Intova 3W - 65 Lumens vs 4.8W 130 Lumens

[Orion12521]

I know a lot of discussion was made over the upgrading of the earlier models of the 3W light. It seems that Intova then prevented the upgrades from being made so that they could roll out their own "hotter" version. What I haven't seen is any direct comparisons of the Intova 3W and 4.8W lights. I know that there is a huge increase in the lumens but have found very little to provide guidance on how that has affected the beam pattern and such. Is there an appreciable benefit of the 4.8W wide-angle over the 3W light or are the additional lumens lost because of the beam pattern? Is the 4.8 just as bright but over a bigger area?

I'd also like to thank D_B and HenrikBP (among others) for the thread "Intova 3W LED Dive Light?" it was really informative and has sold me on one of these two lights. Just trying to figure out which one at this point.

 

[foglesre]

These are completely different lights. The Nova has a much narrower, high-intensity beam. The Nova Wide throws out more total light, but it is a very wide, uniform beam.

Attached is a picture of the two lights side by side. This is taken with the two lights 42" away from the wall. Manual exposure 1/125 second, f=1/2.8. For reference the wide's beam is 30" diameter at this distance (about a 40 degree beam spread if my trig is correct).

I find the Nova makes a great backup light for technical diving. It has a very similar beam to the Oxycheq Raider I; I had them side-by-side in a cave. No they're not equivalent to a 10W HID by any stretch of the imagination, but they certainly have no trouble signalling a diver with a 10W HID (I did so).

I've not had the Nova Wide in the water yet, but I'm hoping it will make a perfect light for night reef dives. I'm tired of lugging my Light Cannon around.

While I'm a big fan of these lights, they're not without fault. The switch on one of my two Nova's fell out on my very first dive--the whole little plastic assembly. To their credit, Intova was very good about sending a replacement. On their advice, I glued it in place. Did the same with my other Nova. Intova reports that they have tightened the fit of these switches. True to their word, the switch in the Nova Wide was a very tight fit (though I still glued it for good measure).

Great deal on these lights with free shipping at buy.com. Assuming I like the Nova Wide on my upcoming dive trips, I'll be giving them as Christmas presents to my diving friends.

Oooohhh, the Super Nova technical details are on the Intova site!

Bob

 

[Orion12521]

Thanks for the info, foglesre. I know you haven't had the wide in the water yet, but I am looking to acquire my first, general purpose light and am wondering if you'd have a suggestion between the two. I don't imagine I will be doing much night diving so I don't think I need something like the Super Nova. :14: Are either of these lights adequate as a primary in your opinion and is there one you'd recommend over the other as being more well suited to a variety of conditions?

 

[foglesre]

Well one point of reference is that Tusa released a dive light that is identical to the Nova Wide for nearly twice the price. The Intova (either one) is a bargain.

Now, based on the fact that you said you don't think that you'll be doing a lot of night diving soon, I would probably suggest the regular, narrow-beam Nova. Based on that comment, I expect that you might be wanting a dive light to poke around looking under rocks during the day as well as for a bit of night diving. For that purpose, the more intense Nova beam will be better and it will probably make a fine night dive light.

If you're buying it for night dives alone, I would suggest the Nova Wide. I think that it's very uniform beam will be ideal for night dives. Get about 5-6 feet off the reef in the dark and it will provide a very nice, not-too-bright coverage. In a simple, clear-water night reef dive, I think there is such a thing as too much light. I find that all the little critters just cower at the light from a Light Cannon, for example.

Good luck.

Bob

 

[ChimChim75]

Has anyone used the wide as a primary for tropical reef diving? My LDS is recommending it... I was looking at a UK D8, but if this does the same job with the smaller size (and cheap rechargeable batteries) and comparable price... I think it's a winner!

 

[Packhorse]

I know a lot of discussion was made over the upgrading of the earlier models of the 3W light. It seems that Intova then prevented the upgrades from being made so that they could roll out their own "hotter" version. What I haven't seen is any direct comparisons of the Intova 3W and 4.8W lights. I know that there is a huge increase in the lumens but have found very little to provide guidance on how that has affected the beam pattern and such. Is there an appreciable benefit of the 4.8W wide-angle over the 3W light or are the additional lumens lost because of the beam pattern? Is the 4.8 just as bright but over a bigger area?

I'd also like to thank D_B and HenrikBP (among others) for the thread "Intova 3W LED Dive Light?" it was really informative and has sold me on one of these two lights. Just trying to figure out which one at this point.

Just a couple of points you may want to consider.
The "4.8watt" intova is not 4.8 watts. I had one for a short period and it stuggled to consume more than 3 watts.
Cree dont even make a 4.8watt rated LED.
Although the "4.8watt" puts out a lot of light its way to wide for my liking. It would make a good camera focus light but for diving Im not impressed. The other light is simply way to inefficient as it uses an older LED.

 

[foglesre]

Just a couple of points you may want to consider.
The "4.8watt" intova is not 4.8 watts. I had one for a short period and it stuggled to consume more than 3 watts.
Cree dont even make a 4.8watt rated LED.
Although the "4.8watt" puts out a lot of light its way to wide for my liking. It would make a good camera focus light but for diving Im not impressed. The other light is simply way to inefficient as it uses an older LED.

I used the 4.8watt wide in Palau and thought it performed splendidly as a primary on night dives. During the day it is certainly not very useful. It doesn't light up the who ocean like a Light Canon, but on a reef night dive, I don't want to.

With regard to the narrow, Intova has upped the LED in it to a 4.8 watt as well.

Bob

 

[Packhorse]

With regard to the narrow, Intova has upped the LED in it to a 4.8 watt as well.

Bob

There is no such thing as a 4.8watt.... ah forget it.

Great news on the narrow angle upgrade though.
But just remember the old model consumed just as many watts as the present model. It just didnt put out as many lumen.

 

[D_B]

Super bright 4.7 watt Luxeon LED lifetime bulb

... http://www.intova.net/torch.html

I dont know why they say cree on the blister package

I would only get the narrow beam for general diving use, the wide is too wide for anything other than a video/camera light.
The 3w narrow one is pretty bright, especially if you take the price into account .. and even though the 4.7w upgrade is more, it's still at a pretty good price (kinda hard to find the narrow beam one, maybe too new)

 

[Packhorse]

I dont know about the narrow beam version but the wide that I saw had a cree.
I believe crees have a narrower beam angle than a luxeon which makes them more suitable for a wide angle reflector. (as backwards as that sounds). Mind you I could be wrong.