MB-SUB VB50 Cave review

Goldigger

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The long awaited MB-SUB VB-50 head arrived at my door yesterday. Michael posted it on Monday and it arrived on the following wednesday.. thats pretty quick from Germany.
The VB50 Cave comes with the 12.6v 9.6ah battery pack.
The heads on the MB-SUB Cave light are interchangable.
VB-50 Head
The VB-50 Head uses a Luminus SST-50 LED rated at 1250 lumens max. This is paired up with an aspheric lens. The Head is also focusable from 8 to 36 degrees by turning the outside ring.
The outside ring turns continuously in either direction and will adjust the focus continuously turned in either direction.
The VB-50 has two power settings 35% and 100%, 35% gives you 15 hours burn time and 100% 6 hours burn time.
The switch is a rotating coller that is removable, this clips round the body of the light head. The rotating coller contains a small magnet that activates 2 reed switches sealed inside the light head. The rotating coller has 3 positions, off, 35% and 100%.
Because of this switch design water cannot penetrate the light head via the switch.
Photon Head
I also have the Photon head which uses a Osram Ostar 6 die LED, rated at 1000 lumens max. This is paired up with a reflector which the manufactures claim is 8 degrees.
The Photon is non focusable. It also has two power settings, 50% and 100%.
50% gives you 9 hours burn time, 100% gives you 6 hours burn time.
The switch is the same on the photon as the VB50. Except if you have the head clipped in the Goldman handle you simply rotate the head in the handle.
Anyway enough of the technical babble, pictures speak louder than words so here are various shots.

To show how big each head is:
VB50 held by the goodman handle
VB50OnHand.JPG


Photon held by the goodman handle
PhotonOnHand.JPG


Beamshots

All camera shots taken using the same settings
Photon at 1 Meter
Photon1M.JPG


VB50 at 1 Meter
VB501M.JPG


Photon at 2 Meters
Photon2M.JPG


VB50 at 2 Meters
VB502M.JPG


Photon at 3 Meters
Photon3M.JPG


VB-50 at 3 Meters
VB503M.JPG


Photon at 4 Meters
Photon4M.JPG


VB-50 at 4 Meters
VB504M.JPG



Heres some aerial shots of the heads underwater..

I've just nipped down the canal.. after all people want to see how the VB-50 will look like in poor viz..
Photon
PhotonViz1.JPG

PhotonViz2.JPG


VB-50
VB50Viz1.JPG

VB50Viz2.JPG
 

gcbryan

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Nice report. I'd be interested to know after you've used the adjustable focus head more whether you think that you will be using that feature much or just leaving it at 8 degrees.
 

Goldigger

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I did the IANTD Rec Trimix course last week, part of the course teaches you to use your primary light for signalling.
For this reason alone i will be leaving mine set at 8 degrees.. :)

There may of course be the odd occassion where i want to light up something in better viz, so i will adjust it then but will adjust it back to 8 degrees after..
 

gcbryan

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That's what I was thinking. I believe we dive in similar conditions and I couldn't really see there being that many occasions for going to something wider than 8 degrees just considering the backscatter.

Nice light. I'm sure you are exciting to get it. I believe there was a bit of a wait.
 

mbsub

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@ gcbryan

I hope for you, that you must not dive your life in water with bad viz. :D
Just in the moment the viz is better, you will be happy to illuminate a bigger area with a light beam more then 8°.

Michael
 

gav6280

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Bloody brilliant man , well done i bet you are just busting to try this out?

When you've finished playing about with it and have got used to it, do you think you might be up to doing some photos of it in use or even a video???

Would be nice to compare it to an HID.
 

Packhorse

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The VB50 beam shots look like they are over exposed. Any chance of a side by side beam shot with a faster shutter speed.
Also a shot of the MB SUB with its beam focused to the same size as the proton.

I have only ever seen pics of the VB50 focused to its extremes but I wonder what it looks like at say 15deg. In my experience aspherics look quite ugly when focused to say twice the tightest beam.

Either way it looks like a fantastic light and I bet you are wrapped.
 

mbsub

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The VB50 beam shots look like they are over exposed. Any chance of a side by side beam shot with a faster shutter speed.
Also a shot of the MB SUB with its beam focused to the same size as the proton.

I have only ever seen pics of the VB50 focused to its extremes but I wonder what it looks like at say 15deg. In my experience aspherics look quite ugly when focused to say twice the tightest beam.

Either way it looks like a fantastic light and I bet you are wrapped.


Hi,

in the next days its possible to make some additional beam shots in different beam angles. :)

Michael
 

Goldigger

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The VB50 beam shots look like they are over exposed. Any chance of a side by side beam shot with a faster shutter speed.

You mean both the photon and the VB-50 shown side by side at the same wall?
If so can you buy me another battery pack please :thumbsup:

What camera settings do you want?

Also a shot of the MB SUB with its beam focused to the same size as the proton.

To this i would need another battery pack..

I have only ever seen pics of the VB50 focused to its extremes but I wonder what it looks like at say 15deg. In my experience aspherics look quite ugly when focused to say twice the tightest beam.

Either way it looks like a fantastic light and I bet you are wrapped.
 

Packhorse

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Any settings that dont over expose it will be fine.

My feeling is the VB-50 is even brighter than the Proton than the picture shows.

In the case of light beam shots I think under exposing the shot even extremely tells much more about the beam than something over exposed.

Try taking some pics where the outer limits of the beam are nearly black. Use the same settings with the other light and I think you will get a great comparison of the 2 beams spots.

As for the second battery pack PM me your address and I will put one in the mail.......not
 
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Goldigger

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Easiest thing you can do packers is tell me what settings you use, or what you think I should use.
Because let's face it what I may think looks fine, might not be to your satisfaction. And i won't be doing this twice.:)
 

mbsub

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Easiest thing you can do packers is tell me what settings you use, or what you think I should use.
Because let's face it what I may think looks fine, might not be to your satisfaction. And i won't be doing this twice.:)

Hi Jason,

maybe you have time enough to make some pictures with different beam angles?
I have too much work now.

Thank you.

Michael
 

Packhorse

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Easiest thing you can do packers is tell me what settings you use, or what you think I should use.
Because let's face it what I may think looks fine, might not be to your satisfaction. And i won't be doing this twice.:)

I have no idea what settings you used before.
Just try it with 4 x the shutter speed.

* Generally I always try and use the same settings when taking pics in the same environment. But what settings I use with my camera in my house may not work for you.

Take a few frames of the VB50 and use one that isnt over exposed ( when I view the image on my camera the over exposed parts flash). Then use the exact same settings in the same environment with the other light.
 
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Packhorse

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Thanks Goldigger. The video shows that the beam is a lot better off focus than I thought it would be. Probably due to the use of a decent quality lens?
 
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