LED vs HID

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There is a huge thread on this at TDS that compares a couple of the Solus lights against some HIDs.
 
The thread on TDS is irrelevant. It compares the old (gen 1) lights to HID, not the Gen 2 latest models. The gen 2 lights from Solus are 2.5 timesw brighter for the same power consumtion. There is no point comparing the Lumens numder when comparing the in water output of the lights. I have an e-led 4 c cell that according to the UK website produces 38 lumens @3 watts, the halogen version of the light produces 102 lumens @5 watts.....the led is a brighter light, no one seems to argue about the brightness or efficiency of handheld LED lights..but as no north american manufactures have been able to build a top notch can light any led can lihgt is constantly trashed as being inadequate. I bought one...I tried it out versus the can lights available locally and the LED from Solus has blown them all out of the water!
 
Its relevant since two posts up someone stated the first gen 500 light is brighter than a 10w HID, which seemed to be incorrect via the TDS thread.

I've seen the 2500 in the water, its damned nice, built like a tank(Cave Adventures has one in stock), but didn't compare one side-by-side with a 35w HID. When I saw it UW, it didn't scream to me as being any brighter(than 35w HID) - but without a side-by-side, it'll be hard to tell.

Regardless, its priced far beyond what I'd ever pay for it.
 
I've seen the 2500 in the water, its damned nice, built like a tank(Cave Adventures has one in stock), but didn't compare one side-by-side with a 35w HID. When I saw it UW, it didn't scream to me as being any brighter(than 35w HID) - but without a side-by-side, it'll be hard to tell.

Regardless, its priced far beyond what I'd ever pay for it.

Unfortunately for me at the time I was looking there wasn't much difference in the price between the 35 watt Diverite HID and the Solus Su1250 so I picked the most rugged light.
 
do you have a link to the TDS pages about the solus lights. Thanks
 
On a recent dive trip I thought it was interesting how the locals treated their LED lights; all of which were the latest models.

On days with clear water and essentially unlimited visibility they all used their LEDs and bragged about how good the lights were. When swells and surge reduced visibility to the 15' - 20' range with stirred up particulates the LEDs disappeared and out came the Xenon and HID lights.
 
On a recent dive trip I thought it was interesting how the locals treated their LED lights; all of which were the latest models.

On days with clear water and essentially unlimited visibility they all used their LEDs and bragged about how good the lights were. When swells and surge reduced visibility to the 15' - 20' range with stirred up particulates the LEDs disappeared and out came the Xenon and HID lights.

An interesting comment...When I got my Solus SU 1250 in November 2007 one of the "test dives" that I did was to take it don to the bottom of the local quarry (125 feet, 38 F water temp) and stir up the silt . We entered the water at 3:30 pm so the daylight was failing and conditions were starting to appraoch that of a night dive...Vis was about 10-15 ft before we played with the bottom, to see how the Solus performed versus a halogen MR16 and an HID. The Solus beam seemed least affected by the silt, as in there was not as much backscatter apparent in the beam compared to the other two lights, it still cut through the crap better than the other two lights . That more than anything (in the conditions that I dive in) convinced me that my money had been well spent. My buddy with the MR16 has since put it up for sale as he too decided to go for a Solus after that dive!
 
A long way back in this thread DeBeagle mentioned posting a link to a review of the SOLUS SU-1250 light.

The review is here Solus SU-1250 LED On test - YD Dive Forums & Scuba Community

The reviewer compared the SU-1250 to a 21 Watt Salvo.

No doubt some of the firmly entrenched HID crowd from TDS will be upset. My apologies in advance :wink:
The results of the direct comparisons were very different from the "official" Salvo tests on TDS. :11:

We're still waiting for the reviews of the SU-2500 and the SH-1250 handheld to be completed.

Regards,

Kevin Jury
Managing Director
SOLUS Submersible Products
 
When I am scootering I want a beam that penetrates as far as possible for signaling and according to that link your light does not have the same "lightsaber" effect HIDs have (Specifically, this picture http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/MarkChase/Work/Pondtest2.jpg ). It does look like it lights up the area more, but until LEDs can have the tight focused central beam I do not think I will be switching.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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