Looking for new cordless primary light for wreck diving

[victorzamora]

I have the 4000 and I don't know if it is 4k lumens, but I do know it is brighter than any can light from Hollis and diverite I have seen and in most cases illuminates to the point the cave water limits visibility.

Daru

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No surprises there. Lights from Hollis and Dive Rite are both pretty bad. Hollis's big light claims 1250lm....which I believe. Dive Rite lights are also underwhelming. Their big canister light claims to be using an XM-L2, rated at an absolute max of 1052lm. This I believe. Having dove with a Big Blue 4000, it's certainly more light than those and it's certainly nothing to scoff at. However, it's not nearly as bright as my LD35-144. I don't think it's much over 2000lm. Having looked at the specs (4xXML emitters, 4x3.7x2600mAh batteries, 2hrs burn time on high) and having seen one in the water.....2000lm seems like a pretty reasonable number.

 

[kwinter]

Victor - the specifics give me a headache. But I wasn't talking about manufacturers claims of either lux or lumens. There have been too many outrageous claims for people to trust any figure posted by s manufacturer, including Bobby. That's exactly why I discussed with him an INDEPENDENT analysis. Just like Tahoe testing for scooters. We take a lux box into the Ginnie gallery and do consistent, independent testing of lights owned by people, or possibly submitted by manufacturers if they are stock items. Then the results are reported, just like Tahoe.


iPhone. iTypo. iApologize.

 

[victorzamora]

Victor - the specifics give me a headache. But I wasn't talking about manufacturers claims of either lux or lumens. There have been too many outrageous claims for people to trust any figure posted by s manufacturer, including Bobby. That's exactly why I discussed with him an INDEPENDENT analysis. Just like Tahoe testing for scooters. We take a lux box into the Ginnie gallery and do consistent, independent testing of lights owned by people, or possibly submitted by manufacturers if they are stock items. Then the results are reported, just like Tahoe.


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I agree it would be great. If you get something started, I'd be happy to help however I can.

 

[tbone1004]

Ken, Bobby did take a bunch of lights into a cave and took video of them in his comparison test. Unfortunately it's not a quantitative approach, but it at least shows a comparison against quite a few big name lights. Would be nice if we had a Tahoe comparo though. That said, I was listening to Pod Diver Radio while on a plane last week and they had an interview with Light and Motion and they said they have been certifying to ANSI FL-1 which would be nice for manufacturers to start doing. Gets lumen, runtime, lux, beam distance, and water resistance. Obviously these are all waterproof, and beam distance doesn't really matter in water, but to get lights certified to the FL-1 would make sure that everyone is being honest

 

[kwinter]

ANSI certification would be great. But I suspect there is a cost involved that most manufacturers won't be willing to pay. I know CE testing costs a fortune. But since any rebreather sold in the EU is supposed to have it, they go through the hassle.
Bobby is clearly in favor of fair comparisons. Tom and Victor are not the only ones volunteering to help with a Tahoe type comparison. All it really needs is someone to take charge and see it through. It would be a tremendous undertaking. But since the testing would be so much simpler than the scooter testing at Tahoe, it could be done a few lights at a time over several weekends.
So who wants to take charge?


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[eelnoraa]

I like to see comparison as well. Lumen is very hard to measure. I think the most useful measurement would be set the lights at the fixed distance, say 2 meters from a wall in a swimming pool, measure lux at beam center and plot lux vs distance away from the beam center. From this plot, lumen value can be estimated by area under the curve. It is also a nice way to tell the beam quality, ie. how hot is the hot spot, how the light drop off .... And from that, people can choose which light quality for which type of usage.

But I wonder how many manufactures are will to participate. I am pretty sure the bigger and the honest guys don't mind, but most diver can't afford one of those big brands. They are more likely to buy one of the budget lights. So being able to test the budget segment is more meaningful

 

[kwinter]

Tahoe does not rely only on the manufacturers. Divers lend their personal scooters for testing. The same could be done easily for lights. Everything from a budget light to a monster video light could be tested as long as someone is willing to lend one.


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[jethrocramp]

If I may,

UTD VIZ 35 Sport · UTD Scuba Diving

Under $500, 3 hrs burn time, 600' depth, 3500 lum.


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I bought one of these directly from the Chinese manufacturer (for quite a bit less). Worked fine until I took it on a couple of 50m dives and then moisture got into the battery unit.

Buyer beware.


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[cerich]

Tahoe does not rely only on the manufacturers. Divers lend their personal scooters for testing. The same could be done easily for lights. Everything from a budget light to a monster video light could be tested as long as someone is willing to lend one.


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Heck, Ill play with my new can light... it'd be illuminating.