Entry-level dive light

[ppatin]

Thanks for the SL-4 recommendation. Leisurepro appears to have the LED SL-4 on sale for a great price, but for some reason it's saying it's a 100 lumens light rather than 400. Underwater Kinetics Sunlight SL4 eLED Dive Light

 

[Shftrdog]

I think that is a little to much for clear water. I recomend the Underwater Kinetics SL4 which is 400 lumens. That will be plenty for clear water and it is a small light which is great for travel. They are $90 and are a great light, I was using one in Cozumel just last week. I also recomend a back up like Princten Tec Imact XL, it is a great back up and day light to look in all of those little holes to find the shimp. As for a tank marker the Innovative 500 Hour tank light is great. They are $10 and have a 500 hour life. You dont need batteries and never have to turn them on, they are water activated.

 

[rhwestfall]

In warm/clear water, even the "old" SL-4 xenon lights are adequate (not perfect, but adequate)...There is a SB'er here that makes a drop in LED to upgrade the light for around $25, which has made it still less than many places the eLED's are being sold new. That LP price though seems pretty darn good for the SL-4!

 

[@dam]

The old versio of the sl4 was only 114 lumens, which is why it's on sale. The new one (SL4 L1) is 400. Both are narrow-angle lights.

 

[ppatin]

The old versio of the sl4 was only 114 lumens, which is why it's on sale. The new one (SL4 L1) is 400. Both are narrow-angle lights.

You mean there was an older LED version that was only 114 lumens?

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Keep in mind the increase in Lumens is not proportional to the increase in perceived brightness. IE 1000 is a bit brighter than 500, but nothing close to 2X. Same for 400 to 200, etc...

The 1000 is great for day diving, lighting up nooks and crannies in the reef. At night, in clear water it might be too bright for some fish up close, but you can always tape a red filter to cut down the output.

For me, the primary reason I still use my 200 lumen light (Intova) is its small size is handy. At night, since I need a backup anyway, I can use the appropriate light for the location (200 or 1000), the other becomes the backup.

 

[RonFrank]

Intova makes a number of great little flashlights. They have various beam angles from around 7 degrees to 45+ wide angle. I have 3 of these lights as I have been diving them for maybe 6 years before they were marketed as dive lights, and they ran $20. But the batteries only went for 1 hour which is why I now have a few. The latest models run for 8 hours on 3 AAA batteries and cost $40+. Still quite a bargain. All steel and rugged as my first light is 6+ years and burning brightly!

Intova Nova Waterproof Torch IFL 660 B&H Photo Video

Tovatec by Intova iZoom 220 Lumens Adjustable Beam Angle Flashlight

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You mean there was an older LED version that was only 114 lumens?

There was a time when the 114 lumen light was considered super duper good and ran well over $100. Light technology has grown in leaps and bounds and batteries have matured as well. A 250 lumen light is now considered normal and runs around $50-100.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

For clear water, you should get a light that has a wide beam angle, so you can get a more expansive view, plus when searching for critters in the dark, you don't have to scan your light all over the place. Even if you have a 1000 lumen light, it should have capability for a wide beam, so maybe you can search for critters 10 ft from the reef, where you have lighted an extremely large area and you can spot any critter in that area. It also should have low beam settings for when you are closer to the reef.

 

[khurley]

Yes, sometimes less is more particularly when it comes to lights when diving in clear tropical waters. Bright lights simply scare everything away. I've used the Intova wide in clear tropical waters and really liked it, nice wide beam and not too bright. Cheap too, but does run on the spendy CR123 batteries.

I'll second the Intova. Reasonably priced, compact, and well made. CR123 batteries can be bought cheap in bulk on amazon or ebay.