Clear case HID, what is it? what is it worth?

[Imbodie]

I acquired what I think is an old Dive Rite canister light. It's HID and a MONSTER...

Looks somewhat like this one... but maybe mine is a bit older. Doesn't have the clear switch protector... no battery and no charger..
The head unit is grey plastic like in this picture but longer...

Any body tell me for sure?

picture is NOT the light I have...

 

[PfcAJ]

Its probably not an HID, but 50w halogen light. The battery is probably a 12v SLA. You can find one that fits at Batteries Plus. Some of them required internal bulkheads to be affixed to the battery to stop the canister from flexing at depth. You can fashion one (or two) out of a sheet of 1/4'' plastic and attach them to the battery.

Its not worth much, unfortunately. Very dated technology. Neat though

 

[Imbodie]

not worth much, but can I use it for anything?? Would it be a good video light? 50w seems like a LOT compared to my 5wLED from Light Monkey...

 

[PfcAJ]

The comparison between watts and output with different lighting technologies isn't really straight forward.

An 18w HID throws out more light than a 50w halogen, even though '50' is a bigger number than '18'. HID is more efficient, hence the lower current draw. Same with LED. A 5w LED is respectable.

So without seeing a pic of your light head, its hard to say for sure what it is. You might have lucked out and the previous owner upgraded the light head to an HID. That would rock. If you crammed some nickel or lithium cells in there (be careful w/ the lithiums), you could have a seriously long-lasting light. If you wanted to put some money into it, Halcyon, Light Monkey, and others make some sweet video lights that could probably be installed on your canister (hard to say without seeing it).

Post a pic!