HID vs LED

[Fjellklatrer]

What are the primary differences between HID and LED lights.

Right now I have am using an Ikelite C-Lite 8, and it performs ok given what it is, but now I want something powerful. I am going to upgrade to a GreenForce light; I have been looking at the Quadristar P4D (12V 17W 880 Lumen 13° LED). That brings me back to my original question. How would this compare, for example, to the GreenForce HID 50 Pro (10V 50W 13° HID).

Any help explaining this to me is greatly appreciated.

 

[gcbryan]

HID bulbs are much more expensive and you have to be more careful of how you handle a HID. You also need to wait a bit after turning one off before turning it back on.

The "hotspot" is tighter and generally throws further due to the smaller source of the light. The color of the light source is generally bluish white.

LED's are semi-conductors, last forever, aren't delicate, and can be turned on and off at will. You can get a white color that is more natural looking. If you want to upgrade your light in the future it's generally easier to upgrade a led however you aren't likely to need to upgrade a HID if you get a bright one in the first place. LED's performance is increasing every year.

Due to the large source of the light source LED tend to me more floody unless an optic is used. However, particularly in the 10W HID range LED's are very comparable (I think).

You really just need to consider what type of conditions you will be diving in and what your requirements are. Poor viz generally means you want more throw. Cave diving means more battery storage.

The 21 W Salvo cannister light seems to be the standard for many people. For many others a LED light that's comparable to a 10W HID works well.

There's consideration regarding whether you need or want a cannister or a hand held light. You can get hand held lights that are powerful (led) that are now small enough to use hands free without needing a cannister.

There are many choices and factors to consider.

I should add, at the upper end of the range it's hard to compete with HID. LED's are more competitive with 10W to 14W HID's.

 

[paddler3d]

When comparing lights, look at their Lumen and their Temperature (in Kelvin).

Lumen is measure of power perceived by the human eye. That is the number you can use to compare apples to apples. If light A is 500lumen and light B is 800lumen, light be is going to appear to be brighter.

When you look at the Temperature of the lights, you can get idea of what color the light is.

For instance your C-Lite probably uses as Halogen bulb. A halogen bulb appears more yellow than the HID and an LED tends to look more white that a HID bulb.

Don't quote me on this, but Halogens are typically 4300K, where as HIDs are 5000K and LEDs are 5200K.

 

[HenrikBP]

I think color temperature varies depending on light source (LED/HID bulb) used as well as voltage required/delivered to the light source. FOr instance the light color varies wildly in LEDs, even within the same brand and model of LED.

For instance, Light Monkey lists their 21W LED light at 5600K and their 21W HID at 6500K.

Personally I don't like when color temperature gets too high. It seems to take away contrast as well as skewing how the color of things look.

I really want to like the new LED primary lights, but am not sure about light output and beam angle.

Henrik

 

[gcbryan]

Leds are sorted in a binning system by vf,lux, color temp etc. You can get cold white, white, warm white...etc.

HID's are in the 6500k range. Lumens are a decent way to compare but with leds this varies as well (more so than with HID's). You also need to consider beam angle at the same time you are comparing lumens if you want to be comparing apparent brightness among various lights. Lux is the direct comparison of the light arriving at the "target".

 

[carrielsal]

A pretty good in depth explanation by the now MIA Barry Miller.

[vimeo]4919931[/vimeo]

 

[Fjellklatrer]

Great link Carrie. Thanks.

 

[wquiles]

Great link Carrie. Thanks.

Yup, great link/video indeed

 

[Fjellklatrer]

Is Light Monkey just Salvo under a new name?

 

[carrielsal]

Is Light Monkey just Salvo under a new name?

Not the same company.

If you have a ton of free time, this is a pretty interesting read on TDS, The Deco Stop