Lumens for primary?

[Dirty-Dog]

Any information available about that GoPro to Lighthead mount?

 

[tbone1004]

you'd have to ask chris about the gopro mount.

Quality of the CA lights is a bit higher, I like the button instead of ring for helmet use, and the fact that the ring around it changes colors is VERY nice. When it switches to red, get the new one out. Pros and cons, but they're also pretty tiny, almost identical to the Hog Morphs, but noticeably brighter.

That said, I wouldn't bother with the cheap can lights yet. Get a few dives in, get some of the other things you need, and then if you find you're lacking for light output, then upgrade. See if you can borrow a can for training if your instructor really wants you to have one.

 

[CptTightPants21]

I am glad we ask questions and get a discussion going, but shouldn't your tech instructor be the person to ask? Ask him what he is diving, why? What does he recommend for the types of diving you want to do, etc?

 

[eelnoraa]

The main issue with Ano Technology lights is they are not exactly cheap, but they are also not the try and true light. Not that they aren't good light, but no one can say for sure how reliable they are. You mention you don't want to spend $300 on a light now, then if things happen, you have to buy another light. If you are looking for a primary light for tech, I would say save up to go with a UWLD, LM or H. You know they are dependable, the company will stand behind their products. You will not need to buy another light unless you want to.

I have Brinyte "3000" lumen light myself because I want an inexpansive small canister light for vacation. Having open it up, it is not built to quality of LM. It produces about 1500 lumen in practice (which is very bright). I have to say it is a good light for the money. But when I am on a more demanding dive and I need my light to work, I will choose LM over Brinyte any day.

Ano CL2300 also uses the same 3 Cree LEDs, so I doublt output can be 2300. 1500-1800 is more realistic. I chose Brinyte Div10 over Ano CL2300 for 3 reasons: 1)Brinyte is making a few very dependable lights already, namely DRIS 1000 3C, DRIS 1K 3AA, DGX600. Ano is quite new with no previous record (at least not known to me). 2)Brinyte's main website and their retailers all have consistent information on light spec. Ano's CL2300 spec is all over the places: different LEDs, some say T6 some say U2. Different cable length, range from 1.1M to 1.5M. Different runtime, different light head pictures. .... I didn't have a very good feeling about it. 3)For what it is, Brinyte DIV10 is less than half of CL2300. For my travel/backup purpose, it fits the budget.

 

[stuartv]

I am glad we ask questions and get a discussion going, but shouldn't your tech instructor be the person to ask? Ask him what he is diving, why? What does he recommend for the types of diving you want to do, etc?

I will ask him. But, one, I want more than one opinion. And, two, I am confident that whatever he suggests will WORK for me, I am not convinced that his suggestion will necessarily be the best - or maybe just not the best for the buck. This stuff is changing all the time and I don't think he spends the time perusing the Internet to keep up on the Latest and Greatest the way I and, apparently, some of you do.

I believe his answer will be "get a big Halcyon or Light Monkey." I think he recently got a big Light Monkey. I suspect "what his affiliated shop carries" had something to do with that. And I'm confident that a big LM light would work fine for me. I'm less confident that I want to spend that much money and that I can't spend a lot less and get something that makes me just as happy (or so close that it doesn't matter). And I don't think his recommendation of a LM would make him any money or anything. It's just a case of "well, this is what I have and it works well." And it's somewhat irrelevant (to him, anyway) that he probably got his for a lot less than what I could get one for.

 

[CptTightPants21]

I will ask him. But, one, I want more than one opinion. And, two, I am confident that whatever he suggests will WORK for me, I am not convinced that his suggestion will necessarily be the best - or maybe just not the best for the buck. This stuff is changing all the time and I don't think he spends the time perusing the Internet to keep up on the Latest and Greatest the way I and, apparently, some of you do.

I believe his answer will be "get a big Halcyon or Light Monkey." I think he recently got a big Light Monkey. I suspect "what his affiliated shop carries" had something to do with that. And I'm confident that a big LM light would work fine for me. I'm less confident that I want to spend that much money and that I can't spend a lot less and get something that makes me just as happy (or so close that it doesn't matter). And I don't think his recommendation of a LM would make him any money or anything. It's just a case of "well, this is what I have and it works well." And it's somewhat irrelevant (to him, anyway) that he probably got his for a lot less than what I could get one for.

A few things:
1. We could get into what the internet thinks vs fact, but that is a whole other discussion....
2. Tech diving and pinching pennies don't mix
3. Funny you mention LM....because LM, UWLD, and Halcyon are mentioned repeatedly in this thread when we are talking about canister lights. All in a favorable light and all recommended.
4. What I really think you are asking is "What is the cheapest light I can get away with?". In which case, get a used Dive Rite 10 or 12W for around $350 or email Andewy about him building you a canister for around $250.

You can either bite the bullet once on a canister light or keep doing mini upgrades or doing dives with equipment that just meets the minimum. It all depends on what kind of diving you want to do and how you feel as a diver.

 

[stuartv]

You almost nailed it. More like, what is the cheapest light I will be happy with?

I'm also going to have to buy a proper Tech computer. My instructor keeps saying "just get a Petrel and quit futzing around." I could do that, just like I could just fork out for a LM or UWLD or H. But, the SeaBear H3 looks really interesting and waiting to see how it pans out over the next few weeks (or maybe until DEMA) doesn't make me feel like I'm ignoring my instructor (and folks here) at my peril. I have some time before I need that computer (or a can light).

Researching lights (and computers) seems to me to be a case of better and/or less expensive stuff (that's just as good) does happen. LED emitters are getting better rapidly. Batteries are getting better rapidly. Buying what was the best a year or two ago would undoubtedly get me a good light. But, that doesn't mean I can't do some careful research and MAYBE get just as good a light today for 1/4 the money. I don't know. That's why I'm here asking these questions.

And who is Andewy and what kind of can light could I get from him for $250?

 

[CptTightPants21]

Andrewy is a user on scubaboard who makes his own lights.

 

[decompression]

Did I mention I'm selling my diverite H10 canister light?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Curt Bowen]

As many as you can afford

I'm trying to figure out how many lumens it makes sense to have in a primary light.

I have a couple of handheld lights now (Dive Gear Express DGX 600 and DGX Max). They have the Cree XM-L2 U2 LED emitters which are rated up to 1000+ lumens. DGX actually claims 600 lumens out the front. The are BRIGHT.

I've started tech training and my instructor has recommended to get a proper canister light as my primary. Looking around, it seems like a lot of them are in the 1500 - 2000 lumens (2300 - 3000 claimed) range.

When I have used my 600 lumen lights, they have seemed to me to be plenty bright. Sometimes, too bright. It has been pretty normal that they are bright enough that glare from backscatter starts to make it hard to see past 10 feet or so. This makes me wonder how useful a 2000 (actual) lumen light would be. I wonder if that wouldn't be too bright for any conditions that were less than 75+ feet of visibility. I.e. 90+% of the time, it would actually be too bright?

Can any of you shed some light (ha ha!) on this for me? Is there really a reason to have a 2000 lumen light? I can see maybe wanting a can light for the way-longer-than-I'll-need burn time. But, I'm not clear on when I'd ever actually benefit from having 2000 lumens coming out the front - especially in an 8 degree spot.

Thanks for any insight.