I purchased a Sola 1200 from light and motion to use as a primary dive light, not for video or photography. From the first time I opened up the box and looked at the light, its as small and light as advertised. It really is incredible that they can create a light that puts out 1200 lumens that really fits on the back of your hand without a battery pack on your hip and a 3 foot long extension cord.
I turned on the light on land a few times and was amazed at how bright the light was. It produces a very white light that can be adjusted very easy using the controls. I planned on diving with it the next morning, so I took it home and put it on the included charger. 1 huge benefit with the sola is that you do not have to worry about O-rings and such when charging. The charger simply connects to the back of the light. After charging the light to full strength, nothing worked! I tried hooking it up to the charger again, and none of the LED lights lit up. I tried all that I could think of trying to turn on the light, and yet nothing worked. Light and Motion does not have an advertised phone number on their website, so I had to search the internet in order to call the service shop. I finally got a hold of Anthony, a really helpful guy who is in charge of domestic sales and service for SCUBA lights (they make a lot of bike lights as well). After doing what he told me to do, we realized that what I needed to do was to bring it in, so their service technicians could check it out. Because I live close, and work across the street from their location, I dropped it off on a monday afternoon. For whatever reason, the light simply did not work, so they replaced the light without issue the next day.
I took it home, charged it up, and used it for the first time while night snorkeling at hidden beach in monterey. This light is incredibly easy to use, and very bright. I only dove down to maybe 15 feet, and visibility was probably 15feet at best, but this light performed! With the LED's showing how much battery power you have left, there are no surprises. Overall, I am very satisfied. The light didnt seem to have the punch that HID's have, but for a mini light, there is no comparison. I will be doing a night dive on monday, and I'll let you know how that goes.
I turned on the light on land a few times and was amazed at how bright the light was. It produces a very white light that can be adjusted very easy using the controls. I planned on diving with it the next morning, so I took it home and put it on the included charger. 1 huge benefit with the sola is that you do not have to worry about O-rings and such when charging. The charger simply connects to the back of the light. After charging the light to full strength, nothing worked! I tried hooking it up to the charger again, and none of the LED lights lit up. I tried all that I could think of trying to turn on the light, and yet nothing worked. Light and Motion does not have an advertised phone number on their website, so I had to search the internet in order to call the service shop. I finally got a hold of Anthony, a really helpful guy who is in charge of domestic sales and service for SCUBA lights (they make a lot of bike lights as well). After doing what he told me to do, we realized that what I needed to do was to bring it in, so their service technicians could check it out. Because I live close, and work across the street from their location, I dropped it off on a monday afternoon. For whatever reason, the light simply did not work, so they replaced the light without issue the next day.
I took it home, charged it up, and used it for the first time while night snorkeling at hidden beach in monterey. This light is incredibly easy to use, and very bright. I only dove down to maybe 15 feet, and visibility was probably 15feet at best, but this light performed! With the LED's showing how much battery power you have left, there are no surprises. Overall, I am very satisfied. The light didnt seem to have the punch that HID's have, but for a mini light, there is no comparison. I will be doing a night dive on monday, and I'll let you know how that goes.