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A recent post about problems with the Vivid Leak Sentinel (LS) "V5" had me scooting to the Vivid website as I hadn’t heard of the V5 - I’m using the V4 having updated from the V3 a couple of years ago and must admit to being a fan. The website revealed very little so I emailed the very helpful Miso at Vivid who explained. I thought Wetpixel readers might be interested in what I learned. The V5 is a re-designed body incorporating the V4 electronics in a more compact package with a couple of new features. Vivid must have read my mind about the two issues on the V4 that I’d like to have seen improved: one is the brightness and ease of view of the flashing LED red (underwater heart attack time) or green (relax, all’s well). On the V3 and V4 versions of the LS the LED was quite small and could be a little hard to see especially in brighter light. The LED on the V5 is now much better positioned on top of the valve and significantly brighter. Secondly, changing the battery on the V3 and V4, while not difficult and only necessary roughly after 100 hours, could take a bit of time. Not so on the V5 where a more accessible battery should make changes quicker and easier. Miso also explained that he now has a V5 “special” edition which allows the V5 electronics to be installed inside the housing. These are connected by a thin cable to a shorter V5-style valve body incorporating the LED and pump connector. The valve assembly is screwed into a spare housing bulkhead in the usual way. This arrangement makes battery changing even easier and reduces the size of the exterior valve yet further. The electronics take up very little room in the housing. I have always felt that, after a magnifying viewfinder, the cost of the Leak Sentinel was arguably the best money I have spent on my housing. The sense of security and peace of mind is well worth the cost! I’ve been delighted with the way the V3/V4 works and wouldn’t now be without one fitted to my housing. With the improvements now built into the V5 I bit yet another bullet and ordered one.......