Can light - worth it?
- Thread starter billt4sf
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A lot of people claim that a bright light is not useful for night diving on the reef, because it scares away the critters.
Actually, these claims generally reveal that people don't use the lights correctly. A bright light lets you see a lot more than a dimmer light will. To use an extreme example to illustrate my point, turn the lights off in a room and see how much more you see compared to when the lights are on. (Trick question - obviously you see a lot more with the lights on.
) A bright light allows you to see movement over a wider area of the reef.
The key is that when you find a critter, you don't shine 21 watts right into it's eyes. If you do that, then - yes - you can scare them away. You can turn the light away and use the marginal halo from the light to illuminate the critters.
I have tried diving with a variety of lights, including a 21W can light, and I consistently see a lot more stuff with a lot more light. Consistently. My camera's data card is always a lot fuller when I carry a can light than when I carry a small light.
Actually, these claims generally reveal that people don't use the lights correctly. A bright light lets you see a lot more than a dimmer light will. To use an extreme example to illustrate my point, turn the lights off in a room and see how much more you see compared to when the lights are on. (Trick question - obviously you see a lot more with the lights on.
) A bright light allows you to see movement over a wider area of the reef.The key is that when you find a critter, you don't shine 21 watts right into it's eyes. If you do that, then - yes - you can scare them away. You can turn the light away and use the marginal halo from the light to illuminate the critters.
I have tried diving with a variety of lights, including a 21W can light, and I consistently see a lot more stuff with a lot more light. Consistently. My camera's data card is always a lot fuller when I carry a can light than when I carry a small light.
Bill, if you're taking Primer first, RELAX--my instructor "required" very little of me in the way of equipment or otherwise. It's a very soft intro course. The standard advice is to ask your instructor what equipment you must bring with you as opposed to what might be optional. For Primer, neither my wife nor I had a can light, SMB, low-volume masks, or much else beyond borrowed BP/Ws and long-hose reg sets. (Okay, at least we do not have split fins.) We plan to take Fundies in 2014, so it's time to gear up properly. Hence my interest in this thread. I have been under the impression that a can light is NOT required for a Rec Pass. Since the vast majority of our diving is tropical reef, I doubt we will acquire can lights.
A lot's been said already--in particular that you don't need a can light for Primer so I would hold off.
I took Fundies in singles, so there was no chance of a rec pass and I didn't bother buying a can light. Towards the end of the class my instructor lent me a spare and taught me the basic signals. It was amazing. Finally I was able to communicate underwater without having to go grab a buddy's arm or fin.
These days I feel totally mute underwater without a light. It's not just that your buddy sees you flashing it around, it's that:
1) With good light etiquette (e.g. you habitually keep your beam calm and avoid jerky motions with it), any sign of even moderate distress will bring your team's attention to you. If you are for some reason out-of-gas or having buoyancy issues or IPE it makes it much more likely that your distress is noticed promptly.
2) In moderate or low visibility (say, 50-60 feet or less), your light forms a beam. It's not a light so much as a light saber. Then even when you are scootering or not perfectly side-by-side, you can cross your beams.
I've yet to see a non-can light that works as well, although some are passable as back-ups.
I took Fundies in singles, so there was no chance of a rec pass and I didn't bother buying a can light. Towards the end of the class my instructor lent me a spare and taught me the basic signals. It was amazing. Finally I was able to communicate underwater without having to go grab a buddy's arm or fin.
These days I feel totally mute underwater without a light. It's not just that your buddy sees you flashing it around, it's that:
1) With good light etiquette (e.g. you habitually keep your beam calm and avoid jerky motions with it), any sign of even moderate distress will bring your team's attention to you. If you are for some reason out-of-gas or having buoyancy issues or IPE it makes it much more likely that your distress is noticed promptly.
2) In moderate or low visibility (say, 50-60 feet or less), your light forms a beam. It's not a light so much as a light saber. Then even when you are scootering or not perfectly side-by-side, you can cross your beams.
I've yet to see a non-can light that works as well, although some are passable as back-ups.
DaleC
Contributor
I never said a bright light wasn't useful.. just that there are consequences, intended or otherwise, that come with each decision.
My friend has a light saber and it is amazing as a focused light. If someone gave me one I wouldn't say no but I wouldn't buy one (I also wouldn't buy a scooter). For most of my current diving it would simply be too much light and too much clutter.
This illustrates a fundamental difference in why people dive and I think that needs to be considered/explored/understood, before running out to buy an expensive product. The OP should just take some time and do a cost/need evaluation and measure that against other needs. Honestly, where will you do most of your diving and what will you be doing while you're diving. Caves, scootering, spearfishing, photo/video, tropical, low vis, deep, shallow, travel, buddy, solo... One size does not fit all. In this case, standardization is poor principle.
Maybe the OP will go full tech and find a CL useful but more of the divers I know are going the photo/video route than full tech. There the CL takes second place to strobes or VL's.
Now, if you can afford to buy a CL, strobes and VL's there is no problem.
I also don't buy the need for a CL for signalling effectively. We manage to do so with a wide array of lights. But then again, most divers I'm with are photogs and we buddy different. Scooters, single file caves etc... may require different lighting. So, honestly, on the more likely scale, will you be cave diving/scootering or rec diving in moderate vis with photo/videographers.
They also add a layer of complexity for routing. Not much I will admit but when some cannot handle a chest clipped SPG or a D ring on the right hip, a 1" vs 2" crotch strap or yoked valves, when some will cut the ball off their OPV's as an entanglement hazard - adding a cable across the chest strapped to the left hand seems an unnecessary complication.. if it is not needed. Standardization is one principle to follow, beginning with the end in mind is another - but so is taking only what you need. And for many situations, that is not a light saber CL.
My friend has a light saber and it is amazing as a focused light. If someone gave me one I wouldn't say no but I wouldn't buy one (I also wouldn't buy a scooter). For most of my current diving it would simply be too much light and too much clutter.
This illustrates a fundamental difference in why people dive and I think that needs to be considered/explored/understood, before running out to buy an expensive product. The OP should just take some time and do a cost/need evaluation and measure that against other needs. Honestly, where will you do most of your diving and what will you be doing while you're diving. Caves, scootering, spearfishing, photo/video, tropical, low vis, deep, shallow, travel, buddy, solo... One size does not fit all. In this case, standardization is poor principle.
Maybe the OP will go full tech and find a CL useful but more of the divers I know are going the photo/video route than full tech. There the CL takes second place to strobes or VL's.
Now, if you can afford to buy a CL, strobes and VL's there is no problem.
I also don't buy the need for a CL for signalling effectively. We manage to do so with a wide array of lights. But then again, most divers I'm with are photogs and we buddy different. Scooters, single file caves etc... may require different lighting. So, honestly, on the more likely scale, will you be cave diving/scootering or rec diving in moderate vis with photo/videographers.
They also add a layer of complexity for routing. Not much I will admit but when some cannot handle a chest clipped SPG or a D ring on the right hip, a 1" vs 2" crotch strap or yoked valves, when some will cut the ball off their OPV's as an entanglement hazard - adding a cable across the chest strapped to the left hand seems an unnecessary complication.. if it is not needed. Standardization is one principle to follow, beginning with the end in mind is another - but so is taking only what you need. And for many situations, that is not a light saber CL.
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