WalkIntoTheLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
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)
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)
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