Olight SR51 Review with OTF Lumens, Runtime and Beam Shots

ti-force

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This is a review of the new Olight SR51. This light is new to Olight's Search and Rescue (SR) series. This light was sent to my by 4sevens for review purposes.



Here are the manufacturer's specs, taken from Olight's website:

SR51 Intimidator

Feature:

1. World-class super bright Cree XM-L LED

2. Max 900 lumens(OTF),700 meters long throw.

3. Max 10 hours long runtime

4. Anti battery polarity reverse protection

5. Two digitally controlled constant brightness levels and strobe

6. Access to strobe instantly

7. Rugged indestructible aluminum body with anti-scratching type III hard anodization, Engineered anti-slip knurling

for a tightly firm grip

8. Highly water resistant to IPX-8

9. Mil-spec: MIL-STD-810F

10. Mini orange peel reflector offers perfect beam and long throw.

11. Super Strong anti reflex coating lens,99% effective transmission

12. Excellent tridimensional heat dissipation ability

13. Friendly user interface, press and hold the switch for transferring mode.




Here's an image of everything that's included with the light. Like the SR91, this light comes in a nice case for storage and carry. It also comes with a holster, lanyard, spare o-rings, and a diffuser that can be easily installed over the bezel end of the light to convert the light into a very useful flood light.

DSC01728.jpg







Here are some images of the light :thumbsup::

DSC01726.jpg


DSC01731.jpg


DSC01732.jpg




Power button:

DSC01734.jpg


DSC01738.jpg



The business end houses the new Cree XM-L emitter:

DSC01739.jpg


DSC01741.jpg




The glass seal (red ring) at the bezel end of the light has a slight glow to it after the light is turned off. To notice this you will need to be in nearly complete darkness because it's a very dim glow:

DSC01736.jpg





Shown here is the included CR123 primary battery holder on the right, and an optional 2x18650 battery holder on the left:

DSC01733.jpg





Here's an image for size reference. From left to right- X10, SR51, S18 and the SR91:

DSC01760.jpg







Now it's time for some comparison beam shots against my garage door. All lights were in their highest mode, and all camera settings remained the same for each beam shot taken, and I set the white balance to auto, since we're not comparing tint here, just beam shape. Distance from each light to my garage door is roughly 17ft.

These are .gif's, which I believe help to see the difference between each light better. If you're using a mobile device you may not be able to see the .gif's work properly. If you're viewing it properly you should see two images switching back and forth with each beam shot. Certain browsers also have trouble viewing these:




SR51 without diffuser vs SR51 with diffuser:

SR51-No-Diffuser-vs-SR51-Diffuser.gif





SR51 without diffuser vs X10:

SR51-No-Diffuser-vs-X10.gif





SR51 without diffuser vs SR91:

SR51-No-Diffuser-vs-SR91.gif






SR51 without diffuser vs S18:

S18-High-vs-SR51-High-No-Diffuser.gif









I was able to take some long range beam shots last night. They are not perfect. Bugs kept flying towards my lights, and this can be seen in most of the images. All camera settings remained the same for each image taken. White balance was set to auto. Distance from lights to tree is roughly 90 to 100 yards. NOTE: These images are over exposed. At these distances it has to be done to show the beam profile correctly. The brightness of these images is brighter than the light actually is at these distances. Don't expect these lights to be this bright at these distances in person.






SR51 No Diffuser vs SR51 With Diffuser

SR51-No-Diffuser-vs-SR51-With-Diffuser.gif





SR51 vs S18

S18-vs-SR51-No-Diffuser.gif





SR51 vs SR91

SR51-vs-SR91.gif






SR51 vs X10

SR51-vs-X10.gif







Now it's time for some OTF lumen results. The SR51 was tested using two AW 2900mAh 18650 Li-ion batteries, and since this light is not thermally regulated like the X10 (and others) I didn't test this light in any other method than simply holding the light in my hand by the handle, which is how I expect most users to use this light. I didn't use a cooling fan or any other method of cooling on this light because it didn't get hot enough to worry about heat. I feel like this method more truly represents the lights output and runtime. Below I've posted two images to show an example of how I'm holding the light during the following test (click each image to view full size):







Here are my OTF lumen results for this test. Again, I'm using 2x18650's for this test:

SR51NormalUseOTFLumenGraph.png



And here is a thermal graph showing the lights exterior temperature throughout the run time test:

SR51NormalUseThermalGraph.png










I've also decided to include a graph comparing the SR51 to the 4sevens Maelstrom X10. The following test was done using the same method, meaning I held the light by the handle with my bare hand. The X10 starts dropping in output due to thermal regulation. This is a feature that 4sevens has developed into the X10 to protect it from overheating, which could damage the light, and/or injure the user due to heat. The size of the SR51 is the reason it can hold its output without the need for thermal regulation:

SR51NormalUsevsX10NormalUseOTFLumenGraph.png



And the thermal graph for the previous test:

SR51NormalUsevsX10NormalUseThermalGraph.png








The X10 can maintain an output closer to its initial output for a much longer duration if the light is kept cool enough. I've demonstrated this in my X10 review. However it's possible that the SR51 could hold a higher lumen output throughout its run time if I were to use the same cooling methods used on the X10, so this is not really a fair comparison, but it gives you an idea of what the X10 can do if the temperatures remain low. Please see the images in my X10 review for images showing examples of the different holding/cooling methods of the X10:

SR51vsX10OTFLumenGraph.png



And here's the thermal graph showing the temperature of each light in the previous test:

SR51vsX10ThermalGraph.png








I hope you enjoyed my review, and hopefully this data was helpful.
 
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tre

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I love your graphs. great review. Do you have any method (equipment) to determine lux @ 1 meter (or 4 meters). In the beam shots it looks like the x10 has a more intense hotspot than the SR51 but I don't know how that could be since the SR51 puts out slightly more lumens and has a huge head. Maybe I'm jst not seeing it right.
 

jhc37013

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I love your graphs. great review. Do you have any method (equipment) to determine lux @ 1 meter (or 4 meters). In the beam shots it looks like the x10 has a more intense hotspot than the SR51 but I don't know how that could be since the SR51 puts out slightly more lumens and has a huge head. Maybe I'm jst not seeing it right.


I have both and the SR51 definitely out throws the X10.
 

ti-force

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Post #1 updated with long range beam shots. Please read my notes above the .gif's of the beam shots.
 

ti-force

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Hi. Is there any runtime difference when you choose 6xcr123 or 2x18650 ?

I haven't tested the light with 6xCR123's




I love your graphs. great review. Do you have any method (equipment) to determine lux @ 1 meter (or 4 meters). In the beam shots it looks like the x10 has a more intense hotspot than the SR51 but I don't know how that could be since the SR51 puts out slightly more lumens and has a huge head. Maybe I'm jst not seeing it right.

Thanks for the kind words! I can measure lux, but I'm not set up for it so it's always a hassle for me to do it. I've been trying to find time for it lately, but haven't. I'll keep trying. In the mean time, maybe the long range beam shots I've just uploaded to my first post will give a better idea of beam angle difference between the two.
 

Ti²C

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thank you for the excellent review and beamshots :thumbsup:
 

candle lamp

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Excellent review! :twothumbs

Thanks a lot for your good work.

What kind of instrument for measuring exterior temperature of the lights?
 

coyotehawk

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I was told by a sales rep from going gear that this light comes with the additional 18650 battery magazine. Is this a true statement or do you have to buy the magazine separate?
 

tre

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I haven't tested the light with 6xCR123's
Thanks for the kind words! I can measure lux, but I'm not set up for it so it's always a hassle for me to do it. I've been trying to find time for it lately, but haven't. I'll keep trying. In the mean time, maybe the long range beam shots I've just uploaded to my first post will give a better idea of beam angle difference between the two.

Excellent beam shots. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Those beams comparison shots are all that is needed.
 

Calite

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I was told by a sales rep from going gear that this light comes with the additional 18650 battery magazine. Is this a true statement or do you have to buy the magazine separate?
I just received my SR51 yesterday from Going Gear. I was also told the 18650 carrier would be included. However, they apparently have just stopped including them and i didn't get one with my order. They tell me you now have to order them separately. They are making good on what they told me and sending one to me at no charge.
 
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Calite

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Excellent review! It's a great light and I'm very pleased with mine so far. I just tried it tonight for the first time - very bright with great throw. Do you know if the lens is glass or another material? It's hard for me to tell.
 

Lost

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I was told by a sales rep from going gear that this light comes with the additional 18650 battery magazine. Is this a true statement or do you have to buy the magazine separate?

The holder was free until August.
 

ti-force

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Excellent review! :twothumbs

Thanks a lot for your good work.

What kind of instrument for measuring exterior temperature of the lights?

Thanks! Temperature measurement is done using an infrared thermometer.





Thanks for the detailed review. Is a glass or plastic lens used in the SR51?

Excellent review! It's a great light and I'm very pleased with mine so far. I just tried it tonight for the first time - very bright with great throw. Do you know if the lens is glass or another material? It's hard for me to tell.

You're welcome. I can't get the lens out of the light so I can look at the edge of it, but I believe it to be made of glass. The lens in the slip on diffuser is glass, so I don't see why they wouldn't use glass for the light itself. From my experience, glass lenses are more scratch resistant than plastic lenses. That's another reason I don't think they would use a plastic lens.





Excellent beam shots. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Those beams comparison shots are all that is needed.

Thanks! I'm glad the beam shots are helpful.
 

AverageGuy

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Excellent review, thank you for the time and effort you put into it, especially the beamshots, they were very helpful.

Based in part on your beamshots, (they are very representative of what I see), I decided to pick this light up, I am glad I did, I am very happy with it.
 
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Bass

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Excellent review ti-force :twothumbs Your animated gifs, graphs and technical reviews are suberb. It's about time you got consideration for submissions to the review forum IMO.

I love the look of this light, quite a simple design with some really nice detailing and subtle touches. It has a classic look to me which shouldn't date, kind of 'timeless'. Great job OLight. I'm a sucker for red 'o' rings and gaskets as well but that's the sad flashaholic in me :eek:

Thanks for all the work and pictures in your reviews.
 

ti-force

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Excellent review, thank you for the time and effort you put into it, especially the beamshots, they were very helpful.

Based in part on your beamshots, (they are very representative of what I see), I decided to pick this light up, I am glad I did, I am very happy with it.

Thanks for the kind words. And I'm glad you're happy with your new light :thumbsup:.



Excellent review ti-force :twothumbs Your animated gifs, graphs and technical reviews are suberb. It's about time you got consideration for submissions to the review forum IMO.

I love the look of this light, quite a simple design with some really nice detailing and subtle touches. It has a classic look to me which shouldn't date, kind of 'timeless'. Great job OLight. I'm a sucker for red 'o' rings and gaskets as well but that's the sad flashaholic in me :eek:

Thanks for all the work and pictures in your reviews.

Thanks, Bass! I appreciate the kind words :).
 

smokelaw1

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As one of the (many, i"m guessing) people trying to decide between the X10 and the SR51, I thought this review would help. It really is an amazing review....but now I want both even more! If I only get one, I think I'll do the SR51 for the multi battery options and the side switch. As a "scan the tree line for coyote eyeshine" I like the throw of the SR51, but for "look for a dog that got out that could be anywhere from 15 - 300 feet away in the alley or on the beach, I like the more balanced X10 light. Maybe the SR51 with the diffuser ready to go is the answer!

Thanks for your amazing reviews!
 
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