My DIY canon HF200 Light Rack

[H20doctor]

well after seeing the quality of HD video and how amazing it comes out !! , i took the time to research Camcorders .. I had to look at what did what ? and for how much $$ , I also had to consider once i bought a camcorder , then I had to waterproof it in a Housing ... So I had 2 choices , camera and Housing... with all the options available ... The FLIP , Panasonic.. Go Pro Hero.. and many others .. I went with a Canon
The canon line is impressive and had many options for Video... I also didnt want to eat a Housing $$ , and Most Ikelights Housing arent cheap , they also dont let you use 100 % of the camcorders functions... So I bought the Canon Vixia HF 200 back last Christmas for 699.00.. And i just Now got the Housing last week for 425.00 from Abes of Maine..
Yes its a Big purchase thousand Bucks in video... So i am getting dive insurance on the gear before I get it all wet..this light rack will allow me to switch between my camera and My video, all on the same set up..

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I got some Loc line and a chunk of delrin from Tap plastics ...cost on the loc line was cheap like 35.00

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So Today i had to realize that my other super chip SST-90 is 8 weeks out from Avnet... which means I wont have a Light Rack till the end of summer... And also the 5 amp drivers wont be avail till the end of April maybe 1 week of may, Plan B , build a light Bar with 2 SSC P7 chips ...This seems good but I would have to order chips from Hong Kong , and thats also 7 weeks out.. So the little voice in side my brain said ... just use the Led's i have in stock and make a light rack for now.. and get the Big bad light rack made later towards the end of the summer.. that way i can get filming underwater and still have a good light set up.. I worked today on the Light Modules, Or light engines>> 3 XRE chips , putting out about 700 lumens per engine.. so a total of 1400 lumens for video light.. My future set up will have close to 5000 Lumens


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well i had to figure out how to mount the camera to the delrin... so i went to wallmart and bought me a piece of crap O camera tripod for 20.00 , then i took off the top mounting plate thingy and stuck in on the delrin with 3 nice stainless screws.. the other end threads into the bottom of my housing.


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and here is the WPV1 mounted

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total cost for the whole build was under 200.00, Oh the battery pack is 10 sub c batteries 4500 Ma from All battery . com , when charged its 14 volts , and i get a 3 hour light burn

[Underwater Ogre]

Very nice...great looking rig! Would love to see some closer shots of the light housings.

U/O

[knowone]

Well. Now you can cancel the other stuff and triple bang stick the tripod for less than aware non vid divers.

[EAN]

Nice. Keep us updated on your progress. I have this same camera, but I haven't bought the waterproof case yet.

[H20doctor]

here is a video i shot the other night...with this set up ...

Hd dive Movie # 2 on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/11392620)

[antero]

here is a video i shot the other night...with this set up ...

Hd dive Movie # 2 on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/11392620)

Really nice video. Good clips of sea life. I like the transition from black and white (boring/grey) surface to colors (live and fun) underwater scene. I understand that visibility was not perfect is that is why it was like in a macro mode? Light seems a little bit spoty, maybe needs a diffuser? what is the power per star, and did you use any collimators?

[H20doctor]

Our vis right in Puget sound is full of algae Bloom, so everything is really Green and vis is like 10 feet , as for the lights , they seem to have 2 hot spots .. I built a diffuser for the right light and it helps alittle , but not much.. As for shooting Macro.. I don't have a Macro lens or the wide angle for this housing, because its another 400.00 . So I am working on a DIY lens setup ... Each light Housing is about 700 lumens

[Didje]

This is awesome, well done!
How did you attach the strobes to the arms?

[H20doctor]

i just used some cheap black zip ties