LED lights? A good dive option yet?

[orangeBloke]

I've been looking into LED lights and came across this thread in the archives http://www.scubaboard.com/archive/index.php/t-37893.html

The thread seems to imply that LED lights are not a good choice for diving, at least not as a primary. As the thread reaches its first birthday this week and technology is always on the move I was wondering if anything has changed? Do LED lights still make a poor dive lights or has their time finally arrived?

Thanks

 

[capelli]

i would have one as a back up but not my primary .for that i would go with a hid light .



derrick

 

[whalerkyle]

I had the UK100 until it was stolen last week. I didn't have the cash to replace it so I bought the UK C8 eLED. I have done 3 night dives and this light is awsome! For $79 at Sport Chalet you can't beat it. The light is pure bright white, it makes my buddies uk100 look a bit yellow. It can't reach as far as the uk100, but for the price/size/durability/battery usage, this light is great.

Kyle

 

[ScottyK]

I'm also using a UK eLED light and am very happy with it. It's a good choice for someone who doesn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a can light.

I also own a regular UK C8. I replaced it with the eLED because I night dive often, and the C8 went through batteries too quickly. I was surprised at the better quality of the light with the LED. As previously stated the whiter beam penetrates the water and renders color better than any other light I've seen in the less than $100 range.

You also get a much more durable bulb that gets around 5,000 hrs of life compared with about 50 hours (IIRC) with a conventional bulb.

This last fact is why I also switched out my backups to LED. The Princeton Tec Impact II's I now use are not quite as bright as my old C6's, but the bulb is more reliable and you get 50 hours (not a typo) of burn time from a single set of AA batteries.

I've been diving with these lights most of the summer and have been quite happy with them.

Scott

 

[fishfood]

just know your light...

know how long the light had before it dies..
the light dont realy dim like most normal lights do
they just dim realy fast and die...
same thing with recharable lights

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I had the double bulbed halogen UK C8, the eLEDs came out and I got to try one. It cut through the particles in the water much better than the halogen and increased the distance I could see. It is a tighter beam, but thats OK. I ended up buying the eLED upgrade bezel for my halogen C8, converting it to the eLED. Much easier on batteries, the light itself should last much much longer, and IMO I get better illumination with it.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

I bought a C8 eLED when they first came out, and it's been a good light for me. It definitely equals the conventional C8 in terms of light output, but the light is much whiter and battery life is excellent. The original batteries lasted for 20+ dives (about 15 hours of bottom time.) I wanted something whiter than a conventional dive light (also have C8 & D8), but I wasn't ready to buy a canister yet or buy a Light Cannon that I knew I'd be replacing with a canister eventually anyway. The eLED has done pretty well at filling that space. One final note: being an LED, it's a tough light. No bulbs to break like on an HID or a halogen. Not that I go around banging it into rocks or anything, though...