In the process of packing for my impending trip to Kasawari Lembeh Resort in the Lembeh Strait, I paid a visit to David at ScubaCam.
I've only gotten to know David relatively recently, but I love going to his shop, because he's a real "tinkerer" and enjoys fiddling around with gear and think about ideas for new equipment as much as I do.
He's one of the few people who doesn't give me the "Are you nuts?!" look when I throw out whacky ideas. In fact, he actually likes some of the silly things I suggest. Go figure.
David's been developing some new toys recently, and I'm going to have the pleasure of testing one of them on my trip.
In short, David's taken a light casing made by Patima, and completely re-done the inside. The light is an array of LEDs, and produces a bright, consistent, white wide-beam with no central "hotspot" — i.e., even, white lighting.
Unlike HID lights, the light switches on-and-off in an instant, meaning no delays, and the entire kit is compact.
The prototype light also has a removeable lens on the front, which focuses and concentrates the light somewhat, creating a slightly narrower light beam.
The battery is a light-weight lithium polymer battery, and David's designed everything so that even in the event of a flood, the light can be disassembled with a screwdriver, wiped off, dried out, battery replaced, and everything will work again.
David flooded one intentionally to test his theory (see, told you he's crazy), and although the insides of the flooded light look a bit grungy, it works perfectly.
The light seems like it will be ideal for video, but I've got a few ideas I want to try with still images, if I can find the right circumstances.
Yeah, I know. Most normal people wouldn't get turned on by the prospect of testing a compact, very bright, white-light, wide-beam, underwater light that turns on-and-off at an instant. But hey, what's the fun in being normal?