Let there be light!

Arguably the most useful type of lamp used by divers is the lantern, and there is greater choice in this category than in any other.

Different manufacturers supplied torches of very similar design. Of a group of four such rivals, the Underwater Kinetics UK400R had the edge in light output, the Princeton Tec 4000R the security of double O-ring protection, the Ikelite RCD Rechargeable a confidence-inspiring lever mechanism for clamping it shut, and the Technisub Vega 2 was probably the most comfortable unit to handle in the water. Some of the dry-cell versions of the same lanterns were disappointing in their light output and the patchy quality of their beams (see the table), although they have burn-times long enough to get several night-dives from one set of batteries.
Among the brightest centre hot-spots provided by all the lamps tested were those of the very similar UK800R and Princeton Tec 8000R. The first wins on the diameter of its hot-spot but the second probably offers better long-term water-tightness in the hands of careless divers.
Princeton Tec's dry-cell version, the Tec 8000H, uses eight D cells and gives a useful amount of light for a long time.
The ABS plastic Birchley YL and little SL models produced very tight but bright beams and were unusual in that they floated. The SL comes with either a pistol-grip or carrying-handle. If you want to save money on a mains charger you can charge these lamps directly from a 12V car battery - useful when camping, too.
The aluminium Birchley Video Light, equipped with a bulb thatmade it more useful as a straight diving light, gave a more normal-width beam with a 44cm hot-spot at 1.6m. Other lamps made of metal include the rechargeable Coltrisub Starlight, which looks as if it was copied from a battleship's bulkhead light. Then there are the precision Swiss-made Subatec lights, distinguished by the breath-taking evenness of the light they provide. The Subatec SB80 Pro was overall champion in all classes in terms of reflector design and breadth of beam. It produced no hot-spot whatsoever when adjusted to its wide setting.
The smaller Subatec Mini Light 35 gave a slightly wider beam but with a detectable bright patch. Incidentally, both have borosillicate front glasses strong enough to stand the rigours of out-of-water use.
Another notable European lamp, the metal Beuchat 50W Lantern, handled extremely nicely in the water with its rubber-covered pistol-grip and gave a bright and reasonably wide hot-spot, with one of the widest haloes of all the lamps tested. We especially liked its rubber bumpers.
The Pelican BriteLite disappointed us with its patchy beam, though we liked its non-roll hexagonal design. It is available only in dry-cell form, but we found it brighter than the rechargeable Mares Arturo 6, the 5 D ni-cads for which are not included. You have to buy them in a high street store - they cost 32 including charger. The Arturo 6 handled exceptionally well but was not so great on light output.
The Arturo is an example of top-flight Italian styling and certainly looks the business. Its sealed ni-cad capsule disconnects by means of a bayonet so that it can be easily recharged.

Oversize lanterns are the brutes of the lighting scene, ideal for the diver who wants something bigger than his clubmates have.

If the lanterns mentioned so far are the "pups" of the underwater lighting world, we turn now to the "brutes". Similar to its little brother, the rechargeable Mares Arturo 12 produces a huge amount of light in a modest width but with a very even beam. It has a 12V rather than 6V battery capsule and a more powerful bulb. Again, the ni-cads cost extra.
The Pelican King PeliLite is pleasantly neutral in buoyancy, although its light output for our test was from a huge number of dry cells (eight Ds) rather than a set of rechargeable batteries. Everything about this lamp is chunky, from its double O-rings to its rubber reflector shroud and double-element, bayonet-fitting bulb. It was a pleasure to take apart and put back together.
The RoHo Compact Lantern is made in heavyweight plastics with a heavy metal and glass front. It provided the amount of light one would expect from a unit more than 31cm long and 14cm in diameter, not including the huge handle. It is "compact" only in RoHo terms.
Its even bigger brothers, the RoHo High Power Lantern and a more de-luxe version fitted with a dimmer, are like the super-troupers made famous in the song by Abba! These enormous lights have front reflectors measuring a whopping 17cm in diameter and are fitted with enormous lead-acid batteries.
For the diver who wants something bigger than his clubmates have, these are reminiscent of those lights used by anti-aircraft gunners to pick out bombers during WW2.
We detected a possible design defect when using these RoHo lanterns in the dark. Their on/off switches are identical in shape to the knobs that are removed to allow charging. Turning the wrong knob by accident underwater slackens pressure on the O-ring and lets in water. It was remarkable that the lamp in question kept working, even though the reflector was swilling in poolwater, and we were able to save the unit by disassembling and thoroughly drying it.
Considering price and performance, we felt that the UK800R and Princeton Tec 8000R were our first choice overall, closely followed by the smaller UK400R, Tec 4000R and Ikelite RCD rechargeable. We liked the Ikelite RCD best in the dry-cell category, with the Mares Arturo 12 and Subatec SB80 Pro good choices for those with cash to spare.