I currently own a DJI inspire 1 and frequently help our local search and rescue. I'm looking for torch that I can attach to the drone. It must weigh less than 800 grams. Any ideas?
First of all, welcome to the forum.
Second, Inspire 1? Nice!
Lastly, what kind of altitudes would you be flying?
It's an interesting scenario you pose. It seems you would want a light with throw. But a tight beam on a craft at a considerable distance would be pretty hard to keep stable, unless it were on a gimbal or something.
I'm curious as to how you plan to mount/position it.
Since the camera is on a gimbal, I wonder if you could 3D print a housing to attach to the camera with a 1" mount to hold an 18650 light. The extra weight might not be too much for the servos. Then just match the throw to the focal length of the camera.
Lightest thrower off the top of my head is EagleTac D25C Ti dedomed. You would have to change batteries often on turbo. Not sure how effective of a search tool it would be. It would look pretty cool though. Get vn version of the Eagletac and you have a super light.
Also a Nitecore EC11 1.6 oz with no battery is pretty darn hard to beat. Plus you could use the red led as a beacon. That would be slick.
On my rc truck I've a Black diamond storm 160 lumens at road height works great.
For a drone out heli, I'd keep it light.
Maybe a pair of Preons 2XAAA, 180 Lumens each for an hour on NiMH if irc.
Maybe even a pair of Pelican 1920 Gen 2, 120 lumens an focused light, very nice defined hotspots.
Less weight longer lift I'd think.
You could even go lighter by machining slots into the housing or just mount a head and remote wire the batteries like a headlamp. That way you can use regular high discharge R/C batteries and be able to match the runtime of your drone. The torch does not need to be waterproof as I doubt the drone will fly in the rain.