I own both, the 'No. 5 Super bright" and the SK58 (which arrived today). Even looking almost the same, the SK58 is indeed superior.
Both are using Osram leds.
SK58:
+ less wobbly zooming mechanism
+ lanyard hole is now on the side (meaning perfect tailstanding)
+ brighter (YMMV)
+ no flicker issues whatsover, driver pill seems to be better contacted with the body
+ looks better, even the knurling is a bit better imho
- led shape visible on full flood(!), that's a premiere with a f2t-light for me
No. 5:
+ slightly wider flood
+ clicky feels a bit better
Both feature they same kind of over-current protection (on LiIon light turns off immediately after a short light burst). Both are 1-mode. Still, the driver PCBs look completely different (well, the downside).
Both have a rather bad tint (blueish and greenish). I think the tint will vary a lot, no matter which model you buy. The Osram GDP is on of the most precisely color-binned leds on the market, it's pretty obvious those budget lights are using second quality golden dragons with varying brightness and tint.
Hi there phlowcus, thanks for your observations! By any chance is the SK58 a multi-mode? The product description on Focalprice sort of leads me to believe that it is.
Pull it forward then unscrew it. There may be quite a lot of threading. They are harder to put back on as getting them past the metal O ring is a pain.
In my opinion: Romisen RC-29 >> C78 >> DX Flood-to-Throw Zooming 3W .. just looking at the build quality. The Romisen has a nasty sharp switch... and is a little to big headed ;-). Review of the RC-29
I finally received the Sipik SK-58. It's a very nice little flashlight for the money. The beam is ugly though, unlike the generic "No. 5" zoomable light, which has a truly beautiful beam. But the overall quality of the Sipik blows away the generic version. I need to do a proper review on these soon.
On a related note, C78 1xAA flood-throw light is really cheap at Focalprice:
The description says it's 2xAA, but that's wrong. Focalprice's descriptions are terribly most of the time. But it does appear to be the same C78 that most reviewers at DX seem to like a lot. It seems too long and ugly to my eyes though.
Sure thing. I also bought the light that Nautic recommended: MXDL SA-28. I hope it is one hell of a thrower! I'll compare those together with my Hugsby P31, Trustfire F23, and BLF Delight :)
They'll probably tell you that the C78 is better. But for me the SK-58 is a mighty handsome little light, and the C78 is outstandingly ugly, so that sealed the deal for me. ;)