Tovatec lights?

[rombre]

Going through lots of older threads on rec lights here, I found quite a few recommendations for Intova lights but no mention of any products after their sale to / transformation into Tovatec.

They have a bunch of lights that do look interesting, e.g. The Fusion 530 (Fusion 530 - Tovatec) but except a review of the Scuba Diving magazine (where it was "Tester's choice"), I have found pretty much nothing about their lights. Since I don't particularly trust dive magazine reviews - has anyone here one of their lights by any chance and could report back on the quality?

 

[flyingDiver75]

Not a long trial yet, but I've got almost 25 dives on the little 260 model since July and really like it. I used it as a primary for about 15 dives in the 60-90' range before relegating it to my backup when I got a sealife 2500 lumen video light for my goPro. Battery life is plenty for a 2 dive trip at max brightness - never had any dimming. Magnetic switch and toggle beam zoom are easy to actuate with gloves.

Lithium ion AA sized battery (it's not AA voltage, it comes with an adapter to run 2 AA's if needed) makes the total package short and slim compared to other lights in the price range (~$69). Comes with spare O-rings and a USB plug charger for the battery as well as the AA adapter.

I just picked up a 530 for my new dive buddy to use as primary -- we'll be testing it this weekend at Ginnie Springs.

 

[rombre]

That's great - thank you! Would be fantastic if you could report from your 530 test next week.

I am esssentially looking for one primary for tropical night dives (wider beam, lower light output) and another primary for day dives (small wrecks, dark spots, bad viz etc. with smaller beam and higher output) which I'd then also use as my backup for night dives.

The 530 looks very interesting for night given the adjustable beam and light output.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

I bought a Fusion 1000 for a liveaboard trip, hoping it can be used as narrow spot on day dives, vary between narrow medium wide spot on night dives, and go full wide once in a wide if I want to shoot video of something on those night dives.

What I found out was due to the column of water that will be between the LED and the reflector, the light projected above water is very different from below water. Above water, things looks all white, but below water, there is a ring of yellow light that circles around the center spot when the light is at its most narrowest mode, and the only way to not see it is to zoom out to maybe 15 deg so the white and yellow light blends together. I later found out the yellow ring was due to the LED's output being yellowish at the extreme edge of its light output, which the reflector focused it to the center.

If I want to use a wider beam of maybe 30 deg for night dives, it offers no advantage over fully zooming out, that is because the center beam is no brighter at 30 deg vs 100 deg. In fact, when I zoom out, I can see the bright center beam spread away from the center like a donut. This is not unlike when you zoom out a old mag-lite, in both cases, they are reflector based adjustable beam flashlights. In fact, if I take the head off, the beam is not only wider, it is also slightly brighter. My videos would probably have been better without the head, but who has time to constantly screw off/on the head.

Since I used the light mostly in the 15 or so degree mode (instead of 30 or 40 deg), I didn't need all that brightness, thus turned it down to 1/4 power (except when shooting some video), and the battery lasted through all 5 night dives, while I am there switching eneloop AA batteries in my other LED lights after every dive.

The zoom head mechanism was easy to operate above water, but when below, where you have to force water in and out of the water chamber inside the head, it was pretty hard to operate, especially given the fact I had to wear the light on a goodman handle while still having a full camera gear to hold.

So in all, it is a adjustable light that is good in the moderately narrow and wide beam range, but the middle range are just there because you have to zoom through them to get to the usable modes.

Mine also developed some sort of condensation on the inside the front lens, with a few small square patterns. I was going to return it when I came back, but the condensation disappeared after a few weeks.

 

[rombre]

That doesn't sound bad. 15 deg should probably be enough for my night dives - otherwise there's still the option to put it full on wide.

@flyingDiver75 how was your experience with the 530?

 

[flyingDiver75]

The 530 worked very well during the Ginnie Trip. Threw a bright, clean beam. My diving partner used it to capture some photos and video with a knock-off goPro - we did a quick look through and they seemed well lit.

We will be diving again on Sunday to 80-90' in the gulf of mexico (weather permitting) and will give the 530 another work-out.

 

[DevonDiver]

I reviewed one last year. Not bad for the money. Needs a metal, not plastic switch.

Because careful adjusting the focus, or you could actually loosen the charging port and flood it.

Torch Review: Tovatec Sports Tec ST2000

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Here are some side by side comparison with some other lights I had around (All exposures and distance to wall are the same, except for the flood mode picture).

Coast FL75 405 lumen headlamp (left) vs Tovatec Fusion 1000 (right) in spot mode (I probably made the Tovatec's spot too tight, since underwater, it would have to be widened a bit or else I would get a much more prominent yellow halo closer to center than this one). Its hard to tell here, but zooming in with my camera to roughly the spot area and getting a matrix reading in fixed shutter mode of that spot, the Tovatec is around 20% brighter (f10 vs f9):

Coast FL75 405 lumen headlamp (left) vs Tovatec Fusion 1000 (right) in flood mode (had to get closer to get beam width). The Coast's defined flood beam is around 85 deg. Tovatec's beam beyond 95 deg is tinged by the yellow ring (that could be different underwater). The Coast is roughly 25% brighter (f4.5 vs f4):

Princeton Tec Sector 5 550 lumen (left) vs Tovatec Fusion 1000's spot mode (slightly zoomed out to match the beam pattern). The Tovatec is roughly 20% brighter (f10 vs f9):

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Here are a couple of pictures of the beam, with the torch's light head dry and it submerged in water. Above the water, the beam looks tight and focused, but once submerged in water, these extra halo rings shows up, requiring it to be slightly zoomed out. Also, when shown at a subject farther away than the distance to the edge of a sink, the spot was square in the shape of the LED emitter.

Light head dry:

Light head submerged:

 

[SandyRobinson]

My 2 cents worth and FWIW. I had three Intovas (company was sold to Tovatec - not sure if they are under the same umbrella company or not) that appear to be the exact same as the Tovatec ICOM lights. They were great for a couple of years and then the push button switch on all three went out within a month of each other. They have never flooded and have been washed after each use - normally from fresh water dives. I contacted Intova who told me to contact Tovatec. I did and Tovatec did not respond. My dive buddy has at least two - one with a magnetic switch and one like mine with a push button switch. His two still work but his lights did not have as many dives as mine. The lights seemed well built, never leaked, and I liked the power and beam but I needed a backup that I could rely on. I prefer the twist switches now.