What beam angle do you prefer for recreational night dives with 30 M/100' visibility? Between new light technology and being a warm water newbie, Im not sure where the sweet spot is.
Beam Angle for Hi-Vis Night Dives?
- Thread starter Akimbo
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I like my Intova Supernova with a 49 degree beam 500 lumens for general use. If you need one light you probably need two lights. Consider a wide beam primary and a narrow beam secondary for warm water use. That way you can use your backup light to see the lobster at the back of the hole.
Newbie? Your profile says you have 5K dives!
Newbie? Your profile says you have 5K dives!
Seriously???
How cool is that?!?!?! Welcome to the warm world!!!!
---------- Post added December 30th, 2012 at 02:16 PM ----------
Oh, and I second the Ultra Nova. It has three settings - Hi, low, and strobe. Sometimes, the high is so bright it whites-out everything.
The strobe lights up an SMB beautifully.
OP
It does, the number is much more, and I am.
With very few exceptions a long time ago, the only warm water I have even been in was pumped into my hot water suit. Now that you mention it, I have been in hot water almost every day since meeting my bride but I never seem to gain any experience from that.
HenrikBP
Contributor
Wide beam in the 20 - 30° range is nice. If you can get a light with variable beam and light output that'd be a plus.
Low output and wide beam is often all you'll need for night diving. High output lights or really narrow beams can chase the critters away
I use an MB-Sub X1-VB. It puts out about 250 lumen, and the beam varies from 3° (very tight and brights spot - great for signaling) to 25° on wide. Kinda costly, but a nice light. The wide beam is very smooth and even, and I've used for "quick'n dirty" lighting for photos.
Low output and wide beam is often all you'll need for night diving. High output lights or really narrow beams can chase the critters away
I use an MB-Sub X1-VB. It puts out about 250 lumen, and the beam varies from 3° (very tight and brights spot - great for signaling) to 25° on wide. Kinda costly, but a nice light. The wide beam is very smooth and even, and I've used for "quick'n dirty" lighting for photos.
OP
The Intova Supernova and Supernova Plus look interesting after a few minutes research. Thanks.
It looks like the Supernova has a flashing function and the Plus doesn’t. The Plus is 1000 lumens full power/350 lumens at 30% versus 500/150. I carry a Nautilus Lifeline so the flasher isn’t a big deal. Am I missing anything?
Has anyone set it up to glove/wrist-mount or do you just use the handle? The 30% setting sounds plenty bright.
I have a UK Mini-Q40 LED that has been plenty for backup off the California coast so I feel covered there.
---------- Post added December 31st, 2012 at 10:50 AM ----------
Thanks to antattack and Jax for the Supernova suggestion. I was a little hesitant at $350 but found the Supernova Plus for $230 at Cave Adventurers. Happy New Year and good diving to all.
It looks like the Supernova has a flashing function and the Plus doesn’t. The Plus is 1000 lumens full power/350 lumens at 30% versus 500/150. I carry a Nautilus Lifeline so the flasher isn’t a big deal. Am I missing anything?
Has anyone set it up to glove/wrist-mount or do you just use the handle? The 30% setting sounds plenty bright.
I have a UK Mini-Q40 LED that has been plenty for backup off the California coast so I feel covered there.
---------- Post added December 31st, 2012 at 10:50 AM ----------
Thanks to antattack and Jax for the Supernova suggestion. I was a little hesitant at $350 but found the Supernova Plus for $230 at Cave Adventurers. Happy New Year and good diving to all.
I use the lantern handle on my SuperNova and while I've considered using it with a goodman, I haven't yet. Mine came with a ball mount for using with a camera. Best thing about the supernova is that it's rechargeable and can get through two or three dives reliably and delivered enough light for most uses. Also, the switch is on the back of the light where it's easy to find in the dark and easy to operate when wearing thick gloves.
There are so many good choices out there, you will have no problem finding a good light. Since you mentioned wanting a goodman handle, I thought I'd discuss one more light that I like and one that I don't. The one I like is the Big Blue CR250.
Big Blue CR250 sells for about $100 retail. It's small and only packs 250 Lumens but it has a focusable beam, 6 degrees to 30 degrees. It runs on 3 AAA batteries for a little more than an hour, good for one dive or a backup light. Bring extra batteries if you are planning on using this as a primary for more than one open water recreational dive!
What it lack in candle power and longevity it makes up for in other ways. The CR250 comes with a soft goodman handle. The goodman handle AND the light fit nicely in my dry suit pocket, ready for general purpose use at any moment. I can don the goodman underwater in the dark while wearing cold water gloves, which is not true of all soft goodman handles. The CR250 has its switch switch on the back end of the light which is pretty where it's easy to find, and it's a toggle switch so it's easy to operate wearing gloves.
The CR250 might serve as a primary for a recreational open water night dive in clear waters, but in Monterey it's always a backup light.
While we are mentioning little backup lights, I have to mention something to be wary of. The the on/off switch. I have an Intova Nova Torch model IVL660. I really want to like this light because it fit's nicely on my shoulder strap and it has a fancy battery with 10 hours of burn time. I love that! At least I thought I did until I needed a backup light at night. I found this light almost impossible to turn while wearing gloves on after my canister light flooded. The little push slider switch was hard to find on the body of the light and because it is integrated into the shaft of the light, it was difficult to feel through my cold water gloves. I finally had to remove one of my gloves just to FEEL the switch and then use my thumb nail to push the slider. The web site says they have improved the switch, but from now on, I'm choosing lights with the control on the end of the light where they can be found in the dark, and prefer toggles or push buttons over sliders.
Different solutions fit different people. I'm glad if this helps.
There are so many good choices out there, you will have no problem finding a good light. Since you mentioned wanting a goodman handle, I thought I'd discuss one more light that I like and one that I don't. The one I like is the Big Blue CR250.
Big Blue CR250 sells for about $100 retail. It's small and only packs 250 Lumens but it has a focusable beam, 6 degrees to 30 degrees. It runs on 3 AAA batteries for a little more than an hour, good for one dive or a backup light. Bring extra batteries if you are planning on using this as a primary for more than one open water recreational dive!
What it lack in candle power and longevity it makes up for in other ways. The CR250 comes with a soft goodman handle. The goodman handle AND the light fit nicely in my dry suit pocket, ready for general purpose use at any moment. I can don the goodman underwater in the dark while wearing cold water gloves, which is not true of all soft goodman handles. The CR250 has its switch switch on the back end of the light which is pretty where it's easy to find, and it's a toggle switch so it's easy to operate wearing gloves.
The CR250 might serve as a primary for a recreational open water night dive in clear waters, but in Monterey it's always a backup light.
While we are mentioning little backup lights, I have to mention something to be wary of. The the on/off switch. I have an Intova Nova Torch model IVL660. I really want to like this light because it fit's nicely on my shoulder strap and it has a fancy battery with 10 hours of burn time. I love that! At least I thought I did until I needed a backup light at night. I found this light almost impossible to turn while wearing gloves on after my canister light flooded. The little push slider switch was hard to find on the body of the light and because it is integrated into the shaft of the light, it was difficult to feel through my cold water gloves. I finally had to remove one of my gloves just to FEEL the switch and then use my thumb nail to push the slider. The web site says they have improved the switch, but from now on, I'm choosing lights with the control on the end of the light where they can be found in the dark, and prefer toggles or push buttons over sliders.
Different solutions fit different people. I'm glad if this helps.
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The Intova/Tovatec wide is great for clear tropical waters, cheap, 43 degree beam and around 220 lumens, fits the oxycheq Raider iii sock, my only gripe is it runs on the spendy CR123 batteries. If you have the money have a look at the Mb-sub X1-VB, a very nice versatile light. In clear waters less is more. Good luck and Happy New Year.
OP
Switch on the back? The new specs and the YouTube video of an older model shows a magnetic pushbutton near the front on the side??? I haven’t received it yet, but would prefer the back.
I was considering the Bigblue CF250M before this post. Pretty impressive specs and feedback on the Net seems pretty good. I was considering focusable and preferred rechargeable. Between that and finding it for $230 made the decision for me.
Too bright was a concern. The Supernova’s 30% mode at about 350 Lumens sounded about right… it’s hard for me to tell the difference between 350 and 220 Lumens, even on land. The specs indicate it delivers about 4 hours/charge at 30%. I doubt I will use the 1000 Lumen setting much, but I bet it will get the crew’s attention on the surface.
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Yes the visual difference between 220 and 350 lumens would be minimal at best. I spent a month diving around Indo and did a fair amount of night diving using a Mb-sub X1-VB, 250 lumens, in 25 degree mde it was perfect illuminated a wide area without scaring anything away.during the day in 3 degree mde was perfect for looking under nooks and crannies. Bonus for me runs on AA.
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