Review of my new Sola 1200 LED video lights

[sharksdelight]

That is a big difference Bill. The email I got was from a diver in Europe and that is what his dealer told him. I will copy and paste what this guy sent me below.
"Hi Steve,

my housing dealer is risen from the dead.
He said, its possible to change the batteries of the SOLA.
For almost the same price of a new Sunray battery. (almost...prob more)
I can pin him on this statement.
The Lithium battery life is quiete longer then the NiMh.
Heck - i really don´t know what to do!
cheers, Alex.
I thought that was a bit steep but glad to hear that, at least for those in the States, it is not so
Steve

 

[drbill]

Here's the e-mail I received from L&M:


Hi Bill,

The battery replacement cost for a Sola is $75. That includes retesting and tanking
the light.

Let us know if you have more questions.

Best Regards,
Light & Motion

Noticed that yours from Steve says the battery is almost the same price as a new Sunray battery, not the cost of a new light. I did have a set of ancient Sunday halogen lights that I had to abandon 3 or 4 years ago because L&M no longer had parts to repair them. That did give me some concern re: my new purchase.

 

[JGDJR]

Hello Folks...I bought two sola 1200 lights...used them on 6 dives,and they worked perfect...However this past weekend I did a night dive with them and they lasted 61 minutes on full power.the guys all said they look like a Mack truck lights they are so bright. After the dive I dried them off,and tried to charge them,but one light would not take a charge,I tried switching the chargers same thing, the small light on the charger would just stay green(its normally red while charging)...like the battery is fullly charged. Anyone have this problem? Any thoughts...I just left the lights on full power,and let them turn off on there own,went to a back up light, for the rest of the dive...Thanks John D.

 

[sharksdelight]

I would call L & M and ask for a new light or a refund. This certainly should not happen.
Steve

 

[globe-trotter]

Hello

I’m a new member in this forum and I have also two of the Sola 1200. About changing the batteries I’ve already asked the dealer, but don’t get an answer about that.

TSwain wrote, it’s possible to unscrew the front ring to remove the battery. For me this information is very important.

Normally I have to remove the bulb or the battery for the flight. If I get trouble at any Check-In on the airport, what´s to do? I don´t like to leave my Solas at the airport in Asia and i also don´t like to destroy the lights by opening. I already have the certification of Light & Motion, but this paper is no warranty to prevent trouble.

Is it possible to open the Sola in case of necessity?
After unscrewing the front ring: Is there a normal o-ring and is the LED-electric plate only pluged in and removable like the Sola 4000? Did anyone have a picture of the Sola inside?

Best regards and many thanks
Jürgen / Germany

 

[Skooter]

I ran across a post on wetpixel about the battery charging problems. The solution for them was to touch the contacts of the charger to the battery contacts several times, then plug it in and watch the charging lights. Apparently the battery may need to be "woke up" after sitting for awhile. Don't know if it works as I don't have those lights yet but will soon.
I can also second what Bill has received for pricing on the battery replacement at $75. Not a bad price imho compared to what I would spend on regular batteries.

 

[globe-trotter]

I myself have already experienced that the Sola was difficult to activate after storage of two months. A rapid and repeated switching on and off will allegedly wake up the Sola. If that doesn’t work you should unplug the charger several times on and off. So it´s like a gamble. If that happens on dive trips on remote islands, you are very confused and angry.

For this reason it would be helpful to know how to remove the battery to activate them by reconnecting.

Meanwhile, there are a new model with SOS function. This new model is modified and obvious easier to activate.

Ciao, Jürgen

 

[drbill]

My Sola 1200s have the SOS function.

Of course they rarely sit for more than a few days without being used on a dive. Lucky me.

 

[sharksdelight]

It seems to me that a new model of light should not have these type problems. It might be wise and great PR for L & M to retro-fix any of their Sola lights for all customers free of charge.
Steve

 

[drbill]

I may be seeing problems with my Sola 1200s. Over the weekend one of my lights just turned off near the end of a 60 min dive. I keep the lights on medium power so I can get two dives out of them. I could turn it back on, but it didn't stay on long. The lights had been charged the morning of those dives. Then yesterday, I went on another dive and both lights failed within 5-10 minutes of descent. I had not charged them between the two dives. It is quite possible that I had the lights on full power instead of medium power the day before. If I don't lock the switch, they can cycle through the power levels due to contact with the reef when filming in tight areas. My son is coming over for a few birthday dives and I've made sure they are fully charged for today. Hopefully this is just operator error rather than a failure of the lights/battery.

I've also noticed that the color temperature seems to have changed. I was getting beautiful, very even white light from them initially but now there seems to be a yellow/green cast even when filming within a foot or two. If there really is a problem, I have every faith that L&M will handle it as they always have over the 11 years I've used their products.