaxman E2 with 1 hi-cri Nichia 219b LED has ~300lm output

ZebraLight SC600Fd+ III with 1 Cree XHP hi-cri LED has ~1500lm max. output

so true!
as people move into 1000+ lumens, they move above the BBL, into the green zone

for reference here is maukka's Tint and CCT plot of the Jaxman (5400k 93CRI, 300 lumens)

Nichia NV4W144AR/AM LED

thanks to maukka, (lumen research pending):


here is maukka's plot of an XHP50 (5000k 67CRI, 2500 Lumens)


note: click the pics to link to the threads where those are posted

 

[Equitymind]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Your personal spacing setup looks great to me. Thanks for letting us know your impressions. I still haven't received a shipping notice so I have no idea when I'll receive it yet. I placed my order on 09/19/2016.

Zebralight just informed me that my light was 3 weeks away and offered a refund if I didn't want to wait that long. I placed my order on 9/16/2016.

I'll wait.

 

[neil944]

Just got a shipping notice for my order placed on 9/2. I'm in the US

 

[StandardBattery]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Zebralight just informed me that my light was 3 weeks away and offered a refund if I didn't want to wait that long. I placed my order on 9/16/2016.

I'll wait.

Good Choice!

 

[snowlover91]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Well today was quite a surprise; usps tracking had showed it still hadn't left Texas and I went out on my porch to discover my Zebralght sitting right there! Not sure what happened with the tracking lol usps does crazy things sometimes. Anyways here are my initial thoughts.

1. No battery rattle, ncr18650ga fits perfectly. Nice dark anodization, darker than my other Zebralights but I really like it!
2. Buttery smooth threads :thumbsup:
3. Heats up decently on the turbo mode. I would compare it to the SC62w I have in that regard. I can't notice the PID as it steps down which is good.
4. The big question everybody wants to know, how is the tint? On my sample maybe I got lucky but instead of a greenish tint it is more of a slight golden tint. Think of a nichia but with a more subtle golden tint. It's more noticeable on the medium and high settings, the turbo mode is basically a neautral white with no perceptible green, gold or any other tint. Basically a pure white. It's very pleasing to the eyes and a keeper for me, it exceeded my expectations! Hopefully this means others will also receive samples like this, no hint of green in mine!

 

[ormandj]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Got mine in today, and perhaps it's this thread, but the tint seems off to me. I can't really put my finger on it. How do people generally check tint to determine where the shift is? The other lights I have at home are all over the map so a/b comparisons aren't terribly useful.

I haven't seen anything anywhere near the level of tint shift seen with the yogurt picture, it just feels like something isnt quite right when using it around the house, but I'm worried reading this thread has just played a mind trick on me. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I do have color corrected monitors. I also have an i1Display Pro if that can somehow be used to make any measurements.

As to the light itself, it seems great, but it is definitely quite floody. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, I'll have to give it some more use to see if it will work out. I really wish it had a bit more throw, but I need to test it outside away from city lights. It does get quite hot on turbo. I'm not sure on the brightness spacing, m1 seems a little dim, but I was using the light earlier in the day. I'll give it a more thorough test over the next day or two and update. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Thank you for the pictures OP and thank you for the review.

 

[TCY]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Got mine in today, and perhaps it's this thread, but the tint seems off to me. I can't really put my finger on it. How do people generally check tint to determine where the shift is? The other lights I have at home are all over the map so a/b comparisons aren't terribly useful.

I haven't seen anything anywhere near the level of tint shift seen with the yogurt picture, it just feels like something isnt quite right when using it around the house, but I'm worried reading this thread has just played a mind trick on me. Any suggestions would be much appreciated, and I do have color corrected monitors. I have an i1Display Pro if that can somehow be used to make any measurements.

As to the light itself, it seems great, but it is definitely quite floody. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, I'll have to give it some more use to see if it will work out. It does get quite hot on turbo. I'm not sure on the brightness spacing, m1 seems a little dim, but I was using the light earlier in the day. I'll give it a more thorough test over the next day or two and update. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Thank you for the pictures OP and thank you for the review.

Congrats on your light!

IMHO if you are not seeing what I see i.e. that notorious yogurt pic, you are probably fine.

I have no idea how to check tint the professional way (maukka with his super pro graph, kudos!), a dumb way is to grab a BLF348 which houses a Nichia 219B, this LED typically has VERY consistent tint so it can be used as a frame of reference. Besides this, any white light source in your house with a CCT of 4500-5500K would be good enough.

 

[Connor]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

How do people generally check tint to determine where the shift is?

We compare, ideally with all other lights that we own. ;-)

Do you have a camera/smartphone camera app that allows setting the colour temperature? Set to 5777°K (sun@noon), make a beamshot picture.

 

[markr6]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Or you can try a light spectrum app. Not sure how accurate it is, but seems pretty good from the few lights I've tested.

 

[TCY]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

markr have you got your light yet? How is the tint?

 

[markr6]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Might as well post it here as well...from the SC600Fd III Plus thread:

GOOD TINT!!!! This thing is WHITE!!!!

Tint comparison. In person, it almost seems like they are reversed (L10 is actually a little more white). IT was just hard matching the brightness between the two. Both absolute winners though!

Quick dirty cellphone pic

Switch, battery fit, anodizing, everything is flawless! Thanks again Zebralight :twothumbs

Having said all that, I'm not sure I need a $100 flooder like this...so I can't say I'll keep it. We'll see.

 

[TCY]

Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression

Of course you need it, you are the ultimate tint snob:devil: