HID Light Cannon or not?!?

[Wreckaddict]

BradfordNC once bubbled...


as for underwater photography, it can be mounted on the camera, freeing up your hands to work the camera. lol.

love my light cannon.

I have a L & M Stingray video housing running a Sony TR910 Hi 8 camcorder. Do you think it would be possible to mount the Light Cannon on top of the housing and attach with bungy cord?

Or is this just too simplistic?

 

[Greg_Manko]

Talked with Customer Service at Underwater Kinetics about my problematic Light Cannon (buzzing sound and no light on start, 25-50% of the time). They seem to think it's related to the ballast, as a bad bulb would not light at all. They had me send the unit back to them - at my expense, of course. This dispite the fact that this light has done this since day one! It has this problem no matter what batteries I use - Duracells or rechargeables.
From my experience so far, I would recommend staying away from the Light Cannon until UK (or Welsh-Allyn) works out the bugs and can provide a reliable product - Buy a good conventional light instead. There are a lot of people who have posted about having problems with the LC - horror stories of burned out bulbs and ballasts - which, given the short time they have been sold and the relatively small number of them in the market, would indicate a high faliure rate.
I can only hope that UK will get a reliable light back to me quickly, but I can't say I have a lot of confidence that it will work reliably for what I would expect to be it's useful life.
I'm crossing my fingers and hopeing for the best.

 

[The Chairman]

my Dive Rite Canister light today... the LT6400H10 for a little under $700. Up to 8 hours of burn time, and the light can be focused. I look forward to it, and will finally try to sell something on E-Bay! :tease:

 

[AzonIc]

How are people finding their light cannons now? Ive read quite a few different threads on here, mostly a year old or more and there has been a fair bit of talk about problems with the bulbs and the pistol grip. Have these issues been fixed? are you still happy with your light cannon? Would you also think it would be ok to use on a strobe arm as a replacement for a strobe for my digital (still) camera? (like what h20mammel has done)

 

[The Chairman]

I am more convinced then ever that the Light Cannon is a major waste of moolah! It is bulky and still has issues with bulbs. I know of several shops who refuse to carry them at all. My Dive Rite light is so much better and now there are other lights to consider... check out my report on one such light HERE!

 

[Rev. Blade]

How are people finding their light cannons now? Ive read quite a few different threads on here, mostly a year old or more and there has been a fair bit of talk about problems with the bulbs and the pistol grip. Have these issues been fixed? are you still happy with your light cannon? Would you also think it would be ok to use on a strobe arm as a replacement for a strobe for my digital (still) camera? (like what h20mammel has done)

I was one of the folks who had problems (at first) with my Light Canon. Since I got it back from UK, (they replaced the bulb, and perhaps the ballast) it has worked every time. The light is bright, and white. I've only used it on daytime dives so far, but it works great. I've only used it on a dozen dives, but it lights up underhangs like crazy. If your eyes are out in sunny water, and you're trying to see into a dark area, bring lots of light. Even I started finding lobster and crabs, once I brought my light.

The Canon is bulky compared to lots of lights, but I haven't seen anything that puts out as much light from a package this size. The brighter lights all seem to be canisters... and they're a bit more expensive than the LC.

When I travel, the light rides in a plastic case full of foam, so I haven't tested how sturdy it is. I'd guess it doesn't do well with getting knocked around. It didn't leak on my dive to 140' in a blue hole. The guys I was diving with, were all in the dark. I was one of the two divers (in a group of 14) that brought a light for a daytime dive. Not much for them to compare it to, but EVERYONE on the dive was impressed by the light. Now I hope it holds up.

 

[Jai Bar]

I bought my LC100 from LP. In the beginning I had a few cases in which the light wouldn't turn on --> I removed the bulb and reinserted it and since then the light works great. Sometimes the light won't turn on after changing batteries that are not Duracell, but if I jiggle a little the batteries it works excellent.

A cool feature of the LC100 is its spectral range, which is cooler and extends to the UV range. I attach to the LC100 purple filters from several layers of Cellophane paper, or combinations of blue/purple semitransparent plastics (available from any "Office-depot", dossiers, etc.). It takes less than 5 minutes to cut with scissors. With these "filters" the beam turns into a pale, barely distinguishable purple. But, many creatures and critters (including corals, sponges, jellyfish etc.) turn alive with green, red and sometimes orange luminiscent colors from distances of up to several meters away. A different way of viewing night dives with a completely unusual light- Highly recommended...

 

[AzonIc]

Cheers for the replys. I think I will order one online and give it a try.

 

[scubatoys]

We originally had some problems when our customers would get them... found out that if we pad the heck out of them... it works great - so now - we surround them in bubble wrap when shipping - and put them in an oversized box.

I've had no problem traveling with mine - I just wrap it in my wetsuit... It seems UPS is worse on them then the airlines - but now that we've changed the way we package them... we've had 0 DOA in the last 6 months.

Larry
_______________________________
The one with the moist toys wins!

 

[Greg_Manko]

UK fixed my light and it has worked fine since. I've only used it underwater a couple of times since, but I'm not worried the problem will come back. UK does seem to support this product well. I hope I won't have problems in a few years, but maybe the bulbs will be cheaper then. The bulbs are supposed to be good for about 1000 hrs (on average) and I'd be very happy if it last that long!