Zebralight SC51c - Now I understand High CRI - Me likey!

I "fell off the wagon" a while ago and am back into flashaholism.

I am a big fan of the Zebralight family of lights and have been buying several of the new models.

Like most flashaholics, I was initially attracted to lights with high lumens - the brighter the better. I never bought a neutral or warm LED light because why would I want to give up precious lumens?

Then I dipped my toe into the water and bought a Zebralight SC51w - the warm/neutral. I found I immediately liked this tint better than my cool white SC51! I also discovered that the slightly reduced lumen level of the warm LED just did not really matter. To my eyes, there wasn't that dramatic of a difference, but the color rendering of the warm LED was noticeably more pleasing and natural looking.

You flashaholics know what's next......soon I *had* to also try the Zebralight SC51c - their "High CRI" light that uses the Phillips Rebel LED as opposed to the Cree LED in their other lights.
I hesitated because I really didn't *need* another light and I was very happy with my SC51w. Also the nagging little lumens demon kept saying "look at the reduced lumens in the specs....it is even less than the warm led!" Of course the hesitation didn't last long. I ordered an SC51c from Zebralight on Sunday, and even with no mail being processed on Monday because of "Columbus Day" I still received my new light on Friday.

All I can say is "Wow" - I love this little light. Two things became obvious to me very quickly:
1) I liked this tint even more than the warm
2) The Rebel LED has more "throw" than the Cree, thus helping to offset the lesser lumens

Comparing the two lights side by side, the SC51w is definitely more floody than the SC51c. The 51c actually appears brighter on low and medium modes because of the more concentrated hotspot. On high mode the 51w is slightly brighter but again, my eyes perceive the difference as very slight, and I actually prefer the slightly more focused hotspot and better throw the 51c offers.

Color rendition is notably better with the 51c - and this is impressive to me because the color and tint of the Zebralight warm is very nice in it's own right!

When I compared the beams of the 51c and 51w to my Fenix cool-white LD10, I was <GACK> what a difference! The cool-white appears horrendous to me now. Sickly bluish and cold, smearing over color details and coating everything it hits with an overpowering monochromatic artificial glaze.

The High CRI 51c seemed warm and real and made the colors pop.

Now I am really starting to "get-it." Is this the natural progression of flashaholism? To go from a lumen-crazed lunatic with nary a thought about accurate color rendition, to an appreciation that the tint and accuracy of the light (especially for the small EDC category of lights like the Zebralight) is actually more important!?

I understand the occasional need, and the appeal, of the mega-lumen blasters for caving, searching, etc. But for the actual day-to-day use of a small pocket light, I am no longer interested in cool-white LED's at all.

I have seen the light! (That corny pun was never used here before right? )

The Zebralight SC51c is my first "High CRI" light. I love the quality of light it puts out, and the quantity of light is fine, given the tighter beam and better throw of the Rebel LED.

Cheers,

~i8mtm

Welcome to the ranks of the converted. I haven't bought or built a light that's not High CRI in nearly a year.

You'll soon find cobwebs on your cool white lights!

Is this the natural progression of flashaholism? To go from a lumen-crazed lunatic with nary a thought about accurate color rendition, to an appreciation that the tint and accuracy of the light (especially for the small EDC category of lights like the Zebralight) is actually more important!?

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Your next step is buying hi cri, or favorite tint leds, and swap out the leds in your cool white collection

Is this the natural progression of flashaholism? To go from a lumen-crazed lunatic with nary a thought about accurate color rendition, to an appreciation that the tint and accuracy of the light (especially for the small EDC category of lights like the Zebralight) is actually more important!?

Click to expand...

I've not been on this forum long but here's how I see the flashaholic progession..

1) Buy a 'great' LED light from a store.
2) Go online to find some rechargeable batteries and a charger (google)
3) Find CPF
4) Realise your 'great' light is shockingly bad, old tech and overpriced.
5) Decide to buy your first proper light.
6) Spend hours reading reviews and watching youtube vids before buying
7) Convince yourself you need a keychain light
8) Repeat step 6
9) Convince yourself you need a single cr123 light
10) Repeat step 6
11) convince yourself you need an xm-l light
12) step 6
13) convince yourself you need a night stand light
14) step 6
15) convince yourself you need every possible battery configuration encase of holocaust
16) step 6
17) dip your toe in the modifying world
18) step 6
19) buy various aspherical lenses, bezels, tubes, switch boots GITD bits, tritium vials
20) notice all parts you bought still in a padded envelope for weeks to come
21) realise you've only ever really used 1 or 2 of the 15 lights you've bought over the last month
22) step back from the scene
23) find CPF again
24) decide you need high CRI natural lights close to incan
25) sell a load of your still boxed blue coloured lights to people still on step 15
26) buy warm/high cri/natural tinted lights
27) buy some expensive titanium warm lights
28) sit back with your thinned out expensive collection and laugh at all the noobs asking which cool white/blue light is best.

Your CPF ranking says "Unenlightened" when you should be enlightened now. Welcome to the high CRI club! I don't own any high CRI Zebralight but I have a high CRI HDS clicky, a Malkoff M61HCRI running in an MD2 host and a McGizmo Mule high CRI. Next coming in a couple of days will be a McGizmo high CRI Haiku head to swap with the cool white XM-L head. I am contemplating an SC51c but is holding out due to all the McGizmo spendings.

Glad you like your new light.

Is this natural progression? I don't think so; I think it is just preference. Some people don't need, want or care about high CRI.

Seems to me you decided you like high CRI, which is fine. This does not mean that other people don't understand, just that some decide against it.

AutoTech said:

I've not been on this forum long but here's how I see the flashaholic progession..

1) Buy a 'great' LED light from a store.
2) Go online to find some rechargeable batteries and a charger (google)
3) Find CPF
4) Realise your 'great' light is shockingly bad, old tech and overpriced.
5) Decide to buy your first proper light.
6) Spend hours reading reviews and watching youtube vids before buying
7) Convince yourself you need a keychain light
8) Repeat step 6
9) Convince yourself you need a single cr123 light
10) Repeat step 6
11) convince yourself you need an xm-l light
12) step 6
13) convince yourself you need a night stand light
14) step 6
15) convince yourself you need every possible battery configuration encase of holocaust
16) step 6
17) dip your toe in the modifying world
18) step 6
19) buy various aspherical lenses, bezels, tubes, switch boots GITD bits, tritium vials
20) notice all parts you bought still in a padded envelope for weeks to come
21) realise you've only ever really used 1 or 2 of the 15 lights you've bought over the last month
22) step back from the scene
23) find CPF again
24) decide you need high CRI natural lights close to incan
25) sell a load of your still boxed blue coloured lights to people still on step 15
26) buy warm/high cri/natural tinted lights
27) buy some expensive titanium warm lights
28) sit back with your thinned out expensive collection and laugh at all the noobs asking which cool white/blue light is best.

Click to expand...

Hah hah....too funny. And an accurate assessment as well....

i8mtm said:

Is this the natural progression of flashaholism? To go from a lumen-crazed lunatic with nary a thought about accurate color rendition, to an appreciation that the tint and accuracy of the light (especially for the small EDC category of lights like the Zebralight) is actually more important!?

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Yes, that's exactly the same progression we see over and over again. The first post is usually something like "Looking for a super bright pocket light", and after a while they figure out that the UI is important, and then they start wondering about all those neutral lights they keep reading about.

Now, instead of letting your old lights collect cobwebs, try adding filters and seeing if that will give new life to those nasty old cold white lights:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?320811-Changing-LED-Tint-With-Filters

It's easy, inexpensive, and totally reversible.

In any case, congratulations on your new found appreciation for accurate color rendering lights. Full speed ahead and don't ever look back.

Thank you Derek Dean for the info - I will definitely look into this. There are some older lights I have that I really like except for the cool-white tint.

There are other cool-whites (basically new in the box) that I have decided will be Christmas presents to friends & family that will simply go "Wow - look how bright this is!"

I just received my Zebralight H51Fc in the mail on Thursday. It's my first Zebralight, and my second high CRI LED after my Malkoff M61HCRI.

My appreciation for high CRI LEDs actually came sort of by accident. I had a dozen high-end LED lights in my collection when I stumbled across a Surefire 6P Original in a sporting goods store that was mislabeled as a 6P LED. I picked it up at a pretty good discount because it was obvious someone bought a 6P LED and returned it to the store with the P60 incandescent lamp in it.

I figured I'd just swap out the lamp with an XM-L drop-in anyway. To my surprise, I fell in love with the P60 incandescent. I had never handled a quality incandescent light before, other than the typical 3D/4D Maglites years ago.

I was soon on the hunt for an LED drop-in that would get as close to incandescent light as possible. That lead me to the Malkoff M61HCRI, and the rest is history. I now only buy incandescent Surefires, and high CRI LED lights/drop-ins.

Some people don't like or simply don't care about high color rendering, or warm tints. But for the rest of us, it's hard to ever go back to cool blue/white lights after seeing a quality HCRI light.

Hi JohnnyLunar,

Your post is interesting to me because my first bout of "flashaholism" was many years ago and I bought a SureFire 6Z "Combat" light (that has the rubber finger holder so you can activate in one hand while holding a pistol with the other if need be). The light is an incandescent, 2xCR123. It says "Sure-Fire Laser Products Fountain Valley CA" on the back of the push switch. It has no tailcap lock-out.

I never really carried it, because I thought it too big for EDC. I didn't like the way I could burn through (at the time) expensive bulbs and batteries. It languished in my drawer.

However, that very same light is now quite useful when comparing color temperature and tint. When I compared my cool-white LED's against the Sure-Fire, it was almost unbearable to watch.

I have seen some very good deals online as people sell-off their "obsolete" Incandescent Sure-Fires. I have been passing those deals by because I figured I only need one incandescent light for reference. However, I hope you don't mind if I steal your idea..... I think a SureFire light with a Malkoff M61HCRI would be great!

AutoTech said:

I've not been on this forum long but here's how I see the flashaholic progession..

1) Buy a 'great' LED light from a store.
2) Go online to find some rechargeable batteries and a charger (google)
3) Find CPF
4) Realise your 'great' light is shockingly bad, old tech and overpriced.
5) Decide to buy your first proper light.
6) Spend hours reading reviews and watching youtube vids before buying
7) Convince yourself you need a keychain light
8) Repeat step 6
9) Convince yourself you need a single cr123 light
10) Repeat step 6
11) convince yourself you need an xm-l light
12) step 6
13) convince yourself you need a night stand light
14) step 6
15) convince yourself you need every possible battery configuration encase of holocaust
16) step 6
17) dip your toe in the modifying world
18) step 6
19) buy various aspherical lenses, bezels, tubes, switch boots GITD bits, tritium vials
20) notice all parts you bought still in a padded envelope for weeks to come
21) realise you've only ever really used 1 or 2 of the 15 lights you've bought over the last month
22) step back from the scene
23) find CPF again
24) decide you need high CRI natural lights close to incan
25) sell a load of your still boxed blue coloured lights to people still on step 15
26) buy warm/high cri/natural tinted lights
27) buy some expensive titanium warm lights
28) sit back with your thinned out expensive collection and laugh at all the noobs asking which cool white/blue light is best.

Click to expand...

LoL you catch on fast... thats about how i went about it. hehe...

i8mtm: you sir, have just convinced me to get the rebel ZL, if possible for my next ZL.
if you like high CRI, you should check out the 90+ high CRI XP-G. my favorite LED because of the 3000k tint, and high CRI
ive swapped it in a few lights, and now those are my favorite users.

Is there that much visual difference between the 4200k of the SC51w and the 4000k of the SC51c? I have the SC51w and enjoy its tint very much.I think I have seen some pics of the SC51c beamshots before and couldn't tell much of a difference between it and the SC51w beamshots myself, but this may just be me.

I think part of the difference is the beam pattern is very different between the two lights. The 51w is "floodier" and the 51c has more "throw" - In low and med modes, the tighter throw is more useful to me.

And yes, you can see a difference between the two. Remember, it is not just the color temperature that is different, the 51c is also has the higher color rendering index (CRI).

If I had neither light, knowing what I know now, I would have probably just gotten the 51c. However, the 51w is very nice too. Isn't the standard response on any enthusiast forum "Just buy both!" :devil:

If you have the money to spare, I think you will find it interesting to have both and compare. However only you can decide if it is "worth it." For me, it helped me understand what all the fuss with a high CRI light is about because I never had one before.

Cheers,

~i8mtm

AutoTech said:

I've not been on this forum long but here's how I see the flashaholic progession..

1) Buy a 'great' LED light from a store.
2) Go online to find some rechargeable batteries and a charger (google)
3) Find CPF
4) Realise your 'great' light is shockingly bad, old tech and overpriced.
5) Decide to buy your first proper light.
6) Spend hours reading reviews and watching youtube vids before buying
7) Convince yourself you need a keychain light
8) Repeat step 6
9) Convince yourself you need a single cr123 light
10) Repeat step 6
11) convince yourself you need an xm-l light
12) step 6
13) convince yourself you need a night stand light
14) step 6
15) convince yourself you need every possible battery configuration encase of holocaust
16) step 6
17) dip your toe in the modifying world
18) step 6
19) buy various aspherical lenses, bezels, tubes, switch boots GITD bits, tritium vials
20) notice all parts you bought still in a padded envelope for weeks to come
21) realise you've only ever really used 1 or 2 of the 15 lights you've bought over the last month
22) step back from the scene
23) find CPF again
24) decide you need high CRI natural lights close to incan
25) sell a load of your still boxed blue coloured lights to people still on step 15
26) buy warm/high cri/natural tinted lights
27) buy some expensive titanium warm lights
28) sit back with your thinned out expensive collection and laugh at all the noobs asking which cool white/blue light is best.

Click to expand...

I went through all of those stages except for #27, I'm into custom p60 drop-ins(triples/quads) and host(moddoolar/surefire). Might not be as expensive as Ti lights, but compared to off the shelf lights It's still expensive(specially for non flashaholics).

#25 is where I'm at and I'll be on #28 in a few days, I laughed when I read your post. I felt like somebody was watching the progress of my flashaholism, lol. Maybe that's just the way it really is(for us flashaholics), I know some people who's still addicted to lumens and will not trade quantity over the quality(CRI/tint) of light.

AutoTech said:

I've not been on this forum long but here's how I see the flashaholic progession..

1) Buy a 'great' LED light from a store.
2) Go online to find some rechargeable batteries and a charger (google)
3) Find CPF
4) Realise your 'great' light is shockingly bad, old tech and overpriced.
5) Decide to buy your first proper light.
6) Spend hours reading reviews and watching youtube vids before buying
7) Convince yourself you need a keychain light
8) Repeat step 6
9) Convince yourself you need a single cr123 light
10) Repeat step 6
11) convince yourself you need an xm-l light
12) step 6
13) convince yourself you need a night stand light
14) step 6
15) convince yourself you need every possible battery configuration encase of holocaust
16) step 6
17) dip your toe in the modifying world
18) step 6
19) buy various aspherical lenses, bezels, tubes, switch boots GITD bits, tritium vials
20) notice all parts you bought still in a padded envelope for weeks to come
21) realise you've only ever really used 1 or 2 of the 15 lights you've bought over the last month
22) step back from the scene
23) find CPF again
24) decide you need high CRI natural lights close to incan
25) sell a load of your still boxed blue coloured lights to people still on step 15
26) buy warm/high cri/natural tinted lights
27) buy some expensive titanium warm lights
28) sit back with your thinned out expensive collection and laugh at all the noobs asking which cool white/blue light is best.

Click to expand...

This should be added to 'The Welcome Mat'

Creepily accurate...