How much light is too much?

[wetman]

I'm usually of the mindset that you can never get too much of anything. But i did 3 night dives a couple weeks ago that got me thinking - is it possible to take too much light down with you? Part of why i like night diving is that it is extremely relaxing - my best air consumption has always been during night dives. But, i was also wondering would too much light remove some of the "mystery" of the night dive. I use an UK HID 10 watt which seems to light up lots down there. I'm contemplating getting a canister light (likely another 10) but want to ask those out there who have used bigger lights if they found much of a difference with the 18 watters for example or if they ever thought they were bringing too much light down with them. This is specifically NOT for cave dives if that helps.

steve

 

[Walter]

On night dives, I take a tiny light that fits in my palm. Most of the dive it stays off.

 

[MechDiver]

I dove with a guy who rigged a canister light from part of a set of camera video lights that were 50W HID. It was like diving next to a street lamp. Also have a buddy who has an 18W HID, and I think it's too much. I prefer the 10W with narrow beam.

Phil

 

[DennisW]

It is more than enough light. And it usually stays off. There are enough people around that wants the night dive to look like a day dive that I usually don't need it.

 

[JDostal]

I use a 10W HID light personally...in my opinion, the more light the better. Around here, if you do a night dive without a light....it's pitch black. You can't see your hand when your press it onto your mask. So really, diving without a light at night is pretty much pointless as you don't see squat. So, big, bright lights are really nice.

And when we dive during the day, it gets pretty dark during our deeper dives and the light is nice there again too - plus, the lights provides more color as everything is looking blue anyway.

Walter - how on earth do you do a night dive with your light off? Crystal clear water and a full-moon?

 

[tinman]

Walter once bubbled...
On night dives, I take a tiny light that fits in my palm. Most of the dive it stays off.

....are you sure that tiny light isn't a light saber ObiWan? You would definitely need the Force up here...the Dark Side rules underwater even on good viz days! Lights and lots of 'em, the brighter the better. Is there such a thing as a too bright HID? Now if we could only deal with all that pesky silt and muck clouding up the water...

 

[Phil TK]

tinman once bubbled...
. Now if we could only deal with all that pesky silt and muck clouding up the water...

Has anyone tried night sights underwater? These things are getting smaller and lighter so I presume it's feasable to turn them into a mask and I would venture that they would see through silt as well (heat travels through silt -right?).
I've never used night sights myself but someone told me that you can even see people undressing themselves through the walls of a tent.



Not that I'd endulge in that sort of thing of course

Phil TK

 

[Butch103]

Hehehe..too much light would be like artificial light day diving <?>.......Like Walter and Dennis (except for training dives) I use very little light. When I do it is to pinpoint something and then I shut it off...I think it is great to dive with the moonlight as the only light available...........Present the same old dive sigth in a ..umm errr...new light ???:bonk: :boom:

 

[JDostal]

I guess, here in Wisconsin, we have much siltier, darker water. It's not bright, blue and perfectly clear. If you go deeper than 10 feet...you usually have no light.

When I say you can't see your hand pressed against your mask sometimes, I'm not kidding. Without a light...you can't see anything except blackness.

Sometimes when we're diving at night we'll turn off our lights and play hide and seek in the dark. It's kinda fun...blindly groping around. But, if you do actually want to see the fish and other life that comje out at night, you'd better have a light.

 

[Big-t-2538]

A Pelican "Brite Light" that I picked up for 15 bucks. It suits my night diving needs just fine. MY buddy has a new Underwater Kinetics HID light cannon and it is pretty bright, but the beam is narrow, so it isn't annoying. I'm seriously contemplating getting one of those for the simple fact that it's bright, but not annoying. A whole lot more light wouldn't be much of a night dive.

-TT