help selecting light please! (go for 10w canister???)

[donnad]

ok, here's the deal. husband wants a light, that is powerful enough to really light up stuff.....like on a daytime dive, he wants to be able to shine it on a coral formation, or sponges, or whatever, and see the true colors of the subject. and i'm not talking wimpy light here, he wants LIGHT!(cause you gotta have serious power to really light something up in the daytime) the catch is, is there something available that would do this without getting into the $600 and up range? like maybe $300??? also, i don't think he necessarily wants to have the light on constantly the whole dive, but have the ability to turn it on and off when desired.......and i know some lights aren't instant about turning back on...........hope i'm making sense. thanks in advance for your help!!!!

 

[BigTuna]

What wattage will blind a fish at 2 paces? (I'm serious!)

 

[CODMAN]

From what I've read, the UK Light Canon 100 HID lamp is pretty much as bright as you can get! It's renown to be very very bright! And usually sells for 175-200$ at Webstores I believe...

Hope this helps!

 

[TSandM]

If you are talking about warm, clear water, to make a light useful in the daytime you need a 21W HID. Even a 10W is essentially invisible. 21W HIDs will run well above your $600 figure.

In murky water where the light levels are lower, a 10W HID will work okay. The UK Light Cannon is all right for that, although it is a big, clumsy light to have to carry in your hand, and it's annoying when you let go of it and it bangs around on your body. Dive Rite has a 10W canister light which I think runs in the 5 to $600 range; they go up from there.

 

[*Floater*]

You may be able to find a used 10w HID canister light for about $300. The cheapest fixed focus ones I've seen cost about $500 new. But you are not supposed to switch them off and on without at least 30 sec in between.

Dive Rite does sell a Hand-held 10W HID Light also, which you could probably find for around $300 if you ask around, but I don't know how it compares to the canister lights.

There are other powerful non-canister lights as well. I used a Nocturnal Lights SL50 for a while. I got it for about $200 (they had some demo lights and there was a SB discount too) and it certainly lighted up the scene. It's an over-volted, rechargeable halogen light. Very powerful, but short burn time when using the 50W bulb and a little bit bulky and heavy. I since sold it and switched to a canister light, which is the way to go IMO if you plan to get into to technical diving and what I'd recommend to my friends, but they are expensive.

 

[donnad]

thanks guys. based on your comments, i'm thinking he'll want a 21W HID canister light for daytime, realizing that it may be overkill for night diving. any brand recommendations, etc.??

 

[Dryglove]

I have previously owned a 10w halcyon, 18w halcyon and now have a 21w salvo. The best price and value is the salvo 21w in my opinion. The 10w works good but for day time dives in clear water the 10w has a very small hotspot where the 18w and 21w lights are more powerful with a larger hotspot for cutting through the muck and lighting up all of that pretty coral.

One advantage of a 10w over the larger lights is a much more compact lighthead. I still prefer my 21w and is my favorite light out of all the lights i have had. HID lights are best left on for the whole dive.

Sea Elite has a great deal on these renamed salvo 10w lights. They come equipped with a fixed beam reflector. Good priced compact HID 10w light head and cannister http://www.divers-supply.com/Sea-Elite-10-Watt-4-5-amp-HID-Canister-Light-SP-p/sal0001.htm

 

[TSandM]

I love my Salvo 21W HID. It's my favorite piece of gear. In my opinion, it was worth every penny I paid for it. It is, however, essentially unusable for tropical night diving. Even fully defocused, I can light up an area the size of a two car garage with it -- nothing nocturnal gets anywhere near me!

 

[donnad]

thanks so much for the input! sounds like he needs the 21W to accomplish what he wants for daytime dives.

 

[hunter991]

You rarely go wrong when you choose the best!.