What size light do I need?

[DaneMeyer20]

Plan on doing a little night diving in off the beach in south florida. what size light is necessary? I was thinking of the salvo rat or should most night diving with a canister?

[Charles R]

There are alot of good primary lights out there that are not Can lights.
Like
UK Light Cannon, Dive Lights, Underwater Kinetics, UK Light Cannon
Edge Brightstar HID Underwater Dive Light, Dive Lights, Edge Lighting, Edge Brightstar HID Underwater Dive Light

Can lights

Dive Rite MR11 Sunspot HID Slimline Light, Dive Lights, Dive Rite, Dive Rite MR11 Sunspot HID Slimline Light


Any of these lights would work I would suggest keeping the rat light or something similar as a backup light in case of your primary light failing. thats my 2 PSI

[DaneMeyer20]

What is the difference between HID and LID or any other light bulb for that matter

[ChrisA]

I think I've done a few hundred night dives. I've got a few lights To start with, get yourself a big "dumb" cheap light. The UK D8 is actually the brightest light UK makes, it sells for all of $58 and the D-cell batteries last many dives. It is very reliable. This light does not compare to a $600 canister light but you can see a lot with it. it has a wide beam

As you do more dives you will get to see different lights used by other divers and you will be able to see how well they work underwater. Most can't justify spending big $$ unless they are going into a cave or wreck. But you might want an LED light or even one of those small self contained HID lights. But for rec diving LED is the new thing. If you do upgrade keep the old D8 in your bag. You'll need it if you or a buddy has a broken light or dead batts.

You will also need a backup light. for that small and reliable matters more than brightness.

[ChrisA]

Originally Posted by DaneMeyer20

What is the difference between HID and LID or any other light bulb for that matter

I think you meant "LED" not "LID".

HID is an kind or arc lamp. It is very bright and very "white" but expensive and can be fradgle and finicky to use. Most can lights are HID although Salvo is going over to LED HID bulbs cost $80 to $100 to replace

LID lights are solid state and very robust and have a long lifetime. The bulbs don't burn out in one diver's lifetime. They less battery power than other kinds and have a very white beam

Haligen - ordinary light bulbs. Inexpensive, makes lots of light uses batteries 2x faster than LED

[redrover]

Well you never go wrong with a bigger and brighter light. Its like air, you can never have too much, but there is budget and practically to consider.

Definitely look at LED or HID lights. The whiter light is well worth the extra money, and LED lights are quite reasonable. It may not seem like a big difference but the whiter light makes the dive much more enjoyed and brings out truer colors

A few friends I dive with have the Princeton Tec Shockwave LED and its seems a good one, but there are many similar models.

[thesmoothdome]

Originally Posted by redrover

A few friends I dive with have the Princeton Tec Shockwave LED and its seems a good one, but there are many similar models.

My wife has a shockwave LED and it's nearly as bright as my UK Light Cannon and about $120.00 cheaper. Nothing wrong with either light. If you're going to do the occasional night dive, there's no reason to spend a ton of money on a can light.

[thesmoothdome]

Originally Posted by ChrisA

I think I've done a few hundred night dives. I've got a few lights To start with, get yourself a big "dumb" cheap light. The UK D8 is actually the brightest light UK makes, it sells for all of $58 and the D-cell batteries last many dives.

Actually, the D8 not the brightest light UK makes. The Light Cannon has 450 Lumens, compared to the D8's 258. Of course, at a near $200.00 difference in price, 258 lumens might be all ya need .

[terrillja]

I'd say just get an Oxycheq Raider 3W "backup" light. The thing blows away the PT shockwave LED and is much smaller.

And it's only $60. It's my current primary until I get a canister light.

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by terrillja

I'd say just get an Oxycheq Raider 3W "backup" light. The thing blows away the PT shockwave LED and is much smaller.

And it's only $60. It's my current primary until I get a canister light.

I don't know about "blows away" After I asked you about it a few weeks ago, I actually found a dive buddy who has one as a backup (HID as primary)... Got to compare - and the 3W Oxycheq has a ~slightly~ more intense beam, but its about 1/3 the beam spread... In fact, it was a little less output than my $25 (non scuba) work light that uses a P5 Cree Emitter and two CR123 batteries... It is perfect as a backup, but it would be annoying to me because the spread is just not there... For my work, its perfect, because I need to see in small places, but in the water, it just doesn't spread enough for me...