Light advice

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bahula03
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Light advice

Post by bahula03 »

Hey everybody,

I've decided that a canister light would suit my needs best and have narrowed it down to Underwater Light Dude's LD-15 and LD-26. I've done a fair bit of research (including Light Monkey, Halcyon, Hollis, Dusty's, etc), and while the UWLD lights are nothing less than a substantial investment and well exceed my current recreational diving requirements, they seem like the most thoughtfully designed and supported lights out there.

My questions are: for the specific conditions that we have in Puget Sound, how appreciable do you all think the difference in light (at max 2600 lumens with ~8° beam vs 1500 lumens with 6° beam) will be? Given the choice between the two ,ignoring price, which would you choose to dive here and why?

Thanks for any advice or information y'all have to share :mmmbeer:
KneeDeep
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Re: Light advice

Post by KneeDeep »

Just wondering, why have you choosen to not get a Dusty Light?

As I have no clue what light you used before, the Dusty light is a great entry canister light for the money. I actually have 3 of them. There are a few things I don't really care for, they are still great lights for the money and a platform to find out what you don't want.

There are MANY members that own them.
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Jeff Pack
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Re: Light advice

Post by Jeff Pack »

Light Monkeys service is legendary... I had a problem with my 35w, and we even worked a very nice deal to upgrade my can from a 15ah to 20ah, essentially a new light except the head. (and they rebuilt the head as well).

Dusty's lights are the best value for the price though, and I have one for a backup. But my goto is my LM35w HID.

As per your question above, I'd take a 2500 lumens 8d over a 1500L 6d any day of the week.

But if you are soley recreationally diving, stick with a Dusty light unless you plan to get into tec diving. Then I'd step to another light.
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Magoi
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Re: Light advice

Post by Magoi »

Another vote for Dusty's light - an excellent can light for rec diving up here. My wife and I each have one. Have over 3 years experience with one of the lights and absolutely no problems after one issue that happened a couple months after we bought it. Dusty provides excellent service - he is local, easily accessible, and he is 100% supportive of his lights. He fixed the light in a couple days, got it back to us quickly, and even upgraded it, all for no charge. We probably have about 200 dives on one light and 150 on the second light.
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fmerkel
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Re: Light advice

Post by fmerkel »

Another vote for Dusty. Simple, rugged, effective, with excellent support if needed (rare).
Check the price on the batteries and chargers on ANY commercial light. Then check Dusty's.
Plenty good for recreational diving around here.
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Dusty2
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Re: Light advice

Post by Dusty2 »

Just a question, What is it that makes that light worth 3 times as much?
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Rooinater
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Re: Light advice

Post by Rooinater »

If you are going to spend the money, always get the brightest light you can afford, you won't regret it. I thought I didn't need a 35 watt hid, but after diving one, and diving with people with 50watts, it's hard to imagine diving without 3000 lumen...

Quality of build, construction methods and materials used, warranty and a lot of things go into make an expensive light worth the purchase. Even though most are over priced. My 35 watt light monkey is a work of art on the can construction, recessed switches can't snag on anything easily, amazing service and I've only used it to do the annual service. Overall an issue free light for what I use it for. But I am in the market for a more affordable light for someone else, and possibly a travel light for myself. How comparable are the prices compared to the DRIS can lights for the current dusty lights? (Pm me if you need to Dusty) I've met a few people who've had issues with older ones, had a buddy look into one years ago and he loves his... what's the estimated lumen, how tight of a beam, and how many leds?
bahula03
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Re: Light advice

Post by bahula03 »

Thanks for all of the input; I was expecting a lot of support for Dusty's lights and it's clear that that support has been well earned. Amongst Dusty, Light Monkey, and UWLD, all three make great products and there are countless stories for all of them about going above and beyond to support their products after the sale, not to mention what the lights are capable of in the first place. There isn't a bad choice to be made.

Dusty; I suppose the broadest answer to that question is that it's worth three times as much because I'm willing to pay that price. If you'd like to discuss that more in detail, I'd be happy to do so via pm.
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dwashbur
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Re: Light advice

Post by dwashbur »

Another vote for Dusty's light. My wife and I both have them and have loved them since day one. He also stands behind them no matter what the issue. And you know you're getting quality workmanship because he makes each one individually to precise specifications. And you can't beat the price.
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yadayada
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Re: Light advice

Post by yadayada »

If price is the #1 consideration, then Dusty is unbeatable.
If one is looking at materials, upgradeability, power, then UWLD is on a different level altogether.
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Jeremy
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Re: Light advice

Post by Jeremy »

Check out the Halcyon Focus. I absolutely love mine.
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GearHead
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Re: Light advice

Post by GearHead »

The best light for a dive really depends on the environment and the conditions. In the clear fresh water of the Mexican Cenotes, for example, 1200 to 1500 lumens with a well focused spot for communication is plenty. LEDs will give longer burn time for the same size battery.

Here in our emerald green waters, a bright and well focused light is necessary. 1500 Lumens is the minimum I would recommend, and 2600 will be better. I still like my HID can lights because they are so well focused.
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xBabyJesus
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Re: Light advice

Post by xBabyJesus »

I'm considering something bigger/brighter myself -- "1000lm" handheld doesn't have the lumens or burn time I'd like, and will be going to backup duty soon I think.

UWLD LD35 seems to be in a class by itself in performance AND cost.

For the Dusty's light, would love to hear some real-world experience on brightness and burn time. How long are you getting out of that 10400mah Li-Po battery?

Was considering a budget Brinyte DIV10 since I've had good luck with their handhelds and its so cheap. Hearing 3x26650 batteries only gives a 2hr burn time on High though. That's 12000mah with good cells.
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GearHead
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Re: Light advice

Post by GearHead »

Canister lights still have a significant advantage over cordless as far a burn time is concerned, even compared to the latest LED models. You just need to allocate a place on your waist strap to hold the canister. Handhelds make good backup lights, and there are a few in the 600 to 1000 lumen range that will go for three hours or more.
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Jeff Pack
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Re: Light advice

Post by Jeff Pack »

My dive buddy and I have Dusty lights for backups. We also have the big battery packs, that go I think 5 hours.

I still prefer my lm35w hid when we're diving 200ft+ deep dark dives in so so viz, but for the price, dustys lights are tough to beat.
=============================================

- I got a good squirt in my mouth
- I would imagine that there would be a large amount of involuntary gagging
- I don't know about you but I'm not into swallowing it

CCR discussion on Caustic Cocktails.
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CaptnJack
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Re: Light advice

Post by CaptnJack »

xBabyJesus wrote: Was considering a budget Brinyte DIV10 since I've had good luck with their handhelds and its so cheap. Hearing 3x26650 batteries only gives a 2hr burn time on High though. That's 12000mah with good cells.
Honestly I would not buy Chinese crap like this. 2hrs will turn into 75 mins after a year or two (if it doesn't flood or catch fire first)
xBabyJesus wrote: UWLD LD35 seems to be in a class by itself in performance AND cost.
Yes most quality products are. The average new diver will quit diving before a light like this have even started to hit its stride.

For me, a high end light is totally worth it. I am still using a 21W Salvo I bought 5 or 6 years ago. The battery has been replaced once because the original battery got left out on a picnic table in the rain and was ruined. My other light is a 18W halcyon with EO which can be found used for ~$300-400 nowadays. A new 15Ah battery from battery space is about $200.

Buy a high quality light like the UWLD or the Halcyon Focus or others if you are a long term diver. I've been diving since 1994 and many of these products are just as functional now as they were new. The Chinese crap (esp the cells) won't last and will let you down on your vacation (or dive) or a lifetime.
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kr2y5
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Re: Light advice

Post by kr2y5 »

Does anyone have a UWLD-26 or UWLD-35 that I could hold in my hand for a few minutes? Or any thoughts on how it compares against LM LED lights?
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ljjames
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Re: Light advice

Post by ljjames »

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Rockfish
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Re: Light advice

Post by Rockfish »

I remember when a 5 watt UK400 was a big deal and we used to look on with envy the people that had a 30 watt UK800R.

Boy how times have changed.

Mike
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kr2y5
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Re: Light advice

Post by kr2y5 »

Thanks, I was trying to avoid HID, since they are a little bulky... looking for something smaller. I already have a canister, just thinking of swapping the LM light head for something with a more compact beam distribution. I am curious how UWLD compares against it. More specifically, I am wondering whether the UWLD beam is more like the left, or the right side of the picture in the attachment, or whether it's something in between.
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ljjames
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Re: Light advice

Post by ljjames »

Speaking from experience, hella tight laser beam isn't all its cracked up to be. A little bit of spill isn't bad because it allows you to get less tunnel vision at night or deep. You can actually see some of the little stuff going on outside your beam of light (with critters or your buddy). Otherwise your pupils are adapted to the super bright hot spot of light and what you see looks pretty much like your photo, tiny blob of light and the majority of the UW world black and unseeable. There is a balance between a backscatter monster and a lightsaber. Obviously YMMV and desires may vary, and yes, the grass is always greener <grin>.
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kr2y5
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Re: Light advice

Post by kr2y5 »

I agree, I think something balanced in the middle would suit me best, I don't necessarily want a laser pointer. Would the amount of spill you see on the right picture be acceptable to you? My buddies did seem concerned about it. I haven't yet made up my mind, just curious how this stacks up against other lights... especially the UWLD that folks are raving about.
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CaptnJack
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Re: Light advice

Post by CaptnJack »

The "spill" in the right hand pic is fine because you don't signal (other than HELP!!!!) from that kind of distance At ~6-8ft apart from a buddy almost any beam is tight enough. At 30ft away almost any beam is too broad.
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ljjames
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Re: Light advice

Post by ljjames »

It looks fine. What light head is it, and what 'era', I ask because due to the light sensitivity of cameras these days, a dry test like that doesn't really tell me how it looks other than it has an appropriate hot spot ;)

I know the lights and their beams by names...

I ask re: era because the early HID's with short shroud had way more spill compared to the longer shroud and better reflector that is seen on all the name brands these days. LED generally means different (and to varying degrees of success) methods of herding photons.
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GearHead
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Re: Light advice

Post by GearHead »

Interestingly enough, one of the nifty features of an HID head is the ability to focus the beam. One can adjust the intensity of the central spot relative to the peripheral spill.

LED heads have no focus adjustment. The newer single chip lights tend to have a tighter central spot. The older multi chip lights have varying degrees of center focus vs spill.
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