OP
Archon D11V video light review
- Thread starter EL Pistoffo
- Start date
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Slamfire
Contributor
So, inspired by Pistoffo's review and, in no small measure, by the lightmalls price of the D11V I went ahead and got 1 myself. I didn't get 2 because I didn't want to risk it buying something for the first time from a seller in China. I got my light in about a week. I built myself a tray for my Intova Sport and a matching flex arm for the light with a ~1 ft segment of loc-line coolant hose, which is the same thing that dive equipment suppliers use but without their 200% to 300% markup. I am attaching images of my rig (see below).
For it's very first dive, I decided to try out the new light on a dive to 187 ft deep in
Canadian cold, dark waters and see if it really stood up to its claims. Unfortunately, the battery I got in light malls did not really live up to its claims and it started dying halfway through the dive. Thus, only the first 2 mins of the video below were shot with the Archon light at full brightness. Anything after that does not have the light in full brightness.
In conclusion, I am very happy with D11V. My dive buddy was also impressed to the point where he will order one himself. Now, I just have to get a better battery that will last the 75 mins that Pistoffo reported.
[youtubehq]6RPMfcBa73I[/youtubehq]
For it's very first dive, I decided to try out the new light on a dive to 187 ft deep in
Canadian cold, dark waters and see if it really stood up to its claims. Unfortunately, the battery I got in light malls did not really live up to its claims and it started dying halfway through the dive. Thus, only the first 2 mins of the video below were shot with the Archon light at full brightness. Anything after that does not have the light in full brightness.
In conclusion, I am very happy with D11V. My dive buddy was also impressed to the point where he will order one himself. Now, I just have to get a better battery that will last the 75 mins that Pistoffo reported.
[youtubehq]6RPMfcBa73I[/youtubehq]
OP
EL Pistoffo
Contributor
Slamfire
Contributor
The word "Loc-line" in my first post is in blue because it is a link. If you click on it it will take you to the part page in the McMaster Carr website were you can buy a 1 ft hose segment for $8.89 online. You will need one of this per light arm. Additionally each light arm will also need:
One double socket adapter
And two socket mounts
Socket mounts allow you to secure a bolt through them so that you can affix a camera tray. They also you to secure the light on the other end of the hose. All these loc-line parts are in the 3/4 inch internal diameter size.
The tray itself is just a short aluminum bar of about 1 inch of width. It doesn't have to be that narrow, it could be wider. It just so happened that size is what I found in the scrap pile in my local metal mart. I drilled two holes on each end, one for the camera and one for the light arm.
The light is secured with a piece of stainless hose clamp. This piece wraps around the body of the light. Two holes were drilled at the ends of the stainless band to run the bolt coming out of the loc-line mount.
The loc-line company is in Portland not far from you. They do list 5 different distributors around the Seattle area here: The Original Modular Hose System | Loc-Line - Domestic Distributors
The loc-line part numbers that you need are these:
Hose segment - 61501
Double socket - 61514
Socket mount - 60533
One double socket adapter
And two socket mounts
Socket mounts allow you to secure a bolt through them so that you can affix a camera tray. They also you to secure the light on the other end of the hose. All these loc-line parts are in the 3/4 inch internal diameter size.
The tray itself is just a short aluminum bar of about 1 inch of width. It doesn't have to be that narrow, it could be wider. It just so happened that size is what I found in the scrap pile in my local metal mart. I drilled two holes on each end, one for the camera and one for the light arm.
The light is secured with a piece of stainless hose clamp. This piece wraps around the body of the light. Two holes were drilled at the ends of the stainless band to run the bolt coming out of the loc-line mount.
The loc-line company is in Portland not far from you. They do list 5 different distributors around the Seattle area here: The Original Modular Hose System | Loc-Line - Domestic Distributors
The loc-line part numbers that you need are these:
Hose segment - 61501
Double socket - 61514
Socket mount - 60533
Would you mind sharing the detail? I am thinking of doing something similar for a several lights that I am thinking of buying (I have friends that own them). I just bought a lux meter from Amazon (Amazon.com: Dr.Meter Digital Illuminance/Light Meter LX1330B , 0 - 200,000 Lux Luxmeter: Camera & Photo)
E.g. how many measurement do you take to extrapolate the brightness, and which formula do you use?
---------- Post added November 3rd, 2013 at 11:09 AM ----------
Slamfire - you rock! Thank you very much for the details instructions/explanations! This is going to be my Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday project! Now I just need to decide if I want to get Morph 1000 with dual video heads or two Archon 1400 lumen lights.
E.g. how many measurement do you take to extrapolate the brightness, and which formula do you use?
---------- Post added November 3rd, 2013 at 11:09 AM ----------
Slamfire - you rock! Thank you very much for the details instructions/explanations! This is going to be my Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday project! Now I just need to decide if I want to get Morph 1000 with dual video heads or two Archon 1400 lumen lights.
OP
EL Pistoffo
Contributor
You have to convert lux to lumens. Lux is a measurement of light intensity at a single point. Lumens is a measurement of overall output of light intensity. You can use this to convert: Lumens-Lux Calculator.
I would take the measurement from a distance of 1 meter and knowing the beams angle makes it easier. The D11V is spec'd at 110 degree angle. You could use your own measurements with some Geometry to verify that. I think I checked it myself and found it to be close enough.
Even though the light beams intensity is fairly evenly spread, it will be a little more intense towards the center that the edges. If you want to be more accurate you can try to find the average lux of the beam throughout its width. I just measured the lux at the center, that should result in a max Lumen measurement.
Of course I did this in my dark living room, not a laboratory so its was not exact.
This is my light meter: Extech 403125 Light Probe Meter
---------- Post added November 3rd, 2013 at 03:05 PM ----------
The word "Loc-line" in my first post is in blue because it is a link. If you click on it it will take you to the part page in the McMaster Carr website were you can buy a 1 ft hose segment for $8.89 online. You will need one of this per light arm. Additionally each light arm will also need:
One double socket adapter
And two socket mounts
Socket mounts allow you to secure a bolt through them so that you can affix a camera tray. They also you to secure the light on the other end of the hose. All these loc-line parts are in the 3/4 inch internal diameter size.
The tray itself is just a short aluminum bar of about 1 inch of width. It doesn't have to be that narrow, it could be wider. It just so happened that size is what I found in the scrap pile in my local metal mart. I drilled two holes on each end, one for the camera and one for the light arm.
The light is secured with a piece of stainless hose clamp. This piece wraps around the body of the light. Two holes were drilled at the ends of the stainless band to run the bolt coming out of the loc-line mount.
The loc-line company is in Portland not far from you. They do list 5 different distributors around the Seattle area here: The Original Modular Hose System | Loc-Line - Domestic Distributors
The loc-line part numbers that you need are these:
Hose segment - 61501
Double socket - 61514
Socket mount - 60533
SRP does supply a very nice torch mount for the D11V to loclines: 24 mm Light Mounts
I bought these for my lights and purchased additional locline segments to extend the arms. I have used them on several dives and they have worked great.
What I'm interested in is a mount for attaching D32VR lights to the loclines.
Thanks, that's great info. I could't bring myself to pay for an Extech considering the limited use my light meter is likely to see. Would you mind sharing the LUX reading you got? A friend of mine has Hog Morph 1000 with two video heads, so I am not sure if I want to get that vs. the Archon V32DR. Archon has red LEDs which is nice, but no "usable" medium setting. Hog lights use more readily available 18650 in their backup handle, or else can be hooked up to a canister battery, giving you tons of battery life. I am guessing I could make some sort of a cheapo DIY red filter for the HOG. So brightness difference might be the deciding factor for me.
You could probably use some U-clamps kind of like this guys did in his tutorial
www.diveoz.com.au - The Wizbang DIY Strobe Arm - Page 1
Not as nice as the SRP mounts, but likely at a fraction of the cost. That's what I am planning to do for my rig, or else use the SS clamps that slamfire used (see above) with some inner tube as lining. Maybe something like this
http://www.mcmaster.com/#u-clamps/=p80zqg
OP
EL Pistoffo
Contributor
I just measured my D11V from 1 meter at dead center (strongest point of beam) and the lux reading was 197. At 110 degrees that translates to 528 lumens. The intensity drops as you get closer to the edge of the beam. So this if you factor that in the lumens go down. I'd give this light an overall lumen output of 500. A far cry from the 860 lumens the specs claim. Being Chinese lights I was already expecting this but even at 500 lumens its awesome for the price. Sola 500 lights are close to $300 a piece. These lights cost me $60 or so a piece.
Those DIY mounts look like good idea's. I may not upgrade to the D32VR for a few months so I'll keep my eyes peeled in case some locline compatible mounts materialize. I have an uncle who's a welder. Maybe I can have him modify these ARCHON D32VR Diving Light MOUNT/underwater photographing Light MOUNT/Camera underwater photography lighting auxiliary mount on Aliexpress.com to attach to loclines. I may even drill and tap those mounts to accept the locline socket mount:
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