Novae - Dive SST-50 Flashlight 1200LM (100M) + MORE!

[paulw]

Ok I just returned from making two dives with the light and here are my thoughts. I received the light yesterday and charged up the batteries and went to tie a bolt clip on and there isn't a very good place to do that, you can put it on the end cap although you will need to file it because it has sharp edges and will cut the line. I shined the light on the wall along with my DiveRite and it was brighter but had a big halo and the main beam didn't seem very focused, I was afraid it would just kick back scatter light at me, the DR had a much tighter pattern.

My dive was in a fresh water lake with heavy silt layer (vis 3ft) down to 75ft and below 75 it became clear with around 20ft of vis, my max depth today was 90' and the light had no issues like flooding. I dove with the Photic 1200 in my left hand and my DiveRite on my right hand and I was completely surprised, the Photic was almost TWICE as bright as my DR and yes you read that right. It didn't create the scatter problem I thought and I actually turned my DR off half way through the dive. The run time on full is as stated about two hours so unless you order more batteries only plan two dives with it. In my opinion the lower brightness settings are of no use, at least in the "swamp" I was diving in but having said that in clear water they probably could be useful. This light is not for every type of diving although if the manufacturer could tighten up the beam and or make it adjustable it would simply be an outstanding recreational light (it is not in anyway a tec light), as it is it will probably still become my primary.
I will try to take some pictures of the two lights in the dark but don't expect much, I am not a photographer.
All I can say is BUY ONE !!!!!

 

[beekeeper5]

That sounds good. We're all waiting for the pictures. Is it small enough to put in a goodman handle or Oxycheq Universal light sock?

I'm going to order one tomorrow and I'll also post a review/pictures. Then I'll have both the Photic 900 (Cree MCE diving light) and the Photic 1200 (SST-50 diving light).

 

[gcbryan]

That sounds good. We're all waiting for the pictures. Is it small enough to put in a goodman handle or Oxycheq Universal light sock?

I'm going to order one tomorrow and I'll also post a review/pictures. Then I'll have both the Photic 900 (Cree MCE diving light) and the Photic 1200 (SST-50 diving light).

That's the comparison that I'll be interested in. The real question will be is the newer one better than the older one on an actual dive.

The MC-E maybe a little more focused as far as the hotspot (my guess). The SST-50 will probably appear a little brighter but I'm guess not much. Maybe just a little more output in a floodier beam.

The MC-E doesn't really output 900 lumens and only testing will tell if the SST-50 outputs 1200 lumens. If it's actually being driven at 5 amps it should appear brighter.

I'll be interested in your observations during a dive. Beamshots against a wall generally are misleading.

 

[beekeeper5]

What do you estimate the MC-E to be? I've read that it outputs about 700 lumens.

I dove with the MC-E and a UK Light Canon HID running off eight 1.2V rechargeable batteries and the MC-E was noticeably brighter with a tighter hotspot.

I'll post beam shots whenever I get the lights.

 

[gcbryan]

What do you estimate the MC-E to be? I've read that it outputs about 700 lumens.

I dove with the MC-E and a UK Light Canon HID running off eight 1.2V rechargeable batteries and the MC-E was noticeably brighter with a tighter hotspot.

I'll post beam shots whenever I get the lights.

I've done the same although I came to slightly different conclusions. I thought they were roughly equivalent with the MC-E having a little more spill.

Supposedly the 10 W HID bulb used in the Light Cannon is about 450 lumens. If you look closely the tiny center point of the HID beam is brighter than the MC-E or rather it's more focused but the larger hotspot itself is roughly equivalent to me.

I'd say the MC-E is 550-600 lumens. I'm happy with the MC-E and therefore sold my Light Cannon. I'm guessing the SST-50 will be 800-900 lumens. Given the way our eyes respond to light it should look brighter but it won't seem like it's doubled. Really it will just depend on how focused the beam is.

If it's slightly less focused it wouldn't seem any brighter. The area illuminated will just be greater.

It will be interesting to see which you prefer on an actual dive!

 

[CyprusSeb]

I received my Photic 1200 lights in the mail today. This is a comparison to the Photic 900 sold by Novae Products. The handle portion of the light was a bit bigger than I expected. As you can see in the pictures other than the handle the lights are very similar in size. The center and halo of both the 900 and 1200 are almost identical in size (halo seen in last picture). The brightness of the halo in the picture isn't a good comparison as the 900 (left) wasn't fully charged.

I'm going diving in the morning (night time here in Europe) and will have comparative beam shots between the two lights. Only other light I have is a 35W HID so that wouldn't really be a fair comparison. I'll see if I can borrow some lights in the AM....if not then comparing to other lights will have to wait. If anyone has any specific questions/pictures let me know...I'm heading to bed but will check back on here before I leave in the morning.

Disclaimer: The 900LM light in the picture has about 100 tough dives on it. It's gotten the crap beat out of it. I only had the 1200's come in the mail today....just so nobody thinks I got a scratched up Photic 900 from Novae.

Cheers
Seb--

 

[350xfire]

I received my Photic 1200 lights in the mail today. This is a comparison to the Photic 900 sold by Novae Products. The handle portion of the light was a bit bigger than I expected. As you can see in the pictures other than the handle the lights are very similar in size. The center and halo of both the 900 and 1200 are almost identical in size (halo seen in last picture). The brightness of the halo in the picture isn't a good comparison as the 900 (left) wasn't fully charged.

I'm going diving in the morning (night time here in Europe) and will have comparative beam shots between the two lights. Only other light I have is a 35W HID so that wouldn't really be a fair comparison. I'll see if I can borrow some lights in the AM....if not then comparing to other lights will have to wait. If anyone has any specific questions/pictures let me know...I'm heading to bed but will check back on here before I leave in the morning.

Disclaimer: The 900LM light in the picture has about 100 tough dives on it. It's gotten the crap beat out of it. I only had the 1200's come in the mail today....just so nobody thinks I got a scratched up Photic 900 from Novae.

Cheers
Seb--

Is there no hot spot?

 

[CyprusSeb]

Oh there very much is a hot spot. That would be the "center" of the beam I referred to. Well if there's no other questions....I'm off to dive....

 

[Randy g]

I just ordered a 1200 and a 900.

Will do a comparison once I get them.

 

[CyprusSeb]

Well unfortunately the pictures didn't come out as I hoped. I didn't realize I left the shutter speed set so slow and they came out blurry (I was in a black passage inside of a wreck). But have no fear, another dive is planned for tomorrow and now that I have a good spot to compare beam shots I can get the pictures right this time.

So now for some feedback...

As stated I've been diving with the 900LM's for approximately 100 dives. Sometimes they are my primary lights, mostly they are backups, depending on the dive. At first the girth of the handle worried me as I wear these lights attached to my D-Ring's. I could hardly feel a difference wearing the 900 on the left and 1200 on the right on the first dive and then swapping them on the second dive. There IS a difference, but it's not major...all things equal I'd prefer the 900 due to the size difference.

Beams are actually pretty close. Hot spot and halo are both about the same size and both are slightly brighter on the 1200. One thing I've always been a fan of with these lights is the color of the beam is nice and white.

A very nice feature of the 1200 is the battery test mode. X amount of flashes for certain battery levels. Very cool....wish the 900's had this.

The magnetic ring on the 1200's is a bit stiffer than the 900's and this is a very good thing. I can't count the amount of times one or both of my 900's got turned on accidentally during a dive. Never in my bag or anytime out of the water...just when in the water (moving around and accidentally bumping switch when clipping or unclipping something. I've overcome this but simply checking on them and making sure the switch is centered on the standby position. Would I prefer to know they are off until I turn them on...yeah sure...is it that big of a deal to me...no.

For a recreational diver (defined here as anyone who doesn't use/need a canister light) I think the Photic 1200 is a damn near perfect primary light. Packs a ton of light...is much cheaper than anything else thats close to it as far as performance goes and comes with a lanyard. The marginal performance difference over the size difference for the tech diver looking for a good backup light the 900 is the way to go. They are sturdy, as dependable as underwater lights get (I don't trust any light as far as I can throw it...tis why we carry three) and basically disposable. You won't break the bank dropping one into no man's land. I plan on my 900's serving me for quite some time. I'll get the lights charged up tonight and get some new none blurry pictures tomorrow. And as for mounting...I took lanyard off and put a ziptie thru the slots in the butt of the light and mounted a boltsnap that way. I'll be happy to entertain any questions...

picture on the left is the 900, on the right is the 1200