Zebralight SC5 and SC5w First Impressions

[marinemaster]

SC32 takes 17670 battery. If it would be a tad longer it would fit. It should not be difficult to do an extension. But then again it will be almost in the SC62 territory so really it will defend the purpose.....
I think the way ZL is making their offerings is perfect for AA, 123 and 18650 battery format. There is nothing to add or subtract.

 

[hatman]

Out of the box, the tint and beam on my 5W are just about perfect -- they're beautiful!

Yes, it's an amazing amount of light for a standard eneloop.

Yes, it's a little chunkier than the 52. And, yes, the clip is tight. That's not all bad. For one thing, it doesn't heat up like the 52s or 62s. It doesn't feel like I could lose it, either.

Yes, the turn on and off button works perfectly.

Yes, the light feels good in my hand.

Did I mention the terrific tint and beam?

I really didn't need another light. Now that I have this I do!

 

[Tixx]

I have my SC5w posted in the for sale section if anyone is interested. Perfect light, just overlaps what I already own and baby is stressing the budget anyways.

 

[hatman]

Perhaps I have missed it -- has anyone compared output with Eneloop and Eneloop Pro?

 

[Lite_me]

Perhaps I have missed it -- has anyone compared output with Eneloop and Eneloop Pro?

I don't even own one and can answer that. Indistinguishable.

 

[Al Thumbs]

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).

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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.

 

[snowlover91]

Great summary there! How do you like the way it feels in the hand and the extra weight? What are your thoughts on the new tail cap spring design?

 

[markr6]

All center of the beam (hot spot) have more or less 'soft-focus shadow', due to the smooth reflector used in the SC5(w).

I wonder if they are referring to the purplish dot I had on mine, or something else? If it were just a shadow as in a dim spot, I could live with that, but not the purple surrounded by a nice tint.

 

[Al Thumbs]

How do you like the way it feels in the hand and the extra weight?

The light feels good in the hand. I notice it is heavier than the SC52w, but the weight goes well with the size.

What are your thoughts on the new tail cap spring design?

Unless it becomes unreliable or fails, I don't much care about it.

 

[snowlover91]

The light feels good in the hand. I notice it is heavier than the SC52w, but the weight goes well with the size.



Unless it becomes unreliable or fails, I don't much care about it.

I actually think the new tail cap spring design may be better since it won't scratch up batteries. All my lights with standard springs at the tail cap end up scratching the back of the batteries which isn't a huge problem but I've noticed the new design of the SC5 both makes it easier to screw the tail cap on as well as prevents the battery from being scratched. I hope to see a similar design implemented on the SC32 and 62 lights. The extra heft is nice and as you mention well balanced. I love the tint on my copy as well it's the purest white emitter I have even better than my Nichia 219.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Has anyone done any real run-time tests?

 

[hatman]

Comparing the SC5W with eneloop and the SC52W with lithium ion, I don't see a lot of difference with both on high.

 

[HikingMano]

Ugh, just received my SC5w and it's got a noticeable purple tint right in the center of the hotspot. I don't think it's an area of soft focus or whatever, it's definitely purple. Looks horrible against my Nichia 219 and worse than my greenish SC52w. I don't want to settle for yet another sub-par beam just because I don't want to deal with the hassle of returning.

 

[snowlover91]

Comparing the SC5W with eneloop and the SC52W with lithium ion, I don't see a lot of difference with both on high.

Shouldn't be much difference since both are rated at 500 lumens at the highest setting level except the SC5 should last an additional 2 minutes on turbo.

 

[newbie66]

Once the voltage drops a bit on the eneloop, will the output be the same compared with a 14500?

 

[Fireclaw18]

Once the voltage drops a bit on the eneloop, will the output be the same compared with a 14500?

Not sure. Haven't tried it.

I know on my SC52, 62 and 32 when the voltage drops a little bit, they'll stop running in turbo or high at all and will drop down to medium within seconds. So far my SC5w seems to reliably stay in turbo much longer than all 3 of those other lights even on a partially drained cell.

It's unknown whether an SC5 can run on 14500. Zebralight isn't saying, and so far no one else in the world has been daring enough to try a 14500 in theirs and publish the result.

 

[markr6]

Ugh, just received my SC5w and it's got a noticeable purple tint right in the middle of the hotspot. I don't think it's an area of soft focus or whatever, it's definitely purple. Looks horrible against my Nichia 219 and worse than my greenish SC52w. I don't want to settle for yet another sub-par beam just because I don't want to deal with the hassle of returning.

Same here, I had to return it. I wonder if this happened to more than we think and some people just don't notice it or their eyes can't see it? I noticed it right away without wall hunting.

 

[Fireclaw18]

Ugh, just received my SC5w and it's got a noticeable purple tint right in the middle of the hotspot. I don't think it's an area of soft focus or whatever, it's definitely purple. Looks horrible against my Nichia 219 and worse than my greenish SC52w. I don't want to settle for yet another sub-par beam just because I don't want to deal with the hassle of returning.

Don't want the hassle of returning it?

No problem! ... you should take one for the team and be the first in the world to try a 14500 in it!!!! If we're lucky it will output 1,000 lumens and be like a mini SC62 in output. If we're unlucky it will fry the driver and kill the light.

After you test it be sure to come back here and post your results!

 

[jmoyat]

Just ordered a CS5w, thanks to this thread (not sure if it's a good or bad thing.. for me or my wallet )
At that price, I don't think I'll try to stick a 14500 in it!

 

[snowlover91]

Same here, I had to return it. I wonder if this happened to more than we think and some people just don't notice it or their eyes can't see it? I noticed it right away without wall hunting.

I used a DSLR camera and stopped the brightness down to different levels and used different white balance settings and wasn't able to detect it on my copy and I didn't see it with my eyes either. From what I can tell it sounds like there may be a first batch that had either LED issues or the LED was mounted/glued too high causing the purple tint. My guess would be a bad batch of LED's since some had this issue and others did not but I'm not really sure. I'm waiting for someone to try a 14500 battery