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:
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
Has anyone had the canister version(s)?
