Please help me decide...Zebralight SC51c or SC51w?

[thaugen]

I have read all the threads that I can find here and on other sites and I am still having trouble making this decision...

I have a Zebralight H51fw and love the beam color and flood for a headlamp, but want an SC51c or SC51w for a hiking and camping handheld and EDC.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[mrlysle]

It seems reasonable to me that if you love the H51fw, you'd be equally as happy with the SC51w. I too, have the H51fw, and it's by far my favorite headlamp. I also have an SC51, but if the SC51w was available when I got the SC51, I would definitely have gotten the SC51w, but since I now have the H51fw, and 2 SC60w's, I'm happy. It just makes sense to get the SC51 in the warm tint because you like your H51fw so well. Hope I made sense.

 

[run4jc]

Such a personal decision. And you will receive many, many recommendations. High CRI is a wonderful thing if you are looking for ostensibly the most accurate color rendition from your light. but as mrlysle pointed out, if you like the warm already you'll probably like the SC51W. If you visit this link you can compare some tints - unfortunately, there's no 'c' version shown - I had one and sold it!

 

[thaugen]

Thanks mrlysle and run4jc for your help with this decision. I am not sure accurate color rendition is all that important to me, but I do like the warmer look of the neutral tints. It seems like the "w" version is a good balance between tint quality and lumen output.

 

[run4jc]

Thanks mrlysle and run4jc for your help with this decision. I am not sure accurate color rendition is all that important to me, but I do like the warmer look of the neutral tints. It seems like the "w" version is a good balance between tint quality and lumen output.

You are quite welcome. At the end of the day it's all about what YOU prefer. The SC51W has a wonderful tint (IMHO) - a great combination of output and tint - a perfect (to me) beam shape - amazing from an alkaline or eneloop....I loved my 'c', but the tint, albeit very nice, was not enough to offset my perceived reduction in brightness. Since you are looking for a light for hiking and camping, I'm thinking the W might be the best compromise between all the attributes of the lights - uber low for longer run times - a nice bright setting for lighting up the "thangs that lurk" - and many nice settings in between.

Good luck!

 

[thaugen]

I am about to place the order for the SC51W...

And run4jc, your amazing torture test thread helped push me over the edge on getting another Zebralight! Thanks for your great work. I have enjoyed following your threads here on this site.

 

[Leif24]

I bought the SC51w about a month ago, and has been my EDC light ever since. I am so impressed with the color and brightness of the light. Why didn't I buy this one sooner?, is what I have been asking myself.

 

[curtis22]

It seems reasonable to me that if you love the H51fw, you'd be equally as happy with the SC51w. I too, have the H51fw, and it's by far my favorite headlamp. I also have an SC51, but if the SC51w was available when I got the SC51, I would definitely have gotten the SC51w, but since I now have the H51fw, and 2 SC60w's, I'm happy. It just makes sense to get the SC51 in the warm tint because you like your H51fw so well. Hope I made sense.

The SC51W is not a warm tint. It is a neutral tint.

 

[j2k]

I have sc51c and use it every day. Great little light, but I wish it was brighter -> so in the end I probably would be happier with the sc51w version.

Also as far as I understand the sc51c has a slightly bigger led and therefore the beam profile is a bit different from the sc51w.

 

[run4jc]

The SC51W is not a warm tint. It is a neutral tint.

Kinda in between.....4200K, when 4000K is considered 'warm.' 4400K seems to be considered 'neutral.' Sure don't mean to stir anything up - just sayin'. Still, the tint of the 'w' appears slightly warm. Tomato, tomatoe.....

 

[B0wz3r]

thaugen,

If you prefer a warmer tint, you should probably get the SC51c as it will be slightly warmer than the SC51w, although it's top end is not quite as much. You probably won't notice a significant difference though. The SC51w's tint is neutral, it's not blue, it's not yellow... it's the cleanest 'neutral' white tint of any light I own. I have an older SC50w+ as well, which is noticeably warmer, just slightly yellowish. I personally prefer the slightly warmer tint, but the tint of the 51w is also nice too. Depends on what you prefer.

 

[Paolos]

I too, have the H51fw, and it's by far my favorite headlamp. I also have an SC51.

I have an SC51 too and want to get a headlamp. I won't be using the headband as I want it for going out for a walk in the evening. I live near the beach and usually walk along the path beside it. It's rarely pitch black but it does get pretty dark and people often walk their dogs down there so I don't want to step in something nasty. I usually take my sc51 or ld10 but if I went for the H51 then I could hang it round my neck on some paracord or hook it onto the chest pocket of my jacket. My delima is do I go for the w or the fw? I was leaning towards the fw, but in wonder if it might be too floody. Obviously I want to see the area right in front of me, but I don't want one that has no throw at all.

What is the realistic range on the fw?

 

[thaugen]

I would say the range of the fw is about 50 feet. I think it is adequate for an evening walk on a path and really like the beam. My SC51w arrived today and I look forward to comparing the two beams!

 

[yowzer]

Anybody know what the CRI rating of the neutral white XP-Gs is? And if there's any plans for a SC51Fc?

 

[snakyjake]

Anyone have side-by-side shots? I'd like to see the difference in color vs. the lumen trade off.

 

[pjandyho]

The trade off in lumen is very noticeable. I have only an SC51c for flashlight so there is no way to compare here, but I have compared my H51Fw to my friend's H51Fc! and my H51Fw seems almost twice as bright. Can't tell much of a difference between both when it comes to color reproduction. If anything, the 'c' looks a little more rosy in tint which helps a little in bringing out colors of foliage, other than that not much of a difference in color reproduction. I think you would be happy with either one. Honestly, the 'c' version is bright enough.

 

[Brasso]

It just depends on which you prize more, output of cri. I prefer the "c" model as it's bright enough. Plus, that Nichia they use is a rare led. You won't be seeing too many lights with that led without forking out a lot more money than ZL is charging.

 

[low]

thaugen,

If you prefer a warmer tint, you should probably get the SC51c as it will be slightly warmer than the SC51w, although it's top end is not quite as much. You probably won't notice a significant difference though. The SC51w's tint is neutral, it's not blue, it's not yellow... it's the cleanest 'neutral' white tint of any light I own. I have an older SC50w+ as well, which is noticeably warmer, just slightly yellowish. I personally prefer the slightly warmer tint, but the tint of the 51w is also nice too. Depends on what you prefer.

Perhaps it is me, but when I compare my H51w to my Fenix LD40, my H51w looks creamy compared to the LD40 which looks white.

 

[B0wz3r]

Perhaps it is me, but when I compare my H51w to my Fenix LD40, my H51w looks creamy compared to the LD40 which looks white.

Welcome to the tint lottery...

The coating process that's used to make neutral and warm tinted emitters is (unfortunately) far from an exact science. Different batches of emitters come out with slight different tints. That said, I've seen beanshots of LD40's that clearly look warm. My H51w looks closer to pure white than my SC50w+ which has an XPE Q4/5B in it, which looks yellow/red in comparison. It's definitely much cooler than the XML T5 that's in my E03, but warmer than the XML that's in my 'neutral' PA40.

 

[Brasso]

Everyone expects different things. I expect a neutral light to be a bit yellow/warm. If it's not, I consider it a cool tint.