Info Halcyon Focus 2.0 vs. Light Monkey 20-32 VF

[VladDiver]

Hey Everyone,

I have had a privilege of using Halcyon and Light monkey primary lights. I just want to show you the difference between Focus 2.0(left) and LM 20-32 VF(Right). Both lights are on highest setting at the same distance. I am personally liking Focus 2.0 a little more. What do you think?

 

[Pavao]

I went from a Halcyon LED EOS at first, hated the backscatter illumination in front of my face. Switched to a Halcyon HID, made a tremendous difference, but still, even though it penetrated through the water much further than the LED, it still produced some backscatter, beautiful blue hue, I also like the head better between the 3 lights.
Then when Focus came out I gave it a try, that is by far best light I've ever used in terms of least amount of backscatter, virtually none. Penetrates just as well if not further than HID, specially if there's something "different" on the walls, like a stage bottle, a clip, or even a broken/chipped limestone from black walls like Ginnie.
It comes with a price, what for my liking is it's best feature (lack of backscatter) it also means it has very little spill, so your surroundings don't get illuminated as much, if it's small tunnels it's fine, otherwise you're only illuminating where you're pointing it.
Diving alongside a friend with a Light Monkey 35w HID was super cool seeing the whole tunnel illuminated from the spill, but I don't wanna trade that for the backscatter it brings, it looked great given the light was on someone else's hand, away from my face.

For daytime open water diving communication it is also great, the sharp contrast of the squared edges makes it stand out better and easier to be spotted.

 

[VladDiver]

I agree with you on Focus 2.0. The back scatter is unpleasant on the LM. When silted out, I am unable to see anything. I think LM has a specific purpose: crystal clear caves with little sentiment. I am rewiring my batteries to Focus 2.0

 

[Whitrzac]

The focus is great if you only want to see a 2ft section of cave. Its only about 2k lumen too IIRC

The non vf 32w has a poor refector and has a ton of backscatter. The vf is better but still not great for a cloudy cave.

 

[rjack321]

Everything that reduces backscatter also reduces the spill and you end up with a very narrow field of view. The focus is like looking through a telephoto lens. The super tight beam (IMHO) encourages an excessive focus on the line cause you almost can't see the line in the (nearly nonexistent) spill.

A wider beam allows you to see more of the cave since you can keep the line in the spill zone yet point the rest of the beam elsewhere. Yes you get some backscatter, deal with it. If you are doing any original exploration this becomes even more important and you just won't see side passages with a super narrow beam unless you just happen to point right at it.

 

[Pavao]

Wanted to post the video, illustrates it better, but looks like can’t post videos directly here, so had to grab a screen shot off of the video.
Pretty obvious which beam is the Focus, I mean, you can see the Focus beam right?

This is the difference, it’s like a “wireless light”. Turn the light on and you see an illuminated wall. In the other light, turn it on, and you’ll see everything illuminated between the light head and the wall.

I have a clearer view of the wall because there isn’t anything blocking that view, backscatter blocks that view.

 

[VladDiver]

Wanted to post the video, illustrates it better, but looks like can’t post videos directly here, so had to grab a screen shot off of the video.
Pretty obvious which beam is the Focus, I mean, you can see the Focus beam right?

This is the difference, it’s like a “wireless light”. Turn the light on and you see an illuminated wall. In the other light, turn it on, and you’ll see everything illuminated between the light head and the wall.

I have a clearer view of the wall because there isn’t anything blocking that view, backscatter blocks that view.

View attachment 830337
View attachment 830338

This is a very good example of the two heads. There is so much scatter on the LM that Focus is hardy visible. You can upload the video to Youtube and link it here to some "live" examples.

 

[PfcAJ]

I don’t really experience any issues with illuminating the cave with the focus 2. If you bottom out the adjustment, I suppose, but I back it off maybe 1/4 turn and it’s real good.

 

[rjack321]

Not sure why these two lights are the only contenders? The UW Light dude lights are pretty exceptional TBH

 

[VladDiver]

Not sure why these two lights are the only contenders? The UW Light dude lights are pretty exceptional TBH

I have yet to see UW Light Dude in action. Most people here, in SoCal, use either LM or Focus.