night diving differences

hello everybody-

i will be going to the carribean this april and hopefully be making my first night dive. just wondering if there is anything special i need to do, master, or get. I am using a simple point and shoot camera with a slave strobe. Thanks.

I would personally leave the camera in your room for your first night dive, unless its a bright full moon. Take it out for the second. Night diving has its own task loading, even in good vis. It can be disorrientating, even if you are diving a familiar site. Don't forget that aside from your camera gear, you'll need a primary flashlight (at least a 4C size), a backup flashlight, and a tank light.

That being said, a pns (and even a dSLR) will often have a hard time focusing without some kind of external light source such as a focus light or flashlight. They won't focus in the dark very well. You have three basic options:

1. Hold the camera in one hand and illuminate your subject using a flashlight in the other hand. For macro, you might even be able to hold a smallish flashlight in your second hand while you steady the camera with that hand.

2. Attach a focus light to the camera. This is sometimes a small flashlight (which is what I do) or it could be an "official" focus light (much more money). I use an Ikelite Mini-C flashlight with an LED48DX clear diffuser to even out the lighting. This is attached to my camera rig using a couple of ULCS arms/joints/adaptors.

3. Use a slave strobe that has an integrated modeling light. You may already have this. Its not as good as a dedicated focus light but handier than handholding a flashlight. It will suck down the strobes battery. It also gives suboptimal subject lighting since your strobe is probably illuminating from an angle.

Typically, at night I'll use two DS-125 strobes (with or without the modeling lights on) and the Mini-C focus light. When I was cenote diving, I was able to position the DS-125 modeling lights such that I used them as my only flashlight (they are powerful) and knew that whatever they illuminated was in the center of my image. All I had to do (for wide angle) was point the camera to illuminate my subject and pull the trigger. I've even done this for close-up wide angle (octopuses and such).

This is my setup without the focus light which would normally be centered over the housing, on an arm that splits off of one of the handles.



And here's a nighttime octopus, just for the heck of it.

thanks! thats really helpful. i thought a light was needed mounted somewhere on the camera. where exactly do you mount the mini light? thanks

I second the idea to orient without a camera for your first night dive especially if you're new to diving. Lots going on and lots to pay attention to.

That being said here are some other tips:

Make sure your Dive Master knows you're doing photography and they can often point out some really cool stuff you may have missed as well as pay attention that they don't lose you.

I have a very small mask strap mounted light (UK 2AAA) that gives me some light to see my camera with --- make sure you don't look at anyone and blind them. They also make UK 4AA but these are quite a bit larger and more powerful. Helpful, but overkill if you're just looking at camera settings. And if it is on your mask strap you can only aim it with your head.

The "focus" light can be mounted in a variety of ways depending on your rig. I've seen several home made rigs but there are quite a few commercial mounts such as a hotshoe adapter, the ULCS triple clamp with light holder, Ikelite makes one, Sea & Sea . . . It solely depends upon your setup. You don't need a lot of light but it's nice if it is a smooth flood pattern rather than a hot spot.

A really good dive buddy will help a lot as well. Second set of eyes and light. My wife spots for me and carries a more powerful dive light but I've got the camera with DS-125 strobes and an LED focus light that I use for night diving. While you're holding the camera they can flood light the area so the camera can autofocus.

Good luck.

thanks guys

i cant seem to find any of the examples that you have posted above. would you mind posting a link or two

ps my housing does not have a hotshoe

Don't laugh but I use this system, Fisheye Ultra Compact Focus Light. It worked so well I used it as my primary light and shut off my big light. Since it has auto off when the camera flash goes off, it was a little spooky...But It worked great

Id agree on skipping any "extra taskloading" for your first night dive. In addition to it having its own challenges with navigation, carrying lights (main and backup), you might also want to experience the amazing relaxation of just swimming around in the dark water, limiting your world to where the light shines, your tasks and your buddy for your first night dive. Its truely awsome to go down there and cut off the rest of the world in a even more effective way than on a daytime dive..

UK International

Ultralight Control Systems

Strobe Arm Systems

Unfortunately I had a terrible time with the Fisheye Ultra Compact. Flooded first and fifth dives. The first was fresh water so I was able to rinse it and get it back in service, but the fifth was in salt so it is really dead. If it didn't flood it would have been a great light, nice smooth pattern and really quite bright for its size.

You can rig a couple hose clamps to hold a light (kind of a 90 degree interlocking figure 8). Just depends on how elegant you want the system and how much aiming you need to be able to do.

What are you using and how do the components attach? Is there a strobe arm, baseplate, etc? It would be helpful if we knew what you were referring to.

Thanks guys!

I am using a sony camera with housing (no hotshoe) and this sealife strobe (its a different strobe light but same arm system. As you can see it does not use a ULCS system. What do you think about this mount? It is 6 inches long. I could attach one end to the arm and one end to the light with zipties or cable clamps.
Thanks

Looks like that would work well. It should give you some ability to aim the light and it looks like it will be pretty secure.

Let us see what you come up with.