Hey,
I need some recommendations.
I bought an old divelight, a C-lite 8. It's an okay light, 15w halogen, bright and throws fairly well. But technology has surpassed it since the time it was conceived, and so I'd like to upgrade it a bit.
Usage: When diving in murky water, a small hotspot, far thrower is preferred, as something floody reflects of the detrius and blinds you with your own light. When the water clears up, a floody light is nicer, to illuminate wider patches. Being able to switch between the two would be nice. I'd like a neutral to warm white light. I dont like cold white, and most critters under water can't see as far in the red as we can. The beam will seem less bright/frightening to them. The housing accepts 8 C batteries now (as the name suggests), but I'm willing to change them out for li-ions. Runtime is a bit important here. I'd want at least 6h 'bright' (+-2000lm?) light, and a few hours more 'emergency'(+-200lm?) light.
I think I'm gonna go with a tri-star CREE XP-L2 V5 (mountain electronics) for the flood, and a tri-star CREE XP-L HI V3 (also mnt el) for the throw. If someone has a better suggestion, please do. I wanted to put a clear spot optic and a frosted white optic in front of them, both Carlo.
The big questions I have now:
- what kind of driver do I need?
- Do I need two?
- Do I need to put the leds parallel or in series?
- What about the batteries?
- anything obvious I'm forgetting?
Thanks a lot!