DM51
Flashaholic
SOLUS SH-500 DIVE-LIGHT
SPECIFICATIONS
Military Specification Anodised Aluminium Housings
Extremely Robust Design
Output approx 500 lumens
Comparable to 75 Watt Halogen / 21 Watt HID Lamp
High Intensity Solid State Light Engine
Dimmable to increase burn times
1.25 Hours run-time at 100% output
Up to 12 Hours run-time at 10% output
>33,000 Hr Lamp Life
Excellent Penetration
Beam angle: 12° in air, 8.5° in water
Dimensions: 63mm head diameter x 180mm length
Weight: 650 gms in air, 400 gms in water
Proximity Switching — no possibility of leakage through switch
Through Case Charging — no leakage possible
Intelligent Universal Charger included as standard
Battery: 3 x 18650 Lithium-Ion
Features Battery Protection & Thermal Protection systems
GENERAL INFO
The above data is taken from the manufacturer's website (http://ssp.ie). The SH-500 is entering production at the time of writing this review. I was loaned a prototype earlier this month (April 2007) for testing in a series of dives at depths down to 55 msw (180 fsw / 6.5 bar). The unit is rated for 85 msw (9.5 bar) upgradable to 250 msw (26 bar) on request. I tested it in all underwater lighting conditions — in daylight, in caves and at night.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The SH-500 is a handy size for a dive-light. If anything, it looks too small to be a primary light, but it out-performs much larger units. At the same time, it is not too small for easy operation underwater, even in conditions requiring thick gloves. It has a smart, professional appearance and a good durable finish. There is nothing fragile about this light. The rotary switch is extremely simple to operate — the rear part of the head / bezel rotates 90° (in either direction) to align the red symbols. The switch is magnetic, so no moving parts pierce the body of the light. There are 2 settings — High (100%, 1¼ hrs) and Low (10%, ~12 hrs). The prototype "beta" version I tested had High only.
BEAM CHARACTERISTICS
In a word, flood. The beam is evenly bright across its entire width, without any hotspot or gradation, almost right out to the margins. The extraordinary evenness and smoothness of the beam is of huge value in underwater caves and on night-dives — there are no bumps or rings at all. It produces a true wall of light. It beat all the competition in use, with all users (and other divers present) saying they preferred it. A diver caught in its beam at night feels a bit like Richard Dreyfuss did when he was lit up by the alien spaceship, and one diver commented afterwards "I thought that was supposed to be a night-dive!"
The colour temperature is given as 6,500°K but it immediately strikes the user that this is not the usual harsh blue-white associated with LED lights. It appears a pleasantly warm colour, although in fact it is neutral — it just lacks the nasty blue spike characteristic of many LEDs.
The debate about the best colour temperature for dive-lights continues. In the past it has been influenced by the requirements of photographers and film-makers on the one hand, and the preferences of everyday users on the other, with the advent of LEDs and HIDs tilting the balance towards cool blue lights. However, many divers argue (very reasonably) that there is quite enough blue underwater already, and they don't need any more! Divers are becoming more discerning about light — many now have point-and-shoot cameras with underwater housings.
Photographic lights had to be the right colour temperature for the medium being used, but with the advent of digital photography and the ability to adjust colour casts easily on a computer, this is no longer so important and the trend is now swinging back towards warmer lights which restore the lost reds and oranges and counter-balance the strong blue cast of the underwater environment.
THE COMPETITION
Underwater Kinetics Light Cannon (HID)
The UK Light Cannon is a deservedly popular dive-light, delivering ~500 lumens in a powerful, concentrated beam with excellent throw. The colour-temperature is high, with a lot of bright blue in it. The Light Cannon is large and heavy (8 x C-cell NiCads), but most users agree its performance is worth the bulk. It has a much narrower and bluer beam than the SH-500.
Technisub Alulight-50 (xenon incan)
A big beast (nearly 2x the length and thickness of the SH-500). It has 2 settings (50 & 35 watts). The 50w setting was impressive, with very good throw, however the beam was almost all concentrated in the hotspot. A pencil-beam like the Alulight-50 is useful for illuminating specific items, or pointing them out to others; but for general use, divers much preferred the flood of the SH-500 and found it far more useful in darkened caves or at night. As an incandescent, the Alulight's beam is very noticeably yellower than the other lights compared here.
FaMi Powerled-40 (LED)
The weakest of the bunch. FaMi make a range of dive-lights and to be fair, this 40-watt model was no competition as it does not claim to the same power. It had a cold, harsh blue beam with a small hotspot and an uneven corona with very pronounced rings. The SH-500 simply blew it away. A FaMi Multistar-75 model might have been more interesting in a head-to-head test. It should be noted, however, that the FaMi-40 is approximately the same size as the SH-500, while the FaMi-75 is much larger.
Photo below: From top right, UK Light Cannon, FaMi Powerled-40, Solus SH-500
BEAM COMPARISONS
I'm afraid taking useful beamshots underwater proved completely beyond my capability, so the comparison photos below were shot against a (rather dirty) white wall. These photos give a reasonable impression of the relative capabilities of the lights in the test, and the differences in the colour casts show up quite well too.
The lights are tested side-by-side; the SH-500 is the left-hand one in all the photos. Exposures are not all exactly the same because I do not have a manual capability on my camera; however the photos in each row of 3 shows the relative effect of stopping down 1 stop each time (left is 0 EV, centre –1 EV, right –2 EV) with the same light compared in each row. I have also thrown in a comparison with my CR2 Ion XT (cree), which I did NOT take diving, but it did surprisingly well in this test!
Solus SH-500 vs. UK Light Cannon
____________0 EV___________________________-1 EV___________________________-2 EV
Solus SH-500 vs. FaMi Powerled 40
____________0 EV___________________________-1 EV___________________________-2 EV
Solus SH-500 vs. Technisub Alulight-50
____________0 EV___________________________-1 EV___________________________-2 EV
Solus SH-500 vs. CR2 Ion XT
____________0 EV___________________________-1 EV___________________________-2 EV
However those photos do not adequately show the full difference in the character of the beams. To fit the beams from 2 lights in at once in the comparison series above, I had to have the lights positioned quite near the wall, and the geometry prevented flood beams from spreading fully and spot beams from demonstrating their concentrated character.
I therefore took 4 more photos, one for each light, with the lights positioned by themselves, further away from the wall. These give a truer representation of the beams. The wall has a chair positioned in front of it for size reference. The white part of the wall is about 12 feet wide. I think the photos speak for themselves.
FaMi Powerled 40
Technisub Alulight-50
UK Light Cannon
Solus SH-500
CONCLUSION
So there we are. I've found a new favourite dive-light in the Solus SH-500. I liked what I saw of the Technisub Alulight-50 and I don't feel the photos quite do justice to it, but it was a very large unit and the run-time was not good (~30 mins) so I won't be getting one. The FaMi Powerled-40 is actually quite a reasonable light but it was completely "out of its depth" with this competition. My 2nd daughter, a Divemaster, can have my UK Light Cannon. The Solus SH-500 is the one for me!
I am extremely grateful to Kevin Jury and Niall Burke of Solus for lending me the prototype "beta" SH-500 to test, and for allowing me to use some data (and 1 photograph) from their website. I would like to make it clear that I have no financial or any other connection whatever with them or Solus — the opinions stated in this review are my own, and are independent and freely given.
Just to finish up, here is a photo I took with the SH-500 being held by someone else and used for side-lighting (held off-camera to the right of the photo). It is an effective photography light, given the right conditions. This photo was taken inside a cave where it was quite dark. The moray was about 7-8 feet long, and probably 8-10 inches in diameter at the thickest part of its head — large but (thankfully) not aggressive.
Thanks for looking!
SPECIFICATIONS
Military Specification Anodised Aluminium Housings
Extremely Robust Design
Output approx 500 lumens
Comparable to 75 Watt Halogen / 21 Watt HID Lamp
High Intensity Solid State Light Engine
Dimmable to increase burn times
1.25 Hours run-time at 100% output
Up to 12 Hours run-time at 10% output
>33,000 Hr Lamp Life
Excellent Penetration
Beam angle: 12° in air, 8.5° in water
Dimensions: 63mm head diameter x 180mm length
Weight: 650 gms in air, 400 gms in water
Proximity Switching — no possibility of leakage through switch
Through Case Charging — no leakage possible
Intelligent Universal Charger included as standard
Battery: 3 x 18650 Lithium-Ion
Features Battery Protection & Thermal Protection systems
GENERAL INFO
The above data is taken from the manufacturer's website (http://ssp.ie). The SH-500 is entering production at the time of writing this review. I was loaned a prototype earlier this month (April 2007) for testing in a series of dives at depths down to 55 msw (180 fsw / 6.5 bar). The unit is rated for 85 msw (9.5 bar) upgradable to 250 msw (26 bar) on request. I tested it in all underwater lighting conditions — in daylight, in caves and at night.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The SH-500 is a handy size for a dive-light. If anything, it looks too small to be a primary light, but it out-performs much larger units. At the same time, it is not too small for easy operation underwater, even in conditions requiring thick gloves. It has a smart, professional appearance and a good durable finish. There is nothing fragile about this light. The rotary switch is extremely simple to operate — the rear part of the head / bezel rotates 90° (in either direction) to align the red symbols. The switch is magnetic, so no moving parts pierce the body of the light. There are 2 settings — High (100%, 1¼ hrs) and Low (10%, ~12 hrs). The prototype "beta" version I tested had High only.
BEAM CHARACTERISTICS
In a word, flood. The beam is evenly bright across its entire width, without any hotspot or gradation, almost right out to the margins. The extraordinary evenness and smoothness of the beam is of huge value in underwater caves and on night-dives — there are no bumps or rings at all. It produces a true wall of light. It beat all the competition in use, with all users (and other divers present) saying they preferred it. A diver caught in its beam at night feels a bit like Richard Dreyfuss did when he was lit up by the alien spaceship, and one diver commented afterwards "I thought that was supposed to be a night-dive!"
The colour temperature is given as 6,500°K but it immediately strikes the user that this is not the usual harsh blue-white associated with LED lights. It appears a pleasantly warm colour, although in fact it is neutral — it just lacks the nasty blue spike characteristic of many LEDs.
The debate about the best colour temperature for dive-lights continues. In the past it has been influenced by the requirements of photographers and film-makers on the one hand, and the preferences of everyday users on the other, with the advent of LEDs and HIDs tilting the balance towards cool blue lights. However, many divers argue (very reasonably) that there is quite enough blue underwater already, and they don't need any more! Divers are becoming more discerning about light — many now have point-and-shoot cameras with underwater housings.
Photographic lights had to be the right colour temperature for the medium being used, but with the advent of digital photography and the ability to adjust colour casts easily on a computer, this is no longer so important and the trend is now swinging back towards warmer lights which restore the lost reds and oranges and counter-balance the strong blue cast of the underwater environment.
THE COMPETITION
Underwater Kinetics Light Cannon (HID)
The UK Light Cannon is a deservedly popular dive-light, delivering ~500 lumens in a powerful, concentrated beam with excellent throw. The colour-temperature is high, with a lot of bright blue in it. The Light Cannon is large and heavy (8 x C-cell NiCads), but most users agree its performance is worth the bulk. It has a much narrower and bluer beam than the SH-500.
Technisub Alulight-50 (xenon incan)
A big beast (nearly 2x the length and thickness of the SH-500). It has 2 settings (50 & 35 watts). The 50w setting was impressive, with very good throw, however the beam was almost all concentrated in the hotspot. A pencil-beam like the Alulight-50 is useful for illuminating specific items, or pointing them out to others; but for general use, divers much preferred the flood of the SH-500 and found it far more useful in darkened caves or at night. As an incandescent, the Alulight's beam is very noticeably yellower than the other lights compared here.
FaMi Powerled-40 (LED)
The weakest of the bunch. FaMi make a range of dive-lights and to be fair, this 40-watt model was no competition as it does not claim to the same power. It had a cold, harsh blue beam with a small hotspot and an uneven corona with very pronounced rings. The SH-500 simply blew it away. A FaMi Multistar-75 model might have been more interesting in a head-to-head test. It should be noted, however, that the FaMi-40 is approximately the same size as the SH-500, while the FaMi-75 is much larger.
Photo below: From top right, UK Light Cannon, FaMi Powerled-40, Solus SH-500
BEAM COMPARISONS
I'm afraid taking useful beamshots underwater proved completely beyond my capability, so the comparison photos below were shot against a (rather dirty) white wall. These photos give a reasonable impression of the relative capabilities of the lights in the test, and the differences in the colour casts show up quite well too.
The lights are tested side-by-side; the SH-500 is the left-hand one in all the photos. Exposures are not all exactly the same because I do not have a manual capability on my camera; however the photos in each row of 3 shows the relative effect of stopping down 1 stop each time (left is 0 EV, centre –1 EV, right –2 EV) with the same light compared in each row. I have also thrown in a comparison with my CR2 Ion XT (cree), which I did NOT take diving, but it did surprisingly well in this test!
Solus SH-500 vs. UK Light Cannon
____________0 EV___________________________-1 EV___________________________-2 EV
Solus SH-500 vs. FaMi Powerled 40
____________0 EV___________________________-1 EV___________________________-2 EV
Solus SH-500 vs. Technisub Alulight-50
____________0 EV___________________________-1 EV___________________________-2 EV
Solus SH-500 vs. CR2 Ion XT
____________0 EV___________________________-1 EV___________________________-2 EV
However those photos do not adequately show the full difference in the character of the beams. To fit the beams from 2 lights in at once in the comparison series above, I had to have the lights positioned quite near the wall, and the geometry prevented flood beams from spreading fully and spot beams from demonstrating their concentrated character.
I therefore took 4 more photos, one for each light, with the lights positioned by themselves, further away from the wall. These give a truer representation of the beams. The wall has a chair positioned in front of it for size reference. The white part of the wall is about 12 feet wide. I think the photos speak for themselves.
FaMi Powerled 40
Technisub Alulight-50
UK Light Cannon
Solus SH-500
CONCLUSION
So there we are. I've found a new favourite dive-light in the Solus SH-500. I liked what I saw of the Technisub Alulight-50 and I don't feel the photos quite do justice to it, but it was a very large unit and the run-time was not good (~30 mins) so I won't be getting one. The FaMi Powerled-40 is actually quite a reasonable light but it was completely "out of its depth" with this competition. My 2nd daughter, a Divemaster, can have my UK Light Cannon. The Solus SH-500 is the one for me!
I am extremely grateful to Kevin Jury and Niall Burke of Solus for lending me the prototype "beta" SH-500 to test, and for allowing me to use some data (and 1 photograph) from their website. I would like to make it clear that I have no financial or any other connection whatever with them or Solus — the opinions stated in this review are my own, and are independent and freely given.
Just to finish up, here is a photo I took with the SH-500 being held by someone else and used for side-lighting (held off-camera to the right of the photo). It is an effective photography light, given the right conditions. This photo was taken inside a cave where it was quite dark. The moray was about 7-8 feet long, and probably 8-10 inches in diameter at the thickest part of its head — large but (thankfully) not aggressive.
Thanks for looking!
and would probably be capable of 1000+ lumens.
