dive lights as a poor man's strobe?

[notabob]

Has anyone had any experience with using small underwater floodllights mounted to the camera's housing/handle as a substitute for a dedicated strobe? What would be the cons of such a setup (aside from rapidly drained batteries)? With underwater strobes (especially the digital-capable ones) as expensive as they are, I'm trying to find cheaper alternatives for the nearterm. Thanks in advance.

-Roman.

 

[Dee]

Check this post on Digital Diver for a discussion on why not to use them with still cameras.

 

[DiverBuoy]

Did Dee just lead you away to another s-s-scuba board. (just kidding <g>)

 

[notabob]

Thanks for the link, Dee! I was kinda suspecting something like this would be the case. Something about "if it sounds too good to be true..." Oh well. There's always next year. I'll just deal with the itsy-bitsy built-in strobe for now On a related subject, how about using a light on a night dive to spotlight the subject and help the camera focus in the dark?

-Roman. Who's still true to SB, despite the options

 

[Dee]

DiverBuoy once bubbled...
Did Dee just lead you away to another s-s-scuba board. (just kidding <g>)

No...I pointed him to an excellent board dedicated to digital photography!

 

[raxafarian]

Roman.... how much will ya pay to rent my strobe

 

[Dee]

notabob once bubbled...
....On a related subject, how about using a light on a night dive to spotlight the subject and help the camera focus in the dark?
-Roman. Who's still true to SB, despite the options

That'll work but you have to make sure your spotting light isn't too bright or you'll have a hot spot in your pictures. I just ordered a Princeton Tec Attitude L.E.D. light to use with my set-up. It has three white L.E.D. bulbs that are bright enough to use as a primary light yet, but it doesn't produce circles of light...just that overall glow, know what I mean? My strobe will easily wash out any of the light.

Or you can get a dive buddy who will spot stuff for you then turn off the light just before you take the picture! ut:

 

[notabob]

raxafarian once bubbled...
Roman.... how much will ya pay to rent my strobe

Wish I could! But I doubt it'll work with my camera. The G2 uses pre-flash, and I don't think your 200 understands it. Would be pretty sweet if it did, though. That's a mother of a strobe

-Roman.

 

[notabob]

Dee once bubbled...


That'll work but you have to make sure your spotting light isn't too bright or you'll have a hot spot in your pictures. I just ordered a Princeton Tec Attitude L.E.D. light to use with my set-up. It has three white L.E.D.

Thanks again, looks like a nice little light. Would a diffuser attached to the lens of the light further help scatter the light and eliminate hotspots? Hmm...

-Roman.

 

[Dee]

notabob once bubbled...


Thanks again, looks like a nice little light. Would a diffuser attached to the lens of the light further help scatter the light and eliminate hotspots? Hmm...

-Roman.

I was editing that post as you typed you response! The L.E.D. bulbs don't produce a hot spot. But if you have a light that does, I diffuser will certainly help. One of the photoographers who used to run the photo shop at CoCo View Resort user to use a piece of cheesecloth over his primary light. Wasn't pretty but it worked!