Recommendations: rechargeable light, primary, recreational, night

[Hatul]

I am just about sold on the DGX 600. Seems like a great value...and lots of recommendations--thanks! The beam seems so tight though. Anyone found this to be an issue for use as a primary?

Hatul and Roatan Joe, the specs for those models don't mention beam width. Any idea how they compare to the 8* beam on the DGX 600?

The specs for the XTAR D06 don't mention the beam angle, but it's well balanced for a dive light. There is a center beam with a large disc of spill light. It works fine here in California waters where the viz runs 10-25 feet. You want some spill light or it feels spooky at night.

 

[stuartv]

I have purchased four of these. They are EXTREMELY bright when you push the switch to full power.. It's so bright, it's almost embarrassing when other divers are around. To avoid distracting others I typically run it at about 25%-50%, unless I really need light to see something in particular.

Diving 3X CREE XM L2 LED 4000 LM Flashlight Waterproof Torch 18650 Charger | eBay

No other comments on this one?

4000 lumens, adjustable brightness, comes with charger and 2 18650 batteries, for $50, with free shipping. Seems like it might possibly be an even better deal than the DGX 600 (which I just got :-\).

 

[Hatul]

No other comments on this one?

4000 lumens, adjustable brightness, comes with charger and 2 18650 batteries, for $50, with free shipping. Seems like it might possibly be an even better deal than the DGX 600 (which I just got :-\).

I've had a couple of lights with two 18650 batteries and now I find them too big, as I want my light in a Goodman handle so my hands are free. Also 4000 lumens sounds too bright for recreational diving needs except perhaps for a wide angle video light.

 

[decompression]

No other comments on this one?

4000 lumens, adjustable brightness, comes with charger and 2 18650 batteries, for $50, with free shipping. Seems like it might possibly be an even better deal than the DGX 600 (which I just got :-\).

I think the 4000 lumens might be a huge stretch, I picked up an Archon 4000 lumen light that's identical to the DGX in brightness.


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[Pyro_]

Ya also considering that the LEDs that they are listing them having are only rated by Cree to be around max 1000 lumens each and there are three of them....

 

[lucca brassi]

:admingreet::fail:

 

[Kharon]

I love this light. Has a 75 degree beam angle. 700 lumens with 160 minutes at 100%. Has 100%, 50% and 30% power levels and SOS and fast continuous flashing. You can use either 2 rechargable CR123's (the CR123 isn't rechargable but there are equivalent rechargables) or a single rechargable 18650 (you can get these with high and low power protection circuits).

First, I don't want a rechargable light. I want rechargable batteries so I can have a 2nd or 3rd set always ready. Second, I don't want a narrow beam - you miss way too much. Might be OK in a cave or wreck but not for me in open water. Third, for what it does and how bright it is it's very small and relatively inexpensive. I'd buy this one again over anything else I've seen.

Fantasea Action 700 Lumens Video Light 6063

 

[Lorenzoid]

I love this light. Has a 75 degree beam angle. 700 lumens with 160 minutes at 100%. Has 100%, 50% and 30% power levels and SOS and fast continuous flashing. You can use either 2 rechargable CR123's (the CR123 isn't rechargable but there are equivalent rechargables) or a single rechargable 18650 (you can get these with high and low power protection circuits).

First, I don't want a rechargable light. I want rechargable batteries so I can have a 2nd or 3rd set always ready. Second, I don't want a narrow beam - you miss way too much. Might be OK in a cave or wreck but not for me in open water. Third, for what it does and how bright it is it's very small and relatively inexpensive. I'd buy this one again over anything else I've seen.

Fantasea Action 700 Lumens Video Light 6063

Fourth, it seems to me that many of the lights discussed in this thread are too bright and too narrow beam for coral reef night diving, which is what I mainly do. As someone mentioned, the DGX 600 with a high lumen output and narrow beam, is intended as a backup light for cave diving--signaling. For the kind of diving I do, I want a relatively low power light with a broad beam. It's easy to get hung up on a "brighter is better" mentality. As technology improves, lights just keep getting brighter. But too bright a light can scare the critters I'm looking for and annoy my dive buddies when we're all scanning the area together to see what we can find. I suppose a bright, narrow beam is what you want if you're tooling along side by side in a cave or if you're in a low-vis environment where backscatter is an issue. I don't think these "cave backup lights" are the best choice for everyone.

 

[Pyro_]

Maybe take a look at some of the video lights then? Much wider beam but does not have the through of the narrower beam

 

[stuartv]

I've had a couple of lights with two 18650 batteries and now I find them too big, as I want my light in a Goodman handle so my hands are free. Also 4000 lumens sounds too bright for recreational diving needs except perhaps for a wide angle video light.

I think the 4000 lumens might be a huge stretch, I picked up an Archon 4000 lumen light that's identical to the DGX in brightness.

Right. But, even if it's only 1000, it's still more than the DGX 600, for the same price, and includes 2 batteries, where the DGX only includes 1. And those batteries are $16 each from DGX. And it has multiple power levels, unlike the DGX. The big question in my mind is what is the beam angle on it?

Second, I don't want a narrow beam - you miss way too much. Might be OK in a cave or wreck but not for me in open water.

If you're on a night dive, I believe you need a light you can use for signaling. My experience is that a wide angle beam is not ideal for use as a signaling device. At least, the one time I was using a 60 degree beam and trying to signal my DM that I was down to 2000 psi (as he requested I do - we were in a cenote - i.e. a cavern dive), he looked right at me and didn't "get" my signal.

My conclusion is that for the Rec diving I want to do (which includes normal, warm OW dives, night dives, and an occasional cavern dive or visit to a wreck - all with the possibility of using my GoPro for pictures or video), I should have a decent spot light AND a decent flood (video) light.

Thus, I decided on the DGX 600 for $50 and the Mako 890 video light, for $73.

MAKO Underwater Photo/Video Light

They both use 18650 batteries which was also a selling point for me.

The Mako light is a 110 degree beam, which matches up almost identically with a GoPro field of view when it's in Wide mode.

That said, I haven't ordered the Mako yet and now I'm holding out for more info on that 4K lumen light that Roatan Joe posted about. If it's sufficiently wide angle, I may get that instead.