I'm looking for a pair of lights to fit my current and future needs, and wondering if the XTAR D36 5800 will be up to the task.
Currently, I am doing recreational shore diving in the dark, murky PNW (~10ish dives a month), taking my camera on most dives, using a Sola S/F 2500 as a primary light and photography light. It works, but I think having a second light would do wonders for improving the photos and especially videos.
In the next couple months, I have my GUE Fundies course booked, and I'm hoping to go down a more technical diving path in the near future. So, I need a light that will work for future tech diving (which is likely to be more wrecks/deep dives than caves, based on where I live).
So, I'm thinking of buying a pair of XTAR D36 5800s to serve my current and hopefully future needs. Based on the reviews I've read on Scubaboard, it seems like the flood mode would work well for photos/videos, and the spot mode would work for tech diving. With the addition of a Goodman handle, I would think that the pair of them would give me a great option for primary light + backup (I have other simple lights to work as backup as well).
The only other option I'm really looking at is getting a second Sola 2500 S/F and rigging Goodman handles for them (~$500 for a second Sola). However, while I like the Sola, the runtime isn't enough for multi-dive days or longer technical dives, so I'm not really loving that route. Ideally, I don't want to burn another $1000+ on a dedicated canister light just yet, if I can get away with something more multipurpose.
Any suggestions/thoughts on this idea, or other light options I should consider?
Currently, I am doing recreational shore diving in the dark, murky PNW (~10ish dives a month), taking my camera on most dives, using a Sola S/F 2500 as a primary light and photography light. It works, but I think having a second light would do wonders for improving the photos and especially videos.
In the next couple months, I have my GUE Fundies course booked, and I'm hoping to go down a more technical diving path in the near future. So, I need a light that will work for future tech diving (which is likely to be more wrecks/deep dives than caves, based on where I live).
So, I'm thinking of buying a pair of XTAR D36 5800s to serve my current and hopefully future needs. Based on the reviews I've read on Scubaboard, it seems like the flood mode would work well for photos/videos, and the spot mode would work for tech diving. With the addition of a Goodman handle, I would think that the pair of them would give me a great option for primary light + backup (I have other simple lights to work as backup as well).
The only other option I'm really looking at is getting a second Sola 2500 S/F and rigging Goodman handles for them (~$500 for a second Sola). However, while I like the Sola, the runtime isn't enough for multi-dive days or longer technical dives, so I'm not really loving that route. Ideally, I don't want to burn another $1000+ on a dedicated canister light just yet, if I can get away with something more multipurpose.
Any suggestions/thoughts on this idea, or other light options I should consider?