Inexpensive Chinese video lights

[Jukka-Pekka Salmenkaita]

Often you get what you pay for, but that being said the price points of some Chinese video lights are extremely attractive. I though I would share my experiences from recent years, and hopefully hear of other experiences as well.

 

I prefer units with 18650 batteries I can select/swap myself. That way changing batteries is easy between dives, and battery ”replacement pool” is shared between all lights. (Selecting good chargers is its own topic.)

 

I started with Archon small (single 18650 battery) 1200 lumen units with wide/spot/red beams. Three of those have been used for several years by my family as dive/night lights, and as assist light with DSLR. No problems whatsoever, easy recommendation. 

 

For GoPro video, I next got Seafrogs Mk-02 unit(s). Four 18650 batteries, plenty of features. I have had three units that failed in four ways (three times electronics problem, once front-assembly integrity). Two warranty replacements that hopefully will actually work as intended (those have not been used yet). I would like to like these, but unreliability (or bad luck) makes me uneasy planning trips with these.

 

Last trip (three weeks Manado) I tried even less expensive LetonPower units. Two different units, both with 4*18650, limited features, all metal construction. Very positive initial feelings; the light beams are quite different, so I think one is better suited for WA video and another for high power night dive light. If they keep working like this the price-performance is amazing.

 

[Davide DB]

1 hour ago, Jukka-Pekka Salmenkaita said:

Last trip (three weeks Manado) I tried even less expensive LetonPower units. Two different units, both with 4*18650, limited features, all metal construction. Very positive initial feelings; the light beams are quite different, so I think one is better suited for WA video and another for high power night dive light. If they keep working like this the price-performance is amazing.

 

Which model?

Light quality and runtime?

 

[Jukka-Pekka Salmenkaita]

I have BB14-7S and BB1-1. For white light, the first one has 6 rather powerful smallish leds behind flat glass, and gives very wide output that (at least for me) is well-suited for GoPro, especially WA. I did not use the other colors (red, blue).

 

The second model has COB led for white light behind curved glass. The output has very sharp boundaries, and I felt it is more suitable as powerful night dive light rather than video light (and that is how my daughter used it). I did not use the other colors (red, blue).

 

Since I am rather new with video, and do not have experience of premium video light brands, I don’t feel comfortable making claims (good or bad) of light color quality / CRI.

 

Runtime with good quality 18650s (I used few years old 3400 mAhs) is multiple hours in mid- and low output settings. The high output setting would probably consume the batteries in ~hour. In my use (mix of all three power levels) I did fine for two 70+ minute dives with one set of batteries, and changed the batteries for third dive. Charger reported 5%-35% remaining energy after two dives. Unlike Archon and Seafrogs models, LetonPower does not have low battery warnings (or atleast I managed to miss it, but never run out of battery).

 

I am tempted to get second BB14-7S, and at least will monitor which new models they introduce.

 

 

[Davide DB]

I have not found those models among their lights sold here in Italy. I think the acronyms change often.
Yes, a good video light should not have sharp edges. Lumens on lights in this price range are a lottery so it's only worth a practical test comparing them to other lights we trust. The important thing is that they can illuminate the scene in WA footage with your gopro.

 

 

[bghazzal]

I've been looking into lights recently, and these new generation of cheap lights are an interesting option.

 

Basically, they do the job, but the main issue is that they are almost guaranteed to fail much sooner than higher quality lights due to design and components used.

So it's a choice. For more intensive usage, replacing them will be a hassle and might end up costing more on the long run.

Also, there is no real quality control, so one might be fine and the other dodgy, and beyond durability, having no guarantee as to what you're really getting in terms of specs (actual lumen output, CRI, beam angle...) is a heavy concession to make.

 

The other issue is that they are not constant output and that the battery / battery packs included are notoriously bad...

 

But if you just want light and not ready to invest more and ok with more disposable purchases, they will do the job.

 

I've heard good things about the Leton L12  and the Thrustfire D50, with the following specs (to be taken with a Salt-Bae elbowful of salt...)

 

- Leton L12 COB “5000 lumen” (or is that 8000?) 600g on land with battery, sold for 115 euros in Indonesia

- Thrustfire D50, "6500 lumen", 300g on land without battery, 100 euros in Indonesia

 

My neighbour uses a D50 and is happy for now.

Despite being on a tight budget at the moment, after a lot of tossing and turning, I've decided to rule these out and buy something in higher-mid range, for something more durable and with specs I rely on, and this will be something I will be holding onto even as my kit evolves.

 

let us know how it goes!
 

cheers

ben

[Andrey Narchuk]

I've been using Chinese 10k lumen lights for a couple of years.
At that time, I bought them for $20-25. And for that money, they're not bad.

Two flashlights almost completely illuminate the frame on the fisheye. The charge is enough for a dive if you shine it all the time. And if you set it to 1/2 - 1/4, then for a couple of dives. (The batteries are also Chinese)
Of the minuses - the buttons are very weak, after 25m they usually jam. And they can jam in any position.
And after purchase, some of the o-rings may need to be replaced. Including those that are not visible when replacing batteries (from the back cover).

[Nikolausz]

I currently use 2 Weefine Smart Focus 7000. They are also Chinese products but from the middle class. I can just recommend them. The remote control via optical cable is very convenient and the quality of the light is good in my opinion.

I also have 3 cheap basic lamp you can buy below 50 USD (EUR) in the AliExpress (or other portals).

The ones I have are under the model name L15 with claimed 20000 - 22800 Lumen, which is a big exaggeration. Comparing to the weefine I would guess they are around 8000 Lumen and the light is colder. I like the fact that they use 18650 batteries. The battery pack of the weefine is quite expensive.

I blue light of the cheaper lamps is actually better than of the Weefine for fluorescent videos.

I have problems with one unit only. I can switch on the white light, but switching off or changing intensity is PITA. The other switch (coloured lights) is OK.

I think these lights are quite OK for beginners. I would prefer 2 of these cheap lights over any, even most expensive filters.

[SFEgr]

I will add my 2 cents here! I have 4 dive lights that loosely fit this conversation. My biggest concern apart from the basic dependability is flicker that can become evident in video footage. Faults in low grade switching electronics are not always visible to the naked eye but your camera will catch them.

 

I have an Archon D34VR (8 years old or so and about 120 dives) 32650 battery. Good solid slider controls (wish one was Red and the other Green as the light gets flipped around and I sometimes get confused). The switching protocol is however obvious. Solid light with slight flicker below 30%. Reliable. Abused to the max and keeps on working. Would buy another.

 

Then there is an Archon D37VP (5 Years old and about 80 dives) 18650 batteries x 4. Good Solid Sliders. Solid light but not appreciably brighter or longer lasting than the D34VR but way heavier and bulky - makes traveling with it a pain. But does have spotlight which is useful. Solid light with slightly more flicker below 40%. Would NOT buy again

 

Third was a Kraken Hydra 1500 WSR. (2 Years 25 Dives) 21700 battery. This has become my go-to light as it is so compact and capable (auto off on strobe flash) but the single button switch is tedious to cycle through and can cause you to miss a shot. I have found some of Krakens gear just plain awful - Underwater Phone Case for starters - but I have no trouble with recommending this light. No discernible flicker to below 10%. Would buy another. (may be the same as NiKolousz Weefine Smart Focus 7000 above)

 

My wife has a BigBlue Model ? (6 Years old and about 60 dives) 26650 battery. Best battery management compared to the above 3. but also uses the sub-optimal single button selector as the Kraken so my wife wouldn't buy another.

 

Ordering batteries from Ali is a crap-shoot. Archon batteries are now commonly fake. the old stand-by TrustFire are often fake now as well - so that's another issue. The battery in the Kraken is great, has its own type c input for charging.

Edited August 27 by SFEgr

[Nikolausz]

The Weefine Smart Focus 7000 I use is more similar to a higher specced model, the Hydra 8000 WRGBU

 

https://krakensports.ca/product/hydra-8000-wrgbu/

[bghazzal]

I have just bought the Kraken Hydra 8000 WRGBU - it's a solid product other than the WRGBU button ergonomics which are a slightly ridiculous (3 presses on max power triggers a "select your colour" disco mode - guess what happens when you increase light power a too little quickly underwater.... 😄)
Waiting on the remote which should solve the issue.

 

Great otherwise, light quality, constant output (when it stops, it stops!)

Edited August 28 by bghazzal

[GrtDay]

Take a look on www.aliexpress.com searching for underwater photography.  You won’t believe the diversity of selection!

[canislupus]

21 hours ago, bghazzal said:

I have just bought the Kraken Hydra 8000 WRGBU - it's a solid product other than the WRGBU button ergonomics which are a slightly ridiculous (3 presses on max power triggers a "select your colour" disco mode - guess what happens when you increase light power a too little quickly underwater.... 😄)
Waiting on the remote which should solve the issue.

 

Great otherwise, light quality, constant output (when it stops, it stops!)

That kraken looks very good, but… it is not my idea of an inexpensive Chinese light 😅

[bghazzal]

2 hours ago, canislupus said:

That kraken looks very good, but… it is not my idea of an inexpensive Chinese light 😅

Yes, I was  mentioning it because it was brought up - it's more in the upper mid-range, but still quite good value compared to Light & Motion or Keldans for instance.

 

The main reason I didn't save a chunk of money by getting something like a Thrustfire was that if was getting something as heavy as a set of light, I would rather have something with a longer lifeline than the Chinese cheapies (most users rate them at 100 dives before having problems for the better ones - but YMMV, some are much more reliable)
And also importantly with constant output (rare but important feature for video) and more trustable CRI / lumen ratings and battery packs.
Weight underwater was also a deciding factor, as I like my kit to be close to neutral and the Chinese cheapies really are bricks.

 

Price difference is massive, and I totally understand why you would go for something more disposable instead, but I feel that the extra money invested gives me something more stable to really work with on the long run.
 

It would even be truer with a set of Keldan if you have the budget. Massive investment, but one that you can keep 10 years or so, and offering great light quality in a reliable, well designed products.
But the prices now are really out of reach for a lot of users...
A pair of Kraken was already painful enough 😝

Edited August 29 by bghazzal

[Elvandar]

I got 4 torches from wurkkos:
2 DL07 as video ligth to use with the gopro (50€ each with 1 battery 26650 and charger)
1 DL70 as main ligth, (60/70€ with 2 battery 26650 and charger )

1 DL61 as backup main ligth, a bit less strong than DL70, but a bit warmer ligth and more uniform (60/70€ with 2 battery 26650 and charger)

 

All of them performed really good, and a lot of people in my club bougth them because they are pretty high quality for the price.

 

I got first the DL70 and one of the DL07, and i did around 80 dives with no problem, finishing without problem 2 one hour dive with one charge, leaving the torch on on medium setting, and ramping it up when needed.

 

Here the main selection of diving ligth they have:  Diving light (wurkkos.com)

[bghazzal]

These are not video lights, but speaking of sturdy Chinese cheapies, as guides, my wife and I used ARCHON V10S U2 860LM dive lights since stumbling upon them in late 2019 - these are amazingly durable workhorses.

Not guiding at the moment, but we're still using one each to the day (strapped on our BCs) on every dive.
Dual o-ring, single 18650 battery, two power settings + strobe (useful in as beacon when guiding in low-viz or on ascent in night dives ...)

Not the strongest (and not constant output, of course) but the first set we had passed the 1000-dive-test with flying colours. I don't exactly remember how they eventually died out at the time, probably the button as usual but they had way  (or maybe the glass) over 1000 dives at the time, which is pretty impressive stuff given their price...
 

 

 

 

These are the third batch I've used, probably around 600+ dives on them, and I actually still have 2 brand new spares in my spare kit for when these decide to give in...
(the boyish blue and girlish pink was not deliberate, it was all they had left at the time - paint will be completely gone after while anyway)

I think the wife's is about to rest-in-peace pretty soon, as there's something fishy with the light head, but for now it's still going strong for now. 
Yep, pretty bulletproof stuff I'd say, and these I can recommend... 😅

And.... they cost less than 25 euros a piece at the time, ordered from China.... wow
 

 

While buy-cheap-buy-twice is certainly good rule to follow, every once in a while you find exceptions, especially when it comes to durability issues (Suunto Zoops anyone?).

 

 

All that said and done, Inon dive lights - used by all my Japanese colleagues - are even more sturdy, and also serviceable (which the Archons were not) and offer a way better light quality, so more of a once-in-10-year investment...
It's a choice...

 

 

cheers

 

ben

Edited August 29 by bghazzal

[canislupus]

1 hour ago, Elvandar said:

I got 4 torches from wurkkos:
2 DL07 as video ligth to use with the gopro (50€ each with 1 battery 26650 and charger)
1 DL70 as main ligth, (60/70€ with 2 battery 26650 and charger )

1 DL61 as backup main ligth, a bit less strong than DL70, but a bit warmer ligth and more uniform (60/70€ with 2 battery 26650 and charger)

 

All of them performed really good, and a lot of people in my club bougth them because they are pretty high quality for the price.

 

I got first the DL70 and one of the DL07, and i did around 80 dives with no problem, finishing without problem 2 one hour dive with one charge, leaving the torch on on medium setting, and ramping it up when needed.

 

Here the main selection of diving ligth they have:  Diving light (wurkkos.com)

I had never heard of wurkkos… the lights seems good for the price.

Thanks for sharing.

Editing to add: any light that you know for using as a focus light?

Edited August 29 by canislupus

[Elvandar]

47 minutes ago, canislupus said:

I had never heard of wurkkos… the lights seems good for the price.

Thanks for sharing.

Editing to add: any light that you know for using as a focus light?

 

I did not get those, but looking at the spec, you could try one of these:

 

1. Wurkkos DL20R  ~37€ with a 15° spot main light and 66° flood ring
2. Wurkkos WK20S ~36€ with a 25° spot main light and 78° flood ring
3. Wurkkos DL16 ~35€ with a 11° spot main light and 73° flood ring

[canislupus]

2 hours ago, Elvandar said:

 

I did not get those, but looking at the spec, you could try one of these:

 

1. Wurkkos DL20R  ~37€ with a 15° spot main light and 66° flood ring
2. Wurkkos WK20S ~36€ with a 25° spot main light and 78° flood ring
3. Wurkkos DL16 ~35€ with a 11° spot main light and 73° flood ring

Thank you I will have a look! 👍

 

[SFEgr]

8 hours ago, bghazzal said:

Weight underwater was also a deciding factor, as I like my kit to be close to neutral and the Chinese cheapies really are bricks.

 So true. And as lights are almost always 'overhead' and on cantilevered armatures - heavy lights can be a royal pain on your wrists keeping your kit level. Maybe on black water dives you can strap them under.

 

The unfortunate side of this is that big high output LED's need to dump a lot of heat - the easiest way to do that is with a honking big lump of aluminium - at least that is the logic above water. Or maybe it is just a perceived value thing - heavier is better.

[canislupus]

On 8/29/2024 at 1:47 PM, Elvandar said:

 

I did not get those, but looking at the spec, you could try one of these:

 

1. Wurkkos DL20R  ~37€ with a 15° spot main light and 66° flood ring
2. Wurkkos WK20S ~36€ with a 25° spot main light and 78° flood ring
3. Wurkkos DL16 ~35€ with a 11° spot main light and 73° flood ring

 

For anyone interested, finally I bought for testing the DL07 model.

These three other models DL20R, WK20S, DL16 only have spot light, although the beam angle varies from 66º to 78º is refereeing to the “secondary” beam angle of the spot light.

For focus light I think is better to have floodlight with lesser power. Although I’m not sure the DL07 in the low brightness floodlight mode would be of any use for focus light.

I bought it at a ridiculous price to be honest.

Cheers.

 

[Elvandar]

@canislupus probably I have mistaken the focus light with a very narrow light beam, but for sure the DL07 does not have a narrow beam, but a pretty large one, and pretty powerful when near the subject, even on medium, I hope you can make it fit your need 😁

Still a good light for the price!

If you want il send some video or pic of the beamof the DL07 on a dark room

[canislupus]

14 hours ago, Elvandar said:

@canislupus probably I have mistaken the focus light with a very narrow light beam, but for sure the DL07 does not have a narrow beam, but a pretty large one, and pretty powerful when near the subject, even on medium, I hope you can make it fit your need 😁

Still a good light for the price!

If you want il send some video or pic of the beamof the DL07 on a dark room

Hi, thank you. My DL07 it’s on his way home, I will have try. 😁

I bought it on discount for a really good price.

[Chris Ross]

On 8/29/2024 at 3:41 AM, bghazzal said:

All that said and done, Inon dive lights - used by all my Japanese colleagues - are even more sturdy, and also serviceable (which the Archons were not) and offer a way better light quality, so more of a once-in-10-year investment...
It's a choice...

 

cheers

 

ben

Have to agree, the INON dive lights really are very good, a nice feature is an external o-ring that is positioned to just contact the light head when it is screwed on, they call it a sand ring I believe, but it's good enough to keep water out which means the o-rings stay clean dry and don't need regular service _ I look at them each time I pull the batteries but they never have grit or water drops.  I use a 30 deg beam model with the included 60 deg diffuser and on low power it makes a perfect focus light, even the little 350 lumen models have enough light to work as a focus light in the hotshoe.