LED or HID 11/03/2008
 

I had the opportunity to compare and contrast my 3 favourite canister lights this weekend, all by Diverite, the 10w HID, the LED500 and the new LED700.  LED technology is receiving a lot of focus and the light they emit in diving use is clean, bright and white, as is that of the HID units.  There was not a lot in it between the 3 lights, tested in the pitch dark at a depth of 140'.  The 10w HID is a narrower beam than the LEDs and the LED700 was, it seemed, every bit its equal in terms of brightness, whiteness, intensity and penetration and is a broader beam.  The LED500 was a shade behind these two in terms of brightness but in fairness the batteries were not new and had been on several dives- testament to the long lived delivery from this light (13 hours from 8 AA batteries!) 

My preference is for LED.  I am hard on my equipment, am not as diligent as I could be in looking after it and still expect it to perform flawlessly.  I have had several HID systems and sooner or later the bulb goes and these are not at all inexpensive to replace.  I have all 3 of the above systems and my HID will be sent in for an LED retrofit once this bulb blows.

The LED500 is, I find, an excellent primary in its own right and extraordinarily good for travel.  Weighing in at only a few ounces it uses widely available AA batteries (8) and lasts an age on them. 

We have yet to touch on backup lights.  More about lights etc on the course.

Train Right.

 


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