Zebralight H501 Part 1

[davidt1]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

yes, your indoor experience is the same as mine. it's an excellent headlamp for the indoors with the output well spaced out for different tasks.

i do wish for more power, hey who doesn't, but i think they are already pushing it with the limitations of heatsink size. it gets pretty warm on high and when used as a headlight there is no hand to remove heat.
the only solution is some sort of aspheric lens accessory.
i could make a hack job one. the 20mm aspheric one i had before shown. glue some thick o-ring in the back. glue some elastic band at the lens edges to hold it on the head. but i rather zebralight come up with a clean accessory besides i bought this for flood for hiking to be combined with a thrower. 2 light doing what they are designed for. i'm not even sure i would use an aspheric accessory. i feel like it's like putting sport wheels on a suv trying to make it something it isn't.

i'm beginning to understand the switch though. if i wanted to operate it on my head, i want something easy to press. if it was harder to press then i would need my finger on the other end otherwise i would shift the headlamp on my head from the effort.
i'm fine personally with locking out the tailcap. i do it on my other lights so it's 2nd nature and i think a good habit in general.

i agree with the h50 h501 statement. if someone were to use it strictly indoors the h50 would better suit with the wider angle. someone using it indoors and out would benefit from the h501.

Sorry, but I have to disagree about loosening the cap. That's a band-aid approach to the problem. That's defeating the whole purpose of having a clickie switch so you can operate with just one hand. twisting the cap is two-hand operation. You might be better off with the H50 if you have to twist to the cap in on the H501 before you use it. The other problem with loosening the cap is exposure to water and moisture. Might as well throw out the O-ring. What's use is it if the cap is loosened?

 

[wapkil]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

I wonder what setting the camera used?

The camera is Canon A610. White balance set to daylight, manual mode f/2.8, 1/320s, ISO100, 35mm focal length (35mm film equivalent).

Edit: I checked with the exif data (included also in the picture above) and corrected the exposure time from 1/500s to 1/320s.

 

[f22shift]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

Sorry, but I have to disagree about loosening the cap. That's a band-aid approach to the problem. That's defeating the whole purpose of having a clickie switch so you can operate with just one hand. twisting the cap is two-hand operation. You might be better off with the H50 if you have to twist to the cap in on the H501 before you use it. The other problem with loosening the cap is exposure to water and moisture. Might as well throw out the O-ring. What's use is it if the cap is loosened?

makes sense. well its general knowledge now so a user can decide if it;s livable.
i dont think they can use a spring loaded switch and retain the compact size.

 

[Woods Walker]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

Sorry, but I have to disagree about loosening the cap. That's a band-aid approach to the problem. That's defeating the whole purpose of having a clickie switch so you can operate with just one hand. twisting the cap is two-hand operation. You might be better off with the H50 if you have to twist to the cap in on the H501 before you use it. The other problem with loosening the cap is exposure to water and moisture. Might as well throw out the O-ring. What's use is it if the cap is loosened?

I lock out all my lights when in the pack. Unless the cap is opened past the O-ring why would the O-ring be worthless?

 

[kwieto]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

Also the H501w is rated at 80lm and the H50 at 66lm. Although I'm not sure how they achieved that with the same runtime.

Zebralight counts lumens "out of the front" of the light. With narrower beam it is obvious that you will get more light...
Probably the driver efficiency is similar or even the same as in H50, but the narrower beam makes the difference.

 

[wapkil]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

Zebralight counts lumens "out of the front" of the light. With narrower beam it is obvious that you will get more light...
Probably the driver efficiency is similar or even the same as in H50, but the narrower beam makes the difference.

I don't understand what is obvious here. I always thought that lumens represent the total luminous flux emitted by the light source. There should be no dependence between the beam shape and the lumens figure. That's why we talk about the lumens emitted by a particular LED.

For a narrower beam the lux figure in the illuminated area would be higher, as the power of light is more concentrated, but the lumens emitted by the light source would stay the same. And if ZL advertises out of the front lumens it only makes the number lower (and more accurate) since they measure the amount of useful light that is able to get out of the H501.

Am I missing something here?

 

[Shorty66]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

The only thing which is obvious is, that kwieto does not have any clue what lx*m²=lm means :-D

 

[kwieto]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

OK, you are right, my mistake

But then explain me one thing:

Here in that post: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2733319&postcount=2
is written, that H501 produces 460lux at 0,4m distance and H50 produces 240lux at 0,4m distance.

Then we get the formula from some your post in this thread:

Area of a circle: r²*Pi
r= sin(1/2 alpha)*distance

For H501 it will be: (sin(40)*0,4)²*Pi * 460lux = 95.535 lm
Then for H50 it will be (sin(60)*0,4)²*Pi * 240lux = 90.478 lm

OK, there is a difference, but c.a. 5, not 30 lumens.
What is wrong - lux measures done by Ichoderso, your formula quoted above, or specifications at Zebralight website?

 

[Alan B]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

The intensity varies across the pattern, so the accuracy of such measurements is pretty coarse. That is actually pretty good agreement for this type of measurement.

 

[kwieto]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

The intensity varies across the pattern, so the accuracy of such measurements is pretty coarse.

Of course, but from the other hand, IMO the H50 have more regular pattern than the versions with 80 degree light. Both should have peak somewhere in the center, so the readings from that part should be comparable?

I just don't belive that the H501 produces almost 50% more light with identical LED and the runtime as H50.

 

[drmaxx]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

Y Also the H501w is rated at 80lm and the H50 at 66lm. Although I'm not sure how they achieved that with the same runtime. Maybe they got a batch of Q3's and Q5s with much lower Vf? :thinking:

For the H50 they specified the lumens on the H50 for NiMH - they did not specify the battery assumed for the H501. With the higher efficiency of the 14500 you could drive the LED a little harder get a higher lumen count and still get the same runtime? They might even have a more efficient driver on board?
But actually, it does look somewhat odd...

 

[Shorty66]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

They stated somewhere on this page, that they used NiMHs for runtime measurements on all of their lights.
In this picture you can see, that the beam pattern of the h50 is far less uniform than that of the h30 (which is about the same as on h60 and
h501):

H50 on the left, h30 on the right.

You can also see in this picture, that the brightness in the center of both lights is somewhat close to each other. The h50 drops quite a bit to the outside while the h30 is about as bright over the whol lit surface.

This should explain the close lux readings.

 

[DevL]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

Sorry, but I have to disagree about loosening the cap. That's a band-aid approach to the problem. That's defeating the whole purpose of having a clickie switch so you can operate with just one hand. twisting the cap is two-hand operation. You might be better off with the H50 if you have to twist to the cap in on the H501 before you use it. The other problem with loosening the cap is exposure to water and moisture. Might as well throw out the O-ring. What's use is it if the cap is loosened?

The idea that having to lock out or unlock out a light before and after use is bad ridiculous. To suggest one might as well get an H50 is beyond ridiculous. I lock out the Fenix with no issues and it does not make it not water proof. Surefire has lock out tail caps. My Gladius has a lock out feature. I always lock out lights for storage.

I have to use two hands to put on the headlamp and that is whan I am twisting the tail cap to get it ready to run... operation is still one handed till it would go back into the pack at which time it takes two hands. So I should just give up one handed operation becasue I am using two hands to perform the lockout function? Thats ridiculous.

 

[mkane]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

I received a reply from Lillian Xu at ZebraLight regarding the H50b model. It is basically a H50 with an 80 degree lens and will be offered on the website soon. They said:

Hi Michael,

The H50b is basically an H50 with an 80 degree lens. They even share the same packaging with two check boxes on the
back, one for H50, one for H50b. The circuit (efficiency, UI, etc.) is the same as the H50. The H50b was asked
by some European customers and has been around for a while. We will list that model on our website soon. Compare to
the H501, the H50b does not have a recessed lens, the UI is twisty (some may like it but most would prefer the pushbutton),
and the circuit is bit less efficient (less lumens). The H501 reflects the design and manufacturing experiences we gained
from all three previous models.

Best regards,

Lillian Xu
ZebraLight

 

[mkane]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

I also just noticed the H501 is sold out on the ZebraLight website.

http://www.zebralight.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=186

 

[f22shift]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

yikes that means goinggear could jack up the prices. if he doesnt that would seal his good rep he's earning now.

 

[Alan B]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

Of course, but from the other hand, IMO the H50 have more regular pattern than the versions with 80 degree light. Both should have peak somewhere in the center, so the readings from that part should be comparable?

I just don't belive that the H501 produces almost 50% more light with identical LED and the runtime as H50.

My experience is exactly what you don't believe. The H30/H501 are much brighter than the H50. There is no reason that different optics would have comparable intensity in the center. They spread the light differently. My experience in actual use is that the 80 degree beam is better matched to the eye, whereas the 120 degree beam puts a lot of its light out too far to the side and does so at the expense of lower intensity. For me the 80 degree beam is more useful since it is brighter at the same power consumption, or it may allow me to use a lower setting and save power. I'm guessing that the Zebralight has decided that the 80 degree beam is a better choice, as all their new lights have it and they are refitting their older H50 with that as well. Works for me.

Incidentally, a really convenient EDC light system is an H501 and a Photon Proton Pro. Each is very small and light, runs on a single AA, and they complement each other nicely. You can carry both in your pocket all day long and hardly notice them. They both run well on NiMH or 1.5V lithium primaries. They both have a wide range of output, and the Photon Pro has pretty good throw and the variable red led when you need a little light at night. Of all the lights I own these two get the most use. If you need to travel light this might be worth considering.

 

[mkane]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

yikes that means goinggear could jack up the prices. if he doesnt that would seal his good rep he's earning now.

I don't think www.goinggear.com will jack up the price. They seem to have a good reputation with everyone. They have the ZebraLignt H501 for the lowest price that you can get one at and have the H50b. They only had 2 H501's when I looked earler.

It was also interesting to note that ZebraLight said the H501 was more efficient than the H50 or H50b. They said (referring to the H50 and H50b) "and the circuit is bit less efficient (less lumens)". So the H501 has a bit more efficient circuit.

 

[carl]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

and the circuit is bit less efficient (less lumens). The H501 reflects the design and manufacturing experiences we gained
from all three previous models.

Best regards,

Lillian Xu
ZebraLight

hopefully ZL will eventually update the circuit board when they manufacture new H50 lights coming off the assembly line. they must still have old circuit boards that need to be used up or something...

 

[davidt1]

Re: Zebralight H501 specs

Almost lost my H501 at work today. I had it clipped to my shirt pocket. I leaned over to inspect a container and the H501 came loose and fell into the container. I caught it by sheer luck. Needless to say, I won't clip to it to my shirt pocket at work anymore.

I don't think Zebralight tested the clip on thin cloth. If they did, they would have made a better clip.