His light was a china special brand was Asafee. He said it's bright and works he's used it for years but drawback is it's only good for about a 50min run time so only good for guiding people like me who are on singles in caverns/cenotes. He said the cost of $100 and changing batteries between dives didnt' bother him, but told me definitely get something with battery life for the future. I looked for his same one but can't find it anywhere or i would just get that for the time being until i truly need a super long burn time.
Cave video/spot light combo option?
- Thread starter Mr.337
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His light was a china special brand was Asafee. He said it's bright and works he's used it for years but drawback is it's only good for about a 50min run time so only good for guiding people like me who are on singles in caverns/cenotes. He said the cost of $100 and changing batteries between dives didnt' bother him, but told me definitely get something with battery life for the future. I looked for his same one but can't find it anywhere or i would just get that for the time being until i truly need a super long burn time.
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cut all of the specs on that light for lumen output in half and you get the real output. It's still bright, but it's not nearly as bright as what they claim.
Buy a proper light for cave diving and deal with the video lights later. You need 2x lights to get halfway decent video with all of the shadows. I'd get a new LX20+ for $500 or so and then buy what you need later. You can put a diffuser on the light which helps get rid of the hot spot for video and you'll be fine for now. Focus on cave diving, there is a lot to learn and get proficient with before you take a tray mounted gopro in.
Agree with @tbone1004. I have a LX20 and really like it. I've had a few small quirks with the actuator but overall it is a very solid light with good power and long burn times.
If you do want a combo spot / flood, I have a couple of the Big Blue VTL8000s that I sometimes use and I like them. The only issue I've had in 2-3 years is a sticky switch which was resolved by an overnight freshwater dunk.
I mainly do wreck diving and so it helps to have a spot light if I'm trying to find the wreck in these dark SoCal waters or if I'm inside the wreck and want to navigate. I can then switch to flood if I'm trying to illuminate a subject for photos.
- brett
If you do want a combo spot / flood, I have a couple of the Big Blue VTL8000s that I sometimes use and I like them. The only issue I've had in 2-3 years is a sticky switch which was resolved by an overnight freshwater dunk.
I mainly do wreck diving and so it helps to have a spot light if I'm trying to find the wreck in these dark SoCal waters or if I'm inside the wreck and want to navigate. I can then switch to flood if I'm trying to illuminate a subject for photos.
- brett
The LX20 or LX20+ with a diffuser is a great light even for gopro video. I like the HP50 too for video, but it has a little too short burn time to be kept on high, so most of the time I keep it on medium and then, it's like an LX20... I know TBone1004 has some good comments about the beam angle but it's never been an issue for me.
If I don't mind the cable, I love my EX35. It's way bright, and tons of burn. I have a custom pack that is larger, and I do wish I had the standard pack sometimes, because then it would be lighter and easier to carry.
The thing about lights is that if it's cordless, then you will just rotate it from a primary to a backup. That is to say, my old Salvo 12watt LED is gathering dust, because I'm not going to haul it in the cave as a backup. It would make a good backup in terms of brightness and burn time, but it won't fit in a pocket. But, my LX20, works as a primary, and as a backup. Same with HP50. The lights get better every year, so I say get an LX20+ for now, then upgrade sometime and use this as a backup.
If you get away from variable focus, Light Monkey, Halcyon, UWLD, and Dive Rite all make great lights. If you have a really good, reliable primary, and want something for video that is just wide, then look into Big Blue or Xtar. The lower burn is ok, because you'll just be popping them on for a bit here and there--no one wants to watch a shaky, 3 hour long cave dive video. Get some great clips at cool spots in the cave, less than 30 minutes of footage, and edit it down to 1 minute of sweet, well lit cave diving action, and when the lights let the magic smoke out in a year or so, don't cry about it because they were cheap.
If I don't mind the cable, I love my EX35. It's way bright, and tons of burn. I have a custom pack that is larger, and I do wish I had the standard pack sometimes, because then it would be lighter and easier to carry.
The thing about lights is that if it's cordless, then you will just rotate it from a primary to a backup. That is to say, my old Salvo 12watt LED is gathering dust, because I'm not going to haul it in the cave as a backup. It would make a good backup in terms of brightness and burn time, but it won't fit in a pocket. But, my LX20, works as a primary, and as a backup. Same with HP50. The lights get better every year, so I say get an LX20+ for now, then upgrade sometime and use this as a backup.
If you get away from variable focus, Light Monkey, Halcyon, UWLD, and Dive Rite all make great lights. If you have a really good, reliable primary, and want something for video that is just wide, then look into Big Blue or Xtar. The lower burn is ok, because you'll just be popping them on for a bit here and there--no one wants to watch a shaky, 3 hour long cave dive video. Get some great clips at cool spots in the cave, less than 30 minutes of footage, and edit it down to 1 minute of sweet, well lit cave diving action, and when the lights let the magic smoke out in a year or so, don't cry about it because they were cheap.
Nanight Tech2 comes with 10deg & 35deg lenses and also will do 180deg with no lens. Obviously you can't switch lenses underwater, but its simple to switch on the surface.
The battery is a 4s2p 18650, lasts quite a while.
The battery is a 4s2p 18650, lasts quite a while.
ScuberDuber
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BigBlue makes a few lights that can switch back and forth between video / spot mid-dive. For example:
10,000-Lumen Dual-Beam Video & Tech Light | Bigblue Dive Lights
10,000-Lumen Dual-Beam Video & Tech Light | Bigblue Dive Lights
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