Fantasea Aquastar LED Light

[beluga]

I followed a link left by RoyN on another thread on lights. The Frogman light looked pretty decent but today I saw the Aquastar which looks great!

Fantasea Line - Aquastar LED Light
Aquastar LED Light

70-80 Lumens of light at 5,500-10,000K.
Depth rated to 100m/330 feet.

Thoughts?

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by beluga

I followed a link left by RoyN on another thread on lights. The Frogman light looked pretty decent but today I saw the Aquastar which looks great!

Fantasea Line - Aquastar LED Light
Aquastar LED Light

70-80 Lumens of light at 5,500-10,000K.
Depth rated to 100m/330 feet.

Thoughts?

not that bright, and pricey kinda...

unless you are looking for a real small light...

[BSea]

Originally Posted by mitsuguy

not that bright, and pricey kinda...

unless you are looking for a real small light...

Generally you get what you pay for. After going through several basic dive lights (that are now just flash lights), I decided to buy something a little more substantial & to go with lights that cave divers use. After all, who would know better. Double O-rings are pretty standard for high end lights. Most similar lights for the tech side start at about $100. But have a greater depth rating. I have the Salvo Rat Light, and couldn't be happier with it. It's advertised as a backup light, but I use it for my primary since I'm not a mile back in a cave. It has all the light I need. If money was no object, I'd go for the Oxycheq LED back-up light. But $300 is a bit out of my price range.

Now I don't know about this particular light, but unless you have one, it's kind of hard to say how bright it is. There are several factors that determine brightness. A tight beam will have a brighter focused spot than a larger light with a broader beam. And unless you are lighting up a large area, why does a broader beam work better? Personally, I like a tight beam rather than a flood light. I like the fact that it's LED & double O-ring sealed.

[rox@ucf11]

It is hard to tell how bright it is untill you have it in the water liuke BSea said there are several more factors to be considered I saw one 3 watt led light that was I think is insanely bright for the price around 50 bucks Dive-aholic had it as a backup but said he was cave diving as the 2nd diver in line, and turned off his can light....he said the 1st diver couldnt tell the difference I was with him on a night dive and was amazed, maybe he can chime in because I forgot what the name was

[mitsuguy]

I'm at work, so I will keep this short for now, but, its rated at 38 lumens, which is light intensity. 38 lumes is nothing, hell I bet my el cheapo princeton tec is 38 lumens and it cost $13.50...

On top of that, I have a single led standard flashlight that has been measured in excess of 200 lumens... Cost me $30... So, 38 lumens is really nothing...

[BSea]

Originally Posted by mitsuguy

I'm at work, so I will keep this short for now, but, its rated at 38 lumens, which is light intensity. 38 lumes is nothing, hell I bet my el cheapo princeton tec is 38 lumens and it cost $13.50...

On top of that, I have a single led standard flashlight that has been measured in excess of 200 lumens... Cost me $30... So, 38 lumens is really nothing...

I'm not trying to argue, but according to the specs, its 70-80 lumens. If it truly is 38, then I agree, but I don't see that anywhere. I believe my Salvo is rated at 100 lumens, so I thought it might be close since they are both 3 watt LEDs. I does seem to be better built than many other lights. (aluminum construction & double O-ring seal). Would I buy it? Probably not. But if I was trying to find one for about the same price, I think I'd go with this Tusa light instead. It's rated at 130 lumes with a 4.8 watt led, and with 3 O-rings instead of 2. And with the 10% discount, it's cheaper than the fantasea light.

Edit: On 2nd though I'd have to pass on the Tusa light. It seems to wide of a beam. 42 degrees seems more like a flood light than a spot light.

[CompuDude]

For a backup light, you'll want the best, most reliable possible light.

The Salvos and the Photon Torpedos fit the bill best, IMO. Well worth the money.

[beluga]

I am looking for one that takes commonly found rechargable batteries, specifically AA or AAA. They are inexpensive, environmentally friendlier than disposable, shared with other gadgets, and you can find them anywhere in the world.

The OxyCheq 3 Watt LED Backup Light looks like the closest competitor. It uses half the batteries and has half the burn time but still plenty for a night of diving.

OxyCheq 3 Watt LED Backup Light, Dive Lights, OxyCheq, OxyCheq 3 Watt LED Backup Light

If I put the words "Salvo Photon Torpedo" into google, I would spend the rest of the day following Star Trek links so I can't research them

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by beluga

I am looking for one that takes commonly found rechargable batteries, specifically AA or AAA. They are inexpensive, environmentally friendlier than disposable, shared with other gadgets, and you can find them anywhere in the world.

The OxyCheq 3 Watt LED Backup Light looks like the closest competitor. It uses half the batteries and has half the burn time but still plenty for a night of diving.

OxyCheq 3 Watt LED Backup Light, Dive Lights, OxyCheq, OxyCheq 3 Watt LED Backup Light

If I put the words "Salvo Photon Torpedo" into google, I would spend the rest of the day following Star Trek links so I can't research them

Its not the same style light as the Oxycheq, but something to consider - I bought a Princeton Tec Miniwave LED - relatively cheap, but it takes C size batteries... With current production standards, rechargeable AA batteries are getting real close to 3000 maH, which is 1/3 to 1/2 the capacity of a disposable C battery, which means a run time of 2 hours high, 5 hours low in my light... but they don't fit, so I bought battery spacers - allows a AA battery to fill the space a C battery would... And, as mentioned, AA's are way easy to find anywhere, so, if need be, I can always buy a set cheap...

[BSea]

Originally Posted by beluga

If I put the words "Salvo Photon Torpedo" into google, I would spend the rest of the day following Star Trek links so I can't research them

Here's the links to Salvo & Photon

Here's a link to a Salvo Dealer. I think you'll get a better deal if you call. The prices quoted are suggested retail.