advice needed for strobe and video light

[world_traveler]

I have a canon 110s with Ikelite housing and I want to add lights. As I take both video and photos I thought to buy one strobe (ys-o1) and one video light (don't know yet which one). I have a few questions:
1.will the combined lights solve the light problem in both cases (not perfect, but good enough) or it's 2 half solutions?
2.which video light is good up to 500$?
3. is it better to use a flex arm or a joint arm?
thank you

 

[Ran Mozaik]

I recommend getting the YS-01, and setting it up with a velcro Mask Set. I used it like that for quite some time and it works perfectly.
1. There are currently no combined options which are good enough so get separate lights for video and stills.
2. As for video lights, there are quite a lot of options. Within your budget I recommend the BigBlue VTL2800P (just came out). It's the successor of the 2500 light and provides excellent value.
You can also check out the Fantasea Radiant 1600 & Itorch Pro6+.
3. Flex arms vs joint arms are a matter of preference, but usually I recommend going for flex with compacts. It gives you enough length from the lens and very easy to maneuver.
A package that includes all of these might be something like this: Sea & Sea YS-01 Strobe - Itorch Pro6 Video Light Mounted on Uni-Tray Flex Arm Set Light Set

 

[Hatul]

I recommend getting the YS-01, and setting it up with a velcro Mask Set. I used it like that for quite some time and it works perfectly.
1. There are currently no combined options which are good enough so get separate lights for video and stills.
2. As for video lights, there are quite a lot of options. Within your budget I recommend the BigBlue VTL2800P (just came out). It's the successor of the 2500 light and provides excellent value.
You can also check out the Fantasea Radiant 1600 & Itorch Pro6+.
3. Flex arms vs joint arms are a matter of preference, but usually I recommend going for flex with compacts. It gives you enough length from the lens and very easy to maneuver.
A package that includes all of these might be something like this: Sea & Sea YS-01 Strobe - Itorch Pro6 Video Light Mounted on Uni-Tray Flex Arm Set Light Set

I'm quite happy so far with my Big Blue VTL2500P. It's half the price of one Sola and takes the place of two Solas, as it has a very wide and powerful beam. Makes a great focusing light as I found my still photos have much improved since I installed this. Also in contrast to the Solas, the battery is standard and replaceable.

As far as the strobe goes, I took the advice of one of the experts here, (Interceptor) and went with the Inon strobe. Both the d2000 and Z240 come with an auto mode, which allows you to set your Canon S camera in manual mode and the strobe takes care of the light. This has two important virtues: allows the camera to put out minimal flash with no preflash, and allows a shutter speed to be set faster than 1/60.

 

[world_traveler]

Thank you both, Ran and Hatul!
I'll check both options, but if there isn't a good enough combined option for either Photos or video, the video light serves mainly as focus light?

 

[3D diver]

I prefer to work in pairs of lights to avoid harsh shadows. Two video lights would work for still photography while you save up for a pair of strobes.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

I have a canon 110s with Ikelite housing and I want to add lights. As I take both video and photos I thought to buy one strobe (ys-o1) and one video light (don't know yet which one). I have a few questions:
1.will the combined lights solve the light problem in both cases (not perfect, but good enough) or it's 2 half solutions?
2.which video light is good up to 500$?
3. is it better to use a flex arm or a joint arm?
thank you

1. What is your budget for strobes?
The only strobe that I found that had a good video light is the Ikelite DS-161, other strobes have "focus" lights which do not provide the best lighting for movies. The Ikelites are a bit pricey, quite heavy, and require a specific battery pack, and you would also need to purchase a slave to fire the strobe as it uses ikelites own specific sync cable.

I switched from ikelite to the Inon S2000 dual, and also have one Inon D-2000 with focus light, as they are quite light weight especially for travel and only use AA batteries. I had an o-ring fail on my DS-161 and flooded the battery pack which was I believe 300 USD to replace and I was not able to get them in Bali so that raises another issue is ease of finding batteries if something happens.
Also you will end up wanting to have dual strobes as you advance further in your photography allowing for more flexibility and better lighting.
I would suggest the Inon S-2000 very compact and powerful little strobe, this is what I use for my G16 and love them.

2. I have seen good quality lighting from the intova galaxy lights but I think they are closer to 600 if I remember correctly, otherwise save up for a good sola.

3. Flex arms- as stated by Ran it is a personal preference. I did like them as they can be a little easier to adjust at times, but I still preferred joint arms, also you can easily add/ remove arms and joints as needed, there are also a few options of being able to mount video lights to that arms at the same time as the strobe and adding buoyancy floats of needed.

As for video lights for still photography I would advise against that you do not have full control over the lights only the preset light powers designed by the mfg.

I would suggest purchasing a strobe kit first then invest into your video lighting, unless you are mostly shooting video and only a few shots of stills, then I would suggest investing in your video lights and using the internal flash with diffuser for now.

 

[Hatul]

Another idea that some use (including the famous Dr. Bill) is to just shoot video, no strobe just a video light, and extract stills with your software. The potential quality is not as good as can be had with a strobe, but it's easier because your timing for taking shots of moving animals is not as critical, and the quality is good enough for e sharing. The rig is also easier to manage without the big strobe.

 

[world_traveler]

Thanks 3D Diver, Denlascuba and Hatul!
I'll do dome more research on the subject.