Just brought first HID, need a better one

[exceedspeedby10]

Its a 35w from an electronics store, Jaycar (australian), called 'super bright hid spotlight.' You know its gotta be good with a name like that ha.
According to the pack it puts out 3300 lumens at 6000k, using a 12v7a SLA. 15 hours charge time/50 min run time. Cost $135, but I made sure I can return it if it's not what I want.
From the get go I knew that DIY was probably my best option, but no harm in trying this out for free. I now know that I need something with a lot more throw and brightness. Attatched is a daylight beam shot, distance of about 5 to 6 metres. Not overly impressive. I'm going to find a hunting store and see what they stock, but I might as well ask for recommendations in the sub $200 range? Not throwing money around, I know, but I'm fairly desperate. I think 75w with about 2x more defined throw would be a good starting point.

what it looks like:
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/8171/img8892q.jpg
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/363/img8891c.jpg
http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/1645/img8888.jpg

cheers guys

 

[exceedspeedby10]

Re: Just brought first HID, not good enough.

Heres another beamshot, about 26 metres this time. I only know light in terms of stops and guide numbers. This is iso100 f/16, 4 seconds. I'm going to need to be able to do this in about 1 second or less, so 4 times as bright 🙁

I've read every DIY thread I can find, and am kinda torn between making a DIY rig or buying something good for just a few more dollars.
I reckon Ill probably end up making one, as weight/bulkiness/looks arent an issue, and I need a lot of light. The only thing is finding an appropriate housing/reflector. Bigger is obviously better for throw, especially since short arc is out of my price range, but considering I'm probably going to end up going with a normal reflector, just how bad are the artefacts? I've seen pictures, but what about light loss?

 

[JacobJones]

Re: Just brought first HID, not good enough.

That beam doesn't look too bad to me, how far does it throw?

 

[exceedspeedby10]

Re: Just brought first HID, not good enough.

about 200m to the treeline.

dunno about distances in this one, but you can see how floody it is (70mm lens)

 

[petersmith6]

Re: Just brought first HID, not good enough.

it got a frosted bulb, you might want to try picking up a non frosted bulb of evil bay and changing it

 

[exceedspeedby10]

Re: Just brought first HID, not good enough.

Good idea but for $135 I can get a good host and a 100 or 75w kit. Does a frosted bulb effect the brightness, beam shape, or both?
Runtime of 6+ hours is important so I'm gonna need a backpack or belt batterys, but heat is a big issue. Ambient will rarely be above 10°C/ 50°F, but I was also thinking pistol grip spots look better for heat dissapation? More expensive, but a large surface area surrounding the reflector is exposed to the wind, and it has external ballast/batteries. No fans etc. I don't mind wires on the outside, so long as its mean.

 

[JulianP]

Re: Just brought first HID, not good enough.

I have exactly the same HID from jaycar. It's a good work horse, and a good 12v source when I go camping (from the 12v cigarette lighter socket). Most of my group ended up recharging their mobile phones from it.

Not a good host for upgrading. I bought a 100W HID ballast and bulb from alibaba.com, but the ballast does not fit inside it. I didn't want to bolt it on the outside as it would look a little ugly. I did not even get to the point of replacing the 12v SLA battery with Li Ion batteries.

If you really need something brighter, think of buying a 100W ballast + bulb set and fitting it into a bolt-on driving light, plus some portable battery pack. You can always go high end, (like polarion) but those HIDs cost thousands of dollars. If you just want throw, look for short-arc lights. They will do 2,500-3,000 metres instead of a few (?800m) with HID.

 

[exceedspeedby10]

Re: Just brought first HID, not good enough.

Since throw is an issue I dont think driving lights would be good, but then again I have very little idea what one can do. I was thinking a hunting spotlight because these are meant to be portable and are very spotty. Throw of 1000+m would be nice but not necessary plus short arc bulbs and reflectors is $$ so I'm probably going to get an auto bulb.

I need cheap + long runtimes, a bad combination at the best of times, but I'm guessing li ion would be more expensive? Weight isn't too much of an issue, but I'm not sure theres a portable pack that can last half a night, if the torch doesnt melt that is. Car batteries? I definitely need to look into this battery issue . .