ZebraLight SC63W vs SC5C MKII H CRI

I like the tint on my SC5CW.

But I like the form -- size and weight -- of my SC62W.

Now there is an SC63W (back ordered at this writing on ZL site), and an SC5C MKII H CRI -- wow!! -- (listed as a preorder, possibly arriving April 30).

At least one dealer warns potential SC63 buyers that: "Due to the nature of the quad die and shallow reflector, a colored donut hole is present in the beam patterns of these lights. If donut holes are of concern to you, please do not buy this light."

I don't notice any donut holes in either of my SC62Ws. Are donut holes supposedly present in the SC62 series?

So how would the tints and beams of the 63W and the 5C MKII H CRI compare?..... I usually use my lights at maximum brightness.

I'd love a High CRI tint but without any donut holes.

I remember fellow CPFers posting about donut hole on their SC63/SC63W. It's a rare issue but does happen. I assume the donut hole is because of the quad die XHP35 inside, and the reflector is not big enough to diffuse the light. XM-L2 based SC62/SC62W are not supposed to have this issue.

If you require constant max brightness the SC5C might be underpowered for you, putting out less than 500 lumens for three minutes, whereas your SC62W can go for a constant 930 lumens and only step down when it overheats. That said, the SC5C's tint (not to mention great CRI) is meant to be very consistent across samples at 4000K CCT due to the 2-step MacAdam ellipse range. LEDs in lights like your SC62W and SC63W are within a 5-step MacAdam ellipse so the tint variation would be all over the place. The SC5C uses XP-L2 easywhite LED so I don't think it will have the donut hole problem.

I have the 63w and severe SC5 lights. There isn't a "donut hole" in my 63w, maybe a slightly darker spot in the middle if you shine the light up close on a wall but even then it's barely noticeable. My 63w is just average tint, not great or bad even though it has higher cri. I have no idea how the SC5 MK2 will perform but on paper it sounds like the better tint/cri combo but with much less runtime than an 18650 light would have. If you're running the light at max brightness you'll definitely get better performance from the 63/62 lights with double the lumen output and much longer runtimes.

Thanks, TCY and snowlover. Good to know that your 63W has no donut hole.
Still, that high CRI 5C sounds awfully tempting.:thumbsup:

hatman said:

Thanks, TCY and snowlover. Good to know that your 63W has no donut hole.
Still, that high CRI 5C sounds awfully tempting.:thumbsup:

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Yeah I preordered the new SC5 MK2 with high cri. I'll be sure to report on it once I get it, they probably won't be shipping these until early May for those in the US. I prefer AA over 18650 for most of my uses anyway so this may be the best option, sounds perfect on paper.

No donut or dark spot on my SC63w. Very nice light! I definitely don't need the SC5c; all I use now are 18650 lights. But for some reason I feel like I need a few AA lights, especially Zebralights. Since it's also high CRI, I had to pull the trigger. I per-ordered it about an hour after it went live, so it should ship as soon as they start.

markr6 said:

No donut or dark spot on my SC63w. Very nice light! I definitely don't need the SC5c; all I use now are 18650 lights. But for some reason I feel like I need a few AA lights, especially Zebralights. Since it's also high CRI, I had to pull the trigger. I per-ordered it about an hour after it went live, so it should ship as soon as they start.

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I feel the same way, but I plan to order the headlamp version instead. I asked and they said no plans for a 18650 version of the H53Fc so the AA version it is.

TCY said:

I feel the same way, but I plan to order the headlamp version instead. I asked and they said no plans for a 18650 version of the H53Fc so the AA version it is.

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What's the model number of the headlamp version?

wolfgaze said:

What's the model number of the headlamp version?

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The H53c/Fc in the spreadsheet, Not released yet.

TCY said:

The H53c/Fc in the spreadsheet, Not released yet.

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Oh interesting, I'll have to look into that.... Thanks

So is the consensus that the SC62-63 series has the better form for EDCing and longer life on high while the SC5 series has the better tint?

That's exactly the choice I hoped I could avoid! :scowl:

hatman said:

So is the consensus that the SC62-63 series has the better form for EDCing and longer life on high while the SC5 series has the better tint?

That's exactly the choice I hoped I could avoid! :scowl:

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Well we don't know what the new SC5 II model will be like, current SC5 models are about the same in tint as the 62/63, luck of the draw. Otherwise the 62/63 gives better brightness, battery life, slim form factor and is great for edc use imo. The SC5 works fine too if you prefer AA but will have the shorter battery life and reduced brightness. Also, the SC62 seems to run longer at the H1 than the SC63 does.

The CCT & Tint are kind of subjective.....
Here is (L) SC63w Xhp35 4500k vs. (R)Cree XP-L2 4000k 80 CRI, compare to SC5c II's XP-L2 4000k 90 CRI, the tint will be very similar but with different beam pattern.
Personally, I like XP-L2 4000k tint very much! For someone who prefer pure white NW & don't like warm NW, do not pre-order SC5c II !
*White Balance manually set 5000k*