Addison thank you for you inside on installing new switch. Did you made and deep dive with the updated torch? If I understand correctly you bypassed button backlight circuits and have now only two wires instead of previously four.
cheap chinese video light review
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Addison Snyder
Contributor
Addison Snyder
Contributor
Also, I tried the Nemo replacement buttons on this particular light, and long story short, it fit well but leaked because of the lack of material around the switch port.
I purchased one of these cheap lights and used it on a liveaboard trip in January this year, I used it as my video light and it worked pretty well. I had a total of 18 dives and no issues at all. I have since bought a second one to balance the light and also as spare if one of them dies or floods.
SwimmingFish
Registered
It's been a while since I checked this thread, but I can give a little update and some thoughts about these & logistics:
I had purchased another 4 of the QH18 after my original purchase (I had sold my original lamps).
QH18, having 10 white LEDs kept the same light-level for longer due to drawing a little less.
Another interesting discovery I made was that not all battery compartments play with each lamp-head.
This video is 1000 words:
I tried to buy 2 more of a different and more powerful model, but that seller tried to scam me, and sent me 2 QH18 of a newer design, with a shorter battery compartment. Long story short, I got to keep those 2 for free!
As a simple observation, 4 of those QH28 + 1 QH27 simply dwarfed anything else that anyone I met during my 2 visits to Egypt last year had to show. It literally changed everything. So much more to see, so much nicer dives!
I'm now trying to figure how I can get beyond these ~20-30K lumens.
Anyway, I actually wanted to buy more, and have 6-8 underwater (yes, all on, at the same time), but the newer air travel rules and the logistics of it all is making this wish impossible right now.
Having 40 Li-ion cells on a plane is raising eyebrows (dooh); I tried to counter that by putting 16 of them inside 2 DIY powerbanks with 8 places, (https://www.amazon.com/LHIABNN-Battery-Charger-Plastic-Display/dp/B087ZX3GJF), but the airport people have to check the total W/h for the powerbank and obviously the stupid Chinese manufacturer of those adaptable powerbanks wrote up to 300 W/h on the plastic... which is prohibited on planes
(max 100 W/h, and apparently max 2)
40 batteries and two 8-way chargers was barely enough to keep me going on a liveaboard with 4-5 lamps "always-on" (almost). Unscrewing + changing 4 batteries at a time + making sure everything's dry + screwing back on times 4 or 5, + putting all those used batteries on charging is a pain + applying grease every 6th dive is a huge pain. It can be done easily if you plan for it, but it's still a pain. Takes time.
Underwater, using 4-5 lamps means touching a lot of buttons, and having a good plate + arms to be able to point them is gold. But for this pain, you also light up quite a lot.
I like corals, and don't care much about big fish, and basically wanted to illuminate an as big as possible area underwater on my last trip. With 2 QH18 on each side, I got a lot of coverage. The extra QH27 for the center clearly added more, but it became way too much for my Gopro 7 Black. Still not enough for my eyes, but the Gopro algorithm for the sensor has a very clear limit (my settings could have been off as well). I try to film my dives just for fun, and to be able to remember what I saw, and how some specific dive site was, so I don't spend much time on editing (I know I can make the videos look better),
If anyone's interested and cares to watch, use half speed in youtube, and 4K. Everything's unedited, straight from Gopro 7 Black. I apologize if I'm spamming, I give these links only as examples of what can be achieved:
Big Brother Numidia Wreck: , and view of the reef: , Elphinstone: , than some play with/without the SRP Cyan filter 2020.11.27 - Egypt - Elphinstone Reef North Plateau D1
Little Brother: 2020.11.21 - Egypt - Brothers Islands -Little Brother D3 , (and 2020.11.21 - Egypt - Brothers Islands -Little Brother D3 and 2020.11.21 - Egypt - Brothers Islands -Little Brother D3 if you want to see what a 5th QH27 as center can add)
Anyway, back to the lamps . Those 2 I got to keep are dead, they looked better, but the switches got corroded. PCB appears to be working, My 2 old QH18, and my QH27 lamps have been through ~100 dives using only silicone grease, and much love, and are still alive!
Prices now on Amazon have gone up. Before they were ~30 EUR as cheapest, now the Chinese govt or whoever owns those 1-2000 stores on Amazon selling exactly the same stuff only sells them for 50 EUR & above. 2 Times I've found them near the Chinese prices of closer to 20 EUR, pulled the trigger and tried to buy 10, and lo-and-behold, the orders got canceled. 1st excuse was Manufacturer went broke, now the second excuse was it got returned back to chinese seller after 7 days of transit, and they "hope I understand"
I'm still trying to find a way to buy them from China with the chinese prices. Even with their flaws, at ~20 EUR they would be unbeatable. If anyone cares to buy them at the 50-70 EUR they cost now, just forget it!
Buy something more longer lasting. Anything @40 and below is OK imo. Aliexpress has them below 40 USD.
The canister versions look nice, but are definitely not worth the premium imo:
www.aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
Has anyone had the canister version(s)?
I had purchased another 4 of the QH18 after my original purchase (I had sold my original lamps).
QH18, having 10 white LEDs kept the same light-level for longer due to drawing a little less.
Another interesting discovery I made was that not all battery compartments play with each lamp-head.
This video is 1000 words:
I tried to buy 2 more of a different and more powerful model, but that seller tried to scam me, and sent me 2 QH18 of a newer design, with a shorter battery compartment. Long story short, I got to keep those 2 for free!
As a simple observation, 4 of those QH28 + 1 QH27 simply dwarfed anything else that anyone I met during my 2 visits to Egypt last year had to show. It literally changed everything. So much more to see, so much nicer dives!
I'm now trying to figure how I can get beyond these ~20-30K lumens.
Anyway, I actually wanted to buy more, and have 6-8 underwater (yes, all on, at the same time), but the newer air travel rules and the logistics of it all is making this wish impossible right now.
Having 40 Li-ion cells on a plane is raising eyebrows (dooh); I tried to counter that by putting 16 of them inside 2 DIY powerbanks with 8 places, (https://www.amazon.com/LHIABNN-Battery-Charger-Plastic-Display/dp/B087ZX3GJF), but the airport people have to check the total W/h for the powerbank and obviously the stupid Chinese manufacturer of those adaptable powerbanks wrote up to 300 W/h on the plastic... which is prohibited on planes
(max 100 W/h, and apparently max 2)40 batteries and two 8-way chargers was barely enough to keep me going on a liveaboard with 4-5 lamps "always-on" (almost). Unscrewing + changing 4 batteries at a time + making sure everything's dry + screwing back on times 4 or 5, + putting all those used batteries on charging is a pain + applying grease every 6th dive is a huge pain. It can be done easily if you plan for it, but it's still a pain. Takes time.
Underwater, using 4-5 lamps means touching a lot of buttons, and having a good plate + arms to be able to point them is gold. But for this pain, you also light up quite a lot.
I like corals, and don't care much about big fish, and basically wanted to illuminate an as big as possible area underwater on my last trip. With 2 QH18 on each side, I got a lot of coverage. The extra QH27 for the center clearly added more, but it became way too much for my Gopro 7 Black. Still not enough for my eyes, but the Gopro algorithm for the sensor has a very clear limit (my settings could have been off as well). I try to film my dives just for fun, and to be able to remember what I saw, and how some specific dive site was, so I don't spend much time on editing (I know I can make the videos look better),
If anyone's interested and cares to watch, use half speed in youtube, and 4K. Everything's unedited, straight from Gopro 7 Black. I apologize if I'm spamming, I give these links only as examples of what can be achieved:
Big Brother Numidia Wreck: , and view of the reef: , Elphinstone: , than some play with/without the SRP Cyan filter 2020.11.27 - Egypt - Elphinstone Reef North Plateau D1
Little Brother: 2020.11.21 - Egypt - Brothers Islands -Little Brother D3 , (and 2020.11.21 - Egypt - Brothers Islands -Little Brother D3 and 2020.11.21 - Egypt - Brothers Islands -Little Brother D3 if you want to see what a 5th QH27 as center can add)
Anyway, back to the lamps
. Those 2 I got to keep are dead, they looked better, but the switches got corroded. PCB appears to be working, My 2 old QH18, and my QH27 lamps have been through ~100 dives using only silicone grease, and much love, and are still alive!Prices now on Amazon have gone up. Before they were ~30 EUR as cheapest, now the Chinese govt or whoever owns those 1-2000 stores on Amazon selling exactly the same stuff only sells them for 50 EUR & above. 2 Times I've found them near the Chinese prices of closer to 20 EUR, pulled the trigger and tried to buy 10, and lo-and-behold, the orders got canceled. 1st excuse was Manufacturer went broke, now the second excuse was it got returned back to chinese seller after 7 days of transit, and they "hope I understand"
I'm still trying to find a way to buy them from China with the chinese prices. Even with their flaws, at ~20 EUR they would be unbeatable. If anyone cares to buy them at the 50-70 EUR they cost now, just forget it!
Buy something more longer lasting. Anything @40 and below is OK imo. Aliexpress has them below 40 USD.
The canister versions look nice, but are definitely not worth the premium imo:
Kanister LED Scuba Dive Taschenlampe 10 * XM L2 + 4 * XPE Rot + 4 * XPE Blau Wasserdicht unterwasser Video Licht DC Wiederaufladbare Tauchen Taschenlampe - AliExpress 39
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
27 führte Kanister Tauchen Video Licht wasserdicht 100m Unterwasser xm l2 Tauch Taschenlampe wiederauf ladbare 18650 LED Split Taschenlampe - AliExpress 39
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
High Power XHP90 LED Unterwasser Video Licht Wasserdichte Unterwasser 100M Kanister Tauchen Taschenlampe 18650 Scuba Flash licht - AliExpress 39
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
Has anyone had the canister version(s)?
I haven't had 40x18650 with me, but I have traveled with 24-32x18650 and 40xAA and it hasn't been a problem. Instead of trying to hide the cells in powerbanks, just use plastic cases which ensure that all the contacts are insulated.Having 40 Li-ion cells on a plane is raising eyebrows (dooh); I tried to counter that by putting 16 of them inside 2 DIY powerbanks with 8 places, (https://www.amazon.com/LHIABNN-Battery-Charger-Plastic-Display/dp/B087ZX3GJF), but the airport people have to check the total W/h for the powerbank and obviously the stupid Chinese manufacturer of those adaptable powerbanks wrote up to 300 W/h on the plastic... which is prohibited on planes
SwimmingFish
Registered
I did just that. At exit from Sweden, no issues. At exit from Egypt they have double/ triple controls due to bombings...
They saw them, started counting, and asked questions. I managed to explain and got back home with everything, but they enforce the rules to the point.
I like these lamps, but practically with more than 3, I would prefer lamps with 1 big battery with 4 cells inside. Much easier to change. Or a large canister with multiple heads which is clearly possible, but not offered for sale by the chinese. Not at the right price in any case.
Erik Forsberg
Sea Corgi
I was gonna comment the very same thing, but scrolled to see if someone else already picked up on it
People should do some serious research before naming products that will be sold globally
Thanks for amusing me this morning
The Brett store now offers some newer lights
Any thoughts?
It looks like they changed the buttons.
Has anyone tried those out? or going to?
Any thoughts?
It looks like they changed the buttons.
Has anyone tried those out? or going to?
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