Cave video/spot light combo option?

[tbone1004]

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

that doesn't come close to meeting the original spec requests, but more importantly, there are better deals out there for better lights.

 

[tbone1004]

I get it. It's about lights not using a camera every trip I go on.

Sometimes a flood light reveals something more enjoyable than a spot light beam is all I want.

not so much in a cave. You need a TON of light to light up a room in a cave and while I do regularly cave dive with video light as a primary, it is a true 6000 lumen video light from UWLD and even then, the penetration distance isn't all that great so it's a specific use case.

 

[ScuberDuber]

that doesn't come close to meeting the original spec requests, but more importantly, there are better deals out there for better lights.

Can you link those better deals? I like the spot and video modes of the BigBlue. The spot is a nice circle and the video mode has soft edges to the light. I especially like the lights they have where you can choose a warmer color.

 

[Mr.337]

8000-Lumen Dual-Beam Video & Tech Light | Bigblue Dive Lights

This is kinda what I had in mind. Does anyone have any input on bigblue as far as reliability?

 

[barth]

8000-Lumen Dual-Beam Video & Tech Light | Bigblue Dive Lights

This is kinda what I had in mind. Does anyone have any input on bigblue as far as reliability?

Bigblue is crap, I would never use it as primary light in a cave.

I would never buy bigblue again. I did use 2 bigblue vl9000Plights for video. After 28 months one of them flooded. The switch/button was leaking. I think it’s just a single o-ring button.

My halcyon canister light, ikelite strobes, backup lights did never leak. I don’t like the bigblue switch, it’s a failure point. To bad because otherwise I do really like their lights.

There is one thing more I don’t like. There is an sos mode. When it’s flooding and start the sos mode because of short circuit underwater that really sucks when you have a light in sos mode in a mine and also during deco and you cannot turn it off...

 

[tbone1004]

8000-Lumen Dual-Beam Video & Tech Light | Bigblue Dive Lights

This is kinda what I had in mind. Does anyone have any input on bigblue as far as reliability?

due to gross negligence and disregard for international law one exploded and almost killed a buddy of mine, so between that and straight up lying about their specs I'm not really a fan of them.

that one in particular is a video light that happens to have a spot mode. The spot is going to be too wide for cave diving at 10* and nowhere near bright enough at that beam angle to be useful with any real primary lights in the cave.

Now some math.
They claim 8000 lumen for 3 hours from 4x 18650's. At best, that battery is 3.7v*3.5ah*4=51.8wh/3hrs=17w draw. Now you can only use 80% of the battery due to the BMS, so 17*.8~14w. Using the very best emitters out there, they can get 150lumen/watt which is 2100 lumen over the 3 hour discharge. Using optimistic math assuming the highest quality components, they get a third of what they claim.

In comparison, UW Light Dude who makes arguably the best dive lights in the world, takes a 160wh battery pack to make a 5000 lumen video light burn for 3 hours that costs $2k. How can Big Blue make 1.5x the light with a third of the battery for a third of the price? They can't...
https://uwlightdude.com/product/5000-lumen-video-light/

This is a light comparable to the Big Blue built by a reputable manufacturer and charges via USB-C which is quite nice. It only burns for an hour on high, but that's enough for most cave diving and because it's usb-C you can charge it easily during the SIT.
Sola Dive 2500 S/F USB-C

If you need the burn time I think you'd be happier with the HP50 and a diffuser or the Sola. The Dive Rite has the advantage using standard 18650's so you can use a normal charger instead of the cheap proprietary charger from Big Blue
Dive Rite HP50 Handheld Light

 

[BDSC]

8000-Lumen Dual-Beam Video & Tech Light | Bigblue Dive Lights

This is kinda what I had in mind. Does anyone have any input on bigblue as far as reliability?

I've used Bigblue lights for several years now as does many of my dive buddies. So far not a single one of us has ever had one to fail. Do some of them fail? Of course. There isn't a dive light maker out there that hasn't had a failure with one of their lights. I can just speak from my own experience and I have found them to be very reliable.

 

[tbone1004]

I've used Bigblue lights for several years now as does many of my dive buddies. So far not a single one of us has ever had one to fail. Do some of them fail? Of course. There isn't a dive light maker out there that hasn't had a failure with one of their lights. I can just speak from my own experience and I have found them to be very reliable.

I can't say I've heard of another manufacturer having one explode during normal operation and almost kill someone though... Biggest thing is the blatant lies about their performance, if the company is going to be that shady, I don't want a part of it nor can I recommend them to anyone. They're cheap, sure, and their normal handhelds are fine, but the explosion was due to a bad battery design and unless their lights are using single cells, I can't in good conscience recommend them to anyone.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I have owned a bunch of different Big Blue video lights. I was a lot happier with them 6 years ago as the alternatives weren't all that great. Never had any issues with them but there is a lot of stuff now that seems at least equal in quality for a fraction of the price. They do dim as you dive, it's slow so it's not hugely noticeable as it's happening. I'd usually run mine at half power to keep the output more consistent. My batteries
Are in need of replacement and I've been looking at lights like the ones mentioned above as I can get a new light for less than the replacement cost of the BB battery pack.

 

[ScuberDuber]

8000-Lumen Dual-Beam Video & Tech Light | Bigblue Dive Lights

This is kinda what I had in mind. Does anyone have any input on bigblue as far as reliability?

They have served me well for the few years I’ve been diving.