# Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression (pic heavy)



## TCY (Sep 29, 2016)

Before you read this thread, please understand that I'm likely the ONLY one amongst the early adopters of this light that got a SC600Fd Mk III Plus with an unbearable tint. Many other early adopters on CPF actually got very pleasant tint on their unit. If you are interested in this light please don't let my review discourage you. The other SC600Fd Mk III Plus thread (page 30 for your convenience) :http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?414887-Zebralight-SC600Fd-III-Plus-XHP50/page30




It's official, I'm the first guy to have this light in my possession on CPF.. maybe on planet Earth?:devil:





The build quality is what you would expect from ZL. Top notch. Great Anodizing, great threads, great everything.













As you can see, this light uses a heavy OP reflector and frosted lens to smooth out the beam artifact. So don't expect it to throw.








Thread comes pre-lubed. The lube has a dark blue color. Seems quality enough.

Beam pattern: much flood, limited throw. Unfortunately we are still playing with the ZL tint lottery here.. the unit I got has an unpleasant greenish/yellowish tint, but on turbo it is much more pleasant.

















Heat management: On turbo, this light gets hot fast. For a mere 3 seconds on turbo you could notice the body heating up.

To be honest I'm a bit disappointed about the tint. For cherry picked LEDs with 5000K CCT, there really should be no tint at all, just pure white, maybe with a creamy hint at most. I'm considering about returning mine for a replacement :mecry:

If tint problem is fixed, this would be a perfect EDC flooder. but for now, 9/10.

I'll be taking beamshots tonight. Fun time

Update1: some quick shots of a pink yogurt.










Update 3: Beamshots. I'm using an ancient camera I bought back in 2009, and I'm a terrible photographer, so bear with me here.
Camera settings are f3.1 with WB set to daylight.
For the first set of "long range beamshots" shutter speed used is 1/20. For other sets shutter speeds vary, I try to make these photos to resemble what I actually see as much as I could, but there's only so much that a layman photographer can do..
















1


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## NICSAK (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I think the tint you describe is fairly characteristic of most xhp high cri leds from my experience. Unfortunately it seems that they all have a greenish tint to them.


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## TCY (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



NICSAK said:


> I think the tint you describe is fairly characteristic of most xhp high cri leds from my experience. Unfortunately it seems that they all have a greenish tint to them.



That's very disappointing to know, I thought we don't have to choose between tint+CRI and brightness anymore:mecry:


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## NICSAK (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I hear ya. I can't guarantee that but so far in my experience with them it's been the case. I hope I am wrong. Still congrats on the new ZL! How is it when outdoors?


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## oKtosiTe (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Huh. Six pogo pins at the tailcap... How many at the positive terminal?


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## TCY (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



oKtosiTe said:


> Huh. Six pogo pins at the tailcap... How many at the positive terminal?



6 as well.


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## TCY (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



NICSAK said:


> I hear ya. I can't guarantee that but so far in my experience with them it's been the case. I hope I am wrong. Still congrats on the new ZL! How is it when outdoors?



I'm going outside to take some beamshots in a couple hours time. Tint on turbo is much nicer than on rest of the levels but still has that hue.


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## markr6 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Dammit!! I expected the tint to me a non-issue...no lotto...Nichia-like. Oh well, I'll have to see mine in person to know for sure.


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## TCY (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



markr6 said:


> Dammit!! I expected the tint to me a non-issue...no lotto...Nichia-like. Oh well, I'll have to see mine in person to know for sure.



I thought the tint lottery is over:mecry:


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## markr6 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> I thought the tint lottery is over:mecry:



I was sure of it this time. Unless you are even pickier than me and overreacting 

Still no ship notification...


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## mico (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Mine's shipped, due Monday! (to UK)

Using DHL and it's
currently racing another ZL sent with EMS 3 days earlier, which is
currently racing another ZL send by free post a week earlier!


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## markr6 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I notice the nice anodizing. Looks like an old SC52w I once had...almost like a hammered spray paint texture.


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## tops2 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Forgot to say thanks for the picks and first impressions!

Man..it feels like the impressions I see for different XHP35/50/70 lights (that I'm interested in) may have a high chance for a greenish tint. Granted the others aren't high CRI, but may still have this problem.

If all the other Plus versions may have this tint lottery, I may just pass on this one and focus on another light cause I don't feel like playing tint lottery. Even though the Plus has a higher CRI rating than my H600Fd, its starting to feel like its redundant aside from the high turbo mode. I'm kinda curious what the H1 really looks like and how much further it can throw vs the existing "F" (flood) versions of the Zebralight headlamps. I'm also more curious between the Plus and the H600Fd at about the equivalent lumens levels. Both are high CRI (with Plus higher), both are frosted, and both are supposed to be 5000k. I'm expecting it to be about the same aside from color reproduction.


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## roger-roger (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> I thought the tint lottery is over:mecry:





Thanks for your report and the great pics.

It remains to be seen whether the less than optimal yellow-green tint you mention, should be labeled a ZL tint lottery or a Cree tint lottery. I'm thinking the latter as it was posted early in the Plus' announcement, ZL's reserve on whether or not a cherry-picking process was a viable alternative for product specification. 

The end results are the same of course, with buyers gaming their dollars in the pursuit of quality tint.


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## DMS1970 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Wow - same length as SC62, that's a lot of light in a small package. At 1500 lumen it isn't earth shattering, but definitely the most compact light compared to 26650 lights running XHP 50/70.

The finish does look like a much coarser sandblast under the anodize compared to most ZL.

I love the beam on my olight S2, this should put it to shame.

Regarding the tint, you are comparing to 219B, I would think it would look a little off. Compare it to a cool white Olight and see how green it looks...

On the beam shots, the SC62 and the M43 shadow on the carpet looks pinkish. The FD looks pretty white.


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## markr6 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Even some pretty bad lights I've had looked OK on high. I'm really interested to see what this thing looks like in medium modes, or lower H2 modes.


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## twistedraven (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I'm most interested to see how it compares to the H600FD sporting easywhite XML2s. It's no secret that Nichia lights are a little on the magenta side of things, so that probably makes other lights look greener than they should be, but I'm also willing to bet that even 95cri Cree LEDs don't have the deep red rendering ability of Nichia LEDs.


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## fnsooner (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Thanks a bunch TCY. It is much appreciated.

What is the CCT of the Meteor you are using in the Yogurt pics?


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## TCY (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I finished taking beamshots. Took me 2 hours. Although the Plus has this green+yellow tint, the higher levels look surprisingly good outside. H1 reminds me of mid-afternoon sunlight. I will need to find a good chunk of time to go thru the photos and label them, hopefully they will be available tomorrow.

I was told by ZL that the LEDs in the PLUS are not cherry picked. _"Currently we use our chromaticity measuring system on the H600Fd/Fc and SC5Fd/Fc only."

_@DMS1970, my carpet is grey with a hint of brown. I forgot to turn off auto WB when taking those photos lol.

It's past 3AM here in Sydney, gotta go get some sleep. Good night fellas:wave:


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## niktak11 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



fnsooner said:


> Thanks a bunch TCY. It is much appreciated.
> 
> What is the CCT of the Meteor you are using in the Yogurt pics?


Edit: Nvm


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## TCY (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



fnsooner said:


> Thanks a bunch TCY. It is much appreciated.
> 
> What is the CCT of the Meteor you are using in the Yogurt pics?



Noctigon claims the CCT to be 4885K.


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## twistedraven (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> I was told by ZL that the LEDs in the PLUS are not cherry picked. _"Currently we use our chromaticity measuring system on the H600Fd/Fc and SC5Fd/Fc only."
> _




Well that buries this light for me then, I wouldn't want to fall victim to LED tint lotteries. I imagine ZL isn't cherry-picking the LEDs on this light because it would drive the price up even higher.


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## recDNA (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> It's official, I'm the first guy to have this light in my possession on CPF.. maybe on planet Earth?[emoji317]
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks guys. You saved me some $. No interest in yellow or green tint. The point of 5000k for me was to get closer to blue than yellow. I doubt these yellow green led's are really 5000k which makes me wonder if they are really 93+ CRI


NICSAK said:


> I think the tint you describe is fairly characteristic of most xhp high cri leds from my experience. Unfortunately it seems that they all have a greenish tint to them.


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## markr6 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

That yogurt shot says a lot. LOL great idea! I hope to prove this wrong when I get mine...but unfortunately I'm 100% less excited to get it now. And $100 poorer 

Trying not to base it on one sample, but we're not off to a good start IMO.

CRI seems to be something you have to see in person to understand. Hopefully that's at least good and noticeable.


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## roger-roger (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> I finished taking beamshots. Took me 2 hours.Although the Plus has this green+yellow tint, the higher levels look surprisingly good outside. H1 reminds me of mid-afternoon sunlight. I will need to find a good chunk of time to go thru the photos and label them, hopefully they will be available tomorrow.
> 
> *I was told by ZL that the LEDs in the PLUS are not cherry picked. *_*"Currently we use our chromaticity measuring system on the H600Fd/Fc and SC5Fd/Fc only."*
> 
> ...





Too bad about the LED selection or non-selection, for such a light.


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## Connor (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> Unfortunately we are still playing with the ZL tint lottery here.. the unit I got has an unpleasant greenish/yellowish tint, but on turbo it is much more pleasant.



Oh man. :mecry:
I was/am really looking forward to this light, because high CRI and everything, but if there's *one *thing I don't want to see in *this *light it's the Cree-green/yellow tint. Meh. 
Waiting for a couple more reviews ..


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## markr6 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> I was told by ZL that the LEDs in the PLUS are not cherry picked. _"Currently we use our chromaticity measuring system on the H600Fd/Fc and SC5Fd/Fc only."_



For $20/hr, I volunteer to be their _"chromaticity measuring system". _GOOD TINT for everyone


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## tops2 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I kind of wonder once our eyes get used to the green, will we still see it or will our eyes adjust? I'm guessing we'll still see it..

Even though I love my H600Fd, at lower levels (less than 117 lumens indoors/255 lumens outdoors for me), it appears a little green sometimes. At the lower levels, I usually "see" slight green. Then I turn the light off then back on a few seconds later and its not as green. I think its my brain adjusting to the green or something, but once adjusted I love the tint. But then with my SC5w, I just love the tint across the board.


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## StorminMatt (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> I was told by ZL that the LEDs in the PLUS are not cherry picked. _"Currently we use our chromaticity measuring system on the H600Fd/Fc and SC5Fd/Fc only."_



I don't understand this. I mean, one of the big selling points of this light is high CRI. Why would cherry picking an emitter be considered more important for lower CRI lights? You would think that, if they are going to be picky about tint on ANY light they sell, it would be this one.


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## F89 (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



StorminMatt said:


> I don't understand this. I mean, one of the big selling points of this light is high CRI. Why would cherry picking an emitter be considered more important for lower CRI lights? You would think that, if they are going to be picky about tint on ANY light they sell, it would be this one.



Looks like this light is going to disappoint a lot of people, me being one of them.
I shouldn't be completely surprised though. I'm well aware that Cree is a long way behind Nichia in the tint and CRI area, I was however at least hoping for a predominantly white tint. We'll see.
I did just buy this light for the heck of it overall though, hopefully I don't mind it.


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## noboneshotdog (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

The pink yogurt looks ROTTEN!


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## StandardBattery (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Thanks for the pics. I like the looks of that anodizing, seems to be what they have been using on their latest runs, and I like that they are returning to the slightly darker color. Some of the very First Zebralights while smooth had that dark anodizing. I'm holding out hope I will like the color of the beam. I will most likely end up being an outdoor light for me anyway, but I was hoping for a very neutral tint. My XHP70 light (G20) has a somewhat green/yellow bias in the hotspot, but also super nice outside of the hotspot. Outdoors it's certainly not an issue. a light filter may fix it up if I'm not really happy with it. This one is small enough that I also though it could maybe be an EDC, but I really want a nice high CRI with a neutral tint for that or I can live with the near perfect versatility of the SC62W.


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## StorminMatt (Sep 29, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



StandardBattery said:


> This one is small enough that I also though it could maybe be an EDC, but I really want a nice high CRI with a neutral tint for that or I can live with the near perfect versatility of the SC62W.



And this is what it REALLY all comes down to: Is this light going to be vastly better than other lights you already have. Unfortunately, at least based on this one person's experience, it looks like the answer may be NO.


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## akhyar (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Oh boy!
That comparison shots of the pink yogurt is the deal breaker for me.
As I love the tint of my 219B and 219C lights, I think I'll pass if other users also have similar finding


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## TCY (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Beamshots updated.

In hindsight I think these photos doesn't do the Plus justice. It's a bit brighter to the eye than in the beamshots.

It's such a shame that ZL has decided not to cherry pick the LEDs, I would pay a fortune to get a cherry picked version.:mecry:


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## TCY (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

BTW IE doesn't show half of the photos but Chrome does it fine.


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## Aggressor (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I wouldn't rely on those yogurt pictures, unless OP can confirm the colors we see in the pictures is what he saw when the pictures were taken. It is not easy to take color accurate pictures (make picture show the same colors our eyes see), especially under irregular light sources like LEDs.


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## TCY (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



Aggressor said:


> I wouldn't rely on those yogurt pictures, unless OP can confirm the colors we see in the pictures is what he saw when the pictures were taken. It is not easy to take color accurate pictures (make picture show the same colors our eyes see), especially under irregular light sources like LEDs.



The yogurt pics are representative of what I saw, that's why I uploaded them in the first place. Camera WB was set to daylight.


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## JKolmo (Sep 30, 2016)

Hey, I think the outdoor shots look really good! Good for me as I intend to use the Fd+ mainly outdoors. I have other cherry picked Nichia equipped lights for indoor purposes[emoji3]


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## StandardBattery (Sep 30, 2016)

JKolmo said:


> Hey, I think the outdoor shots look really good! Good for me as I intend to use the Fd+ mainly outdoors. I have other cherry picked Nichia equipped lights for indoor purposes[emoji3]


Yup the outdoor shots look near perfect; better than the Nichia in the Meteor.


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## Rawk (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



Aggressor said:


> It is not easy to take color accurate pictures


Also, people have different color settings on their display !

Thank you very much for all the pictures - sadly I can see a greenish tint from the SC600Fd in almost every picture, what a shame ! :shakehead


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## cmd (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Thank you so much for the pictures!

The build quality looks like one of the best from ZL, so excellent.

The yogurt shots are concerning, but the outdoor pictures look like exactly what I'm looking for in this light.

With just the yogurt pictures I was feeling troubled, but now I'm back to being excitedly looking forward to receiving mine.

Cheers!


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## markr6 (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Those Nichia shots look PHENOMENAL! You just can't beat Nichia...I give up on thinking someone eventually will. So, I'm back to wanting a Zebralight with a 219B at 4500K.

Still no shipment of my Plus...


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## noboneshotdog (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



markr6 said:


> Those Nichia shots look PHENOMENAL! You just can't beat Nichia...I give up on thinking someone eventually will. So, I'm back to wanting a Zebralight with a 219B at 4500K.
> 
> Still no shipment of my Plus...





No US shipment here either. I'm thinking there's a good chance we will get our notifications today though.


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## markr6 (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



noboneshotdog said:


> No US shipment here either. I'm thinking there's a good chance we will get our notifications today though.



Always seems to be action on Fridays with ZL. Fingers crossed!


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## twistedraven (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

The Nichia looks a little too pink/warm for me for those dirt and tree-bark shots. Then again it is 4000k as well, so it's not what natural Sunlight looks like during most parts of the day. The Plus looks pretty good for outdoor shots.


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## markr6 (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



twistedraven said:


> The Nichia looks a little too pink/warm for me for those dirt and tree-bark shots. Then again it is 4000k as well, so it's not what natural Sunlight looks like during most parts of the day. The Plus looks pretty good for outdoor shots.



I often think that, but only when comparing with others. When I use my MD2 with 4000K 219B alone, it's a very accurate representation of whatever I'm lighting up.


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## twistedraven (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Yes, our eyes do white-balance very fast to light when it's only that one source of light.


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## mico (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Mine has just got as far as Germany with DHL, but my EMS order with a three day head start has just got ahead and made it to the UK! I expect both will be on my desk Monday morning. Batteries ready.

My free post order is.... somewhere.


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## TCY (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

From ZL:

_From what we have measured, light from Cree high CRI LEDs in general stays closer to the black body radiation line, compared to Nichia LEDs (one of several reasons that we are not using any Nichia LEDs in our lights). Most Nichia LEDs that we could manage to source tend to have a pinkish tint. While we do understand that some of our customers don't mind a pinkish tint, but my boss, George, would rather stick to something that can be measured and quantifiable. Closer to the black body radiation line is the ultimate goal for all of our lights.
We actually measured all LEDs that we put inside the first batch SC600Fd III Plus. They are not perfect, but not bad at all compared to all previous generation Cree LEDs. To this day, we haven't found any takers for the 'leftover' if we were to do cherry picking during the SC600Fd Plus production. The end result is that the tint from the SC600Fd Plus will vary slightly more compared to H600Fd/Fc headlamps, but still way better than what you can get from say SC63, H600 Mk III, etc.

_Looks like the rest of us early adopters are going to get more consistent tint for their Plus. Maybe I'm just the ultra unlucky guy.:mecry:


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## markr6 (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



twistedraven said:


> Yes, our eyes do white-balance very fast to light when it's only that one source of light.



So does my face when I cringe if it's a bad tint :green:


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## JStraus (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

The outdoor beamshots look pretty good to me—color and pattern.

I'm excited to get my shipment notification, new light, and see for myself!

Big thanks to u/TCY for taking the time to post! (As though the first one with the light could hold out on all of us...) :shakehead


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## Fireclaw18 (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



markr6 said:


> Dammit!! I expected the tint to me a non-issue...no lotto...Nichia-like. Oh well, I'll have to see mine in person to know for sure.



Maybe it's because they chose 5000K.

The Manker E14 with high-CRI 5000K Nichia 219b also received a lot of complaints for its slightly greenish tint. I think perhaps high-CRI 5000K just looks greenish.

When we think "high CRI" most of us think of the 4500K Nichia 219B which looks rosy instead of green.


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## twistedraven (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Green or Magenta tint shifts can happen regardless of CCT. The CCT is (gross overgeneralization) the balance of red to blue.


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## DMS1970 (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Id take 6500k and 1800 lumens....


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## noboneshotdog (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Do all SC600 MKIII lights have six pogo pins, or is the PLUS the first to have 6?


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## noboneshotdog (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



noboneshotdog said:


> Do all SC600 MKIII lights have six pogo pins, or is the PLUS the first to have 6?




Just checked out Selfbuilts review of the MKIII. Looks like there are 4 at the tailcap and 3 in the battery tube. There are 6 and 6 on this light. Hopefully this will help with some of the battery denting some have experienced as well as high current draw.


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## lampeDépêche (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



cmd said:


> The yogurt shots are concerning, but the outdoor pictures look like exactly what I'm looking for in this light.
> 
> With just the yogurt pictures I was feeling troubled, but now I'm back to being excitedly looking forward to receiving mine.



That sums up my reaction to a T. 

About pogo pins--my SC600 Mk III HI has four pogo-pins in the cap, and three pogo-pins in the head, i.e. on the positive terminal.

I assume 6 on the PLUS because of even greater current draw to support 1500 lumens instead of 1100.


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## samgab (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



noboneshotdog said:


> Do all SC600 MKIII lights have six pogo pins, or is the PLUS the first to have 6?





noboneshotdog said:


> Just checked out Selfbuilts review of the MKIII. Looks like there are 4 at the tailcap and 3 in the battery tube. There are 6 and 6 on this light. Hopefully this will help with some of the battery denting some have experienced as well as high current draw.





lampeDépêche said:


> That sums up my reaction to a T.
> 
> About pogo pins--my SC600 Mk III HI has four pogo-pins in the cap, and three pogo-pins in the head, i.e. on the positive terminal.
> 
> I assume 6 on the PLUS because of even greater current draw to support 1500 lumens instead of 1100.



It's weird. My new little SC5Fd has 7 pogo pins in the cap; 6 in a ring like the SC600Fd Mk III Plus, plus 1 in the centre.


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## Flashlight Junkie (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Looks like mine shipped 2 or 3 days ago. I'll just wait and see what I get. Does ZL offer money back guarantee?

TCY, how long does it stay on turbo? Can you see the drop? Thanks for taking those shots for us. FWIW, I think you did okay for an amateur photographer. LOL. Gotta pick up a couple LG HE2s tomorrow so I have something to feed this thing.

Why can't ZL make a 26650 light with 4 Nichia 219b LEDs and call it a day?


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## TCY (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



Flashlight Junkie said:


> Looks like mine shipped 2 or 3 days ago. I'll just wait and see what I get. Does ZL offer money back guarantee?
> 
> TCY, how long does it stay on turbo? Can you see the drop? Thanks for taking those shots for us. FWIW, I think you did okay for an amateur photographer. LOL. Gotta pick up a couple LG HE2s tomorrow so I have something to feed this thing.
> 
> Why can't ZL make a 26650 light with 4 Nichia 219b LEDs and call it a day?



Basically ZL can get you a replacement or refund for no reason at all, even if the light is perfect and you just feel like returning it. I think there is a 30-day time limit though, but I'm not sure.

For a light this size it can't stay on turbo for too long, I've noticed one small drop from 1500lm to maybe 1000lm when I was taking the beam shots but that's about it. Unless turbo is being used for a prolonged period of time say 3 minutes, you shouldn't see an abrupt dropdown in output.

ZL is not going to use Nichia LEDs as "_From what we have measured, light from Cree high CRI LEDs in general stays closer to the black body radiation line, compared to Nichia LEDs (one of several reasons that we are not using any Nichia LEDs in our lights). Most Nichia LEDs that we could manage to source tend to have a pinkish tint. While we do understand that some of our customers don't mind a pinkish tint, but my boss, George, would rather stick to something that can be measured and quantifiable. Closer to the black body radiation line is the ultimate goal for all of our lights._"


----------



## F89 (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> Basically ZL can get you a replacement or refund for no reason at all, even if the light is perfect and you just feel like returning it. I think there is a 30-day time limit though, but I'm not sure.
> 
> For a light this size it can't stay on turbo for too long, I've noticed one small drop from 1500lm to maybe 1000lm when I was taking the beam shots but that's about it. Unless turbo is being used for a prolonged period of time say 3 minutes, you shouldn't see an abrupt dropdown in output.
> 
> ...



Ever since George turned on his murder of crows and started hanging out in his attic with Otto Mann he's had some crazy ideas. That stuff was meant to be helping his eyes, no wonder he's been so happy with the green tints.


----------



## AB8XL (Sep 30, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I don't think they even evaluated the new Nichia NV4W144AR/AM LED, I'd personally choose Nichia over CREE, CREE only cares about brightness were as Nichia cares about color quality.


----------



## carl (Oct 1, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

A big thank you for the beamshots.
ZL said it was going to be a floody beam but its too floody for me. I've never seen such a floody beam profile before - almost a ball-shaped beam.


----------



## carl (Oct 1, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

A big thank you for the beamshots.
ZL said it was going to be a floody beam but its too floody for me. I've never seen such a floody beam profile before - almost a ball-shaped beam.


----------



## oKtosiTe (Oct 1, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



carl said:


> A big thank you for the beamshots.
> ZL said it was going to be a floody beam but its too floody for me. I've never seen such a floody beam profile before - almost a ball-shaped beam.





carl said:


> A big thank you for the beamshots.
> ZL said it was going to be a floody beam but its too floody for me. I've never seen such a floody beam profile before - almost a ball-shaped beam.



You can say that again!


----------



## TCY (Oct 1, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



yoyobrotha said:


> I don't think they even evaluated the new Nichia NV4W144AR/AM LED, just from my experience in the auto industry, I'd personally choose Nichia over CREE, CREE only cares about brightness were as Nichia cares about color quality.



From ZL: "_We started to use 'w' for all of our (warmer tint) neutral white lights about 7 years ago and reserved the 'n' for Nichia LEDs but somehow never found any Nichia LEDs that are bright enough for any of our single LED lights. Sourcing production quantity Nichia LEDs is another PITA process. That said, we are keeping an eye on all of their product offerings all the time, including their recent high power ones. "Single LED" is important to us because we put all components (LED, switch, driver electronics, etc.) into a single PCB to make sure that the temperature sensor for the PID thermal regulation works properly and potting can be done effectively._"

Seems like they have taken a look at the new Nichia LED.


----------



## TCY (Oct 1, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



carl said:


> A big thank you for the beamshots.
> ZL said it was going to be a floody beam but its too floody for me. I've never seen such a floody beam profile before - almost a ball-shaped beam.



For people who are used to the traditional reflector + clear lens beam pattern this light does have a very floody beam profile. From what I see the spill beam go as wide as almost 180 degrees, but majority of the light are focused in the 90 degree region.


----------



## DMS1970 (Oct 1, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I'm hoping this light is good competition for my Armytek v3 that is probably around 1800 real otf lumens in cool white. Love the brightness and the floodiness. Hate the UI though compared to my ZLs. If anyone has both, I'd love to see beam shot comparison.


----------



## dubliftment (Oct 1, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Whatever floody beam profile, the outdoor color rendering is awesome, I think, at least judging from the pics. It seems at least on par with the Astrolux 41 219b, and this the best high CRI flashlight I have seen so far. By the way, the Astrolux also seems - SEEMS - to have a very slight greenish hue. But after a second my mind acknowledges this as pure sunlight in the forest (i.e. falling through trees.) The next thing that is so amazing about the S41 is that it is so floody without any sharp edges in the beam profile or even a clear frontier between light and no light. The ZL seems to behave equally.

Only thing: the S41 can't handle its own high and turbo modes, it is simply too much heat (it burns the skin and fries the driver, therefore I ordered a different driver that puts out 4A max, but this is another strory). I think the SC600Fd III will behave better in this respect.


----------



## StorminMatt (Oct 1, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



dubliftment said:


> Whatever floody beam profile, the outdoor color rendering is awesome, I think, at least judging from the pics. It seems at least on par with the Astrolux 41 219b, and this the best high CRI flashlight I have seen so far. By the way, the Astrolux also seems - SEEMS - to have a very slight greenish hue. But after a second my mind acknowledges this as pure sunlight in the forest (i.e. falling through trees.) The next thing that is so amazing about the S41 is that it is so floody without any sharp edges in the beam profile or even a clear frontier between light and no light. The ZL seems to behave equally.
> 
> Only thing: the S41 can't handle its own high and turbo modes, it is simply too much heat (it burns the skin and fries the driver, therefore I ordered a different driver that puts out 4A max, but this is another strory). I think the SC600Fd III will behave better in this respect.



Since I tend to use my lights more for walking/hiking than anything else, floody is better. And I really DO like the beam pattern of the S41. Specifically, I like the way that it casts such a wide spill while using brute lumens to have at least SOME throw to it. This allows me to see my feet and where I step while still being able to see ahead (unlike throwier lights, which force you to choose). It's the tint that I'm more concerned about with the SC600Fd. If it's not going tombe as good as (or better than) the S41, then it becomes hard to justify spending a whole $100 on a light. Even if that light may be LOTS better in other ways than the S41 (ie build quality, efficiency, etc).


----------



## jon_slider (Oct 2, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> ZL is not going to use Nichia LEDs as "_From what we have measured, light from Cree high CRI LEDs in general stays closer to the black body radiation line, compared to Nichia LEDs (one of several reasons that we are not using any Nichia LEDs in our lights). Most Nichia LEDs that we could manage to source tend to have a pinkish tint. While we do understand that some of our customers don't mind a pinkish tint, but my boss, George, would rather stick to something that can be measured and quantifiable. Closer to the black body radiation line is the ultimate goal for all of our lights._"



Tint IS measurable and quantifiable, and I will take pink over green every day of the week

a green tint is ABOVE the BBL, for example 3s tint bin in the following ANSI White chart
most people tend to prefer tint at or BELOW the BBL, for example 3d tint bin, which is why we love the Rosy Nichias






for those interested in High CRI in the 5000k CCT range, it seems the Jaxman is the light to beat:


maukka said:


>





TCY said:


> From ZL:
> 
> _To this day, we haven't found any takers for the 'leftover' if we were to do cherry picking during the SC600Fd Plus production. The end result is that the tint from the SC600Fd Plus will vary slightly more compared to H600Fd/Fc headlamps_



as you can see, cherry picking is not really an option. Although reading between the lines, it sounds like the headlamps get cherry picked LEDs and the leftovers go into the "Plus production".


----------



## twistedraven (Oct 2, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

The headlamps use use XML2 easywhite, while the plus uses the xhp50 hi cri. cherry picking the xml2 easywhite costs less on Zebralight's behalf than cherrypicking the more expensive xhp50s.

I do agree that the Jaxman E2 with the SW57 tinted 219BV1 is the light to beat for high cri in the 5000k range.


----------



## TCY (Oct 3, 2016)

*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.



twistedraven said:


> The headlamps use use XML2 easywhite, while the plus uses the xhp50 hi cri. cherry picking the xml2 easywhite costs less on Zebralight's behalf than cherrypicking the more expensive xhp50s.
> 
> I do agree that the Jaxman E2 with the SW57 tinted 219BV1 is the light to beat for high cri in the 5000k range.



+1


----------



## mico (Oct 3, 2016)

*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.

Lovely colour rendition, white beam, no green (ironically, it did look a little pink in the stairwell).
I hope I like it enough that I won't have a problem when(?) they bring out a 'c' version...

No way it's going to throw as far as a SC600 iii, I wonder if it will match the H600Fc. Probably.
Warms up steadily on H1, not too fast. M1 may not be as bright as I'd like.

Very happy so far.


----------



## TCY (Oct 3, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



mico said:


> 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?
> 
> ...



Congrats! No green and yellow hue :thumbsup:


----------



## dubliftment (Oct 3, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

TCY + mico, how do you like the mode spacing on your SC600Fd? It is the first ZL with 100L on med. Also the very low moonlight modes have gone... I will miss them or rather keep my SC 600w II for these (the tint doesn't matter for me in moonlight modes.) Also I think the SC600/w MKII are the most efficient ZL lights ever. Mine keeps the 330Lm mode for 4,5 Hours with a Samsung Q30 before stepping down. The specs state 3,9 hours. I am afraid the SC600Fd III is less efficient because of the 12V upcycling.


----------



## dubliftment (Oct 3, 2016)

Also I wonder if ZL is using PWM again, since the specs don't say "all levels are current regulated". But on the other hand the specs don't mention the 3000+ internal PID brightness levels that are on the spreadsheet.

Finally I wonder if and when ZL is going to release the code for complete programming brightness of all levels just as they released the programmable PID feature 3 years after implementation.


----------



## TCY (Oct 3, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



dubliftment said:


> TCY + mico, how do you like the mode spacing on your SC600Fd? It is the first ZL with 100L on med. Also the very low moonlight modes have gone... I will miss them or rather keep my SC 600w II for these (the tint doesn't matter for me in moonlight modes.) Also I think the SC600/w MKII are the most efficient ZL lights ever. Mine keeps the 330Lm mode for 4,5 Hours with a Samsung Q30 before stepping down. The specs state 3,9 hours. I am afraid the SC600Fd III is less efficient because of the 12V upcycling.



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


----------



## AB8XL (Oct 3, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> From ZL: "_We started to use 'w' for all of our (warmer tint) neutral white lights about 7 years ago and reserved the 'n' for Nichia LEDs but somehow never found any Nichia LEDs that are bright enough for any of our single LED lights. Sourcing production quantity Nichia LEDs is another PITA process. That said, we are keeping an eye on all of their product offerings all the time, including their recent high power ones. "Single LED" is important to us because we put all components (LED, switch, driver electronics, etc.) into a single PCB to make sure that the temperature sensor for the PID thermal regulation works properly and potting can be done effectively._"
> 
> Seems like they have taken a look at the new Nichia LED.




Their reply doesn't convince me. Bright enough and sourcing is just BS, sounds like laziness to me. Nichia's current offerings are brighter and more efficient than CREE's and are offered in a single die package just as the CREE LED's.


----------



## jon_slider (Oct 3, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> 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._
> _..._
> ...



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.



TCY said:


> 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 (Oct 3, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> 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 (Oct 3, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



jon_slider said:


> 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 (Oct 3, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> 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 (Oct 3, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



mico said:


> 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?
> 
> ...



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 (Oct 4, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



jon_slider said:


> 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 (Oct 4, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



lampeDépêche said:


> 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 (Oct 4, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



markr6 said:


> 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 (Oct 4, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



evgeniy said:


> 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)






yoyobrotha said:


> 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 (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



Mr. Tone said:


> 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 (Oct 5, 2016)

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


----------



## StandardBattery (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



Equitymind said:


> 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 (Oct 5, 2016)

*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 (Oct 5, 2016)

*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 (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



ormandj said:


> 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.
> 
> ...



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 (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



ormandj said:


> 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 ([email protected]), make a beamshot picture.


----------



## markr6 (Oct 6, 2016)

*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 (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

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


----------



## markr6 (Oct 6, 2016)

*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 (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

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


----------



## markr6 (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


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



I know, but man is this thing FLOODY! That's what I expected, and that's what I was afraid of. Had to try it though. I'm usually an indecisive person, but I'm not keeping this one.


----------



## TCY (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



markr6 said:


> I know, but man is this thing FLOODY! That's what I expected, and that's what I was afraid of. Had to try it though. I'm usually an indecisive person, but I'm not keeping this one.



TBH this thing is floodier than I thought, and lacking that 1500lm punch I was expecting. Not saying it's bad though, just a bit too floody for my taste. I thought about getting a HI replacement but just couldn't turn down the high CRI. Maybe ZL has an upgraded HI waiting for us next year:thumbsup:


----------



## Lumencrazy (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



TCY said:


> TBH this thing is floodier than I thought, and lacking that 1500lm punch I was expecting. Not saying it's bad though, just a bit too floody for my taste. I thought about getting a HI replacement but just couldn't turn down the high CRI. Maybe ZL has an upgraded HI waiting for us next year:thumbsup:



The perfect light for backwoods camping. Tired of staring at hot spots. I can finally see the world around me; illuminated by a nice uniform diffuse beam, greens are green and browns are brown. And all these years I though everything turned an ugly faded bleached blue at night. Perfect inside a tent!!!!!


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## markr6 (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



Lumencrazy said:


> The perfect light for backwoods camping. Tired of staring at hot spots. I can finally see the world around me; illuminated by a nice uniform diffuse beam, greens are green and browns are brown. And all these years I though everything turned an ugly faded bleached blue at night. Perfect inside a tent!!!!!



That's what I was hoping for, but it's excessive for me after seeing it in person. My H600w with diffuser tape still won't be replaced.

As a general torch, I think I would still prefer the standard SC600w III for a balance of flood/throw, at the cost of the tint. Yes, I just said that!


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## lampeDépêche (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I have owned a lot of ZLs over the years, and still own about 4 headlamps (5?). I also owned a couple of SC52s, and loved them (but gave them to brothers).

I finally decided to try out the SC600 line, and it looks like I did it at the perfect time: it was after the release of the SC600 III HI, and before the release of the PLUS, so I got a HI. 

I'm very happy with it! And now I'm happy that I did not wait for the PLUS.

I know a lot of people are going to love the PLUS. 

But given my EDC set-up and my uses, I do need more throw. So it's the HI for me.

Thanks, markr6 and others, for taking the plunge and reporting back.


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## dubliftment (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



Lumencrazy said:


> The perfect light for backwoods camping. Tired of staring at hot spots. I can finally see the world around me; illuminated by a nice uniform diffuse beam, greens are green and browns are brown. And all these years I though everything turned an ugly faded bleached blue at night. Perfect inside a tent!!!!!



Same reason here why I am looking forward to this light. I am about to change my flashlight setup to pocketable High CRI flooders like the Astrolux s41 (with a different driver that has heat controlled step down), Zebralight H600Fc, SC600Fd, DQG Tiny 18650 and a costum light from mountain electronics with triple XP-G2 S3 3D and TIR optics. And a Jaxman E2. Only thrower I keep is a BLF Kronos X6/ Astrolux S2 which is a thrower if you need one. I had the SC600w HI and sold it. Neither floody nor throwy.


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## tops2 (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Edit: Removed my question about throw on this light. Didn't notice it was answered in the other SC600Fd MKIII Plus thread. Its becoming confusing again to follow 2 threads for one light...


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## markr6 (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



tops2 said:


> Its becoming confusing again to follow 2 threads for one light...



Classic Zebralight talk  I think the SC600 HI has about 132 threads.


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## snowlover91 (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

I'm definitely keeping mine, the tint is excellent on my sample. A clean, nice white with a hint of gold in it. I like the flood too, sometimes I prefer a high CRI flood for indoors, up close applications or when walking outdoors. This light will be perfect for all those things I'll use it for!


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## StandardBattery (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



snowlover91 said:


> I'm definitely keeping mine, the tint is excellent on my sample. A clean, nice white with a hint of gold in it. I like the flood too, sometimes I prefer a high CRI flood for indoors, up close applications or when walking outdoors. This light will be perfect for all those things I'll use it for!


Me too! I thought the high might have more oomph, but I'm OK with the way it is with this much flood you're just burning extra fuel and not getting much for it when you run high. It's pretty nice in an enclosed space though when you need it. I'm very happy with the quality of the light for EDC tasks and outdoor walks. No more light tunnels. My SC62w is still clipped to my pocket, but I'm pretty sure I will be changing. I'm sad to see it go, and I have a couple backups also, so it might take me a little while to mentally prepare  There is still a small question about the increased size, but it's very small as I've been testing pocket carry of the 600 series starting with the MkIII HI and I think generally for me it will be fine 98-99% of the time. With the right headband this light would make a very good headlamp as well.


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## ormandj (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*

Ok,

I think mine does _not_ have much of a tint to it based on these photos, but opinions are welcome. To my eyes, the items with the ZL illumination most closely match what I'd see if I was outside on an average day. The paper is generic white printer paper. Images are representative of real life (what I saw with my eyes) while viewing them on a color-corrected display. ISO/Exposure was adjusted, but WB/etc was locked. ZL was on M1, EagleTac was set down on the third brightest mode to roughly match the light intensity at the hotspot with the ZL overall. I couldn't grab a sunlight picture, as it's already dusk. The outdoor photo turned out almost blue, but that's how it looked in person. 

ZebraLight-SC600Fd_Mk_III_Plus_XHP50







EagleTac-G25C2_MKII_XM-L2_NEUTRAL:






outdoors-shade:


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## sam7 (Oct 6, 2016)

Based on some of these initial impressions, I'm still wondering if Zebralight is _really_ delivering a 93-95CRI light at the stated output. 

Cree sells bins of XHP50s that are 5000K.... and ones that are 90+CRI... and ones that are >1000 lumens... but I don't see any bins on their website that can do ALL THREE specs at the same time. Maybe I don't get how it works, though: http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/C...d-Modules/XLamp/Data-and-Binning/ds-XHP50.pdf


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## twistedraven (Oct 6, 2016)

I've no doubt that they're 93-95 cri leds, it's just that many people mistaken high cri for warmer cct or high deep red rendering, and doesn't give the whole story of an led's actual color accuracy.

The leds in this light can probably inch down to 90 cri, just like many 219bs can inch down to 88 cri.


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## eraursls1984 (Oct 6, 2016)

TCY said:


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





sam7 said:


> Based on some of these initial impressions, I'm still wondering if Zebralight is _really_ delivering a 93-95CRI light at the stated output.
> 
> Cree sells bins of XHP50s that are 5000K.... and ones that are 90+CRI... and ones that are >1000 lumens... but I don't see any bins on their website that can do ALL THREE specs at the same time. Maybe I don't get how it works, though: http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/C...d-Modules/XLamp/Data-and-Binning/ds-XHP50.pdf


That's at 1400 mA I believe. Zebralight can push them much harder.


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## samgab (Oct 6, 2016)

sam7 said:


> Based on some of these initial impressions, I'm still wondering if Zebralight is _really_ delivering a 93-95CRI light at the stated output.
> 
> Cree sells bins of XHP50s that are 5000K.... and ones that are 90+CRI... and ones that are >1000 lumens... but I don't see any bins on their website that can do ALL THREE specs at the same time. Maybe I don't get how it works, though: http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/C...d-Modules/XLamp/Data-and-Binning/ds-XHP50.pdf



You've already expressed your skepticism before, and it's already been answered before. The luminous flux outputs stated in the datasheet are a reference at a set current, just for a comparison between different binned emitters at the same benchmark current. 
When you drive the led emitter at a higher current, MORE LUMENS come out the front! (Who'd'a thunk it!)
So the stated test conditions for the results in the datasheet are:
"Binning condition: TJ = 85 °C; 12 V, IF = 700 mA
Reference condition: TJ = 85 °C; 6 V, IF = 1400 mA"

So the reference output is when the emitter is run at 1.4A.
But you can run the emitter at 3A or even higher, if your cooling is good enough. And the output increases accordingly.
See page 13 of the datasheet you linked to, and look at the charts. You see that you'd be getting about 190% of the rated output if you are running the emitter at 3A rather than 1.4A.
So there is no reason to impugn the validity of the claims made by Zebralight. Their track record is pretty solid.

See this chart, and have a play around yourself with the Cree Product Characterization Tool: http://pct.cree.com/dt/index.html


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## lyyyghtey (Oct 10, 2016)

[I'm still interested in this light, but would like to know how the beam angle compares to the S41/E14?

I'm also interested in how CREE achieves the high-CRI. I agree, hi-CRI tends to evoke thoughts of increased deep red, and that's how I usually think about it and explain it to others. It's really an oversimplification, but has been fairly accurate thus far, at least for phosphor converted white LEDs with blue pump. Has Cree increased the CRI in other ways? Filled in more of the cyan trough than usual? Made the green somewhat more the shape of the black body response at that color temp than usual? Somehow widened and smooshed down the blue band? I would find it difficult to believe they could come close to these efficacies with a violet pump, and violet tech doesn't really seem to be necessary for 93-95 CRI from what I've seen.:thinking:


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## staticx57 (Oct 10, 2016)

twistedraven said:


> I've no doubt that they're 93-95 cri leds, it's just that many people mistaken high cri for warmer cct or high deep red rendering, and doesn't give the whole story of an led's actual color accuracy.
> 
> The leds in this light can probably inch down to 90 cri, just like many 219bs can inch down to 88 cri.



This is true. The highest CRI light we have is in the 5500k range


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## neil944 (Oct 10, 2016)

Well guys, I'm dissapointed, but I'm going to be returning mine to ZL.

I got it on Friday and immediately compared it to my S41 with Nichias. Almost identical lights, with the S41 having a slight advantage in throw. I thought the tint was decent, a little golden. But.....I was running exclusively on turbo.
Fast-forward to yesterday when I had time to sit down and compare it to the S41 and my H600Fd. Big differences when on H2 and lower. The green tint really made itself known. There was no comparison when putting it up against the H600Fd.
That headlamp puts out WHITE light on all levels. The S600 Plus was white really only on turbo. Everything else was a greenish gold color. It's a shame too b/c I really wanted a replacement for the S41. I like the light output of it, but do not like the tail clicky combined with heavy front end. Was hoping for an equivalent light with ZL's superior UI. Maybe next time....

With the one-two punch of the H600Fd and the S600 Hi, there is not much else a person can't handle within the ZL lineup. Sure, I have a couple of CR123 lights from them for specialty, lightweight applications. But the first two 18650 lights mentioned can handle 99.9% of my situations. 

It was fun to give the Plus a try though, just wasn't enough of an improvement to justify the $100 imo.


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## snowlover91 (Oct 10, 2016)

Sorry to hear about your disappointing experience Neil  Mine actually stays white throughout low to turbo mode and is quite pleasant. It's now my go to light for accurate color rendering or when I need a floody beam. Looks like the tint lottery is in play here with one.


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## dubliftment (Oct 11, 2016)

neil944 said:


> I really wanted a replacement for the S41. I like the light output of it, but do not like the tail clicky combined with heavy front end. Was hoping for an equivalent light with ZL's superior UI. Maybe next time....


 For me it is the exact same reason to give the Fd Plus a chance. The S41 is too heavy for EDC because this means for me, an EDC light sometimes needs to be stuck under a basecap as makeshift headlight. The ZL SC52, 62 and SC600 III line is able to do that for me, the S41 is too heavy and mode switching on the tail is not possible in this case. I use the S41 with 18350 as EDC now (but the runtimes are not good) and with 18650 as a bike light, there the tail clicky is OK. If the SC600Fd Plus meets color redition and tint of the S41 it will be a keeper for me. ZL lights have been with me for 8 years and I hope they will take the High CRI step as well. So far the H600Fc and SC62c made it for me - both have equally outstanding tint and color rendition. I have given away my SC52 and H600 II for bad tints and a SC600Fd III Plus on order.


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## recDNA (Oct 21, 2016)

*Re: Zebralight SC600Fd Mk III Plus first impression*



NICSAK said:


> I think the tint you describe is fairly characteristic of most xhp high cri leds from my experience. Unfortunately it seems that they all have a greenish tint to them.


The 62w looks great!


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