159 replies to this topic

[biminitwist]

Thanks Nick. That goes along the lines of what I had thought. If you bought the lights from B&H I am curious what LM would charge just to modify your existing pods. I see their upgrade/modify cost include light heads in the breakdown from them. However many pins, they do look great but with LM turnaround time can be problematic. I ordered an HD monitor back for my Bluefin PD 100 (prosumer TR900) back after DEMA and was told Feb or March then April. When I asked again a few days ago I was told "Sorry it has a 10 pin connection and won't be compatable with your Bluefin". That doesn't seem the kind of thing it would take months to discover and it would have been nice for them to let me know spontaneously. Oh well, I'll wait to hear some more user reports on the lights. Thank you for the information. John

[Nick Hope]

That's interesting. The last I heard the HD monitor had been shelved. Personally I've found L&M very responsive recently since I've been dealing with Paul.

Edit: Sorry I missed the "back" in "monitor back".

Edited by Nick Hope, 17 April 2008 - 11:41 PM.

[biminitwist]

Ha, that will teach me to post without sleep. Re-reading it, I also wrote it was our Sony PD 100, but it was the HD Monitor-back for our HC1/A1U Bluefin that they had promised for and now won't deliver on. I just felt after 3 months they could call me to say stop waiting.

[shep]

Has anyone heard the "latest" delivery date from L&M as to when they expect to start shipping the Sunyray 2000's?

I understand they are behind the scheduled release date?

thanks

[cdoyal]

Has anyone heard the "latest" delivery date from L&M as to when they expect to start shipping the Sunyray 2000's?

I understand they are behind the scheduled release date?

thanks

I received by Bluefin for the HD9 and Sunray 1000's last week.
Haven't had it in the water yet though...

[shep]

I got word, for those who are interested, from Joe at MarineVisions that the Sunray 2000's are starting to ship!

[Steve Douglas]

The Light and Motion housings for the HC-1 and A1-U are not going to be retrofitted for the new back plate that includes the HD monitor. A real shame this and I am very dissappointed.
Steve B)

[biminitwist]

Steve-
That's what we had mentioned above. I had ordered an HD monitor back for our PD 100 right after DEMA for a Feb-Mar. delivery. After several conversations with Trish I finally e-mailed early April to see when it was coming and received this: "I'm sorry to inform you that the new monitor back will not work on your Bluefin PD100 housing. The new monitor back uses a 10 pin cable to send the video out from the camcorder. The PD100 camcorder does not have a 10 pin jack and is not compatible with the new monitor back. The new 10 pin cable is necessary on the new camcorders and there are no other solutions for the new monitor back. I wish I had better news." I didn't think that would take months to discover but at least they could have called to let me know. As you said, disappointing. Hope we see you at film festival in August. John

[Steve Douglas]

Since it is just a matter of the 'pin' I do not understand why they can't sub one cams pin for another and still have it work. The regular monitor just does not cut it, even when it works correctly. Wrong size and poor resolution
Steve B)

[videodan]

Back on thread, yes the Sunray 2000's started shipping. Mine will arrive in a few days, so if anyone has any questions about the lights, go ahead and ask. I will dive with them on Saturday May 10, but might take them in the pool before that. They definitely have three power levels as opposed to the earlier specs. Other questions answered here.
Dan

[ronscuba]

Hi Dan,

When you get them in the water, can you take note of the buoyancy of the lamps and batteries ? Also the angle of the beam would be great to know.

Thanks,
Ron

[Roger Eve]

so if anyone has any questions about the lights, go ahead and ask.

Hi Dan,

The most important and probably stupid question I have is regarding the price. Is the quoted price for one unit only or a pair??

It isn't clear from any adverts so the cynic in me says it is for a single :-((

Cheers

Roger

Edited by Roger Eve, 04 May 2008 - 08:14 AM.

[shep]

Pricing is for the pair, including batteries and charger.

Edited by shep, 04 May 2008 - 08:53 AM.

[Nick Hope]

I just opened up the battery pods of the Sunray Elites that I use with my Bluefin and one of them has seawater inside This is the third different Sunray pod that has leaked on me over the years for no apparent reason. Not sure if my battery and PCB have escaped or not. Drying them now.

Also the control of my lights from the housing handle has never worked reliably. The 2 lights get out of synch, and often the right one just switches on and off instead of cycling through the 3 power levels. Now I usually just use the button on the battery pod to control them.

I hope the design of the new Sunray 2000 pods is more reliable. The 1000 is still using the same design as these I understand.

[Steve Douglas]

Nick,
I've had the same issue with my Pro lights and the left handle light switch. Sometimes it works, sometimes on only one light and sometimes not at all. I sent my housing back last week for it to be checked out and to have the new 2000s installed. When I mentioned to Paul at L & M about the light switch he asked me whether the batteries in the handle were good but made no mention of others with the same issue. My pods have never leaked however. I make sure to clean and grease the pod o ring before every trip and to wipe the inside area of the pod and cover whenever switching batteries. Being in Phuket, it must be a real hassle for you to have to send things back for servicing. It cost me $40.00 just to ship it a few hundred miles from San Diego to Monterey, Ca and pay for insurance. On the bright side, I did get 6 separate and identical emails, all on the same day but at different times, from L & M saying that my housing had arrived.
Steve B)

[Nick Hope]

I had to change the right hand grip batteries the other day when the record started getting hit-or-miss. I guess it could be the batteries on the left grip are low too, although the light control has been hit-or-miss for a long time and all the other controls on the left grip work fine. I will try installing fresh batteries.

I always clean and grease the pod o-rings before every trip like you do. I did it just the other day. I have no idea where the water has got in. Perhaps past the latch on the pod door? Perhaps at the controls or cable entry at the other end? Anyone's guess. I'm interested to see how the current design team have done the new pods for the 2000 lights.

Yes, getting stuff to and from the USA housing manufacturers is a nightmare from here. Apart from the delay and just the cost of the items, the shipping is a killer and I get import duty and VAT here even on stuff repaired under warranty. Mustn't grumble though. There are other benefits to be being based out here. And I should add that since he's been my main contact at L&M, Paul Barnett has been very helpful and responsive with answering queries, quoting and getting parts shipped out to me, which is something I had missed since Jon Baker retired.

[cdoyal]

Also the control of my lights from the housing handle has never worked reliably. The 2 lights get out of synch, and often the right one just switches on and off instead of cycling through the 3 power levels. Now I usually just use the button on the battery pod to control them.

I hope the design of the new Sunray 2000 pods is more reliable. The 1000 is still using the same design as these I understand.

My three week old 1000s get out of sync from time to time. Not enough to get my panties in a bunch though.

[Roger Eve]

Pricing is for the pair, including batteries and charger.

Thanks Shep,

That is a nice surprise

[videodan]

Pricing is for New Pods (2), Batteries (2), Cables (2), Locline Mounts (2), Charger (1), and Light Heads (2). Remember that the Sunray 2000's have twice the lumens as the already very powerful HID's, three power levels, 50,000 hour LED life, and if you drop them they don't ruin the bulbs, plus instant on/off with no hot restrike issues, longer burn time than the HID's, and the color temp doesn't really change at lower power levels like incandescent lights do. With the exception on the batteries, they should last a lifetime. The new batteries and pods are a little heavier than the older HID's, so re-adjusting buoyancy will be necessary.

Steve, your issues are almost certainly due to the handgrip batteries low on power. As soon as mine start reacting sluggishly or erratically, I replace them. just put in new Li-Ion batteries from Radio Shack ($$) in the right grip and they work great. Will do the left grip next.

Nick, sorry to hear your troubles. I only lightly grease my pod o-rings if they appear dry, maybe 2-3 times per year. Too much grease, hair, sand, lint, or anything else could make them leak. I've been lucky so far (knock on wood), no leaks. Will report if the design has improved.

My Sunray 2000's arrive tomorrow (Wed.).
Dan

[biminitwist]

Dan- What did you do with your old light pods, have them retro fitted or just get the new short pods?
John