Preordered the Zebralight SC5fd!

Now that I've received my Zebralight SC5fd I wanted to update my original post with pictures as well as my impressions of this light. First the pictures.

Here are a few more pictures comparing my SC5fd with a Nichia 219 P60 dropin and a Zebralight SC62w. I took 3 different pictures at different settings to try to capture the flood of the SC5fd versus the tighter hotspot of the Nichia and SC62w. The door in the picture is white while the walls are a very light beige/tan color, the Nichia and SC5fd clearly bring out the actual color of the door/walls best. The results are quite impressive in my opinion as the Nichia is a highly regarded emitter with great CRI, 90+ and my SC5fd is right there with it performance wise.

On the left is the Nichia 219, the middle is the SC5fd and the right is the SC62w.




Then since I live in an apartment and can't get any outdoor test pics at this time I decided to do the next best thing. I set the light at the end of my hallway which is probably 20-25 feet away from this door and took some pics. These were taken at a similar brightness level as well but you can see the difference between the tighter hotspot of the Nichia vs the complete flood of the SC5fd. Let me know what you guys think!

Nichia 219


SC62w (notice more of a yellow tint compared with the others)


SC5fd


Now for a summary of my impressions about this light. First off I will say that tint is excellent on this light, very close to a pure white with no yellow, green or other color shades present. Some NW tints will have a green or yellowish tint to them but there is none present in this light. The characteristic "light golden/tan" tint of the Nichia emitter is also not present in this Easywhite LED. Instead the tint is... white. Even when using my camera to attempt to manipulate the white balance and exposure I could not detect hints of green or yellow as is characteristic of the Cree line of LED's. For those who like warmer tint I imagine the SC5fc would offer that since it is in the 4000k range.

Pros
+Excellent white tint
+Uses Eneloop NIMH batteries
+Diffuse beam provides a nice soft area of illumination
+Excellent anodizing
+Smooth threads
+Great EDC light

Cons
-Initial high pitch whine, no longer present however
-Diffuse/floody beam has very little throw
-Less output compared to SC5w

Surprised there isn't more interest for this light as it marks a big step forward for Zebralight if the tint is as consistent and uniform as they claim. Anyone else preorder one?

I'm interested in hearing about it. I'd probably get the c model.

I'm also interested. I want to try both temperatures.

I am currently holding out for the H600F c/d MKIII headlamps. However, if I can sale some of my stuff, I will give in and get the SC5fd.

snowlover91 said:

Surprised there isn't more interest for this light as it marks a big step forward for Zebralight if the tint is as consistent and uniform as they claim.

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Probably because it isn't even out yet. And, the fact it only comes with a frosted lens, might make it less appealing. Still, I'm definitely interested, but will wait for the reviews.

WalkIntoTheLight said:

And, the fact it only comes with a frosted lens, might make it less appealing.

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That's what I'm thinking. As tempting as it is, I'm just going to go with the SC5w OP. I think that will be perfect. Even the smooth reflector gives a great beam, so there's no way I would want to go to the extreme of a frosted version, especially with a lower output to start. At 500lm, maybe, but probably still no go for me.

Still, not as much interest as I would have thought. I bet that "d" version tint will be perfect though.

SC5c/d models starting with a frosted lens, as well as the H600c/d. I hope this "starting-with-frosted-lens" isn't a new trend for Zebralight!

I'm thinking the frosted lens is because of the particular LED used which would produce a donut shape on the wall without a frosted lens. I think that's why they went with it to smooth that out. Sort of like the MC-E LED's that were used years ago, they made a donut shape in the beam pattern because of the led design.

Hopefully someone ordered the 4k version of this as well so we can see what the tint looks like on that copy. I'm thinking the 4k version will be similar to a nichia in tint while the 5k version will be a pure white/neutral.

snowlover91 said:

I'm thinking the frosted lens is because of the particular LED used which would produce a donut shape on the wall without a frosted lens. I think that's why they went with it to smooth that out. Sort of like the MC-E LED's that were used years ago, they made a donut shape in the beam pattern because of the led design.

Hopefully someone ordered the 4k version of this as well so we can see what the tint looks like on that copy. I'm thinking the 4k version will be similar to a nichia in tint while the 5k version will be a pure white/neutral.

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IMO, the 4k tint should be perfect. 5k is too cool.

Good to have choice!

snowlover91 said:

I'm thinking the frosted lens is because of the particular LED used which would produce a donut shape on the wall without a frosted lens. I think that's why they went with it to smooth that out. Sort of like the MC-E LED's that were used years ago, they made a donut shape in the beam pattern because of the led design.

Hopefully someone ordered the 4k version of this as well so we can see what the tint looks like on that copy. I'm thinking the 4k version will be similar to a nichia in tint while the 5k version will be a pure white/neutral.

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^ This.

If anyone did their research, it looks like the XM-L2 easywhite is broken up into four sections (like the Cree MC-E emitters) not just one larger piece. At least according to Cree's photos.

Also, with the high CRI and lower output, the new sc5f c/d and h600f c/d MK3 are clearly a niche item anyways. (not for everyone)

WalkIntoTheLight said:

IMO, the 4k tint should be perfect. 5k is too cool.

Good to have choice!

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I plan on buying both!

Here is a link to the Cree website it looks just like a smaller MC-E emitter with 4 chips/dies. If they continue using this LED it is likely it'll be with a frosted lens since otherwise you would get a donut shape profile which would drive us crazy lol. Looking forward to comparing it with my other lights to see how the tint and beam profile compares.

http://www.cree.com/LED-Components-and-Modules/Products/XLamp/Arrays-Directional/XLamp-XML2-EZW

Found this old thread on CPF about the easy white LED, provides a lot of great information about it and what we can expect. Someone who used the 3500k emitters for lighting had great results.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?314318-Cree-Easy-White

I have a sc32w and sc62w. Both have the same perfect tint. You'd have to make it a triple nichia to interest me. 1 just isn't enough output.

Should be getting a shipping notice soon for this light, hopefully today or tomorrow and getting the light early next week if that happens! I'll post some beamshots and compare it with my SC62w and Nichia lights for everyone to see once it comes in.

Looking forward to hearing some feedback! I just pre-ordered the SC5w OP...the one that actually kept me from getting the SC5Fd.

markr6 said:

Looking forward to hearing some feedback! I just pre-ordered the SC5w OP...the one that actually kept me from getting the SC5Fd.

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Likewise from you for the SC5w OP that's already shipped! I heard back from ZL and they said international orders for the SC5fd lights began shipping today and US orders should begin within 7-10 days. You'll have your OP version before mine arrives it sounds like, oh well guess I need to learn some patience. Waiting for some of our international posters to let us know how the SC5fd performs!

snowlover91 said:

Likewise from you for the SC5w OP that's already shipped! I heard back from ZL and they said international orders for the SC5fd lights began shipping today and US orders should begin within 7-10 days. You'll have your OP version before mine arrives it sounds like, oh well guess I need to learn some patience. Waiting for some of our international posters to let us know how the SC5fd performs!

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I'll have the OP on Monday!!

Zebralight has updated the status of this light as "back ordered" so either they have already sold out of all the preorders they had due to high demand or they are having some delays with these.. I'm hoping it's due to high demand and that I get a shipping notification soon.

snowlover91 said:

Zebralight has updated the status of this light as "back ordered" so either they have already sold out of all the preorders they had due to high demand or they are having some delays with these.. I'm hoping it's due to high demand and that I get a shipping notification soon.

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Gee, thanks for pointing that out, I wonder what's going on. I did send Zebralight an e-mail asking when the actual shipping date would be for US customers. They did say they should receive a shipment from their factory on Friday, so I dunno. :thinking:

That's what I heard from them too, I'm expecting the preorders to ship late this week for US customers. I'm guessing it's due to high demand for this light that they list it as backordered, they did the same with the SC5w for a few weeks after the preorders shipped due to high demand. I wonder if anyone else on here besides me preordered the SC5fd?