Forgive me for this possible dumb question...

[FinnMom]

The good news it that because the canister lights (and many other tech items) are of high quality, you can get an excellent light for much less money if you buy 2nd hand.

Lots of people upgrade as their diving advances, or they buy extras when they can afford it, then sell extras when they hit a financial rough spot, want to buy something really expensive, like a rebreather or a compressor. Tech diving is full of guys that love having the newest & best stuff, then sell the same items at a huge discount just a few years later because they have already bought 1-2 comparable items that are newer and better. I love these people! And at least occasionally I probably resemble these people

 

[boulderjohn]

I understand the desire not to buy something only to have to buy something better later on, but with the way light quality is improving and light prices are dropping, it might be a smart move if you are not going into tech for a couple of years. When I first got into tech diving, a bought a mid-range canister light that did an OK job for me for a couple of years, but when I got into cave diving, I wished I had something more powerful. But man, the cost! So I put it off and put it off until I finally bought a good, powerful light with great battery life for about $1,000 less than a light of similar quality would have cost me a couple years before.

To me the big thing is battery life. I can do two long cave dives with my light without coming near the expected battery life. I can use it through a day of tech instruction the same way. In contrast, a friend new to tech diving who uses a pretty powerful light that does not have canister will be out of power with it in much less time. He wishes he had paid more for a different light.

But the light he bought would probably be good for you right now, and if you ever get into tech diving, you will be able to buy a better light at a better price than you can get now. Believe me, you will then find a use for the light you buy now, just as I sometimes use that mid-range canister light I bought years ago.

 

[bradells]

While most have touched on the depth/construction part of the $$ equation, the other is burn time.

They run longer before needing to charge (as generally the dives are 'longer').

The one great thing about a large and strong 'tech' diving community is there is always gear floating around looking for use.

I went out and bought the HOG Morph system as my first light (ended up with 4 heads, 2 canisters, and 2 tubes). Still works great, even though it is now used in my video rig (and the spot heads are now my backup lights), as it's been replaced with a 18w HID.

Next light after that one, well probably pass on to someone looking for a 'bigger/better' light.....


BRad

 

[Bigeclipse]

I understand the desire not to buy something only to have to buy something better later on, but with the way light quality is improving and light prices are dropping, it might be a smart move if you are not going into tech for a couple of years. When I first got into tech diving, a bought a mid-range canister light that did an OK job for me for a couple of years, but when I got into cave diving, I wished I had something more powerful. But man, the cost! So I put it off and put it off until I finally bought a good, powerful light with great battery life for about $1,000 less than a light of similar quality would have cost me a couple years before.

To me the big thing is battery life. I can do two long cave dives with my light without coming near the expected battery life. I can use it through a day of tech instruction the same way. In contrast, a friend new to tech diving who uses a pretty powerful light that does not have canister will be out of power with it in much less time. He wishes he had paid more for a different light.

But the light he bought would probably be good for you right now, and if you ever get into tech diving, you will be able to buy a better light at a better price than you can get now. Believe me, you will then find a use for the light you buy now, just as I sometimes use that mid-range canister light I bought years ago.

While most have touched on the depth/construction part of the $$ equation, the other is burn time.

They run longer before needing to charge (as generally the dives are 'longer').

The one great thing about a large and strong 'tech' diving community is there is always gear floating around looking for use.

I went out and bought the HOG Morph system as my first light (ended up with 4 heads, 2 canisters, and 2 tubes). Still works great, even though it is now used in my video rig (and the spot heads are now my backup lights), as it's been replaced with a 18w HID.

Next light after that one, well probably pass on to someone looking for a 'bigger/better' light.....


BRad

thanks for both your inputs. So there is this other light I was looking at by Blue Reef. No idea who this brand is (probably some Chinese company) Anyways if you go here Lights at LeisurePro you can see the model I am talking about. It is the 2000 lumen one that is 189 dollars onsale. only two reviews. Only one setting (super bright) and short burn time 2hrs or so but it appears it may do the trick for these ultra dark dives and taking a couple video/pics. No they will likely not come out great, especially since super nice strobes/video lights would truly be the answer but I figure they should be a bit better than last years. Anyways, at least with this light, I am not breaking the bank, I still have my other less powerful lights which work on night dives AND I can start saving up for all the tech gear I will likely need in 2 years. Should I maybe not even waste my time on this light either?

 

[freewillie]

Thank you for your input. I definitely appreciate it. I do take diving very seriously and I am not trying to rush into anything BUT at the same time, I don't want to buy something only to have to buy a better something later. It also depends what that something is....for example, Dive computers are changing quite a lot every year because as we all know...electronics are also changing every year. So I wont by a new dive computer to replace my current one simply for tech diving as I know I wont be tech diving for a couple years anyways and by then who knows what dive computers will be like. However, I figured a good light....is a good light, regardless of when you buy it. The whole reason for even looking at a light was the fact that My father and I dove a wreck last year in lake George which was extremely dark at the 100ft mark. The Princeton tech light I used was fine for my viewing of the ship but the pictures and video we took came out really dark. It is one of those sealife cameras with photo and video light. I know the camera isn't exactly a good c camera for dark photos but we were hoping with my primary light and the camera lights pointed at the ship, that we would get a couple "ok" pics. We were wrong. My Princeton tec light did help a little when we compare pics we took using it and not. Anyways long story short, we were debating getting a new camera light OR better primary hand lights since our current ones kind of stink anyways. I decided to go for the better primary light as I will use that more than a new camera light. So anyways, this is what is truly my goal at the moment....to take some better video/photos on the dive we are doing in two weeks on that same wreck. I do get that they likely will still not be great but again I can only afford either a better camera light OR primary light and I was hoping a brighter primary light would give a few somewhat decent shots. hope this all makes sense and sorry for the long write up.

The real answer to what type of light you need is what type of diving will you need your light?

For regular recreational diving most dive lights around 200 lumen or so is adequate. Even for night dives. While the bigger more powerful lights provide more light they also scare away the fish and other nocturnal creatures. I use an Aeris A4 light just over 200 lumen as my primary light for night dives and it is more than adequate. I don't even carry my UK C4 pistol grip light anymore since it's too bulky. I keep on hand for the occasional wreck dive or lend to a buddy who needs a light.

But for underwater photography the lights are either as expensive as some of the tech lights or even more expensive. Consider that even the smaller lights go for $600-$100 for just the light, especially when they have the attached strobe function to sync with the camera. And for photography the brighter the light the better the colors.

Not being a tech diver or tech trained I'll let the tech divers here give you the skinny on why you need expensive lights for tech diving.

 

[kwinter]

"The only question that's dumb is the one you never ask".

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and appear to be a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt." - Mark Twain

 

[boulderjohn]

thanks for both your inputs. So there is this other light I was looking at by Blue Reef. No idea who this brand is (probably some Chinese company) Anyways if you go here Lights at LeisurePro you can see the model I am talking about. It is the 2000 lumen one that is 189 dollars onsale. only two reviews. Only one setting (super bright) and short burn time 2hrs or so but it appears it may do the trick for these ultra dark dives and taking a couple video/pics. No they will likely not come out great, especially since super nice strobes/video lights would truly be the answer but I figure they should be a bit better than last years. Anyways, at least with this light, I am not breaking the bank, I still have my other less powerful lights which work on night dives AND I can start saving up for all the tech gear I will likely need in 2 years. Should I maybe not even waste my time on this light either?

I don't know anything about that specific light or that brand. Assuming it is a reliable light that will work as advertised, and assuming it will meet all you needs now, it looks like a decent choice. Maybe there are better choices, but, as I said, if it works, it is a decent choice. If you go into tech in a couple of years and need a different light, you will more than save that amount of money by waiting that long.

 

[Bigeclipse]

I don't know anything about that specific light or that brand. Assuming it is a reliable light that will work as advertised, and assuming it will meet all you needs now, it looks like a decent choice. Maybe there are better choices, but, as I said, if it works, it is a decent choice. If you go into tech in a couple of years and need a different light, you will more than save that amount of money by waiting that long.

You said there may be others I might want to consider? I'm open to any thoughts...

 

[TSandM]

Part of the reason the "tech" lights are so expensive is the batteries. We had to replace a couple, and even going to BatterySpace and having them made by a decided non-diving-related business, they ran us $300 apiece, and that was for NiMH technology. LiIon is more. And the Delrin canisters are surprisingly expensive, too -- I don't know why, but maybe Delrin is hard to machine.

At any rate, looking at those Blue Reef lights (about which I know absolutely nothing), I would say to go for one of the ones that comes with the neoprene hand strap. The pleasure of having a light on your hand, allowing you to use the hand without dropping the light, is well worth it.

 

[Nemrod]

Largely built for a specialized market, very low volume, mostly domestic USA built. And the market can support the price.

I think in 1972 I bought an Ikelite Modular Superlight and I recall about $150 which calculates to $850 today. I thought I was in high cotton until I saw a guy entering Little River sporting a home brew light that used NiCads cells from an aircraft battery and a aircraft landing light on a plexiglass rod for a handle. Soon after I made one similar. Those things would boil water.

N