wanted head lamp

[mr B]

hi iam after a good head lamp for around £100 can any one help

[Tim Watts]

Roy Fellows does the Trigon. 1750lumens of awesome power for about £170 i think - which includes, charger, battery pack, the lot. Thats what i use for everything.

I also recently purchased a cheapo standby lamp for £30 of ebay. Well happy with the build. Its Cree LED powered, waterporoof and very robust.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5W-Power-LED-Miner-Light-Headlight-Mining-Lamp-F-Hunting-Camping-Fishing-Camping-/290728257052?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item43b0c1261c#ht_7533wt_802

[Danny Sutton]

I also have a trigon and would recommend them, Roy also does some cheaper ones, other than that, there's the raptor pro that miles sells, there just in your budget too , but I've never seen one in action so I don't know what they are like.

[Ian A]

I have a raptor pro and it is a very focused beam and I don't use it.

Dan's lamp is stupidly bright

Ian

[Joel Colk]

I have a Speedycaver light. Very reliable and in an oldham head.

There are loads of white papers for his builds on Mine-explorer, so you can see exactly what goes into them.

[Tim Watts]

Lets be honest - lamps are like penis extensions - go for a roy fellows Magnastar and the girls will be flocking.

http://www.iriscom.co.uk/M002/index.htm

[mr B]

thanks for the info has roy got a web site .i have a oldham head here but iam not that good at makeing stuff my self can any one help on that one please

[Ali Wiseman]

I make my own lamps from Oldham heads. I don't make them for others, but I'll happily tell You anything about how I make mine.

Do You have any electronics knowledge at all? If not, in all seriousness, buy one from Roy. It's great building them, but not if it craps out on you, and You only have Yourself to unleash multiple freshly invented expletives at in the pitch black, fumbling for the backup, desperately hoping you remembered to stick fresh batteries in it...:blush: :whistle:

[mr B]

i have no electronics knowledge at all so the safe bet is to buy one . but is it hard to build one if you get the right stuff and diagran on how to do it

[Ali Wiseman]

If You can Solder well, and follow a Schematic? No. The Soldering is key, some of it is very small, and LED's really don't like too much heat.

Unless you are *good* with a Soldering Iron, I'd give it a miss.

As for getting Schematics, and advice? There are lots of differing opinions, and it all depends hugely on what You want? A wide beam, great for walking around calls for a different set of bits than a very tight bright beam that is great for seeing in the distance. The trick is to balance these... not Easy in an Oldham head.

[John Nicholson]

Glad to find this thread.
I have now got a new camera from Nikon  (Coolpix 3300 - 16MegP).  I tried it out filming last weekend.  The quality of the image outside is fantastic, but it does not pick up anything underground unless very close. I was just using my cheap Cree LED helmet lamp.  

It seems I need advice on what sort of lamp to buy that can be attached to the camera stand so it illuminates the view the camera sees.  The problem with a very powerful lamp is that is totally dazzles anyone it shines upon, and likewise the camera view.  Tim nealy burnt my eyes out at close range whilst helping me scramble up the lower series in Poachers!

Is there any lamp that has a variable beam that can be broad or narrow?

[Tim Watts]

The trigon is the one! It can be turned up and down in power - just remind me any time i'm burning your eyes out.

Whats great about it is that it has a mode with a 960lumen flood light (no focused hot spot) which makes it IDEAL for video.

I'd advise NOT mounting the lamp to the camera. What happens if you do this is that the light reflects off tiny moisture and other particles in the air and bounces back giving a horrible result. Ideally get the light source as far away from the lens as possible to reduce the light bouncing back off these particles into the lens - this is also true of still photography, painting with light etc. Lamp on helmet and camera held quite low is a good compromise.

[John Nicholson]

Thanks for that advice Tim.  I like holding the tiny camera whilst mounted on a folded up stand as a way to try and keep it steady whilst walking along a flat floor.  I poke the legs of the stand under my armpit.  Seems to work OK.  I must practice holding my breath whilst filming, because the sound track is full of my snorting noises!

How good is the £30 5W lamp you link to?  I must admit that is nearer my current budget.

[mike leahy]

[quote="JohnNicholson" post=7416] my snorting noises!
[/quote]

i'm glad that's all your snorting :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[mike leahy]

sportz.tec have some 1200 lumens bike light for 100 squid could mbe hand held or lid mounted