My first impression of the SC5w is that it's a great light. Feels good in the hand, has the ZL interface, switch button has a perfect feel. And it's
bright.
I compared it to an SC52w. The tint is similar, perhaps a little more neutral. The beam spot is tighter/smaller at the same distance. There is a hint of a dark shadow at the center of the beam. Some have noted this artifact, others not. I wrote to ZL to ask about it. Here's the company's reply:
All center of the beam (hot spot) have more or less 'soft-focus shadow', due to the smooth reflector used in the SC5(w).
This beam artifact is very subtle, and I might not have noticed it at all had it not been flagged by others. And it is not a deal breaker for me; this is only detectable on a white wall, not in the real world.
The SC5w is markedly brighter on its highest setting than the SC52w, both powered by an Eneloop, but otherwise, the lights are more similar than different, and if you have one you might not need the other. But I will keep the SC5w and put it to use, to see what its strengths might be.
An aside on the ZL tight-clip pants-shredding issue: I have EDC'd the SC52 for two years and have not noticed any wear on my pocket. Maybe I wear tougher pants than some. I have also not noticed it fall out of my pocket and become lost. This is more important to me. I like the original clip.