1. there is a mod that do that (somewehre in the Forum) 2. that would be nice.... uuhhhm or not so because when you want to sprint and jump you will see everything in green...
notch is adding holdable lamps granted will take up your hand and no use for mining pick or drill but with t being placeable and picked back up i think ti would suffice
Isn't the point of a mining helmet to keep your hands free to hold tools?
The lamp will be valuable yes but only marginally over normal torches. As soon as you need to fight or mine you have to set it down and switch to a weapon or tool (you can't just switch otherwise you're in complete darkness)
Plus I think being in a pitch black cave with only light where you're looking would add a real tension to the atmosphere!