just got ZL sc51, have a question

hi guys i just received my new zebralight sc51 and am getting used to it

when i turn it off there is a short delay between me pressing the switch and the light going off, is this normal with the ZL switch?

thanks

I have a SC51w and mine has that .5 second delay also

Yes it's normal. The way the light is programmed is why there is a delay, and it is necessary. If the delay wasn't there it would not work when you double click it to get to one of the sub-levels. The delay is there so the light will know if you are double clicking or not.
Did that make any since?

It really doesn't matter too much; I actually didn't notice it till I had mine for a few days due to concentrating to manipulating and getting used to the UI where it became instinctive.Now I think its a great UI and the delay is not really a hinderance afterall

thanks very much

my initial impressions are that i like it, the tint is very good and it's just as small as i'd hoped

i am a little disappointed in the output on high, i thought it would be brighter than my ld10 r5: it isn't. the ld10 r5 throws much further and looks a lot brighter which means that the r4 ld10 will be a lot brighter. i thought this was the brightest 1xaa available

still going to be my new edc as the output is ok and the size/modes are really good

You might be in the H2 (100lm) instead of H1(200lm)? Try to double clicking to toggle back and forth.

dealgrabber2002 said:

You might be in the H2 (100lm) instead of H1(200lm)? Try to double clicking to toggle back and forth.

Click to expand...

no i understand the modes and how to change between them, it's just not as bright as expected

thanks

fannin said:

thanks very much

my initial impressions are that i like it, the tint is very good and it's just as small as i'd hoped

i am a little disappointed in the output on high, i thought it would be brighter than my ld10 r5: it isn't. the ld10 r5 throws much further and looks a lot brighter which means that the r4 ld10 will be a lot brighter. i thought this was the brightest 1xaa available

still going to be my new edc as the output is ok and the size/modes are really good

Click to expand...

According to selfbuilt, it is the brightness AA light that he tested using one Eneloop:

"Zebralight informed me that the SC51 was optimized for standard batteries, but I wasn't expecting this kind of performance. Output/runtime efficiency clearly outperforms even the Fenix LD10-R4 – in some cases by as much as 50% or more! Max output is also noticeably higher than the Fenix (which was itself head-and-shoulders above the other lights in my collection). The Eneloop, L91 and alkaline graphs all tell the story pretty well!"

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...xAA-Reviews-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS&highlight=sc51

According to his test, the Fenix light is brighter with 14500 battery. Also, lights with longer throw and a more focused beam will appear brighter than lights with a floodier beam. Ceiling-bounce is good test for overall brightness.

fannin said:

thanks very much

my initial impressions are that i like it, the tint is very good and it's just as small as i'd hoped

i am a little disappointed in the output on high, i thought it would be brighter than my ld10 r5: it isn't. the ld10 r5 throws much further and looks a lot brighter which means that the r4 ld10 will be a lot brighter. i thought this was the brightest 1xaa available

still going to be my new edc as the output is ok and the size/modes are really good

Click to expand...

According to selfbuilt, it is the brightness AA light that he tested using one Eneloop:

"Zebralight informed me that the SC51 was optimized for standard batteries, but I wasn't expecting this kind of performance. Output/runtime efficiency clearly outperforms even the Fenix LD10-R4 – in some cases by as much as 50% or more! Max output is also noticeably higher than the Fenix (which was itself head-and-shoulders above the other lights in my collection). The Eneloop, L91 and alkaline graphs all tell the story pretty well!"

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...xAA-Reviews-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS&highlight=sc51

According to his test, the Fenix light is brighter with 14500 battery. Also, lights with longer throw and a more focused beam will appear brighter than lights with a floodier beam. Ceiling-bounce is good test for overall brightness.

maybe he got a brighter one than i did

fannin said:

maybe he got a brighter one than i did

Click to expand...

Return it for another one.

davidt1 said:

Return it for another one.

Click to expand...

i could return it, it did come with some chips in the anodizing but returning stuff is hassle, especially to hk

anyway i do like it, the tint is very good and i doubt another one would be much brighter, maybe a bit but just comparing it to the ld10 it has a shallower reflector with substantial op vs the fenix's smooth reflector, i wouldn't expect it to be brighter, i only expected it to be brighter because i read the same review before i bought

fannin said:

thanks very much

my initial impressions are that i like it, the tint is very good and it's just as small as i'd hoped

i am a little disappointed in the output on high, i thought it would be brighter than my ld10 r5: it isn't. the ld10 r5 throws much further and looks a lot brighter which means that the r4 ld10 will be a lot brighter. i thought this was the brightest 1xaa available

still going to be my new edc as the output is ok and the size/modes are really good

Click to expand...

-Do you have fresh full battery?
-If you are not using Eneloops, you won´t probably get the most out of it.
-Try cleaning surfaces between battery positive & head, battery negative & tail + tailcap & body. This helped for me!

Tuikku said:

-Do you have fresh full battery?
-If you are not using Eneloops, you won´t probably get the most out of it.
-Try cleaning surfaces between battery positive & head, battery negative & tail + tailcap & body. This helped for me!

Click to expand...

full fresh eneloop yeah, it's bright, it's just not as bright as the ld10's and it's not getting any brighter lol

Lots of people perceive a light with a more intense beam as having more output. The LD10 has a more intense beam but it does not have more output. In other words, the SC51 is a more floody light than the LD10. The LD10 concentrates less lumens into a more intense beam while the SC51 has more lumens flooded out into wider beam. You should notice the hotspot on the SC51 is larger, the spill is larger, and the spill is brighter. The SC51 does put out more lumens.

On another note, the LD10 R5 has more output (lumens) than the LD10 R4. The difference is that the LD10 R4 was measured at turn on (or possibly used emitter lumens) while the LD10 R5 is measured using the ANSI standard OTF measurement for output.

Try the ceiling bounce test to see, how much there´s difference between fenix and sc51.

tre said:

Lots of people perceive a light with a more intense beam as having more output. The LD10 has a more intense beam but it does not have more output. In other words, the SC51 is a more floody light than the LD10. The LD10 concentrates less lumens into a more intense beam while the SC51 has more lumens flooded out into wider beam. You should notice the hotspot on the SC51 is larger, the spill is larger, and the spill is brighter. The SC51 does put out more lumens.

On another note, the LD10 R5 has more output (lumens) than the LD10 R4. The difference is that the LD10 R4 was measured at turn on (or possibly used emitter lumens) while the LD10 R5 is measured using the ANSI standard OTF measurement for output.

Click to expand...

yes the sc51 definitely has a less concentrated hotspot than the ld and i understand your point

i have an r5 ld10 and access to an r4 ld10 and the older r4 ld10 is significantly brighter on turbo than the newer r5 (noting to do with measured lumens or ansi, it's just a lot brighter), there is a thread somewhere on here which demonstrated that too. strange because my r4 ld20 was less bright than my r5 ld20. the r4 ld10 is the brightest 1xaa i have ever seen

update:

got another sc51 as a gift for someone else and it's visually brighter on high than mine, bit of inconsistency from zl

and yes i fully understand the modes and no i don't care that mine is a bit less bright on high/high, just an update, ld10 r4 still brighter than it, ld10 r5 a bit less bright

I also recently got an SC51, and like it very much! My first ZL was the SC600, so the UI was already familiar. This little thing has easily the most output I've seen in a single AA light, but I agree that a tighter beam on lesser output lights may seem brighter.

I've been EDC'ing the SC51 for two weeks now in the side pocket of my jeans. It's so small I don't even notice it's there, but still large enough that it's useable with winter gloves on. Some have reported the light accidentally turning on in the pocket unless the tailcap is locked out. So far I haven't had this problem, but I will keep an eye on that.

fannin said:

update:

got another sc51 as a gift for someone else and it's visually brighter on high than mine, bit of inconsistency from zl

and yes i fully understand the modes and no i don't care that mine is a bit less bright on high/high

Click to expand...

Is there any chance yours is an SC51w or SC51c and the gift one is an SC51 (cool white) ? The cool white is brighter than the neutral SC51w, while the hiCRI SC51c is significantly less bright than either (but more effiicient on the lower settings).