Zebralight H52Fw vs H52w
There has been lots of Zebralight talk over the past year or so. The one thing that I haven't seen is real life comparative photos. My requirement for an AA based headlamp isn't retina scarring brightness. I leave that to 18650 based lights. Instead I want my AA based headlamp for close up work. I usually run them at medium or lower settings. The AA form factor just doesn't have the power density to sustain high lumens for long. I recently had a couple of the newer H52 headlamps available to do a side by side real life use comparison. I had the H52w which is the normal "spot fill" headlamp. I also have the H52Fw which is the "floody" version. Unfortunately I did not have a comparable "flood" version available at the time.
Zebralights have a lot of options available. Here is some base line info to get us all on the same page. The Zebralight line has up to 5 different colors / color temperatures, three different Color Rendering Indexes (CRI), and three different beam patterns.
These photo comparisons will focus on the neutral white H52 lights. For those photographers and light scientist it's nominal CCT is 4400 kelvin. The only thing better for hunters would be a higher CRI neutral white. The CRI for the H52w and H52Fw are both 75. For the purpose of this comparison we will accept that neutral white 4400k / 75 CRI is the best available brightness, temperature, and CRI combination in a AA form factor readily available from Zebralight at this time.
Zebralights have three different light patterns, Spot Fill, Floody, and Flood. Spot Fill has a 80 degree spill light and a 12 degree hot spot. Spot Fill is considered the standard beam. Floody has a 90 degree beam spread. Flood has a 120 degree beam spread. The main model numbers in a series will have the standard 80/12 degree beam pattern. Models with a “F” after the series number will have a 90 degree floody beam and a frosted lens; for example H52F. Models with a “02″ in the name have a 120 degree flood beam pattern.
Here are what the lenses and reflectors look like for the different beam patterns.
Photo #1 from Brightguys.com
Now that we have all that science mumbo jumbo out of the way. Here are my real world comparison photos showing why I like the AA based H52Fw better than the H52w.
Here is the H52w held 6 inches above a white sheet of paper. Notice the hot spot in the center.
Photo #2
Here is the H52Fw held 6 inches over a sheet of paper. Notice the more diffused center. In real life the center appears even less pronounced. Unfortunately I took these pictures with my cell phone and it didn't reproduce 100% accurately.
Photo #3
Here is the H52w held twelve inches over a book with a diagram with fine lines. I choose this picture as I was pressed for time and didn't have a topo handy.
Photo #4
Here is the H52Fw held 12 inches over the same picture. This photo has been zoomed in to show the fine detail missing in Photo #4.
Photo #5
The difference between Photo #4 and #5 is why I prefer the floody beam to the standard spot fill for close work. The frosted lens of the floody light provides nice diffused light perfect map reading and other close work. It can be plenty bright also, providing more than enough light for hiking. Be aware that the AA lights have limited power reserve at the high settings. On the trail I prefer a spot fill beam from a light using a 18650 battery, like the H600w Mk II.
There has been lots of Zebralight talk over the past year or so. The one thing that I haven't seen is real life comparative photos. My requirement for an AA based headlamp isn't retina scarring brightness. I leave that to 18650 based lights. Instead I want my AA based headlamp for close up work. I usually run them at medium or lower settings. The AA form factor just doesn't have the power density to sustain high lumens for long. I recently had a couple of the newer H52 headlamps available to do a side by side real life use comparison. I had the H52w which is the normal "spot fill" headlamp. I also have the H52Fw which is the "floody" version. Unfortunately I did not have a comparable "flood" version available at the time.
Zebralights have a lot of options available. Here is some base line info to get us all on the same page. The Zebralight line has up to 5 different colors / color temperatures, three different Color Rendering Indexes (CRI), and three different beam patterns.
These photo comparisons will focus on the neutral white H52 lights. For those photographers and light scientist it's nominal CCT is 4400 kelvin. The only thing better for hunters would be a higher CRI neutral white. The CRI for the H52w and H52Fw are both 75. For the purpose of this comparison we will accept that neutral white 4400k / 75 CRI is the best available brightness, temperature, and CRI combination in a AA form factor readily available from Zebralight at this time.
Zebralights have three different light patterns, Spot Fill, Floody, and Flood. Spot Fill has a 80 degree spill light and a 12 degree hot spot. Spot Fill is considered the standard beam. Floody has a 90 degree beam spread. Flood has a 120 degree beam spread. The main model numbers in a series will have the standard 80/12 degree beam pattern. Models with a “F” after the series number will have a 90 degree floody beam and a frosted lens; for example H52F. Models with a “02″ in the name have a 120 degree flood beam pattern.
Here are what the lenses and reflectors look like for the different beam patterns.
Photo #1 from Brightguys.com
Now that we have all that science mumbo jumbo out of the way. Here are my real world comparison photos showing why I like the AA based H52Fw better than the H52w.
Here is the H52w held 6 inches above a white sheet of paper. Notice the hot spot in the center.
Photo #2
Here is the H52Fw held 6 inches over a sheet of paper. Notice the more diffused center. In real life the center appears even less pronounced. Unfortunately I took these pictures with my cell phone and it didn't reproduce 100% accurately.
Photo #3
Here is the H52w held twelve inches over a book with a diagram with fine lines. I choose this picture as I was pressed for time and didn't have a topo handy.
Photo #4
Here is the H52Fw held 12 inches over the same picture. This photo has been zoomed in to show the fine detail missing in Photo #4.
Photo #5
The difference between Photo #4 and #5 is why I prefer the floody beam to the standard spot fill for close work. The frosted lens of the floody light provides nice diffused light perfect map reading and other close work. It can be plenty bright also, providing more than enough light for hiking. Be aware that the AA lights have limited power reserve at the high settings. On the trail I prefer a spot fill beam from a light using a 18650 battery, like the H600w Mk II.
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