Night photography flashlight help please.

[Birdwhisperer]

Hi folks

I would love to hear anyone's recommendations for my night photography work. I shoot wildlife, that is mammals, owls etc and need to find a flash that has the following features that I feel would be useful for me.

1) Take 18650 Li-Ion batteries
2) Has a red-filter attachment or even red LED (the red filter really makes the autofocus lock on quicker from what we have found)
3) Has the power for me to use autofocus with a pro Canon DSLR camera and L super tele lenses.
4) Is relatively compact
5) Around US$200 or less at the most

Historically, I used a rechargeable Maglite and had no problem using autofocus on subjects around 30m away, which is about as far as I need to autofocus really. My friend has the Lightforce Walkabout pack with the red filter attachment and for some reason my 1D series camera has no problem autofocusing even around 50-60m away (not that I would really need that).

Brands that have been recommended to me are Wolf Eyes, Fenix and Eagletac. In fact, I really like the look of the Eagletac G25C2 MkII flash. It seems to have an output color transformer that provides red, blue, yellow and green lights. Does anyone know this light at all?

I would gladly accept any help or suggestion in my quest for the ideal night wildlife photography flashlight (with red light capability, whether filter or built-in).
Eagletac G25C2 MKII

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Thanks in advance folks. :)

Cheers from Sydney, Australia.

 

[buds224]

It's new to the market, but you might want to research the Nitecore SRT7.

 

[Lou Minescence]

Would you want to use a beam with an even diffused beam or a beam with a hot spot in the middle ?
If you are going out 30m to light a subject a filtered red should be fine. If you are looking out at a greater distance to locate or photograph subjects then a red led would be the choice.
Look at Solarforce empty host body flashlights and then choose their red P60 style drop in. That light would have a hot spot for distance that can be diffused for close up work if you did not want the hot spot of lighting in your photos. It's 18650, cheap, and works well. The Ultrafire 501 series might be worth a look too. Many emitter bulb choice including red with multiple output brightness. I own the Solarforce and it works well. I do not know about or own the Ultrafire but it should be worth looking at.

 

[Vortus]

The ET you mentioned is an excellent light. The diffuser set for it is a well designed flip up deal. Ready selfbuilts review in the review section. Another ET option is the T20C2 MKII with a red XRE module.

 

[Stereodude]

Are you just looking to use the red beam to focus and don't need white light? Are you planning to leave the light on when shooting?

If it's just for focusing I'd get a P60 host, like a Solarforce L2P, and a drop-in with a red LED.