|
Things to consider when buying a light:
1) How you want to hold the light?
i.e. pistol grip or a more traditional flashlight style.
Pistol grips are fine for night diving but don't store
very well if at all in a BC pocket if you want to carry it
along during the day for occasional use.
2) Do you want a twist on/off or a real switch?
Some folks prefer real on/off switches.
From posts I've read on SB, some
folks are flooding their Q40 eLED+ lights. I'm
assuming it is because they are used to using MagLites
and are accidently turning the end the incorrect
direction.
The direction you turn the end is backwards from one
another.
MagLite unscrews (counter clockwise) to turn on and the
Q40 eLED+ screws on (clockwise) to turn on. Get confused,
and you may unscrew the Q40 end too much trying to turn
the light on and accidentally flood the light.
3) Beam width & Hotspots.
Some lights have a very narrow beam while others
fan out. Narrow beam Lights work well for peeking
under ledges during the day. Lights with center hotspots
are good for being able to point out things to your
buddy. i.e. if you only have a very wide angle beam
with no hotspot, you may not be able to point out that
octopus or small arrow crab at night.
From the lights I've played with:
IkeLites have very bright & narrow beams.
Similar for the UK SL4/SL6 incandescent series.
UK SL4/SL6 are not quite as bright or narrow beams
as the Ikelites.
The PT C4 miniwave LED has a very bright but very wide beam.
No real hotspot which makes pointing out small things very
difficult.
The UK C4 eLED. Not quite as bright as the PT miniwave but
has a slight hot spot in the center. The UK beam is not as
broad/wide as the PT miniwave.
The UK Q40 eLED+ has medium width beam. Wider than
the IkeLites but much narrower than the UK C4 eLED.
Defintely not as bright as the UK or PT C4 LED lights.
I've used the Q40 eLED+ as a primary light in clear
waters but most folks tend to want a bit more light
and consider this only as a backup.
Wife just bought a UK SL4 eLED. Beam seems really
narrow and bright. Not as bright as the Ikelites.
Definitely has a center hotspot.
Haven't tested it yet under water.
4) Type of light (Incandescent, LED, HID, etc...)
In the <$100 price range, I think HID is out.
LED lights are the most robust type of bulb. They
essentially don't wear out and there is not a filament to
break. They also tend offer the highest light for the
battery life.
The different types of bulbs have different types of light.
The same coral or fish will appear different colors with the
different types of light.
The LEDs while appearing "whiter" are not really full
spectrum. Contrary to what many folks say, LED lights
are not a "truer" light.
I have noticed that they tend to have a bluish tint and
some of the colors in fish or corals don't show up quite
as well as under non LED light.
Never used an HID so I have no experience with these.
LED lights are catching up in brightness to the incandescent
and HID lights. I have noticed that my Q40 eLED+ while
very nice to use in very clear Caribbean waters even
as a primary on some dives, it is all but useless during
the day for peeking under ledges. It just doesn't show up hardly at all.
Lights like the IkeLites or the UK SL4, or U SL6 work
great during the day.
Another quirky thing to keep in mind is that incandescent
lights attract blood worms at night. LED lights do not.
My wife used an IkeLite PCa and she would always have a swarm
of worms around her light and hand, while I had
none around my Q40 eLED or PT C4 MiniWave.
I prefer not to have the worms myself. But if you ever
intend to feed blood worms to a brain coral,
which is a very fun and cool thing to watch, you will not
be able to do this with a LED light.
5) Next, decide how much light and battery life
you need.
It is always a trade off. Brighter lights tend to
use more battery life. Some of the LED lights
like the C8 versions are VERY bright and have up
to 20 hours of life.
My personal feeling is that it isn't worth going to
C8 versions because the light is the same as the
C4 versions. The difference is the battery life is double
in the C8s. However, the size is much bigger and the
weight is much heavier.
6) Can the light be use for extended periods above water?
Certain lights like the IkeLites cannot be used for long
periods of time above water. The super high itensity bulbs
generate so much heat that they can melt the reflector
and housing after 10 minutes or so.
7) Special brightness control circuitry
The UK LED lights have special circuitry that ensures
nearly a constant brightness for the majority of the life
of the batteries. After this time the bulb will start to dim
and when most of battery is consummed, it will turn
the brightness down by 90 %. This will allow the light
to be used for literally days in a low intensity mode.
It also will keep the power drain low when the battery
life is low, which prevents the generation of hydrogen gas.
This is particarly good for rechargeables like NiMh or even
NiCad.
(My wife had an IkeLite explode in her hand when using
rechargeable batteries)
------------------------------------------------------------
So adding it all up. You are looking for a multi-use light.
One that can be used for a primary scuba light
and for sailing & camping.
Given the multi use desire. That would seem to make
the pistol grip lights less desirable. They just don't
pack as easily.
Also, keep in mind that I believe a night dive should
be a night dive. i.e. You want enough light to see
all the night critters but not so much to scare them
off and turn a night dive into a day dive done during
the night.
To me the best value buy right now is the UK SL4.
Not sexy but at less than $20, it can't be beat.
This light is used by all the dive shops as rentals at
all the places I've been. (I'm guessing it is because it is simple and rugged)
Great brightness, works well during the day,
4-5 hour burn time, fits in most BC pockets so
you can keep it with you even during the day.
You can use rechargeables, as long as you don't push them
for more than a couple of hours.
At that price you could get more than one to use the extra
one as your backup or keep a dedicated one for diving
and another for the other uses.
<$40 is hard to beat for two lights.
Moving to LED, my current favorite is the UK SL4 eLED.
Narrow beam with good brightness. I like the form factor
and that it easily fits in a BC pocket so it can be taken on
all dives. There really isn't anything else in it's price
range that has this.
Ok, there are a few others less than $100,
like the IST 3W with rechargeable batteries.
However, I'm not a fan of aluminum. The threads tend
to give off shavings which can catch in orings and
cause failures. Not that I know this happens in the IST
light, but this has been a failure in the Glo-Toobs.
Ignoring that, the 1.5 hour burn time is too short for me.
If I used it any during the day, it would need to be
recharged before the night dive. The IST is VERY small
though.
I bought a PT C4 miniwave LED last year.
(Man LED light prices have really gone up since then)
It was a tossup between it and the UK C4 eLED.
At the time I couldn't really compare them other than
at the LDS (Scubatoys). I picked the PT because
it was rated as being slightly brighter and the
prices were very close.
After seeing them both under water. I'd get the UK.
Its a slightly narrower beam and it has a hot spot,
appears nearly as bright and has slightly longer battery life
specs. Currently, the UK C4 eLED is quite a bit cheaper than
the PT miniwave LED light.
So In terms of LED lights I'd rate them:
1) UK SL4 eLED.
2) UK C4 eLED
3) PT C4 miniwave LED.
I know its pretty long.
Hope it helps.
--- bill
|