First Canister Light

[hypertech]

I'm considering buying my first canister light. I'm looking for something to cut through the haze in low viz, but not be so powerful I can't use it on a night dive in clear water without scaring away all the critters.

Right now, I either dive without a light or I use a crappy little plastic thing that runs on AA batteries.

I'm thinking about getting one of the new Light Monkey 9W LED lights.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[Nocturnal Lights]

You can try our TLX 800t LED dive lights Feel free to read the specs and let me know if you have any questions. We've sold quite a few of them and have gotten great feedback from our customers.

 

[Nocturnal Lights]

Oops, here's the link: Nocturnal Lights LED Dive Lights

 

[a22shady]

Any lights made by Halcyon or Light MOkey is a great choice. They both make a top quality product and there service is #1. If you call speak to a real person if you email generally get a response that day or next. Makes one reason moer to spend that little extra. If you ask is it worth it the answer is yes. And ofcourse always fish around for the best deal. If you leary about spending so much on a 1st canister light. Check out the boards they're a few up for asle used at a great value. Halcyon (Salvo/Light Monkey)

 

[616fun]

I just shot a PM to you in reference to a deal on my gently used Dive Rite MR11 Slimline.

I've been too lazy to get around to posting it in the classifieds.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I have a Light Monkey 12W LED and the center spot is great for signalling and cutting through particulate etc. Outside the center spot it has a wide, even beam.

It is superb in wrecks and caves, but on some recent night dives in the Dry Tortugas, I noticed it was serious overkill on a reef and I either used one of my Underwater Kinetics 3 c-cell LED back lights or held my index and middle fingers over the front of my 12 W LED to reduce the death ray effect.

Marci used my Dive Rite LED 700 (formerly an LED 500 upgraded to an LED 700 and with the cord option) and it seemed to be about optimum - lots of light, but with a wide, even beam, no hot center spot and not enough light to scatter the noctural reef critters.

 

[Soakedlontra]

I have just purchased a Light Monkey 9w and now I am wondering what is the right way to attach it to the harness that I use (with backplate and wing) and on which side of the body right or left?

 

[Soakedlontra]

I have a Light Monkey 12W LED and the center spot is great for signalling and cutting through particulate etc. Outside the center spot it has a wide, even beam.

It is superb in wrecks and caves, but on some recent night dives in the Dry Tortugas, I noticed it was serious overkill on a reef and I either used one of my Underwater Kinetics 3 c-cell LED back lights or held my index and middle fingers over the front of my 12 W LED to reduce the death ray effect.

Marci used my Dive Rite LED 700 (formerly an LED 500 upgraded to an LED 700 and with the cord option) and it seemed to be about optimum - lots of light, but with a wide, even beam, no hot center spot and not enough light to scatter the noctural reef critters.

Would it be possible to attach to the light a diffuser cut from a piece of plastic, for instance?

 

[kyjellyfish]

This might be useful regarding placement:
Equipment Configuration | Global Underwater Explorers

 

[Oldbear]

Dive lights are make pretty big jumps in technology. There are some pretty good lights that no longer use a canister for its power supply. So I would pose the question why do you want a canister light and have to deal with the cord? If you come to the conclusion that a corded canister light is what you really need or want, then look at technology advancements vs budget. There are a lot of used "older" technology lights being sold used. If your budget is somewhat limited you might consider purchasing as used HID light. One of these could make a nice first light. If your budget allows I suggest going for a newer LED light. The prices are such now that you can pick up a really good one for under $1000. You can pick up a middle of the road for half that price.

I just went through the process of buying cheap canister lights and got what I paid for...crap. Now I use a Halcyon Flare and love it. I just finished a night dive to tonight with it about an hour ago...loving it.

[video]http://www.halcyon.net/en/products/lighting-systems/halcyon-focus-and-flare[/video]

Here is a link describing the difference between HID & LED techonogy.
About HID & LED - Halcyon Dive Systems

---------- Post added November 19th, 2015 at 10:33 PM ----------

Oops, here's the link: Nocturnal Lights LED Dive Lights

When I click on your link I get the Error 404 Page Not Found message.