Underwater Light/Arm housing setup for photography/videography

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Webster, WI
Hello all!

New member here, with some questions regarding underwater lighting setups. I work for a nonprofit called Northwest Passage, based in Webster, WI. Recently we have begun an underwater photography/videography program (to supplement our pre-existing nature photography program) for our kids. We have supplied them with Canon t3's and have already purchased several underwater housings (which can be viewed here: Canon EOS Rebel T3i / 600D Underwater Housing by Equinox T31). Looking at lighting options online, I was surprised at how expensive something as "simple" as light bulbs could be (I use "simple" loosely because I know there are many factors to consider), so I'm looking at building something functional on my own - in order to save some money.

I know very little about underwater lighting, and I'm sure there's a whole slew of factors I would easily overlook should I dive into building these on my own - so I'm reaching out for help. I need a versatile, useful setup that I can produce several copies of that will fit the needs required for underwater photography excursions. This would include mounting arms (maybe mounted on the wingnut along with the housing handles?) that will provide some options for adjustments while underwater, and then the light bulbs themselves.

Now, I mentioned I'm trying to do this myself to save some money, but quality photography matters over all and I'm not afraid to spend a little more should it mean more success for the kids - as they are my central factor in this matter.
 
You do have the right idea about that wingnut. That is the key to any sort of flash/video mounting system. Some mfr's of arm systems will sell a bracket that mounts it and has a mounting for their arm system also. Usually detachable so you can leave the plate attached to the housing.

If you want a strobe flash system you'll have to buy one since they're not something you can DIY. Inon is a popular brand, INON Strobe [Lineup] Ikelite also makes some that would work with some modification of the mounting. Ikelite | Lighting | Strobes

And there's others. None particularly cheap. An added complication with that system is triggering it - you'd need to mount an external flash trigger somewhere out of the cameras view. Equinox may have a bulkhead connector for a wired connection to certain flash systems but I didn't see it on their website. And you also don't want the light output from the camera flash mixing with the external flash - it will be too bright and cause backscatter. So to suppress that you use something like this: INON Technical Guide [Clear Photo System]

Now lets talk about video systems which are completely different. It might be possible to have one also do the functions of a strobe flash system - just leave it on continuously while shooting pictures. The camera should see enough light for it's imaging sensor to work properly if you buy enough light.

With a video system, besides pure light output - measured in Lumens - generally the higher the better the important thing is beam coverage angle. Since the camera has a wide angle lens and the housing port is making it wider still, you need wide light coverage to match. Otherwise there's a hotpot in the center of the image surrounded by darkness. It looks really bad.

So that precludes something as simple as mounting a standard dive light on an arm and turning it on while shooting. One good thing is that while video lights used to be prohibitively expensive - the standard was lighting systems cost 2-3X what the housing did - with the advent of the GoPro and other action cams and HD video on DSLR's - like yours - mfr's have developed low-cost, wide angle video specific lights.

There are a lot of options listed in threads in the GoPro Video section of the board - some are shown here as well: Lighting Systems - Equinox Underwater Housings Another reasonably priced option is the Edge Gear Morph backup light with the add-on video head. You buy this light - 1000 lumens is bright enough for video - 2 are better for coverage though - at $149, add the wide angle head for $109, and figure out how to mount it to your housing. Morph Backup Light - Dive Right in Scuba

There are other similar systems. Mako Products sells one. Even wider beam angle (110o) for $90. MAKO Underwater Photo/Video Light

Intova is another inexpensive mfr. of lights that can be used as video lights. Their Galaxy is 2500LM - twice the output of the others - and 140o beam angle - for $400 retail. Intovatec Galaxy waterproof LED video light | Intova

More importantly they also sell a clamp that can be used to mount just about any small bodied video light to any arm system. They're $9 each. Intova TA6 Flashlight ?C? Clamp

If you've seen the flexible "loc-line arm systems somewhere - those are your best option for inexpensive light arms. A ball/arm/clamp system can run in excess of $125 plus the needed custom fittings - a loc-line system that does the same thing is $15 for the entire kit. If you haven't seen one - here's an example: flex arm for underwater lighting system mount | Intova You'll need to find the adapter for the Equinox housing end but notice that this arm already has the adapter for the clamp end I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Similar adapters are $12 from other companies.

The arm tubing is called Loc-Line. You can buy it from Intova, from a specialty u/w photo shop like Reef Photo - Loc-Line : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros - or it's all over Ebay. The reason the Reef stuff is orange - and blue - is because it's actually this: The Original Modular Hose System | Loc-Line

Someone must make a little plate to mount the loc-line to the clamps on your housings handles. Or DIY it out of brass/stainless. All it needs is to have two holes drilled in it. For the flex tubing mount side - buy one of these, drill a hole in it, and bolt it to the plate. Loc-Line 1/2" Fixed Mount Base [loc.51895] - $6.00 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros

Go with the 3/4" tubing for video lights. The 1/2" is a little flimsy. If it's not stiff enough, either wrap it in duct tape, a correctly sized rubber tube, or you can get thick wall plastic tubing and run it up inside the loc-line for added stiffness.

Google Go Pro video lights, look at sites like Optical Ocean Sales, Backscatter, Reef Photo/Video - there's others. Even LeisurePro.com has some video lights. You should be able to find a lot of reasonably priced options. Anything 1000lumens (LM) and up is fine for video, obviously the more the better. Consider two lights also to reduce the shadows. And always get a wide angle beam 60o or more to match your camera at wider angles.

hth,
 
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Steve,

Thank you so much for your reply, I appreciate your time. Sorry it took a while for me to respond, I've had numerous other projects to attend to.

It seems that there are some good options here for saving money on lights. As I thought, the arm systems should be simple enough for me to create with the options you have supplied me with here, I'll just have to see what specific size clamps and things I will need.

For the lights, I'm curious whether or not you think that video lights or strobes would be the best option. The kids will only be taking photographs (and the water would maximum be about 10 ft) so I think strobes would be best correct? However, I personally would like to get video footage of the kids underwater taking photographs, so I would need to purchase a video light as well right? I just want to make sure I'm understanding the purposes of the different lights correctly. So for that, what do you think the best option would be for a sufficient video light? I'd like to avoid the hotspots and backscatter as you mentioned - the higher quality video the better.

Also, my boss just brought up his concern of strobes scaring the wildlife away. I'm wondering if this is a concern.
 
Since you mentioned the 10' max range, you may need none of the above. Since the camera/internal flash may work well for what you need. If not:

Here's some general things to consider. I'm basing this on the Ikelite strobe that Equinox sells as they're obviously familiar with it. It apparently works as either a TTL strobe or as a fiber optic controlled external strobe. Substrobe DS51

It has TTL mode (thru-the-lens) control. I assume the camera you own has that function also - most do. So there needs to be a electrical connection between the camera and the strobe. Often that's done with a hot-shoe adapter on the camera that goes to a bulkhead (watertight) connector that a similar cable plugs into from the strobe. That way the camera sensor 100% controls the flash output. Your Equinox housings would need to be retrofitted with the bulkheads - I would assume by Equinox.

The other option that they list is a Fiber Optic Adapter. It's generally a small fiber optic sensor that you mount on the exterior of the housing - somewhere it can "see" the camera's internal flash. As the camera fires, the strobe also fires. You do have to do some manual correction on the camera for this to work well, since I shoot only video I don't know how that works. It does though as my buddy gets good results with his.

A further complication is that if both the camera flash and the external strobe fire you might get too much light. Since all that's needed to fire the external strobe is the infrared portion Inon sells this kit - what it does is block the visible light but allow the infrared thru to fire the external strobe. INON Technical Guide [Clear Photo System]

It also might be possible to use the camera's flash and add fill light with an external strobe. I suggest you post in the Canon camera forum and ask if someone shoots a setup similar to yours since I really don't know.

Also in 10' of water, unless it's really clear, you may get backscatter. (particles light up by the flash in the same plane as the lens) To reduce that external strobes are better as they allow you to position them at a different angle.

But you might try just using the camera's built-in flash first. Apparently that's how Equinox thinks it will work.

That's about all I know about flash photography...

At 10' in daylight unless the water is unusually dark or murky, you likely won't need video lights at all. That camera shoots 1080P HD video already. I doubt you'll need much else. It's my belief - and validate this with someone that knows - that if you did add video lights, the only reason you might need strobes is to stop the action. I have a buddy with a Canon video camera with a very high powered video light - he uses the same setup to take stills.

When I watch my buddy take photos, the fish don't generally seem to react to flashes - maybe they "twitch" for a second. Sharks do as it messes with their sensory organs if you're really close. Fish do run and hide if you light them up for predators with video lights. But that mostly happens at night.
 
Ok Steve, after much deliberation and research I have almost decided on a final setup. However, I just need your quick opinion on the overall build - if you think it will work or not. I'm going to start fresh and list every piece of equipment just so everything is nice and clean and we're both on the exact same page...

Housing: (Amazon.com : Equinox T3 Underwater Camera Housing for Canon T3 (1100D) DSLR Camera w/Customizable lens : Camera & Photo)
This is the exact housing my boss is purchasing. After some research, I've found that most users do use the available wingnuts in the handles to mount their own video lights - so we were correct in thinking that.

Lights: (MAKO Underwater Photo/Video Light)
I have decided to go with those lights you mentioned, and after a lot of comparison I found no other lights even close to these in terms of lumens, beam width, and price - so thank you for finding that awesome deal.

The mounting is still where I'm having trouble, but I'm getting closer to finding the perfect solution....

Starting from the bottom, I found that Equinox actually sells a plate for use with mounting (Housing Light Arm Adapter) which fits in with the wingnuts. However, seeing how this is a ridiculous price for a simple piece of metal, I'm looking at making it myself at a local hardware store which shouldn't be too hard. I e-mailed Equinox before I noticed they sold these plates, asking for the specific size and thread count of the wingnut screw so I might not get an answer as it's not in their best interest to provide me with that information, but maybe I'll get lucky eh? If all else fails, once I have all the objects in hand, I should be able to figure it out.

Your idea of using the loc-line 3/4 inch base adapters seems to be the best solutions and I found a pack of 2 (how convenient!) here: Coolant Hose Manifolds, Mounting & Distribution | MSCDirect.com

So I will just have to drill a hole in the bottom of these adapters and attach them to the plate with a screw.

Then I will attach loc-line to these adapters (found here: Loc-Line 61501 Hose Segment) to serve as the arm for the light. I'm going to make each arm one foot long (these are sold in two 6 piece segments), so I'm correct in assuming they just snap together right?

For the mount, I liked your idea of using the "universal" adjustable flashlight mount (found here: Intova TA6 Flashlight ?C? Clamp) because it's cheap and should most definitely fit the circumference of the flashlights.

I had the biggest trouble finding a solution to connect the flashlight mount to the loc line arms (I needed just the end adapter in this: flex arm for underwater lighting system mount, FA30 and FA18 | Intova) HOWEVER, I just found out that this is called a YS adapter and found them on Ebay here: YS Adapter to 3 4" Loc Line YS Mount Flex Arm Underwater Video Lighting | eBay

It seems that my problem is solved! I'm just curious if you think the screw in the flashlight mount will be the correct size for the hole in the YS adapter.

Thank you!
 
The mounting is still where I'm having trouble, but I'm getting closer to finding the perfect solution....

Starting from the bottom, I found that Equinox actually sells a plate for use with mounting (Housing Light Arm Adapter) which fits in with the wingnuts. However, seeing how this is a ridiculous price for a simple piece of metal, I'm looking at making it myself at a local hardware store which shouldn't be too hard. I e-mailed Equinox before I noticed they sold these plates, asking for the specific size and thread count of the wingnut screw so I might not get an answer as it's not in their best interest to provide me with that information, but maybe I'll get lucky eh? If all else fails, once I have all the objects in hand, I should be able to figure it out.
I don't think it's threaded, I think it's just two holes in a thicker flat metal plate. One is sized to fit over your handle screw so it doesn't move laterally. I think some Home Depot bar stock with two holes in it would work just as well. Get some spray epoxy paint and it will have something to grab onto.

Your idea of using the loc-line 3/4 inch base adapters seems to be the best solutions and I found a pack of 2 (how convenient!) here: Coolant Hose Manifolds, Mounting & Distribution | MSCDirect.com

So I will just have to drill a hole in the bottom of these adapters and attach them to the plate with a screw.
Those are the ones. Apparently they're even pre-drilled for a 1/4" bolt. Same part # but your price is better: Loc-Line 60533 Fixed Mount

Then I will attach loc-line to these adapters (found here: Loc-Line 61501 Hose Segment) to serve as the arm for the light. I'm going to make each arm one foot long (these are sold in two 6 piece segments), so I'm correct in assuming they just snap together right?
I've read it's pretty tough to snap together so you might want to consider: Jeton 3 4" Hose Assembly Pliers 26177 Flex Coolant Hose Loc Line Type | eBay
I had the biggest trouble finding a solution to connect the flashlight mount to the loc line arms (I needed just the end adapter in this: flex arm for underwater lighting system mount, FA30 and FA18 | Intova) HOWEVER, I just found out that this is called a YS adapter and found them on Ebay here: YS Adapter to 3 4" Loc Line YS Mount Flex Arm Underwater Video Lighting | eBay
deeproof makes one also but yours is $1 less - Deeproof YS Adapter for Loc-Line 3/4" Flex Arm
I'm just curious if you think the screw in the flashlight mount will be the correct size for the hole in the YS adapter.
I think so. That YS adapter looks thick enough also to clamp well. It's an Intova so you could ask IntovaJoe for specs. - Intova

You might see if you can determine if the Intova clamp will fit over the barrel of the Mako light also. Looks like it should, assuming one of the fatter ends comes off. I don't think those Mako lights are very big either.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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