Zebralight SC50+

Well, I recieved my Zebralight SC50+ today. :thumbsup:
I would post some pics but for some reason (unknown to me)
I have a note on the bottom of my page that states:
"You may not post attachments". I'm sure it is somewhere in the agreement I agreed to but, who reads all that anyway? :thinking:
Anyone?!

Back to my story, as I was saying, blah blah blah.
It arrived in the typical plain, brown cardboard box that Zebralights come in. When I opened it the first thing I saw was the light. A cool little light it is.
An electronic side clicky switch with a light, but definite "click" feeling to it and a very slight audible "click".
The pocket clip acts as an anti roll..uh...thingy (..sorry I forgot how you guys refer to it) and attaches by screwing directly into the body. Very secure!!
The head has fins going around 180 degrees. I'm assuming they are to assist in dissipating the heat. Only two grooves (or one fin, depending on how you view it) are a complete 180 degrees. The remaining 6 grooves have a break (which form a "V") where the pocket clip is. I'm not going to try to measure the degrees but if you following the link above you see what I mean.

Even though it seems kinda bulky it is quite comfortable in the front coin pocket of my jeans. I could easily forget it's there as I go through my day.

I'll finish later, I have to ship a package to PA before the cut off time.

A day later:

Ok, after playing around with it last night, I definitely got a better idea of this lights purpose.
As Bowz3r says, a small task light.
After playing with another single AA (Inova X1, the replacement not the piece of cr&p I got from ebay) I expected a little more. I think an 80 degree beam is too broad for a "low" (I use this term loosely because I am still learning) powered light. At 25 Lumens the X1 is brighter than the SC50 at 41 lumens. I am only guessing but I think trying to spread that light over such a broad area diminishes the overall "preceived" illumination. I think a 60 degree spread with the stated 8.6 degree hotspot may be a closer to what I would consider "ideal".
The bright hotspot with a dim spread seems less than ideal. I also think a closer contrast would be more usable.
Also, The specs on Zebralight's site does not state it but my unit has a memory. At what ever sublevel you turn it off, when turned on it that mode, will revert to the sublevel it was on.
Example: When I turned the light on to 41 Lumens then double tapped the switch the light reverted to 21 Lumens. Then turn the light off with a single press and release. When I turn the light back on to the 41 lumen setting it, instead, went to 21 lumens. This happens even with the 5 or 122 lumens remaining at their level.
Does that make any sense?
Also, there is a delay when turning the light off. I prefer separate clicks to change levels. Having to make a mental effort to press, hold and count "1001" is kind of annoying.
It will take a little getting used to but I'll adapt.
It would be ideal if 4 Sevens makes a Quark side clicky switch light.

So far here's my list of pros and cons:

Cons:
Contrast and size ratio between hotspot and spread is a little too great.
76 degree spread is too broad (on lower power) for to be useful outside but works fine on full power.
The delay to turn it off. Hit the button and wait a moment to deactivate. Not good for stealth. My Ninja training did not cover that.
Non reversable pocket clip. They could have easily put a couple more tapped holes in the head and place a couple set screws it them to prevent filling with tiny foreign objects.

Pros:
Ergonomics: feels good in hand and in pocket. It goes away until you
need it. I probably look odd having to touch myself to make
sure I have my light in my pocket.
Side switch: this is my pocket light light, I like to remove it from my pocket and switch it on (at hip level) without the
finger yoga contortions required for a rear clicky. (Which I do like but for other purposes, which will be covered at a later date in a different post.
TailStand: It tailstands very well. I used it as a lantern in my closet lastnight and this morning on 5 lumens. The bounce off the walls lights up a small area very nicely.
Pocketclip: Very strong and secure. It would take a deliberate act to damage it.

With what's out there today, this light is a keeper. It will don my coin pocket daily.
I may or may not add to this subject as I notice additional aspects of this very nice little light.

10/27/10
Now I am convined the fins are for heat dissipation. This morning, inadventently, the light was on for about 45 minutes in my pocket. I pulled the light out and noticed how very warm it was. Not unbearable but very warm.

You can't post pics directly. You have to put them on an image hosting site and link to them. congrats. I can't wait for the neutral version of the SC51.

Congrats on the new light!

I like the crisp feedback of the clicky, seems to be a quality part.

The inclusion of fins in the head is an interesting design, and seems to work. I don't recall the light running too hot on nimh. Would love to have an SC51 to see how the light handles the heat coming from 200 lumens.

I have an SC50w+ that I use as my EDC light; I keep it clipped in a pocket at pretty much all times. So far I've been very happy with it; does everything I need a small task light to do, and still has enough punch to let me see across my back yard or down the alley.

I would have preferred a long and slim form factor like the Jetbeam BK135a, but I don't do cool tints and wanted a built in clip. But the overall size of the light is nothing to complain about; barely bigger than a Quark Mini AA, but with a clicky and a clip, and the 5A tint I strongly prefer, so that makes it pretty darn near perfect in my book. :twothumbs

I'd love to get the SC51w when it comes out, but honest can't really justify it at this time. I also would like to see a neutral white SC60; THAT I'd jump at.

MK, the delay in the switch is because it's an electronic switch rather than a mechanical one, and yeah, the UI does take some getting used to. I find my rapid fire "Quark clicking" to sometimes take over accidentally when I'm using it or one of my IBS Jetbeams, and accidentally end up in a mode I didn't want or going through a on-change level-off sequence before I know it. Other than that, I really like being able to turn it on in either low or high as needed. I find the low-low particularly useful for checking on my kids at night, or reading at night in bed, etc.

I also agree the spill area is awfully broad, especially after switching to the SC50w+ from my EZAAw which has a throwier beam, with an overall narrower cone of light. Because of that difference, I find I need to put mine on its high setting (107 lumens) to get the same throw as my EZAAw on high (about 60 lumens).

With respect to the memory function, I'm confused; is yours showing the memory, or is it not? It is supposed to remember the sub level you set it to on the low and med levels; mine does. If yours is not remembering the sub-level properly, it has a problem.

Also, ZL's are supposed to be OTF lumens, so if yours isn't as bright as it should be, you should contact them about it. Considering the issue with the sub-level memory, you might have one with a problem. Mine seems to go through batteries faster than it should, but it may very well just be that I end up playing with it every so often, simply because it's so much fun. (I call it "finger crack"! Dope for your fingers...)

In the end, it's not the "perfect" EDC light, but it's damn nice. Overall I like it better than my EZAAw and Quark AA for EDC use, but there are times when my Quark AA or AA^2 is a more appropriate light. In fact, I EDC my ZL clipped in my pocket, and my QAA in its holster on the strap of my cycling bag. ("Two is one, one is none".) But again, it sounds like yours is having some issues; I'd contact the vendor or ZL themselves to inquire about an RMA and a replacement.

Bowzer,

The sub memory is as you described. I really didn't know if the was ok or not. But it seems as if all is well in that regard.
The OTF light, is that just in the hot spot or the full spectrum of HS & flood? That I'm not sure of.

As far as I understand it, lumens as measured for a flashlight should technically include the entire area of its beam, both hotspot and spill. And from the definition of lumens (discussed below, you can ignore if you want), two lights of the same lumens rating should have equal brightnesses regardless of the size of their beam area. So if your ZL doesn't look as bright as another light that is supposed to be the same lumens, either the advertised output of one light or the other is wrong, or the respective manufacturers are using a different standard to measure lumens.

Now for what "lumens" is… this is going to get complicated; I'll do my best to make it as clear as I can. I teach this stuff in my perception class, and I still sometimes get confused about it...

Lumens is defined as one candela per steradian, where a steradian is the two dimensional measure of angle (in other words a circle), in radians, and there are pi radians in one circle. Lumens is also differentiated into luminous vs radiant flux, where luminous flux is the light intensity off of a surface, and radiant flux is the light intensity from a generating source, like and LED emitter. It is also sometimes referred to as illuminant flux. Lumens as used to describe the brightness of a flashlight is therefore by definition a perceptual measure, of the brightness of the light off of that surface, where brightness is the psychological (perceptual) correlate to luminance.

By definition then, lumens is an area dependent measure, and after looking this up, I couldn't find in my CRC or other references I have the distance involved in the definition of "lumen", but lumens is an SI measurement, so I would assume the distance would be one meter. As a result, a light that produces, say, 1000 lumens at over one square meter would therefore produce 100 lumens at 10 square meters.

So the way this cashes out then, is that two lights of equal lumens at a given distance and illuminated area should not be perceptually different from one another. (I'm ignoring considerations of the difference threshold here, the amount of change in a physical stimulus necessary for an observer to perceive a change in the stimulus.)

This brings me back to where I started about brightness of two lights in comparison, etc. Not sure I can add much else here that will be of help… so I'll leave it at that.

MK9 said:

Bowzer,

The sub memory is as you described. I really didn't know if the was ok or not. But it seems as if all is well in that regard.
The OTF light, is that just in the hot spot or the full spectrum of HS & flood? That I'm not sure of.

Click to expand...

What battery are you using in it? My SC50+ is very bright on a 14500 and that is why I went with it instead of the new SC51 as I wanted to be able to use 14500's which the SC51 can't.

B0wz3r said:

As far as I understand it, lumens as measured for a flashlight should technically include the entire area of its beam, both hotspot and spill. And from the definition of lumens (discussed below, you can ignore if you want), two lights of the same lumens rating should have equal brightnesses regardless of the size of their beam area. So if your ZL doesn't look as bright as another light that is supposed to be the same lumens, either the advertised output of one light or the other is wrong, or the respective manufacturers are using a different standard to measure lumens.

Now for what "lumens" is… this is going to get complicated; I'll do my best to make it as clear as I can. I teach this stuff in my perception class, and I still sometimes get confused about it...

Lumens is defined as one candela per steradian, where a steradian is the two dimensional measure of angle (in other words a circle), in radians, and there are pi radians in one circle. Lumens is also differentiated into luminous vs radiant flux, where luminous flux is the light intensity off of a surface, and radiant flux is the light intensity from a generating source, like and LED emitter. It is also sometimes referred to as illuminant flux. Lumens as used to describe the brightness of a flashlight is therefore by definition a perceptual measure, of the brightness of the light off of that surface, where brightness is the psychological (perceptual) correlate to luminance.

By definition then, lumens is an area dependent measure, and after looking this up, I couldn't find in my CRC or other references I have the distance involved in the definition of "lumen", but lumens is an SI measurement, so I would assume the distance would be one meter. As a result, a light that produces, say, 1000 lumens at over one square meter would therefore produce 100 lumens at 10 square meters.

So the way this cashes out then, is that two lights of equal lumens at a given distance and illuminated area should not be perceptually different from one another. (I'm ignoring considerations of the difference threshold here, the amount of change in a physical stimulus necessary for an observer to perceive a change in the stimulus.)

This brings me back to where I started about brightness of two lights in comparison, etc. Not sure I can add much else here that will be of help… so I'll leave it at that.

Click to expand...

WOW!! I need a dictionary, a technical reference (of which I know not)
and someone to sit me down a translate what you just said.

But that is what I absolutely love about this site. my mind is working over time learning what you guys have to share. :thumbsup:

Like the Winchester lady said "keep Learning" or something like that.

Dan FO said:

What battery are you using in it? My SC50+ is very bright on a 14500 and that is why I went with it instead of the new SC51 as I wanted to be able to use 14500's which the SC51 can't.

Click to expand...

Currently, all my batteries are Energizer Alkalines. When they run out I'll be using Eneloops. I was looking at the 14500 but that's a bit much of an expense for at this time. Besides, for the most part I only use the lights on the lower setting.

You gain 71 lumens by using a 14500. 122 vs 193 lumens

You lose the strobe by using a 14500 but I don't mind.

http://goinggear.com/index.php?main...id=623&zenid=d8ec10166003b4b36555dceddb024324

MK9 said:

Bowzer,

The OTF light, is that just in the hot spot or the full spectrum of HS & flood? That I'm not sure of.

Click to expand...

Out The Front is the amount of actual light being produced. Yes some lights have the same lumen rating, but the lux (hot spot)of the light can be different due to reflectors and lens. To not have major thread hi-jack, read this.

A 14500 in my SC50w+ makes its output pretty much identical to my Quark AA Q3/5A in every way. On max their lumen ratings are only one lumen apart.

I run nimh's or L91's in mine though, as I find the strobe setting useful when walking at night, taking the dog out, things like that. I like being able to use it to let car drivers know I'm there. It's also useful strapped on my helmet on rainy days as a safety blinker.

Gaffle said:

Out The Front is the amount of actual light being produced. Yes some lights have the same lumen rating, but the lux (hot spot)of the light can be different due to reflectors and lens. To not have major thread hi-jack, read this.

Click to expand...

Yep, that's what I thought but only now had it confirmed.
Thank you

Dan FO said:

You lose the strobe by using a 14500 but I don't mind.

Click to expand...

I am curious what you guys get instead of strobe with 14500's?

My light gets the strobe with a 14500 battery. Wonder why?

notsofast said:

I am curious what you guys get instead of strobe with 14500's?

My light gets the strobe with a 14500 battery. Wonder why?

Click to expand...

If you have strobe on sub level high then you have the SC50 not the SC50+.

I LOVE the form factor of the Zebralight SC50+

I LOVE the size.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the side clicky switch

I ABSOLUTELY HATE that it doesn't remember your last setting, and return to that level when you turn the light back on.

99.9% of the time, I use the MEDIUM setting.

I SPECIFICALLY bought the SC50+ INSTEAD of the SC51, because the two medium settings are MUCH more 'reasonably' spaced, for me, at least.

SC50+:

Medium: 41 Lm (11.5 hrs) or 21 Lm (21.4 hrs)

SC51:

Medium: 30 Lm (12 hrs) or 8Lm (39 hrs)


I THOUGHT, from reading this in the 'specifications', that the light MEMORIZED the medium setting(s):

"Medium and Low sub-level selections are memorized after the light is turned off and through battery changes. Strobe selection is not memorized."

No, they are memorized so that NEXT TIME YOU GO TO MEDIUM, it will go to the last medium level you set.

I ABSOLUTELY HATE having to turn it on to HIGH, or LOW, and THEN, to get to the medium setting I ALWAYS USE.

It just drives me nuts.

Every time I turn it on.

I wish it had a bit more spill light, but that's more like nitpicking.

I REALLY wish it would switch on at MEDIUM, instead of ONLY low or high, which I ALMOST NEVER use.

I have yet to EDC it, because of this fact.

I may have to banish it to the CPF marketplace, because of this.

Well we all prefer to use our light's in a different way and you have your "must have" things and I have mine, I think everyone has a little thing they must have to even consider it perfect.

I will have to say though I prefer to use medium on my ZL's as well most of the time and have no problem holding the button down for 1 second or just simply clicking it twice quickly. It does not bother me but like I said not everyone is the same or we would have one light or one UI to choose from. I'm sure you won't have any trouble selling it over at CPFM.

goldenlight said:

I REALLY wish it would switch on at MEDIUM, instead of ONLY low or high, which I ALMOST NEVER use.

I have yet to EDC it, because of this fact.

I may have to banish it to the CPF marketplace, because of this.

Click to expand...

If you do a double click from off, it will flash very briefly through hi, then come on in medium, at the last medium setting you selected.

B0wz3r said:

If you do a double click from off, it will flash very briefly through hi, then come on in medium, at the last medium setting you selected.

Click to expand...

Holy Moly: that's not in the instructions!

But then, the instructions are that come with it are totally PATHETIC, and don't even tell you how to turn it on in the low mode, from off. And it doesn't even have the light's specifications

It's like they didn't want to use a bigger piece of paper, or, GASP!, print on BOTH sides of the really small piece of paper that came with it. It's about 1/4th to 1/3 the size of an 8.5" by 11.5" piece of paper.

Did you find this shortcut on your own, or did you see it somewhere?

You have probably saved me from getting rid of this nice little flashlight!

Thank you VERY much!