Hi there,
I'm quite new to this stuff, so I apologize in advance if I ask something obvious or apparent (I did try to search and read up first).
I'm getting into underwater photography, and do a lot of night diving. I was looking at the Sola 600 focus/video light, which has 4 red (red-orange?) LEDs at 225 lumens. The red color doesn't scare away the night creatures. But I can't bring myself to drop $600 on that light.
I had an idea where I might take a Princeton Tec Miniwave (4C light, 3 LEDs) or a Shockwave (8C light, 3 LEDs) and replace the white LEDs with red or red-orange ones. Ideally, it will be straightforward; i.e., not more than removing the old LEDs, and soldering in the new ones (maybe needs thermal grease under it).
However, I don't know what LED to use that will fit the bill, and be very bright yet be acceptable in terms of runtime and heat generation. I don't want the light to overheat and die, and I would like to retain the stock runtime of about 10-20 hours depending on the lo-hi mode used.
If you guys have recommendations on which LEDs to use and what kind of performance I might see from them, and where to buy them, let me know!
Thanks in advance!
I'm quite new to this stuff, so I apologize in advance if I ask something obvious or apparent (I did try to search and read up first).
I'm getting into underwater photography, and do a lot of night diving. I was looking at the Sola 600 focus/video light, which has 4 red (red-orange?) LEDs at 225 lumens. The red color doesn't scare away the night creatures. But I can't bring myself to drop $600 on that light.
I had an idea where I might take a Princeton Tec Miniwave (4C light, 3 LEDs) or a Shockwave (8C light, 3 LEDs) and replace the white LEDs with red or red-orange ones. Ideally, it will be straightforward; i.e., not more than removing the old LEDs, and soldering in the new ones (maybe needs thermal grease under it).
However, I don't know what LED to use that will fit the bill, and be very bright yet be acceptable in terms of runtime and heat generation. I don't want the light to overheat and die, and I would like to retain the stock runtime of about 10-20 hours depending on the lo-hi mode used.
If you guys have recommendations on which LEDs to use and what kind of performance I might see from them, and where to buy them, let me know!
Thanks in advance!