Night diving, high particulate, low visibilty videography rig. Suggestions?

[lowviz]

Problem: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/pe...et-may-20-2015-a-post7446644.html#post7446644

That (link above) was a wonderful dive, completely captivating to watch IRL, but the vid sucks. The quality was what one would expect using a primary light and a bungeed hand held cam. I was expending a surprising amount of energy just hovering in the light current.

I'm looking for suggestions as to a middle of the road videography rig that will perform under these conditions. I just want to record my dives and have them look SOMETHING like how I saw them at the time.

Givens:
1) The subject will be (at the absolute MOST) maybe up to 3' away. The sweet spot is between one and two feet. Sharp focus IS an issue.
2) There will always be heavy particulate matter making backscatter an overriding concern.
2) Zero ambient light. Total darkness. I'm guessing two good lights.
3) Other than number of lights, I have no preconceived ideas about this rig. Need informed input.
4) Willing to buy something that works well, not looking to impress anyone. Just want something for my own enjoyment.
5) Willing to buy once, no plans for upgrade. Looking for a solid workhorse rig of reasonable size and cost.

Thanks.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

It looks like the Go Pro is giving you rather good decent video quality when the proper lighting "bounces into" the video frame. That being said a proper video tray and 2 light system with video head may get you what you need. This is a solid tray that we've gotten great feedback on. As far as lighting goes, these have the power you need and have a video head option.

Like I said above, I think at a bare minimum you would get exponentially better quality video if the light was in sync with the camera.

 

[lowviz]

That certainly is a low-cost option worth exploring. I've seen the tray.

My big concern is focus. The seahorse in the vid was simply spectacular IRL but just looks flat in the vid. I'm not looking for presentation quality, just something that captures more details in the distance range I gave. I can't help but feeling that autofocus is needed.

Yes, lighting is everything. However, I think the cam is a bit overwhelmed by the requirements of this sort of video.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

We offer a low cost, turn key solution to your GoPro video and lighting needs. We offer a modular tray system with articulating arms and two wide angle 890 lumen video lights. For decent video, typical dive lights will not work well because they are too focused and this washes out the subject, especially when shot at night with a very dark background.


Two Handle Camera Tray | MAKO Spearguns

[video=youtube;DthPL7-fC1Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DthPL7-fC1Y[/video]

 

[lowviz]

Nice mount, wasn't aware of it.

However, this isn't a GoPro only question. I'm looking for a buy-once and enjoy forever solution to just recording my routine dives with a reasonable degree of fidelity.

It does make sense to get a good tray and THEN decide if it is a focus issue.

Edit: I love my GoPro, it is usually always bungeed to my wrist. If I see something it is there for me. Sometimes I want better. Maybe the GoPro can do it, don't know. But I don't want to invest in a lot of stuff to find out I really need autofocus or something like that.

 

[TSandM]

You dive alone a lot, right? Because a REALLY good solution to good video in heavy particulates is off-axis lighting. In my documentation diver class, I got to use a 10K lumen light to do that, and the quality of the video was amazing.

 

[lowviz]

You dive alone a lot, right?

Yep.



Damn, you're good. No. No dive buddy, thanks anyway.

Not even one with a full-blown killer off-axis light. Yes, that lighting works. Can even see a bit of off-axis lighting (totally accidentally) in my vid.

This is a gear solution to a buddy problem, Lynne.

-Best.

 

[RJP]

I like the Ikelite tray. Seen here with two Sola 1200s for main lighting and two Mako lights for fill. At a max 3ft distance the Mako lights alone would be sufficient. The nice thing about LocLine arms is you can add segments and pretty much go as wide as you want. The hard part, however, when you're very close to your subject is that "off axis" lighting can easily become "off to the side" lighting.
G]

 

[phoenix31tt]

i have this bundle...

SRP Tray and Light Bundle

works great for me... allows position of the lights, very sturdy etc.

you can get brighter lights if you want to and they have different handles for them etc. Check it out (maybe on the pricier side though)

 

[lowviz]

Lighting is indeed important.

I could probably work my way around that, but are you happy with the focus in the half-foot to foot and a half range? Maybe I need to capture at a higher rate but with better lighting while videoing at night...