C4 eLED or C8 eLED Plus?

[judestudio]

FYI- The PT Miniwave (4C) LED puts out 150 lumens

It has indeed! Missed that one. Have you used it? How's that looking? Cost of PT Miniwave LED lies between the C4-eLED and C8-Plus.

Thanks for the info!

 

[bperrybap]

Yes, I'm also aware of the regulated circuitry in UK in oppose to Princeton Tec. Which is the main reason I decided on the brand.

No, I wish I could say "I diive the Carribean or Maldives most of the time", but I gathered it'll be more like wrecks and the usual ocean night dives. C4 eLED is HALF THE PRICE of the C8-Plus?! I guess 170 lumens from the C8-Plus will certainly make a difference to the 80 lumens (C4), but how much of a difference? I am more than happy to pay for the premium, if it's worth doing so.

What I find interesting is the C4/C8 (not the C8 plus) eled
lights both have high & low brightness settings but it was
never mentioned on the UK web page.
Also, when I collected data about LED lights about a year ago,
the UK WEB page was quite a bit different.
Back then it listed the brightness of the C4 & C8 at
130 Lumens. (which I believe is the high setting and 80 Lumens
is the low beam brightness)
I can't imagine why they are now only quoting the low beam
brightness setting other than an attempt to push the
C8 eLED plus version which has a brightness of 170/60 Lumens.
I guess its possible that they changed the light to have a single
setting and set it to 80 Lumens but the battery life now
quoted for the C4 eLED at 80 Lumens is now less than what
they used to quote when they said the light was 130 lumens.


When I compared the C4/C8 eLed to the Princeton Tec
LED Shockwave (c8) or Miniwave (c4) above water at the LDS,
the PT light was slightly brighter on high beam.
But on low beams the PT was quite a bit brighter.
I ended up buying a PT C4 miniwave.

After diving with my miniwave and buddies with the UK eLED,
the UK C4/C8 eLED lights have a tighter beam than the PT
with a more noticeable hotspot than the PT.

If you want the extra brightness of the C8 eLED plus you might
consider the Princeton Tec Shockwave or Miniwave.
(Identical lights other than size and battery life)

If you believe the Lumens & battery ratings, the Princeton Tec
has 170/118 vs 170/60 of the C8 eLED plus.
Also the PT C8 has double the battery life of the UK C8 eLED+,
and the PT C4 miniwave matches the UK C8 eLED+

One thing I have noticed is that many of the LED lights have
gone up %30-40 since the first of the year.But if I were buying again,

I think I get the UK C4 eled over the PT C4 miniwave.
For the tigher beam, lower low beam,
(I find I don't need the extra brightness)
power optimization more suitable for rechargeable batteries,
and longer batterylife.


--- bill

 

[taliesin58]

It has indeed! Missed that one. Have you used it? How's that looking? Cost of PT Miniwave LED lies between the C4-eLED and C8-Plus.

Thanks for the info!

I haven't tried it yet. I ordered it from the US last week, so it should get here on Sat. All I know is from my research online.

As far as the Light Cannon, no doubt it is a much better light. However, I plan on buying a can light in the future, and I will feel less guilty about regulating my $80 to a closet than a $250 one. Plus, I couldn't afford on now. I have bought a computer, wetsuits, reg set, BP/W setup, and various other things in the past 5 months. I think my credit card would weep tears of blood if I tried buying anything else.
I am still a new diver, and from what I have read and seen, 150 lumens is good for most night dives and looking under rocks.

I would prefer a light cannon, or even better, a 21-watt Salvo light. However, I will not be able to afford those for a long long time.

 

[judestudio]

When I compared the C4/C8 eLed to the Princeton Tec
LED Shockwave (c8) or Miniwave (c4) above water at the LDS,
the PT light was slightly brighter on high beam.
But on low beams the PT was quite a bit brighter.
I ended up buying a PT C4 miniwave.

After diving with my miniwave and buddies with the UK eLED,
the UK C4/C8 eLED lights have a tighter beam than the PT
with a more noticeable hotspot than the PT.

If you want the extra brightness of the C8 eLED plus you might
consider the Princeton Tec Shockwave or Miniwave.
(Identical lights other than size and battery life)

If you believe the Lumens & battery ratings, the Princeton Tec
has 170/118 vs 170/60 of the C8 eLED plus.
Also the PT C8 has double the battery life of the UK C8 eLED+,
and the PT C4 miniwave matches the UK C8 eLED+

I think I get the UK C4 eled over the PT C4 miniwave.
For the tigher beam, lower low beam,
(I find I don't need the extra brightness)
power optimization more suitable for rechargeable batteries,
and longer batterylife.


--- bill

Thanks for the great insight, Bill, this is exactly what I'm look for! A comparison between all my choices: C4-eLED, C8-eLED Plus, and Miniwave LED.

Hmm...I like the idea of the Miniwave C4, it's small, has long battery life and as powerful as the big beasts. But I still like the regulated circuit feature from the UK lights. C8-Plus is a tad brighter (160Lumens max), though I have a feeling C4-eLED (130 Lumens according to Bill) is bright enough for most conditions anyway. However, I must add, I've been told that the C4-eLED is UNREGULATED at the high beam mode, so I'm not sure how much will it optimize the power with rechargeable batteries. A C4-eLED-PLUS would have been perfect!

So, if PT Miniwave LED and C4-eLED are both unregulated, this leaves C8 eLED Plus to be the only regulated light from the choices.

I've also heard a few flooding cases with Princeton Tec lights, quality issues, compare to UK, can anyone confirm this?