Zebralight SC5c mk II 4000k ugly green tint

I recently returned an SC64c because the overall tint from the high CRI XP-L2 was a particularly vile shade of yellow, with a nice rainbow from the centre to the spill.

Take a look at this post

and you will see that Zebras have very low R9, hence lacking red, their yellow and green dominates

Old thread again, but I have to offer up some defense of the SC5c II. You guys are brutal and uncompromising (except for The_Driver, thanks for seeing more than the light). It isn’t like Zebralight is just out to annoy you. And hello Jonathan! \o/

I only just got mine about 2 months ago, haven’t put it down. Also picked up SC53c, and I love the lower mode brightnesses; rather than redundant, I find it very complimentary to SC5c II. The only thing I cannot tolerate is the new, thin, blade-like clip… so I have arranged for thicker aftermarket deep-carry clips. I like the SC5c II so much, I have already bought another and gifted it, and I got two more that will be soon gifted. My non-enlightened friends and girlfriend need to experience owning this premium flashight.

I had a SC5w OP, and I had to give it away because the not-strictly-PWM pulse scheme was giving me migraines, but I use flashlights I think in an odd way, as a room lamp for hours on end. I doubt it would have bothered me if I used a flashlight like I think most do, short periods of pointing the light away from you rather than bouncing off the ceiling.

With the newer SC5c II and SC53c, though I can sometimes notice the pulse scheme when I am walking around outside and catch certain kinds of flying insects in the beam, it does not bother me, no migraine, and I am very anti-PWM, very sensitive to it. So Zebralight changed something, the frequencies I imagine, and now it is not incompatible with my eyes and my brain.

Compared to the only two Nichia 2019b lights I currently have, both 4500K I believe, SC5c II 4000K does appear to have a slight pea-green cast. The effect is more pronounced compared to the 80CRI SC62c that I have, which when compared to the 219b lights has it’s own cast, just ever so slightly yellow. Due to eyes and brain rapidly adjusting white balance, these casts are not noticeable when simply using the light by itself. and I do not care what anyone says, you can’t see it unless you’re wall hunting with the superior R9 Nichia lights. I never wall hunt unless to confirm what the Tint Mafia is selling. Everyone reading this has human eyes and human brains, and human eyes and human brains will very rapidly adjust white balance, so in isolation, these hideous intolerable insulting slight color casts are invisible. All I see is a lovely warmer temperature than I am used to with my Nichia lights.

And what you get is amazing, sooo much runtime on single AA, and so much brightness for single AA, and these incredible sub lumen modes, and a new programmable highly customizable interface. And current regulation for constant brightness! Since I acquired the SC62c years ago, I have said (and I firmly stand by the assessment) that Zebralight has the most advanced and most reliable mass produced flashlights currently in production, and this for years. No other manufacturer yet compares. Prove me wrong by showing me a production flashlight out of the box with a better high CRI emitter (say sw45), current regulation, fully programmable interface, with very low sublumen modes, a near 500Lm high on an AA Eneloop that squeezes out as much runtime, and maybe not built like a tank, but let’s say like an armored car. I’ll buy it.

I don’t understand the tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you’re someone that is only finding what you want by customizing, then customize the SC5w II to your favorite emitter, swap the clip, and be done (not the SC5c, please… just leave it be and gift it). Don’t just walk away disgusted based on one single data point. There are a lot of excellent compelling features to Zebralight beyond the emitter you hate, and I dare you to match them (if there is such a competing flashlight feature for feature at Zebralight’s price point, I want to know about it).

XP-L2 has awful tint in general. The blame may be on Zebralight for choosing that emitter (although I’m sure they had their reasons, considering other great choices they’ve made) but it’s on Cree for the awful bins and tint shift present in it that said I don’t think it was ever intended for single emitter flashlights that don’t smooth the beam or any fixture where light quality is paramount.

Few emitters I’ve encountered really have “good tint” and either high CRI or good efficiency all three is basically unheard of. Minus green filters are the solution to choosing neutral/rosy tint vs literally every other feature in a light.

I think The_Driver gives a pretty good explanation for Zebralight’s choice, and an incredibly simple solution to tint complaints

So add a Lee minus-green filter to adjust the tint to your preference.

You’re no stranger to filters. But this light sucks, and so do all the others? You’re modding then. Yet the tint still overshadows all of Zebralights other features? What are you carrying? Is it possible to make you and other tint critics satisfied?

I just hope ZL uses the LH351D or something comparable in more of their lights next generation, it’s still superior in many ways with only a slight efficiency sacrifice.

I think I chose my words poorly - filters allow me to completely disregard whether the particular emitters on a light I’m interested in have good tint, whether I can reflow something else, etc. The biggest pro of that is being able to always pick CRI over tint, since the latter can be improved very easily.

The 10-15% hit in output is almost imperceptible as far as I can tell. I carry a 64 LE or a H600c most of the time.

Looking around for AA lights today. Only Lumintop AA Tool and Fenix E21 seem to have constant current, and besides McGizmo Haiku AA (also constant current) and Zebralight SC5c/w II & SC53c/w, I don’t see any that are current regulated.

Anyone know of any other current regulated single AA lights?

I've got this one, Skilhunt M150 V2

Just awesome!

Hey id30209, we chatted years ago on CPF about Eneloop. chillinn there. I was foolishly pushing some cell with a claim of higher capacity, and you held to your guns. I was wrong, you were right, of course. Recently came across that thread and cringed.
Love my Eneloops. :slight_smile:

So which is it, current regulated, constant current, or both?

“Constant current” is by definition “current regulated” unless you’re trying to describe something different.

Hey chilinn! :)

BurningPlyd0h is right.

This one like ZL has constant output the whole runtime so regulated veeery nice

I heard a rumor that some were being ambiguous with “constant current.”

Current regulated means the mode will keep its brightness constant.

Constant current means no PWM.

Zebralight, Thrunite, Skilhunt and some more names have almost flat runtime line so as PWM on osciloscope. Better google for reviews by Zeroair, Liquidretro and 1lumenreviews cause they have graphs with meassurements and stuff. Not only few pictures

I knew Zebralight wasn’t strictly constant current, but also not strictly PWM because it doesn’t dip to zero output, still, it pulses brighter and dimmer. I wasn’t aware any other lights also had a similar scheme. Whether it is a problem for me depends on the light and frequency, and it isn’t necessarily that faster frequencies are better, and I don’t care if I see it or not as long as it doesn’t cause problems for me.

I know what are you talking about but please look at the tests and graphs.

What you’re thinking of is output stabilization. The terms are used interchangeably here and probably on CPF too but are completely different. Every flashlight that has some sort of driver vs the LED/bulb/etc. being wired straight to the battery is “regulated”, and a CC driver operates on the principle of regulating the current that flows to the LED (with various ways of achieving that) and does NOT guarantee a stable output regardless of input voltage changing. Buck, boost and buck-boost drivers are the best (only?) at doing that, and there may be some CC designs that accomplish it as well… but I don’t understand how (maybe because buck drivers are still “CC” and accomplish it vs linear regulated CC drivers that don’t? i.e. Convoy’s new driver)

This is the last version from the 1lumen review. I call that regulated.


![](https://i.imgur.com/iPL2rQg.jpg)

Looks huge in the product images, but this shows how little it is.

Skilhunt uses a buck driver in many of their lights, don’t know why that wouldn’t be the case with the M150 when using li-ion cells. That graph shows a “stabilized” output.

“Regulation” simply means controlling the voltage, current or power in literally any way. The term has simply been used to describe all sorts of things rather than words that really describe them.

Mine looks yellow-orange’ish. Doesn’t matter, its warm and powerful.

Only thing is, the switch started acting strange. After some time unused, it kind of double clicks. Not really two registered clicks, but you can feel and hear a pre-click.

Not the only light doing this, a fitorch k3 lite develops this misbehavior too.

But if specifically referring to “current regulation,” the effect is going to be, as you say, a stabilized output, which is precisely the same as… constant brightness. There is meaning here, BurningPlayd0h. A constant current circuit does not necessarily regulate current, case in point, many Fenix drivers are lovely in that they’ll produce a constant current, a current that is constant without any PWM whatsoever. But these drivers do not hold their brightness constant, and the light will dim steadily as the voltage of the cell diminishes as the capacity is depleted, and this because these drivers are not current regulated. We can use these terms to mean these exact things because, in fact, that is what they mean. You seem to be trying to say these terms are vague and can mean many things, but I believe you are mistaken. They refer to very specific characteristics of certain drivers as they are related to the characteristics of the light that is produced. Constant current, CC, is a feature that, while there may be current ripple, there is not any implementation of PWM, while current regulation will always result in brightness that remains at a certain output without dimming, at least as long as the cell can maintain that current before stepping down and the brightness remaining constant at a lower light level.