UK HID Light Cannon

[JDostal]

I just gotta say...wow. This thing is amazing.

I picked up one of these lights off of eBay for $137 shipped (insured) to my front door. Yeah, I know, should've bought from my LDS...well, he wanted $200 before sales tax. Sorry, not a tough decision. Anyway....

I got the thing and tossed batteries in it right away and turned it on. Wow! I'm impressed. I can't believe a light this bright can be had for such a price.

I'm going to be heading to the Bahamas Jan 3rd on a Blackbeard's cruise, and I'll get to use the light for the first time on some night dives there. I can't wait!

 

[pdoege]

Nice light.

I managed to drain the batteries dry on the third dive. The failure mode is blink, blink, dark!

I think if I had purchased one I would want to use rechargeable batteries or maintain a pretty accurate burn time log.

For the price it is a great light.

I finally purchased a used Halcyon Pro6. A bit more expensive.

Peter

 

[JDostal]

I'll keep track of the burn times in the future...I looked at getting the rechargeable lights, but for now I just wanted a cheaper light that would be bright as all heck. A couple of my friends have canister lights, and I was tempted...but...the HID canister's are pretty darn expensive.

I haven't done much night diving yet (only three or four), and I know I'll be doing at least four on this blackbeard's trip, so I knew that I finally wanted my own light and not some little 2 c cell or something like that. I'm pretty happy so far, and that's even before diving with it. I'm mainly sick of trying to borrow a dive light every time I do a night dive.

I'll be sure to bring a small spare along w/ me though =)

 

[Hootis]

I used a Light Cannon in the Virgin Islands for 10 night dives...loved it! When the batteries start to get low, before the blink, blink thing, the color changes to even more of a blue tint than normal. Once you get used to this, you won't have to log the time on the light. Anyone tried rechargeables, yet? UK says they'll work, but I wonder if they're as bright, or have that different color I mentioned.

 

[JDostal]

You can get a rechargeable pack from UK themselves...the light would be as bright regardless of the battery types. The light would "die" differently depending on the type. Whereas alkaline batteries tend to fade out, NiMh batteries go at full power til they are dead.

 

[Hootis]

Sounds like NiMh's would be even better then...no color change.

 

[JDostal]

Yeah, probably...but...I'm on a budget so I can't go out buying everything at once!

 

[Hootis]

BTW,

On many of the dives in the VI, I dove with a guy who had an HID canister light...Dive Rite, I think....wreck canister W/ 10w head and goodman handle. His light was brighter, but only incrementally so. The main difference was his focus was broader...better for some things, not as good other times. For the difference in price, it would be hard for me to justify the difference for general diving. The strengths of a canister light may be more apparent in more specialized activities.

 

[JDostal]

Canister lights are nice - but, considering I live in WI and we don't have many caves around here...it's hard for me to justify the cost. Especially considering the main use of this light for me is for night diving. I think I only did 5 night dives this summer...

 

[Scubaroo]

Omicron once bubbled...
Canister lights are nice - but, considering I live in WI and we don't have many caves around here...it's hard for me to justify the cost. Especially considering the main use of this light for me is for night diving. I think I only did 5 night dives this summer...

Canister lights aren't just for caves! I use one almost without fail on every dive in California. About the only time I don't find a use for it is on 30' sunlight dives (but we have murky water and kelp which typically cuts down the ambient light). Having a focusable head is a major benefit (not to mention the 4.5+ hour runtime with the NiMH pack). But the cost is prohibitive for many people