Spark SD52 Arrives.

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Bolster

Bolster

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
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1,546
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San Jacinto Mtn.
At last, a 2AA full-flood powerhouse on the market.

I'm interested in the Neutral tint, and I see it has a Medium2 mode that gives 7 hours of light at 70lm. Nice, that will be a wonderful work light. 70lm for almost an entire shift. Not complaining about the 280lm Super mode, or the .5lm low mode for 50 days, either (change the batteries every 7 weeks?!). But that Medium2 mode would make my life so much nicer. About 4 oz with Eneloops in it. And of course the cool tint is even brighter, up to 300lm. IPX8 waterproofing to boot. Nice going Spark!

sd52.jpg


I do have some questions...is that a screw-off bezel? Does this mean a red filter (or whatever) could be fitted? And also I'm curious how this light extinguishes when exhausted. A nice step-down, or does it suddenly perish without warning? And my perpetual question, what's the angle of the beam spread? Is it really a wide angle flood?
 
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Re: Spark SD52.

Is there a link to this?

I wonder if this is going to be appropriate lamp for hiking.
 
Re: Spark SD52.

Impressive stats, that's for the link.

Gonna wait for some beam shots before I pull the trigger. Based on my readings here this should be great for hiking but I wannt make sure before I drop 100 bucks :)
 
Re: Spark SD52.

IMO this will be good for camp and tasks, bad for hiking.

a bare emitter like this without even a focusing lens like the H501, you're probably gonna have to use the 70 lumen mode just to see your feet. you probably won't see anything past 30 feet even on max and super.

the worst part is that your eyes will have trouble getting dark adjusted. when any object, even dust, drifts through your field of view within a couple feet of your eyes, they will get lit up with 70 lumens and mess up your night vision. this especially sucks because you would probably already be struggling to see the ground more than a few feet in front of you as it is.
 
Re: Spark SD52.

I think that Spark may have some sort of screw-on reflector in the works to make their flood lamps a little more focused and trail friendly. I'll see if I can find the quote. Ah, here:

xyber said:
The flood-throw accessory will be a screw-in tube, kind of a removable reflector.

[and]

Hi, the removable reflector will be released later.
Click to expand...

I think the "70 lumens just to see your feet" may be a bit of an overstatement! :duh2: And 0.5lm is the lowest setting, so I think it'll do well for night adaptation in lower modes. However, Robo makes a good point that trail hikers tend to prefer the "directed flood." I can't say whether the screw-in accessory will convert this to a "directed flood" or not. Time will tell.

My question regards trail light would be, why that much light and two batteries? If I could get the job done with a dimmer, more focused light that was lighter in weight, why not? For trail hiking I'd prefer a modest wide headlamp and a handheld thrower in combination.

As for my use (working), the SD52 with its wide field of view, long run time, and 'helmetable waterproofness' should make a good combo. To me this feels like a worker's light more than a cyclist's or hiker's light.
 
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I think 2xAA makes sense for driver efficiency and runtime.
BUT the 52 looks almost as big as the SD6. I'm not dissing it at all - but isn't a 3100mah 18650 more than 4x the capacity of an eneloop?

Just sayin...
 
Re: Spark SD52.

Bolster said:
I think the "70 lumens just to see your feet" may be a bit of an overstatement! :duh2:
Click to expand...

in my experience, 30-40 lumens from a bare emitter is the minimum required to walk with even a little bit of comfort. the SD52 specs on the Marketplace thread didn't mention a level between 12 and 70 lumens, hence my mention of 70 in the previous post. it will be hard walking on anything but smooth level ground with 12 lumens. and honestly, it's no fun even with 30-40 lumens. in order to adequately light your path, you really need something that will focus or direct the beam.

Bolster said:
My question regards trail light would be, why that much light and two batteries? If I could get the job done with a dimmer, more focused light that was lighter in weight, why not? For trail hiking I'd prefer a modest wide headlamp and a handheld thrower in combination.
Click to expand...

yeah. that's what i was thinking.
 
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Re: Spark SD52.

psychbeat said:
...but isn't a 3100mah 18650 more than 4x the capacity of an eneloop?...
Click to expand...


Good point. If you compare the:

SD6-500CW ---- to the ----- SD52CW:
---88mm ----------------------------62mm------- Length (SD52 about 70% of length of SD6)
---31mm-----------------------------33mm------- Width (virtually same)
---500lm-----------------------------300lm------- Max Mode (18650 about 1.6x the 2AA)
--80lm/12h--------------------------80lm/7hr-- Middle mode (18650 about 1.7x the 2AA)
---120g-------------------------------120g------- Weight with battery (same! With Eneloop AAs)

Very rough gauge, about 1.6-1.7x the output from the 18650, compared to 2AA, for the same weight and 30% more length.

People's opinions vary on the relative safety of 18650 vs AA for a headlamp, so I'll leave it at that (not trying to start that argument again!) but I'm sure that would figure into some peoples' calculations. There's also the convenience factor that AAs are ubiquitous and some people standardize on AAs. But yeah, if you wanted pure performance, hard to beat an 18650 cell, isn't it.

41564799744955239287.jpg
 
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Re: Spark SD52.

Bolster said:
My question regards trail light would be, why that much light and two batteries? If I could get the job done with a dimmer, more focused light that was lighter in weight, why not? For trail hiking I'd prefer a modest wide headlamp and a handheld thrower in combination.
Click to expand...

I have a Black Diamond Spot right now (old revision) so I haven't got much to compare to. Besides the cone of light at my feet I'd like an occasional blast to see around.. I guess handheld thrower would be good for that. On the other hand I don't see the SD52 being deficient as a hiker's lamp. 100 grams is still minuscule and runtime seems excellent too..
 
Re: Spark SD52.

well, even if it turns out to suck for hiking, it'll still be very useful. for doing stuff around a campsite - cooking, cleaning, tent setup, looking for firewood - or working on stuff at a job site or in your home, there's just no substitute for a wide, even flood.
 
Re: Spark SD52.

Robo have you seen any hint about how wide the beam might be? You think we are talking 90 degrees? 120? More?
 
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Re: Spark SD52.

I think this would be a hot seller if they got price down to sixty and throw in a few screw on reflectors with varying angles of columnation!!!

Who ever said the reflector needed to be behind the lens?

However, no throw, and high price, many will pass, but with the resentment of something so close, but yet so far.
 
Re: Spark SD52.

degarb said:
I think this would be a hot seller if they got price down to sixty and throw in a few screw on reflectors with varying angles of columnation!!! Who ever said the reflector needed to be behind the lens? However, no throw, and high price, many will pass, but with the resentment of something so close, but yet so far.
Click to expand...

As you may have read above (post #6), those screw on reflectors are reportedly in the works.

I've been "making my own" as you may have seen, by doubling up Zebralight H501s to get the brightness and runtime that I want. (I know I'm not the only one to double-up on Zebralights!) Two H501s get me 80 degrees of beam at 30 lumen for ~19 hours, which is a sufficient amount of light for working attics and crawlspaces, or 160 for 2+ hours. An ideal setting would be somewhere between 30 and 160. The SD52 would give me 70 for 7, or 200 for just under 2, in one package, spending $100 instead of $120 for two Zs. (Although there are advantages to redundancy!)

The other comparison point is the other new 2AA flood headlamp out there, the Pixa. The SD52 is something of a Pixa on steroids and rocket fuel. So on paper, at least, it looks like a good tool for me, but the proof is in the pudding. I'll have to get it on my head and try it out.

Curious that so many people are judging this light by its ability to throw (!). Obviously this light was not intended for throwing (although the reflector option will likely make it throw a little). I think that's an artifact of the many hikers who are active on this subforum. Hikers like directional flood. But, its usefulness as a work light is an open question until it's tried. At this point not even a beamshot of it exists (that I know of).

I think it's important to remember that the "goodness" (or a lack thereof) of a particular light is very much dependent on its intended use, and the user's ability to modify it to a particular use.

That last comment is aimed at Zebralight, whom I wish would thread their bezels so we could modify beams to our liking. It appears that Spark is now doing this.
 
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Re: Spark SD52.

Wow finally a work light for me! Thanks Spark. I for one will get one for work. My ST5 will now go into my backpack.
I work wit my hands everyday either at work or at play. Right cow I use an ST5. its a cool light, but I wanted more flood. I took the reflector out for a while, but I was worried about loosing or not having it when I needed. I considered a ZL 501, but I know the 502 will be out soon. Alot of BUT S in there. Thanks again Spark.

Robo Get an ST5 with a hand held back up for your outdoor adventures. that's what I do. I like the ST5 because it is small and very light weight. The battery's are the same as my radio and GPS so i can use them in an emergency situation.
 
Re: Spark SD52.

ryguy24000 said:
Robo Get an ST5 with a hand held back up for your outdoor adventures. that's what I do. I like the ST5 because it is small and very light weight. The battery's are the same as my radio and GPS so i can use them in an emergency situation.
Click to expand...

i think you meant eart, right? he was the one who expressed interest in buying the SD52 as a hiking light.
 
Re: Spark SD52.

ryguy24000 said:
Get an ST5 with a hand held back up for your outdoor adventures. that's what I do. I like the ST5 because it is small and very light weight. The battery's are the same as my radio and GPS so i can use them in an emergency situation.
Click to expand...

That might be the way to go. Looks like ST5 beats the pants off Black Diamond Storm and the like. Except BD has exception runtimes. Ah, decisions.
 
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