Both lights are modded to 3000K 219b, w 30 degree Pebbled Tir.
tldnr: Compare and Contrast Summary
The Mini has better regulation, runtime, and less flicker than the Pro. It lacks a constant on indicator button light, but has a more muggle friendly low battery warning.
The Pro has better low modes below 1 lumen, and much better ramping control. It also has a battery voltage check option.
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the longer version ;-)
Ramping
The Mini has its own version of a ramping UI (plus a toggle to a 3 mode clicky UI). The ramping on the Mini jumps up from the low mode, to about 60 lumens very quickly. It takes some fiddling to dial in a lower output, for example 10 lumens.
I like the Pro ramping speed better, it is much easier to fine tune to an output in the 10 lumen range.
Driver efficiency and regulation
The Mini has regulated output and can Sustain 300 lumens 4x longer than the Pro (53 minutes vs 13 minutes):
runtime charts courtesy of zeroair
The Mini has much lower flicker index. (flicker index is a combination of modulation depth and frequency).
The Pro has full PWM, iow 100% modulation, where the LED is turning all the way off and back on, albeit at very high frequency that is too fast to see.
Button light, low battery behavior
The Mini has a button light that only comes on for about 5 seconds when the light is first turned on. It is an automatic battery level indicator. When the battery is charged, the button light shines bright Green for 5 seconds when first turned on. With a CR123 battery (to simulate a discharged LiIon), the button light fast blinks bright Red, non stop, while the light is On. This is a very muggle friendly battery indicator.
The Pro has a button light that by default is on in dim Green all the time. I like this locator light feature. It helps me find the light in the dark, for example when I put it on my nightstand. The button light also helps me find the switch button when using the light. The Pro with a CR123 shows dim Green rapid flashes, only while the light is off.
Output Range
The lowest level on the Mini is 0.8 lumens, momentary maximum is 415 lumens, with a 3000K 219b.
The lowest level on the Pro is .02 lumens (w visible PWM when waving the light), momentary maximum is 480 lumens, also with 3000K 219b.
Flicker Index
The Mini:
Flicker Index of 0.2704 when at about 6 lumens output.
Flicker Index of 0.0042 when at about 30 lumens output.
(Flicker below 0.0500 is considered harmless.)
The Pro:
Flicker Index of 0.7951 at about 6 lumens output.
Flicker Index of 0.5339 at about 30 lumens output.
(The Pro scores poorly due to PWM, although it is very fast)
Opple 3 flicker measurements
These little guys provide really nice beams with just about any emitter I imagine. Every emitter I’ve tried in one looks great. That makes them great for swapping and trying different emitters out. And they are super easy to swap. And they fit standard 20mm TIR optics. I used to swap emitters into Convoy S2+s if I just wanted to check them out but then I started using one of my SC21 Minis because checking out different TIRs was so much easier.
I prefer the Mini version not simply because of the buck driver. I don’t need the ramping because the stepped modes are spaced so well. Medium is perfect at 100lm and you can get 800-1000cd with one of the throwier emitters like XPLHI, SST-20, 219B, or 519Add.
One of mine has had an Osram W1 in it for forever now. I found a great TIR optic for it off Yajiamei that blows a GT Nano away. It took me some time and a few tries to file down a centering gasket to use with it but eventually I got one perfect. Now I see Simon is selling 3030 5mm gaskets wish he had those 2 years ago. It is easily my most fun and amusing light.