Overview of the types of dive lights.

[lucca brassi]

Colour temperature of HID lamps are mostly determinate by Xe gas composition inside HID meniscus .

Second point is type of electric supply it have DC power supply (from balast on HID ) or have AC .

Energy needed to fire lamp is determinated by gas pressure and distance between both electrodes.

The difference is spotted on both electrodes inside meniscus and on beam on start DC on start looks so and then

equalize colours , AC have same colour on both electrodes



It is well known that WA bulbs was more blue and older go to white and Brightstar more green-yellow .

Same function as combination of gas inside bulb have at led phosphorus mixture which is hidden in chromatic and illumination code inside ''BIN''

Brightnes at that point have no role. If you want a tem of your light should be measured in colorimeter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorimetric

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[HungoverDiver]

Ok, so I'm going to revive my old thread. Back in the market for a light. Looking to spend no more than $500.

First question: I currently have UK SL4 eLED that has 400lm, but I have no idea what the beam angle is. Does anyone know where I can find this spec? I can't find it from simple google searches.

Once I know that, I want to find a light with at least a 3 hour burn time that doesn't diminish the light when the charge dies down (Li?), rechargeable, that has a similar beam angle as my SL4, but is brighter, ~800-1000lm and color temp doesn't matter too much to me. Does this light exist?!

 

[BDSC]

Check this light out: Welcome To Bigblue Dive Lights

Good burn times and adjustable beam. I have one as does several of my friends. Great light that is very well made. Comes with rechargeable batter and charger.

 

[victorzamora]

Ok, so I'm going to revive my old thread. Back in the market for a light. Looking to spend no more than $500.

First question: I currently have UK SL4 eLED that has 400lm, but I have no idea what the beam angle is. Does anyone know where I can find this spec? I can't find it from simple google searches.

Once I know that, I want to find a light with at least a 3 hour burn time that doesn't diminish the light when the charge dies down (Li?), rechargeable, that has a similar beam angle as my SL4, but is brighter, ~800-1000lm and color temp doesn't matter too much to me. Does this light exist?!

I very rarely purchase anything in the middle. Go either as cheap as you can or as nice as their is. I don't do middles. With that in mind, eBay sells some great cheap 1000lm lights they advertise as 1800lm. They typically run a 26650 and come with one or two and a charger and cost less than $40 shipped. With new o rings they're unbeatable. With their cheap o rings they're pretty good. I took one with cheap o rings (one of which was broken) in a cave to over 120ft. Did great. Multiple light levels, etc. Buy a dozen of those!

The other option that I've really started to like is the hog morph canister. You can get a video head and a spot head and run both off of one canister. They also have batteries to run them as handheld. Seriously awesome.

Other than that, save double for a new Bobby light. Underwater light dude is unstoppable in every way, but the price is high and seems to be overkill for what you want.

 

[stuartv]

Ok, so I'm going to revive my old thread. Back in the market for a light. Looking to spend no more than $500.

First question: I currently have UK SL4 eLED that has 400lm, but I have no idea what the beam angle is. Does anyone know where I can find this spec? I can't find it from simple google searches.

Once I know that, I want to find a light with at least a 3 hour burn time that doesn't diminish the light when the charge dies down (Li?), rechargeable, that has a similar beam angle as my SL4, but is brighter, ~800-1000lm and color temp doesn't matter too much to me. Does this light exist?!

I ordered one of these this week.

8000LM 5XCREE XM L L2 LED Scuba Diving Flashlight Torch Waterproof 100M 18650 CH | eBay

It has the same LED as the DGX 600 (and several other name brand lights) light. The LED is rated for up to 1052 lumens output. This light has 5 of those LEDs. If the reflector is only 50% efficient in getting the lumens out the front of the light, that's still 2500 lumens when running at full power. But, the light had adjustable output. I am counting on being able to run it at a lower power setting, get 1000'ish lumens out the front, and still have it run 3+ hours. It uses 2 of the 18650 batteries.

It is a spot light, but I have been unable to find a specific beam angle, so I supposed it could be too wide and not good for a lot of uses.

The light, plus 2 batteries, a charger, and shipping for $46 is a gamble I found to be worth taking. I'll probably replace the O-rings with ones of known good quality when I receive it and then hope it works out as well as the experience Victor reported with the cheap lights he's tried.

There is also a 3 LED version of the same light on eBay for even cheaper.

 

[victorzamora]

Stuart, I looked at that light and immediately shot it down due to size. However, my requirements are different than what was asked of and I totally forgot about that one. Thanks for pointing it out.

Only thing I will say against it is I've heard from reputable manufacturers that those multi-emitter lights frequently have cheap, substandard circuitry that is routed in a way that might cause premature emitter death. Having said that, $46 can't hurt. Order some spare name-brand/nice 26650's and be happier

 

[kelemvor]

I've never understood the focus (pun intended) on lumens for dive lights

I've always thought it should go the other way. If you change where you're pointing a light, the LUX changes according to the illuminated surface area. It's a subjective measurement depending on exactly what you're lighting up. Lumens on the other hand do not vary based on where the light is going. In short, both beam angle and distance to the target play into LUX. One LUX is produced when there is one Lumen falling directly onto one (flat) square meter surface. Since LUX is the light on the target, turbidity of the water will actually reduce the LUX of a light.

I think those variables make LUX a less useful tool for comparing lights than Lumens.

Bigblue makes some insanely bright lights. We got a few of the 15000 lumen jobs at the aquarium I volunteer at. Wow they're intense! Burn time is horrible though, only about an hour. They should have made can lights out of the heads so you could take more battery with you.

 

[stuartv]

Stuart, I looked at that light and immediately shot it down due to size. However, my requirements are different than what was asked of and I totally forgot about that one. Thanks for pointing it out.

Only thing I will say against it is I've heard from reputable manufacturers that those multi-emitter lights frequently have cheap, substandard circuitry that is routed in a way that might cause premature emitter death. Having said that, $46 can't hurt. Order some spare name-brand/nice 26650's and be happier

Yeah, I won't be surprised or bent if it craps out early on. It uses 18650 batteries, which is the same as the DGX 600, which I already bought, and also the same as the Archon D11V (same as MAKO 890, AFAIK) video light, which I have also ordered. That was another part of the appeal. I ordered a batch of Panasonic 3400 mAh 18650 batteries. So, all the lights use the same batteries and if the "8000 lumens" light (LOL!) turns out to be junk, well, at least the batteries won't go to waste.

 

[BDSC]

Bigblue makes some insanely bright lights. We got a few of the 15000 lumen jobs at the aquarium I volunteer at. Wow they're intense!

I turned one on at the DEMA show in November. It got the attention of everyone several booths away.

 

[victorzamora]

Sorry. 18650 is what I meant. The cheap ones work alright but die often with no warning or cause and have a very short burn time. Nice batteries are worth the money

---------- Post added February 5th, 2015 at 02:35 PM ----------

I've always thought it should go the other way.

I agree. Plus, measuring lumens is a much more standard process than measuring lux. Many dive light manufacturers publish WILDLY different lux specs based on drastically different measurement techniques. Also, lux varies across the visible spill of a light. Pretty hard to nail down like that.

Either way, I think the ONLY way of knowing if a light will work for you is to dive it in the conditions you expect to be diving it in.