Best light for.....

I was wanting some input on the best light for hunting. I'm pretty set on a headlamp, but I'm not sure which one. So far, the Photon Fusion is on the top of my list. I like the different levels of light, but will the brightest level be enough to track a deer? I guess that's my main question...is the LED light bright enough?
Maybe I should just build a 12 volt tracking light with a spot on one side and a flood on the other (a la Klaus...what do you think)?
Thanks,
William

Hmmm...to track a deer? I know deers' eyes are "reflective" to some extent, but I don't think the Fusion would throw a beam far enough...
I think it's a great "area" light with it's nice, diffuse, lighting...but led's in general cannot really throw a beam too far unless they have a reflector specifically for this purpose. The Fusion definitely does not...
I guess you could try to retrofit (replace) some of the Fusion's wide angle led's with narrow angle led's, but the beam would still not travel that far...

So far, the Photon Fusion is on the top of my list. I like the different levels of light, but will the brightest level be enough to track a deer? I guess that's my main question...is the LED light bright enough?


I wouldn`t have thought so personally, due to its wide beam and limited total light that 6 LEDs can give- but I`m not the least bit knowledgeable in the tracking of deers so wouldn`t really know what`s best. But....there`s plenty of the neighbours cats cross through our garden and I have a Fusion arriving tomorrow, so I`ll see how well it does shining the ~100ft to the back of the garden tomorrow evening. If it`s not too dim I`ll take a photo but my camera gets quite fuzzy in low light.


I think you would be better off with an incandescent, or at least perhaps a large LED like the Tektite Expedition 1900 or maybe the LW4000- one of those will drop onto my doorstep tomorrow too so we`ll see.

Thanks for the responses. I didn't make myself clear enough though (sorry). When I say tracking, I mean after it has been shot. Basically looking for a blood trail. Up close and very small drops. I think a wide beam would be good for this, but it would have to be pretty bright. I don't expect it to throw light more than 15 yards or so.
Thanks again,
William

The Trek 1900 would be a good choice. I am not sure about headlamps, but perhaps the Lucido T61 would be a good choice. (6 leds + halogen with many "modes" like the fusion). However, i would buy an incandescent headlamp with at least 6W.... Silva 361 or 365 are great.

I've been told that Blue light makes blood stand out by making it appear black.

Maybe a blue filter would help?

Al

I would have thought it`d be the opposite- a light with a warmer colour beam (like an incandescent bulb) richer in the red end of the sprctrum, would make red blood stand out like a sore thumb that you just pricked on something sharp . Blue light making it black would nto be so good- after all, how many dark crevices and cracks are there in the ground that would also appear black? I think I`m probably going to side with an incandescent lamp here

Nevertheless I got my Fusion and LW4000 today. It`s almost dark, so later on I`ll go muck about with them in`t garden and see what happens. The Fusion does indeed have a wide beam, but it may lack the brightness you need. The LW4000 is fairly concentrated and bright, but extroadinarily huge!


And no, I`m not shooting the neighbor`s cat to see if blood really does show up better under blue light....

I always thought that blue light makes blood look black compared to the stuff it's on that gets illuminated...

I have a blue BeamFilter for SureFire TurboHeads. I have not found suitable source of blood. I fancy a steak tomorrow so maybe, just maybe!

Al

William,

my neighbour is a hunter and he and his (hunting) father had been using high-power rechargeable Halogens for this purpose for years. The latest one seems to be a 20W unit dimmable to much lower settings for runtime and they all have a focusable reflector to go from spot to flood beam. They sit in the cars being continously recharged and have 4-6 SubC Nicds in them. Cost should be below 50 bucks in the US I would gestimate. Only drawback IMO is the size of these units. They seem to be quite sturdy - we just brought one of the older units back to life in just replacing the 4 subC NiCd it was running on for 10 years already.

Maybe in regards to headlamps (need to ask the guy why they are NOT using them --- hunters have a name [at least in germany] for not being the fastest jumping on new technologies) one of the combination ones could serve the task with an array of some LEDs for the flood type light and a halogen incandescent for the higher power beam. Having hands free operation might be nice - but are you positive that you always want the light to follow your head ? Really need to ask my neighbour on that.

Actually the project light you mentioned COULD be modified somehow in putting an MR11 (35mm) second bulb combo in the rear end and using a on-off-on switch where the second on position would light the "rear-end-bulb" which would be one of the flood-type MR11s. But also one could use a flood-type MR16 for the main bulb and a spot MR11 in the back. There would be some work required for fitting and securing the rear bulb - took some fast measures and the diameter is around the MR11 size - so you might give it a try.

Good hunting

Regards

I`m sorry I havn`t had chance to go outside and see how these perform tonight, I`ve been feeling pretty rotten all day and just didn`t fancy going out in the cold. I have been using the Fusion a bit in here though- it`s good for fixing yourself a drink, or visiting the can. I have used full power most often but medium is more than adequate for navigating familiar terrain. I think low would only be suited to up close work, reading in bed, etc.

LW4000- very bright, shines up to 50ft easilly (tried it out the window onto a bush) and further if you`re accustomed to the dark, but it`s big and heavy too thanks to the 3 D cells inside- rechargeables would make it lighter though.


Tell you what, I wish LRI would hurry up and use the same chip in the Photon-3 as they do in the Fusion- so much more user friendly, but that`s another story....

I regularly utilize a green light on my opthalmoscope to visualize red retinal blood vessels, which do turn black. Green is better than blue given the wiring of the retina (red cones interact with green cones). Unfortunately, I don't see many green filters out there. Works great but the problem is that with both the constraints of twilight tracking and the unpredicatable pattern of a blood trail, something black could easilly be misinterpreted as a shadow or other bit of matter that is black or on the red end of the spectrum. So I would hold off on the filter and utilize your retina to the fullest. Until somebody proves me wrong that is.

I do like the idea of going with a slightly "warmer" light as theoretically that would enhance the red in the image. There is a slight problem with that called "color constancy" which may come into effect under minimal light (twilight/moonlight) conditions as opposed to no light at all. Given the fact that this is a focal beam that does not intrude on your entire visual environment, I can't entirely work through the details. Worth a try, however.

Thanks for all the replies. I never really had even thought about the best color for blood. Very interesting ideas though.
I guess I'm going to end up with either the Fusion or the Duo. I've seen a few of the LED converts for the Duo, but I don't think they'd be what I'd want. The Lucido seems like a great light, but I couldn't find it in the US (and I'm afraid it would cost a bit too much for me).
So, any last minute advice? Best prices for either of the above?
Thanks again for the help,
William