Need some Can HID advice...

[Spoon]

I'll dive with you when I come home this summer... Night dives with HID's rock!

im sooo looking forward to it, maybe you can sell one of em to your less fortunate bros from the 3rd world

 

[pakman]

get the light and bring it to anilao, never seen a hid in action

That's the plan. I've put the order in with double80s and hopefully he'll have it out by express mail before the end of this week. I'll try not to point it at your face too many times...

 

[Spoon]

That's the plan. I've put the order in with double80s and hopefully he'll have it out by express mail before the end of this week. I'll try not to point it at your face too many times...

laughingblenny? your gonna pay a lot for shipping! no distributors in asia?

 

[pakman]

wasn't aware of any distributors out here. although I heard one of the gaijin shops in Japan was going to sign up as a Salvo distributor...

also when I checked with the HK Diverite distributor about a HID, he said they would have to order it AND I would have to pay shipping!

of course, returns for repairs would be an issue having bought from overseas...

 

[Diver0001]

I'm looking to buy a can HID over the next few days. From searching this forum, appears the general consensus is to go ahead and get a 21W vs 10W (either w/ an adj. head) if the price isn't an issue. So far I have narrowed it down to a Diverite or Salvo.

Just a thought about really bright lights.

If you're cave diving or diving in wrecks you might want to have as much light as you can get but if you spend a lot of time looking at the wildlife then you'll find that a lot of animals will flee such a bright light. I think it even hurts some of them, like crabs. I know some people will say "don't shine it straight at them" but that kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it. If you want a light to look at the wildlife then a 10 watt is good.

Also, for communication with the light if your beam is so bright that it washes out your buddy's beam then you're putting yourself at a disadvantage.

In short, more is not always better. Think about your context.

R..

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

Just a thought about really bright lights.

If you're cave diving or diving in wrecks you might want to have as much light as you can get but if you spend a lot of time looking at the wildlife then you'll find that a lot of animals will flee such a bright light. I think it even hurts some of them, like crabs. I know some people will say "don't shine it straight at them" but that kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it. If you want a light to look at the wildlife then a 10 watt is good.

Also, for communication with the light if your beam is so bright that it washes out your buddy's beam then you're putting yourself at a disadvantage.

In short, more is not always better. Think about your context.

R..

The cave and wreck divers I know (in our club) tend to prefer less strong lights than us "normal" divers, since they use their lights much more for signalling. They say a 10w HID with a 6 degree beam is good for them, so they don't blind each others.

I've seen 21w HID under water in good viz with a 10 degree beam. Seems like a good choice for my kind of diving. I have a 50w halogen at 12 degrees, and the HID had more punch for sure. Any more than these I think would come in the category of "hurting" lights. You should be nice to other creatures your not going to eat, no matter what light you have!

 

[pakman]

Just a thought about really bright lights.

If you're cave diving or diving in wrecks you might want to have as much light as you can get but if you spend a lot of time looking at the wildlife then you'll find that a lot of animals will flee such a bright light. I think it even hurts some of them, like crabs. I know some people will say "don't shine it straight at them" but that kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it. If you want a light to look at the wildlife then a 10 watt is good.

Also, for communication with the light if your beam is so bright that it washes out your buddy's beam then you're putting yourself at a disadvantage.

In short, more is not always better. Think about your context.

R..

True... my thoughts are, in nite diving when I'll be usually in photography mode... I will likely get the video reflector. Also think the 21w will come in handy with some of the wrecks I foresee doing in the near future like subic bay and coron where it was pretty murky the 1st time I did those sites... Now if start to annoy my my dive buddies, then that's another problem... but knowing them, they'd probably get the 24W's just to get back at me

 

[Spoon]

True... my thoughts are, in nite diving when I'll be usually in photography mode... I will likely get the video reflector. Also think the 21w will come in handy with some of the wrecks I foresee doing in the near future like subic bay and coron where it was pretty murky the 1st time I did those sites... Now if start to annoy my my dive buddies, then that's another problem... but knowing them, they'd probably get the 24W's just to get back at me

il be in coron this weekend and also planning on doing tech wreck in subic. the 10w are not good enough for this?

 

[pakman]

sorry, I should have clarified. My experience on those wrecks were without HID's so I can't say from personal experience if a 10W HID is sufficient. My friend had a 50W hartenberger halogen light which I think is about 1500 lumens but the lense/ reflector is broad (more of a flood light tailored more for photography) and barely did a job lighting up the USS New York in Subic last may. I was using his spare light cannon (which isn't really comparable to a good techy HID)... Safe to say a tech diving HID with a light saber beam would have done a better job cutting through the crud.

Best bet is to talk to you instructors or friends who are actively doing wrecks to find out what is sufficient. As some have suggested, I think I went off the deep end with wattage envy...

 

[Metalsub USA]

Now here's another question for you all. Should I bite the bullet and get the 9amp can/battery for the additional $$? And if I did, should I just go ahead and bump up to a 24W one considering it would still get approx 210min with the 9amp battery... While this might be overkill for the diving I do today, might make sense if I move into video in the future...

edit: oh didn't see the above before I hit post... oh well, was hoping you already had them and had a chance to use them UW.

Hello Pakman,

Get the 9 Ah battery if you can afford it, you may not need the extra burn time on every dive or dive trip but there will always be a couple times a year you’ll need it and want it. Always be prepared for the unexpected.

As for what wattage HID to get? A brighter light gives you more options, you just need to use the proper photo techniques for the situation. I use a Metalsub HID200 (50 Watt HID) with 40° flood reflector and diffusion glass for all my photo and video shooting. Some on this posting say its overkill or even cruel to sea creatures. This is only the case if you use bad photo techniques!!!!! Rule number one with underwater lighting is getting your light source as far away from your lens as possible. The Profi’s do this by having their dive buddy be their lighting man, you also get the best lighting this way, such as backlighting the subject or light from above. Having a dive buddy light the subject from the side will also add depth to the look of your pictures, this is only possible with a bright light.

I bought my HID200 a year before I became a Metalsub dealer but I am bias toward Metalsub products so check out these links and get some second opinions:

http://www.divernet.com/equipment/1005divertests.shtml#metal

and

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=124232

Metalsub USA sells and ships worldwide and we are one of the only HID dive light makers that guarantee our HID bulbs for the first year of use.

If you have any questions please ask.