I want a new primary light, two backup lights, and two video lights. What's the smart move?

[waiver]

Do I really need five lights? Can I get two video lights that can serve as backup lights? Can I get two backup lights that will serve as video lights?

Everyone I know uses the same primary : Dive Rite EX35 Expedition Lighting System

Should I get that one, or should I consider others? I could get one cannisters and two handhelds. Would those be adequate video lights?

My local dive shop sells this: Bigblue 6200 Lumen Video Light

Could those be backup lights whether or not I'm video recording?

Other suggestions?

 

[OTF]

What are your goals for the video lights? Are you filming fish close up or trying to illuminate a huge cave room?

It's fine to have separate backup and video lights, backups can be simple sub-$100 single-18650 lights so you can have plenty of them. Hog Safety 1100 Dive Light

Some of the bigblue lights have wide/narrow modes which could be nice for your needs.

Nanight manufactures excellent surprisingly affordable lights in Sweden, they have changeable internal lenses and could fill multiple roles but you can't change mode underwater.

 

[waiver]

What are your goals for the video lights? Are you filming fish close up or trying to illuminate a huge cave room?

It's fine to have separate backup and video lights, backups can be simple sub-$100 single-18650 lights so you can have plenty of them. Hog Safety 1100 Dive Light

Some of the bigblue lights have wide/narrow modes which could be nice for your needs.

Nanight manufactures excellent surprisingly affordable lights in Sweden, they have changeable internal lenses and could fill multiple roles but you can't change mode underwater.

Mostly I want to video students when I'm teaching a course and clients when I'm guiding so that they have a nice souvenir to take home. For example, when it's time to go into a swim through I can enter first, turn around and get video of them entering, then exit, turn around and get video of them exiting. That's always dramatic. If they're Asian of course they want video of themselves making the silly peace signs to put on their Asian Tick Tocks. If they're Russian, they want video of themselves showing off their tiny bikinis. I'd like to include videos of the flora and fauna that they saw on their dive, like the leopard shark and the stonefish that they will be chattering about after the dive. Mostly I want to give new or newish divers something to help them get excited and keep diving.

When they upload these videos to social media, it's advertising for me, and also it gives them a way to refer back to my contact info so that they can call me when they return next year.