Night Dive Lumens

[ystrout]

Hi Everyone,

Can you give me some advice on how many lumens I'll need for night diving in southern California? I'll bring it on tropical dive trips I go on but most of its use will be in cold local water. Visibility averages about 10-20 feet in San Diego to 75 feet at Catalina. I dive both areas frequently.

I have been looking at the Sola 800 and Sola 1200 lumen lights. It looks like it has a flood light and spot light option.

Thoughts?

 

[JackD342]

As a flashlight, or as a video light? Either are quite passable as night dive flashlight. There was a time when I thought 300 lumen was bright!

In general, spot for day dives, peering into holes and under ledges, especially with brighter ambient light. Wide or flood for the night, or video.

There is a school of thought that you can have a light that is too bright, blinding and almost cooking those nighttime creatures.

I haven't yet looked for an article on that subject.

 

[Addicted2H2O]

I have just such a light (as mentioned in the above post) that could almost literally cook krill @ 3800 lumens. It's a video light (flood pattern) with 4 brightness modes, 2 red modes, and a UV/blue mode. I've used it at full brightness during a quarry night dive when daytime vis was probably around 20 ft and I had to turn it down to the next to lowest setting. Now in Cozumel during a night dive with 150+ vis, I had that plus a Sola 2200 and it was almost like diving during the day. I have the video on a drive at home that I can post if you want. I'd say either of those lights would probably be okay for diving with very high visibility, but in somewhere with lower vis and possibly higher particulates, lower is better. Just my unprofessional opinion.

 

[Landlocked123]

I think others have covered it pretty well. The handful of dives i have done in clearer water at night led me to believe you dont need that much light. you dont wnat to light up the entire reef like a soccer stadium. But I will admit i have very limited experience in clear water. For murky and low viz water a brigher focused beam will do a little better at cutting through but dont expect too much as once you get enough particulate matter in the water its little to no viz regardless of the brightness of the torch. I go pro my dives and do a lot of low viz diving and I mount 2 wide angle video lights on the side of my helmet with a dgx 600 just above on one side to cut through.

 

[ystrout]

I have just such a light (as mentioned in the above post) that could almost literally cook krill @ 3800 lumens. It's a video light (flood pattern) with 4 brightness modes, 2 red modes, and a UV/blue mode. I've used it at full brightness during a quarry night dive when daytime vis was probably around 20 ft and I had to turn it down to the next to lowest setting. Now in Cozumel during a night dive with 150+ vis, I had that plus a Sola 2200 and it was almost like diving during the day. I have the video on a drive at home that I can post if you want. I'd say either of those lights would probably be okay for diving with very high visibility, but in somewhere with lower vis and possibly higher particulates, lower is better. Just my unprofessional opinion.

You mean higher is better in low vis areas?

 

[Landlocked123]

For the most part yes. It depends on your definition of low viz. I dive dark quarries at past 70 its 100% silt out alla cave style silt out meaning you can barely see an 800 lumen light 12 inches in front of your face. There comes a point if there is enough particulate matter that a very bright light does not help. If you are diving 10+ feet viz to me that is great viz and a 800-1000 lumen light I think works well.

 

[elbig]

Just did a night dive in Key Largo in maybe 40-60 ft viz. my 1200 lumen big blue was just fine.

 

[JackD342]

For the most part yes. It depends on your definition of low viz. I dive dark quarries at past 70 its 100% silt out alla cave style silt out meaning you can barely see an 800 lumen light 12 inches in front of your face. There comes a point if there is enough particulate matter that a very bright light does not help. If you are diving 10+ feet viz to me that is great viz and a 800-1000 lumen light I think works well.

Next time a do a might dive at the quarry, I'm thinking of trying a light out at the end of a selfie stick to avoid illuminating the front side if the particles closest to me. Don't know it will work any better, but interesting to try.

 

[Rred]

Jack's got a good idea. At least, that's the conventional way of dealing with fog and rain (on land) and silt and particulates in the water. You get the light source off-center from your eyes, and there's less light reflected back into your eyes, as opposed to directly back at the light.

In general "more is better" and the numbers don't always help. Two lights with the same number of lumens, but one has 2x the beam width of the other? That wider one will appear to be only 1/4 as bright. Rashly assuming you have unlimited viz, more light goes further. In murky water...once it bounces back to blind you, more doesn't help.

My 80's vintage Ikelite MiniC was considered a great light back then. Dim by today's LED standards, but if it was good enough, then isn't it still? For a planned might dive, it was the big Ikelite instead, that used a 6V tractor headlight, your choice of spot or flood beam. Anything brighter than that crossed into technical diving and separate battery canisters, since the Ikelite was already bulky with 6x D cells, and IIRC that and the reduced bulb life (they were always overvolted to gain brightness) meant you would either burn out the bulb or batteries in just 3-4 dives.

Companies with a good reputation and a lifetime warranty (they're out there!) should be on your short list, unless you'd rather buy no-name stuff cheap and just replace it when it goes.

 

[Landlocked123]

Yeah not a bad idea. I get where you are going with it.