Problems with newer light canons

[Shiro]

Bought mine this March. Six months later it developed a similar problem than RichLockyer reported. Send it back to UK, "bad bulb, we change it and have a nice day".
My dive-buddy uses rechargeable D8. Earlier on my LC won the "who's-got-the-brighest-lite" hands down, but nowadays my LC seems more like "Light Pistol" than a "Cannon". Light seems to be getting dimmer and dimmer dive by dive. Measured the Nicad battpack with a voltage meter - 9.6V one short dive after recharging.

Could it be that the bad batt-pack causes the dimming?

 

[billtodive]

NiCad batteries are a bit finicky. You might want to try conditioning the NiCads by fully discharging and then fully recharging them.. three times. Many people have the same problem with cordless drills. Some older camcorders that used NiCads had a "condition" button on the charger that did just that. It really restores the life to the batteries. Nickle-metal-hydrides

 

[Shiro]

You might want to try conditioning the NiCads by fully discharging...

Thanks a bunch! I'll try that :10:

 

[partridge]

First off, I have stayed away from this thread because I was so disappointed. My light canon flooded. The lens cracked on the thread section. I cannot bellieve I overtightened it or even if that is possible. Regardless, I noticed the bubbles coming from the light immediately. I surfaced with about a quarter of an inch of water in the lens. The light was still on. I took it apart and dried everything out. The shop replaced it anyway.

Got my spare last Friday. It was ok on yesterdays dive.

I have a question about the diffusers. There are two with the light. How many do you put inside the lens? What is the effect of one or two in there? I will start using it as a strobe for my digital camera.

Thanks

 

[jlyle]

I have had two LCs for over a year. The first one I bought failed almost immediately and UK replaced the module. No problems since and I'm no more careful with these lights than I was with my old ones.

Partridge - one diffuser only for photography. Two would only cut out some of the light.

 

[partridge]

Thanks. I guess the second one is a spare. Will try it out on Wednesday.

Would I still need a red filter even with such a powerful light?

 

[chinadan]

I am using 2 LC as video lights. Apart from color differences between the 2 lights (check on this board for another thread on that topic) I can say they are very reliable.

I have had my first one for 1.5 years now and banged it around pretty good and no problems whatsoever. The second one flooded due to O-ring mounting problem...oh well, the color temperature didn't match anyway.

The rubber overmold on my old LC came off form the clear plastic part, no biggie.

I can only recommend LC for the money you will be hard pressed to find a better deal.

I am heading down to HK to buy a replacement for the flooded one...this time with a matching color temp

 

[sidwise]

My Light Cannon has served me well since I bought it 4 years ago. It has around 200 dives on it, and around 200 hours. On the original bulb. It was even my primary when I started cave diving, before I bought a cannister. The LC has had a few minor problems, but it still works great and I recommend it to others.

Problems included:
- Light went out at the start of a cave dive when I accidentally bumped it on a rock. I turned the switch off, aborted the dive. When I got topside, I turned it back on to see what happened, and it struck and lit beautifully. Got back in the water and completed the dive.
- Light died once at the bottom of the Cooper River, a pitch black dive just like being back in a cave. Switched to one of my backup lights and continued the dive. Problem? Batteries dead. It was at the end of the 4th one hour dive that day. This was when I still used alkaline C cells.
- The rubber cover on the clear cap/lens is loose. Minor problem. The upside is that I can't overtighted the cap, because the rubber cover slips when the cap is tight.
- I once changed the batteries in humid conditions on a liveaboard after having the LC in my air conditioned cabin. When I opened the LC after the dive, there was water inside. Condensation. I dried the LC guts, reassembled, and it's worked fine since.

Nowdays, I power my LC with 5000mah NiMH. I carry 2 sets on a dive trip, and take a charger, so batteries are always topped off when I start a dive. Works great.

Several friends also own LCs and are as happy with theirs as I am with mine. Despite the horror stories I've read on here, I'm a fan of the Light Cannon. While I like the idea of low power consumption and long life of LED lights, I'm so spoiled by the LC's 450 lumens that today's LED lights look too puny for anything but backups.

 

[tangfish]

I posted previously on this thread detailing my problems with the LC module. Since then I've gone with the Sunlight C8 eled and I've never been happier. Sure, I can't fry an egg with it, but its reliable which is more important to me in the long run. I wrote a review on my experiences with both lights if anyone is interested.

FS

 

[partridge]

I too have been having problems with my canon. I just sent my third one back in to the LDS. They must love me there. It was the first time in the water for this last one. 27 minutes at 35 feet and click. Light gone. Did not flood or anything obvious.

I have heard some say that it is the humidity in my part of the world and that I should take special care to change the batteries in a nice dry place. If I do it on shore I am asking for trouble. No idea.

I am even wary about selling it as I do not want any backlash so if they replace it I ll keep it but wont dive with it. I am now looking into eled lights that use c size batteries so I can still use my 4500 mah rechargeables.