LED Penetration vs HID / Halogen / etc

[kazinvan]

I own a light cannon and love it. I considered one of the eLED lights from UK however given my experience with two LED flashlights (one handheld and one head mount) I chose not to get an LED dive light. I have found that my two LED flashlights have bright white light, but the beams seem to dissapate quickly and don't provide a good beam. I'm wondering if this is because of the reflector used or if it's also a function of the LED lights themselves.

Can anyone that has used an LED dive light compare it to the light from an HID light or even a standard C8 or D8?

Thanks.

 

[jonnythan]

A standard LED and a high-power 5 watt LED are very very different beasts.

The Light Cannon is going to be significantly brighter than the eLED lights. I have yet to see the beam from the C8 eLED, but I've seen the light from other high-power LEDs and the light is whiter and as penatrating as an orange-ish halogen. The light looks more HID-ish, but 5 watts of LED light will be more like a 10 or 12 watt halogen than a 10 watt HID.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

The eLED light is not quite as white as an HID, but it's close (5000 K for the eLED vs. 5500 for the HID - the higher the light temperature, the bluer the light.) In terms of penetrating power, the eLED is much more like an HID than a standard halogen light. However, it isn't as bright - the HID will throw about 4x as much light on a spot compared to the eLED.

 

[kazinvan]

Thanks for the posts. I haven't seen one of the LED lights in action underwater, but it sounds like they are decent. I may get one as a backup. I really like the white light so it sounds like a good alternative to HID. Thanks.