The SOLA DIVE Light, the Least expensive light you'll ever own

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

lightandmotion

Registered
Messages
46
Reaction score
7
Location
Monterey, CA
Blog post written by Frank Aloia of Rec Diving
5/9/2011 5:34 PM

You’re headed into the water as the sun has just slipped below the horizon to enjoy one of the most active times in the ocean. The key to seeing the action below the waves is your trusty dive light. This branch of the dive equipment field has seen some of the most significant developments in the industry over the last several years. As Xenon and Krypton bulbs gave way to HID, so has HID started to move to the side for LED technology. LED lights offer more burn time, cooler operating temperatures, and produce whiter light that penetrates even the turbid waters of the Great Lakes. At the tip of the LED spear is the Sola Dive lights by Light and Motion.

Since their release in February of this year, these little powerhouses have been one of the most talked about items here at Rec Diving. People love the Solas because of their light weight and compact size, but they sometimes shy away from these beauties when they compare them pricewise to the other LED lights. While they might cost a little more at the register, I’m going to tell you how the Solas will save you more than three times their cost in the long run.

Like so many of the advantages of the Sola series, in terms of cost savings it all comes down to the batteries. The Sola lights use a sealed lithium-ion cell that is rated for at least 500 charging cycles. To compare it to the C4 eLED from Underwater Kinetics, we’ll also need to consider the burn time for each light at a similar output level. At it’s max power, the C4 eLED is capable of producing 275 lumens of light for a burn time of 480 minutes. The Sola Dive 1200, on the other hand, is able to produce 300 lumens of light (using it’s lowest output setting) for a total of 280 minutes. It’s the recharging aspect of the Sola that really allows it to start saving you money. If we consider that the Sola is capable of running for 280 minutes and can be charged 500 times, it yields 140,000 minutes of burn time during it’s batteries lifespan. When we consider that it would take 290 sets of 4 C-cell batteries for the C4 eLED at a cost of about $10 per set, the total cost of those 140,000 minutes of burn time comes in at a staggering $2,900.00.

This might seem like enough of an advantage, but it keeps getting better. What happens when your Sola won’t take a full charge after it’s 523rd charge? Simply bring it in to Rec Diving and we’ll send it back to Light and Motion to have a fresh battery cell put in and the unit resealed. This refresh will only set you back $75 at which point you’ll be able to enjoy another 500+ charges.

These lights will not only save you a substantial amount of money, but they offer a long list of other advantages as well. Here are just a few of them:

* Rechargeable batteries
* Factory sealed to eliminate floods
* Variable power levels
* Integrated battery power level indicator
* Ability to toggle between spot and flood modes (Dive and Video models)
* Weight of just over ½ pound

Switching to the Sola could also equal 1,160 batteries that don’t end up in the landfill. At Rec Diving, we believe that’s one of the biggest advantages at all. Come in and check out this remarkable light.
 
I recently bought the Sola 1200s. Love them for their nice, even light for video work, their variable intensity capability and the ability to use them as a dive light as well. Wasn't aware that they were only good for 500 recharge cycles though. Looks like I'll be replacing the battery more frequently than I expected.
 
I bought the Sola 600 with the red light setting, and I think it was fab when it was set up I got really good results on my pics. As we it functioned as a great flash light on holiday just imagine how much money I did safe on my 3 week holiday. On the other side it is just great for traveling because it is so light and compact.
Two thumps up:cool2:
 
I have found that my L&M lights have been the best I've ever used, beginning with my original Sunray halogens when I started.

I recently had a situation that tested L&M's products to the extreme. I was driving down to the dive park Sunday and had to pull over quickly due to a rapidly approaching vehicle coming uphill. In doing so, my L&M Stingray G2 with the Sony CX550V inside and my Sola 1200 video lights attached fell out of the golf cart hitting the street hard. When I retrieved them and checked, there were the (sniff) obvious scratches and other cosmetic damage. However, both Sola 1200s worked fine and my camcorder did as well. The only major problem (pending a test of the integrity of the housing itself) was that the control arm broke off the housing. It is mounted by a plastic ring, which broke. Neither the control arm or the attachment point on the housing suffered any apparent damage and when I held the control arm in place, all the buttons functioned properly.

To me this is testimony to the great engineering and construction of L&M's equipment. Had my older HID lights (another brand) been the ones attached, probably the very least I would have faced was the replacement of both bulbs at about $225.
 
I'm not sure I can recommend Sola to UK divers...

I have a SOLA 500 that has stopped working after only 2 weeks diving and 15 months. It appears to have died while left charging overnight. Wont power on, wont charge, no LEDs. Dead.

It seems the manufacturer has now changed its distributor in the UK to TUSA. Apparently to have TUSA deal with a repair is going to cost £45 ($90) as a booking fee alone. Any parts, labor or batteries will be additional . So that not really that cheap is it?

Also speaking with a reputable authorized repair shop in the UK, parts are not available here as yet following the change of distributor....


So its really looking like I have a $379 paper weight :(
 
Try to move the on and off switch rapidly up and down as it could have locked it self, I had the same problem when not used for a few months, and this worked for me.

I'm not sure I can recommend Sola to UK divers...

I have a SOLA 500 that has stopped working after only 2 weeks diving and 15 months. It appears to have died while left charging overnight. Wont power on, wont charge, no LEDs. Dead.

It seems the manufacturer has now changed its distributor in the UK to TUSA. Apparently to have TUSA deal with a repair is going to cost £45 ($90) as a booking fee alone. Any parts, labor or batteries will be additional . So that not really that cheap is it?

Also speaking with a reputable authorized repair shop in the UK, parts are not available here as yet following the change of distributor....


So its really looking like I have a $379 paper weight :(
 
Try to move the on and off switch rapidly up and down as it could have locked it self, I had the same problem when not used for a few months, and this worked for me.

if that doesn't work plug in the charger and tap it against the connections on the light a few times. the sola batteries are designed to actually go into a hibernation mode Look around online, Hopefully yours just got tired and no expensive fix's needed.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom