jawmendr
Registered
I am thinking of getting an OMS Phantom 21 W light. How bright is it? (compared to other lights) 1100 lumens sounds impressive, but does it perform?
OMS Phantom 21 W dive light
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Hi. Welcome to SB!
It can be hard to compare lumens between manufacturers. I've seen 21w HIDs (mainly older ones) advertised as 1100 lumens, others to 1500. Also, some output numbers include light outside of the visible spectrum, effectively inflating their numbers. You probably already know, but "21w" is just an indication of power draw, not of brightness, and there are definitely 21w lights that are not as bright as other 21w lights. I'm not even sure if all manufacturers use "21w" consistently (is this the ballast rating, bulb rating, does it include the efficiency of the ballast?). This may not really answer your question well, but generally speaking, 18/21/24w HID lights will be more or less comparable, though typically ones with larger reflectors (test-tube style) will be appear more focused/brighter than ones with smaller reflectors (MR11/MR16).
It can be hard to compare lumens between manufacturers. I've seen 21w HIDs (mainly older ones) advertised as 1100 lumens, others to 1500. Also, some output numbers include light outside of the visible spectrum, effectively inflating their numbers. You probably already know, but "21w" is just an indication of power draw, not of brightness, and there are definitely 21w lights that are not as bright as other 21w lights. I'm not even sure if all manufacturers use "21w" consistently (is this the ballast rating, bulb rating, does it include the efficiency of the ballast?). This may not really answer your question well, but generally speaking, 18/21/24w HID lights will be more or less comparable, though typically ones with larger reflectors (test-tube style) will be appear more focused/brighter than ones with smaller reflectors (MR11/MR16).
imasinker
Contributor
Gombessa...
You seem to know a fair bit about HID lights, so please excuse the stupid question but, Is it possible to put a brighter bulb in a HID light say from 10 watt to 18 or 21. I understand it would change the output and lower the burn time on battery power. Is this something possible, or is it the bulbs have a different fitting making this unable to happen. Sorry if this sounds weird but I was just wondering, or if you have a 10 watt hid your stuck with it.
You seem to know a fair bit about HID lights, so please excuse the stupid question but, Is it possible to put a brighter bulb in a HID light say from 10 watt to 18 or 21. I understand it would change the output and lower the burn time on battery power. Is this something possible, or is it the bulbs have a different fitting making this unable to happen. Sorry if this sounds weird but I was just wondering, or if you have a 10 watt hid your stuck with it.
Well, I'm really not the best person to ask, but from what little I know, the short answer is "maybe," but it's rarely ever practical. HIDs are pretty complicated, the essential components are the bulb, the ballast and the igniter (sometimes integrated into the ballast), with some pretty specific tolerances and timings. You typically cannot interchange a bulb from one manufacturer or design and expect it to work on a ballast/igniter from another. But some manufacturers will make a 24w bulb that is designed to work with their 18/21/24w ballast.
You will actually see a few people with "hybrid" lights - Halcyon or Dive Rite lights with the bulb/ballast/igniter gutted and swapped. Halcyon actually offers this service as an upgrade for their older lights (at prices almost nobody will find worth doing). Other makers, such as Salvo or Sartek, will sometimes do this for customers too, and they're the ones with the expertise to know whether a certain bulb will work with a certain ballast or fit in a certain housing/slug.
There's a pretty active DIY dive light community that can help as well, and a book by Airpseed Press, "Steve Lindblom's Divelight Companion" literally gives you enough information to buy all the components you need and specifications to build your own light. It's also a just a great read if you're mechanically inclined.
I think that uses the new Welch-Allyn 14w Solarc bulb. No idea if it's tougher than the older 10 or 18w bulbs, but it's a GREAT price point for 1000-1100 lumens of output. There's PDF brochure of it floating around somewhere...let me see if I can find it.
floridanewbe
Contributor
welcome aboard
