Zebralight SC52w-L2 comparison to SC52

I just received my Zebralight SC52w-L2 flashlight, and I thought I'd post my initial impressions. I have also done some measurements. I will post beam comparison pictures when I figure out how.

First, the construction:

The SC52w-L2 looks very similar to the SC52. However, there are some notable differences.

The head is larger on the SC52w-L2, and there is one more heat fin. I believe this should allow for a little better heat management. Although testing the lights on high for a few minutes, I was not able to tell any significant difference to the touch. But since I only use Eneloops, perhaps this would be more apparent when running on a 14500 cell.

The anodizing is slight darker. Still a pleasant and unique colour, but a couple of shades darker than the old model. Tail anodizing matches the body, so no problems there.

Pocket clip is still very tight, same as the original.

LED is well centred.

I'm not sure I like the new "triple click for strobe" UI. I have accidentally triggered it a few times, by single-clicking to turn on high, followed by a double-click to get to a different sub-mode. If I do the double-click too soon, the light thinks I just meant to triple click, and dumps me to strobe. I hate strobes, and was hoping it would be like the original SC52 and I'd never have to see them.

The switch is a lot softer. I would not call it mushy, but it is much easier to press than the original SC52 (which is very firm). It will take a bit of getting used to, as sometimes I notice it difficult to double-click. The button doesn't spring back as hard, so my finger is still used to applying more pressure than I need to. I think once I get used to the softer touch, it won't be a problem. I'm not sure which I will prefer, but obviously I am used to a firm button.

To give you some idea of the button firmness, I tested how much weight I needed to apply to the button for it to activate. Here are the results:

SC52 : 1300g (about 2.9 pounds) for activation
SC52w-L2 : 600g (about 1.3 pounds) for activation

As you can see, the original SC52 took over twice as much force to activate. So it will take some adjustment to get used to the new button. Again, I wouldn't call it mushy. "Mushy" is what I would call a typical electronic switch on a gadget, such as a remote control. Here is an example of that:

TV remote control : 150g (about 0.3 pounds) for activation

So a TV remote control is 4x softer than the SC52w-L2. I wouldn't want one that easy to press! In any case, the button is well recessed into the body, same as the SC52, so there's no danger of it accidentally turning on in a pocket.

Interestingly enough, the amount of force for a 4sevens Quark tail clicky switch is the same as the original SC52:

4sevens Quark tail-clicky: 1300g (about 2.9 pounds) for activation.

That might give you an idea of the firmness I am used to, and why the new SC52w-L2 seems quite soft to me for initial impressions.


Next, the beam:

I am quite pleased with the beam and tint. It is a lot warmer than the SC52, and slightly warmer than a light using the "gold standard" Nichia 219A LED. To give you an idea of the colour temperature, here are some measurements I made. Note that I don't promise they are accurate, but they do give you a relative indicator when comparing to other common lights.

Sunlight: 5500K
Indoor 40 watt incandescent: 2500K
Nichia 219A: 4100K
SC52w-L2: 3800K
SC52: 5500K
Quark QP2A-X: 5100K
Quark QT2A: 5500K

My numbers are probably 300K or 400K too low, but you get the idea. It's a neutral white, bordering on slightly warm.

For colour rendition, it blows away the regular SC52 (or other cool white lights). Colours pop similar to a Nichia 219 LED. The Nichia 219 is better (as its higher CRI indicates), but it's quite close. It's much better than I expected. I was expecting colours to show up somewhere between a cool white and a Nichia 219 (or incandescent light), but it's a lot closer to the Nichia than it is a cool white. That probably has to do with both the higher CRI as well as the warmer colour temperature.

The beam hot spot seems neutral white, with no sign of green tint. However, outside the hot spot, it does take on a yellowy-greenish tinge. Though not nearly as bad as the original SC52, which appears quite green outside the hot spot. It's only visible in white-wall testing, and I don't notice any tint issues in normal use. But it doesn't match up to the gold-standard of the Nichia 219 LED, which has a very even white with no sign of green or tint-shifts across the entire beam profile.

Overall, I rate the tint as good. (Pictures to follow.)

Brightness at all levels appear identical to the original SC52, based on my measurements. Max brightness on an Eneloop seems to be somewhere around 250 lumens, give or take. Maybe it's as high as the 280 lumen spec, but that might be pushing it. Obviously much higher on a 14500 battery.

Love the low-lows, as expected.


Here are some current measurements, taken with a partially-depleted Eneloop cell:

High 1 : 2.6 amps. Would drain the battery in about 45 minutes on high.
High 2b : 522 milli amps. Drained in about 3.5 hours.
Medium 1 : 290 milli amps. Would last about 6.5 hours on the highest medium mode.
Medium 2a: 189 mA. Lasts about 11 hours.
Medium 2b : 86 mA. Lasts about 23 hours.
Low 1 : 29 mA. Lasts almost 3 days.
Low 2a : 5.6 milli amps. Enough to keep the brightness moonlight mode going 15 days.
Low 2c (the lowest) : 2.1 milli amps. Enough to keep the lowest moonlight mode going for 40 days.
Standby drain: 20 micro amps. This would take 11 years to drain a battery, so no need for tailcap lock-out!


I'm very happy with it so far. It's going to replace my old EDC (the SC52).

(Pictures to follow)

awesome comparison, thank you!

And here are some pictures. Note that because the lights have very different tints, it was tricky to get the white balance right. In most pictures, it was a compromise between either showing the neutral whites as "white", or the cool whites as "white". So, it's a compromise between the two white balances. Obviously, the cool whites don't look that blue to the eye, and the neutral whites don't look that orange. But the camera's eye is stupid.

Apologies for the break in the image. It's a door with some insets. I got lazy.



First, a comparison of the SC52 (left) and the SC52w-L2 (right).





Next, a comparison of the Nichia 219A LED (in a L3 Illum L10 light) (left) and the SC52w-L2 (right). Note how consistent the Nichia 219 is, while the SC52w-L2 with the Cree XML shows some yellow-green outside the hot spot. This picture is a bit of a torture-test when it comes to tint. To the eyes, it looks much better than in this picture. But it's good for showing the difference.






Next, a bunch of lights for comparison. L10 with Nichia 219A (left), SC52w-L2 (2nd), SC52 (3rd), Quark QP2A-X with XML2 (4th), Quark QT2A with XPG2 (right).





Finally, a comparison of the same lights as above with their moonlight modes. The SC52's had their moonlight mode set as L2a (the brightest). The Quarks, especially the XML2 version, have much brighter moonlight modes. Personally I prefer them dim.

Very helpful comparison , Thanks a lot :thumbsup:

WalkIntoTheLight said:

while the SC52w-L2 with the Cree XML shows some yellow-green outside the hot spot.

Click to expand...

not mine.

Mine has a uniform rosy tint, not hints of yellow, green or yellow-green. i never thought that such a beam would be possible with a CREE emitter.

tint lottery won!

shelm said:

Mine has a uniform rosy tint, not hints of yellow, green or yellow-green. i never thought that such a beam would be possible with a CREE emitter.

Click to expand...

That's surprising, since I've never heard of a perfect tint from an XML. If you can take a side-by-side picture with your light and a Nichia 219, I'd be interested in how they compare.

In any case, it does appear there's quite a lottery. I've seen some pretty green versions of the neutral-white XMLs. My cool white is pretty green too, so I was half-expecting the neutral to be the same. I'm glad it's better than I expected. Perhaps Zebralight purchased some from a better tint bin for the latest run of lights.

WalkIntoTheLight said:

If you can take a side-by-side picture with your light and a Nichia 219, I'd be interested in how they compare.

Click to expand...

will do so when i can!
i don't have any Nichia yet. must buy first

I just want to know what makes an SC52 better to own than a H52. I mean the H52 has a pocket clip, comes with a headband and has similar price and LED performance. So what makes the SC52 better? Is it purely preference? To me I got the SC52 just because I like it. I own both the old SC52(XML cool white) and the H52w(XML2 neutral white).

WalkIntoTheLight said:

That's surprising, since I've never heard of a perfect tint from an XML. If you can take a side-by-side picture with your light and a Nichia 219, I'd be interested in how they compare.

Click to expand...

Of the 4 NWs, all on ~3 lms: D25A NW XML, D25A N219, L10, Quark N219 (mod)

Great info! Thanks for taking the time to write this up. I still have an original SC52w, but tempted to try a newer version (after already testing 8 in person...all greenie meanies)

Thanks for showing us the different tints! Interesting.

What is your method of estimating color temp? My new XM-L2 Zebralight seems a lot less warm than my old XP-G based one but I'd like a way to confirm.

reppans said:

Of the 4 NWs, all on ~3 lms: D25A NW XML, D25A N219, L10, Quark N219 (mod)

Click to expand...

It's hard for me to judge from that image, but I think the D25A NW XML has a hint of some yellow/green around the hot spot, though it does look pretty good overall. The L10 and Quark N219 look good. The D25A N219 looks good, but it doesn't look as pure as the other 219's. Again, hard to judge without a close-up.

What's that last cool-white light? It's a greenie!!

Sir Lightalot said:

What is your method of estimating color temp? My new XM-L2 Zebralight seems a lot less warm than my old XP-G based one but I'd like a way to confirm.

Click to expand...

It's pretty rough. I use a camera, and it tells me what the white-balance of the overall image should be. I just have to make sure I zoom in enough that the image is filled with the light's hot spot. I think it might be giving me colour temperatures a little low, but it's good for getting a relative comparison of my different lights.

WalkIntoTheLight said:

What's that last cool-white light? It's a greenie!!

Click to expand...

SC52g! I've seen plenty. Camera can exaggerate, but they're still dirty greenies.

Very nice comparison.

Update on the thermal management:

I ran a more extended test of leaving the lights on high (280 lumens). After several minutes it became apparent that the SC52w-L2 felt noticeably warmer than the SC52. This was only by using touch, alternating use of hands for each light. But the temperature difference was obvious.

I'm not sure what this means. I suspect that the SC52w-L2 is better at conducting heat away from the LED and into the head, which is why it felt warmer. But I'm not sure.

It's possible that the SC52w-L2 generates more heat, but since the brightness levels I measured were identical, I doubt this is a significant factor. Perhaps the neutral white XML2 emitter generates more heat than the cool white XML emitter?

I used the same setup for the two lights. Both had a freshly charged gen 3 Eneloop in it (rested for a couple of hours). They were both placed near each other, tail-stood. Room temperature was 25C (77 F).

Any ideas for the difference? Does anyone else have the old and new versions of the light to verify?

I will add that I just LOVE the tint on my sc52w. I also felt it was pretty much the perfect tint and beam. But I never got to try a Nichia yet, so I'm going on what I hear and see in pics. But, I can't imagine the Nichia really being that much better, color rendition to my young eyes looks absolutely accurate and well, perfect!
Yea, I was one of the few who didn't get a green or other weird color tint. My 52w is really just a pure neutral beautiful white, slightly warm even. I love it, everyday.
Dave

d.weglarz13 said:

I will add that I just LOVE the tint on my sc52w. I also felt it was pretty much the perfect tint and beam. But I never got to try a Nichia yet, so I'm going on what I hear and see in pics. But, I can't imagine the Nichia really being that much better, color rendition to my young eyes looks absolutely accurate and well, perfect!
Yea, I was one of the few who didn't get a green or other weird color tint. My 52w is really just a pure neutral beautiful white, slightly warm even. I love it, everyday.
Dave

Click to expand...

Yes, I also really like the tint of mine. I wouldn't call it "perfect" (I reserve that for the Nichia 219 or incandescent light), but it's pretty close. My eye has a very hard time picking out any green/yellow areas of the beam (I'd call the corona slightly yellow), whereas on my SC52 the green is very easy to spot on a white wall.

Colour rendition compared to cool white is like night and day. Almost as good as a Nichia 219. But I don't have a Nichia 219 in a light that I like as much as the Zebralight, so the neutral XML2 is good second choice. Plus, the XML2 is much more efficient than the Nicha 219, so it provides a much brighter beam if needed. I think this makes up for slightly less colour rendition.

Or maybe I won the tint lottery. I'll probably play again in a few weeks or months, and hope I do well again!

newbie66 said:

I just want to know what makes an SC52 better to own than a H52. I mean the H52 has a pocket clip, comes with a headband and has similar price and LED performance. So what makes the SC52 better? Is it purely preference? To me I got the SC52 just because I like it. I own both the old SC52(XML cool white) and the H52w(XML2 neutral white).

Click to expand...

The SC52 is the better choice if you don't want a headlamp. If you want to hand carry your light, the SC52 is better since you can hold it in your hand while just letting your arm hang down. The H52, on the other hand, needs to be carried vertically in your hand since it is basically an angle light. This makes hand carrying less comfortable and more tiring.

Hmm, good point. A valid enough reason to buy the sc52.

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