Xtar D26 1600

[Anthony A.]

It has taken me months to get them to give me something that lasts for more than 3 minutes. At this point I'm just tired of dealing with them. It makes a good backup light for my D26 Whale. I can just get into the habit of leaving the battery out of the light until I need to use it. Far easier than dealing with XTAR at this point.



I'm pretty sure it isn't the battery. I have 5 batteries I bought at the same time and used with my D26 Whale. I'm still using my D26 Whale. So one battery in the D26 Whale, full charge. Another battery from same batch in the D26-1600. Left them for 2 days (was diving without need for a light). Two days later I turn on the D26-1600 and it goes red in a matter of minutes. Turn on the D26 Whale and it lasts for hours. Got back to my room. Charger says the D26-1600 battery is at 3.7V and the D26 Whale (after an hours of use) is at 4.1V. They both started at 4.3V.

I'm doing a little more testing right now. I'm in Manila and cleaning my gear. While I do that I'm running some tests. I used the D26-1600 for 2 hours then flipped the battery around for storage. Flipped the battery back for use and have had it running for 16 minutes now and indictor is still green. So it is definitely running for more than 2 hours on one charge.

I'll try putting a fully charged battery in it for a day and a fully charged battery in the D26 Whale to see if it drains the battery. I'll even use the battery which has been working fine in the Whale but in the 1600.

In your experience using both lights, would you say that the 1600 is brighter initially but then drops off to the same light output as the whale over the course of the battery drain? And if this is correct, does the whale hold its light output steadier than the 1600?

 

[Manatee Diver]

I have a set of the older D26s, the 1,100 lumens model, when I go to charge all my batteries, that were setting for about a week or two, before a dive the spare batteries not installed in a light have 30-40mah charge before full. While the ones in the back up D26s that were only tested briefly when installed (like a few seconds), have about 100-150mah charge before full So even the older D26s had some drain but it certainly wasn't a significant amount.

 

[Hitham]

In your experience using both lights, would you say that the 1600 is brighter initially but then drops off to the same light output as the whale over the course of the battery drain? And if this is correct, does the whale hold its light output steadier than the 1600?

it takes exactly 10 minutes until it drops light power to something like 1200l.. this was the main problem for us while spearfishing with 1600 since the battery won't last an hour.. this problem is kinda solved in newer model 2500

 

[scubadiver888]

In your experience using both lights, would you say that the 1600 is brighter initially but then drops off to the same light output as the whale over the course of the battery drain? And if this is correct, does the whale hold its light output steadier than the 1600?

Initially, my problem with the D26-1600 was that it would turn off after 3 minutes of use. I never had a chance to test if the intensity of the D26-1600 dropped after a while. The new D26-1600 which XTAR sent me last month solved the 3 minute turn off issue.

On the first dive light I would film the D26-1600 and the D26 Whale with my GoPro camera while they ran. When I got the new D26-1600 I was preparing for a trip to the Philippines (I'm still there right now) and didn't have time to do similar testing. I:n the field use with the D26-1600 has shown it runs for over 2 hours now. However the dives I'm on have multiple people with dive lights and I'm too busy enjoying the marine life to be doing real side by side comparison of the D26-1600 and the D26 Whale.

Right now I'm in a hotel in Manila and tested that the light has a 2+ hour burn time. I don't have my camera set up with me. So I cannot review the film and see the intensity. My next test will be to store a battery in the D26-1600 for 1 or 2 days then measure the voltage of the battery to see if it drops significantly.

When I get home on Saturday, I'll try to set up for intensity testing with my camera but no guarantees as I'm traveling again (for work) on Sunday.

it takes exactly 10 minutes until it drops light power to something like 1200l.. this was the main problem for us while spearfishing with 1600 since the battery won't last an hour.. this problem is kinda solved in newer model 2500

I'll keep this in mind when I'm doing my testing. If it drops in intensity after only 10 minutes, that will be easy enough to confirm. Regardless of whether this issue is solved with the 2500 model, I'm fairly disappointed with my D26-1600 model and have absolutely no intention of buying the 2500 model. If they believe the 2500 model has resolved all the issues and they want to send one for me to review, I'd be happy to conduct a series of tests on it but there is no way I'm spending money on another XTAR light for a while.

@Hitham when you say the D26-1600 won't last an hour, do you mean it won't last at all or do you mean it won't last at 1600 lumen for an hour?

 

[Anthony A.]

it takes exactly 10 minutes until it drops light power to something like 1200l.. this was the main problem for us while spearfishing with 1600 since the battery won't last an hour.. this problem is kinda solved in newer model 2500

Can you share more info on the 2500? Is it significantly brighter than the 1100 and how is the steady light dropoff and runtime?

 

[scubadiver888]

@Anthony A. XTAR just recently announced the D26-2500 dive light. It is not yet available. The interesting thing is that they announced they'd be showing the D26-2500 and the D36-3800 dive lights at an Asian dive show last week. The specs for the D36-3800 are available on the XTAR website but there is no mention of the D26-2500.

The D26 Whale (1100 and 1200 lumen models) were very successful but the D26-1600 was a bit of a disappointment for me. I'm wondering if they are continuing to have issues with the D26-2500 in pre-production and that is why it is still not listed on the XTAR website.

The D26-1600 was supposed to be similar to the D26 Whale but 1600 lumens output. I would guess that the D26-2500, if it lives up to its model number, will be a 2500 lumen dive light. If like the D26 Whale warm, D26 Whale cool and D26-1600 it uses one 26650 battery then the burn time for a 2500 lumen dive light would be significantly less than the 2.5 hours of the D26-1600. Maybe 1.5 to 1.75 hours at full brightness. This is all assuming the light actually works. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Hitham]

@scubadiver888 it won't last over an hour on 1600..

@Anthony A. 2500 brightness simply destroys both 1100 and 1600. it might be my favorite xtar flash.. for scuba i thinks its overkill for freediving\spearfishing its 50\50.. i didn't have chance to do many dives with it so i can't give recommendations yet!! but i can say it won't be a disappointment like 1600.. maybe that's why xtar is taking their time with the release date..
as i observed the light doesn't drop after a while like 1600.. but it does after battery is less than 20%, it goes like 600lumes

 

[stuartv]

@scubadiver888 it won't last over an hour on 1600..

Are you saying a D26 1600 won't last over an hour on high?

I tested mine (results here: Xtar D26 1600) and it lasted over 2 hours on high. Of course, it started to dim after a while, but that is not the same as saying it won't last over an hour.

Anyway, I'm not sure what the big deal is. I would be happy to have a light with one 26650 battery that would put out 2500 lumens... as long as it has multiple brightness settings. I don't need to run it on Max all the time. I can run it on a 1000 lumen (or less) setting most of the time and have all I need - including PLENTY of burn time. Then, when I need 2500 lumens, I can crank it up.

It seems like some people would rather have a light with a max of 1000 lumens, that will last for 3 hours, than a light with a medium or low setting of 1000 lumens that will last for 3 hours, but a High setting of 1600 or 2500 that might only last 1 or 2 hours. It's like some people think you can only run a light on its brightest setting all the time, even if it has lower settings.

Note: the last comments are not directed at you @Hitham.

 

[Hitham]

@stuartv actually 2500 nor 1600 will run 4 hours on 1000 like 1100 model does i tested that myself..
you need to know that changing power modes of 1600-2500 while flash is on will lower total run time significantly but people keep thinking they might save time by alternating between low\high..

different divers have different needs hence there is no perfect light..

 

[tursiops]

you need to know that changing power modes of 1600-2500 while flash is on will lower total run time significantly

Why does that happen?