I agree with you about that. But even my SC600 behaves the same way, and I would assume that the SC52 does as well. Maybe it isn’t easy to make a driver that with mode memory and cycle-point memory (or whatever you want to call it). Or maybe the bias toward the activation of the lowest mode is intentional.
Mine arrived today too. It came in perfect condition. For me, I love that the cycle always start on the lowest mode. Anyway, I prefer the warmer NW tint of my wizard pro to this spark NW.
Got my SF3 NW today and I couldn’t be more pleased. Super fast delivery, great price and it arrived in perfect condition. Everything is right on: good tint, fit and finish, centered emitter—everything. A few small glitches in the carbon fiber band is my only real gripe. The light itself appears to be superb. If only I wouldn’t have jumped ship on the SF5 to save a buck, I would have it now too. My WallBuys SF5 shipped a couple days previous to my hkequipment order and the SF3 still beat it here.
Great job jmpaul320 and hkequipment, and thanks again! This is also my first order with hkequiment and I’m really impressed.
I have a question for those of you who ordered SF3 can you guys running the light on turbo for more than a minute without any flickering? I don’t know how to describe because it is not a step down, more like a PWM. It could be the cell but I’m not sure.
I spent some time testing with a few various 16340 cells and couldn’t get mine to do what you described. I didn’t test it with a meter, but I can tell it’s pushing the battery pretty hard, and I could get it to trip the protection circuit on a couple cells and shut the light off. It does seem to step down after about a minute. Once I thought I saw what you were describing but I put it on my phone’s camera and it could see it. In fact, my camera shows that my SF3 is quiet as a mouse with respect to PWM or circuit noise.
The SF5 NW just came in from WallBuys today. It shipped a couple days earlier and arrived a day later, so hkequipement is the shipping winner here. Both are fantastic lights and I’m so glad I put off buying an SC52. The SF5 NW has a slightly warmer tint than my SF3 NW and I like it!
So far the photos are coming out nice. Here’s a teaser shot:
I tried again draining the battery but this time only on high. The protection tripped after 55 minutes without any flicker or noticeable step-down. Comparing to this graph taken from a review, the result seems spot on. I may need to try again to see if there any in turbo mode.
Mine arrived today. I ordered it on the 8th, so that was fast.
I’d like to thank JMPaul and HKE for doing this. I arrived in this thread after the GB was already going and they graciously allowed me to get in on it.
I ended up getting the SG5 headlamp, but given the build quality, I only wish I’d give into temptation and gotten the flashlight as well. I’ll post up a picture some time this weekend.
mine came today as well - i got the sf5 flashlight - hkequipment included a thank you to me for doing the group buy along with a fenix e01 bonus light - i had no idea they were going to do this and it was a very nice gesture
sounds like a potential issue - i would try charging the cell and see what happens… or perhaps try a different battery to confirm - if it persists email hkequipment for a RMA
Stung for custom charges that almost negate the GB discount, but still worth it!
Only had the lights a few minutes but i like them, seem like nice, solid, ‘no fuss get the job done’ lights, and if i’d realised how easy it was to change the emitters i probably would have bought more for gifting. Might still do.
Thanks again jmpaul, and glad you got a little bonus.
One question, does anyone know how to remove the lens? (as in the actual piece of glass.) It looks like i need to unscrew the silver metal bezel, but can’t see any way to grip it.