Choosing a video light for underwater video

[Interceptor121]

No light in all my shots, just took that as an example on where I would like to use my light on.

Those shots are not bad at all and with your Sony and a red filter they will look even better. I would not even think of using lights for those shots due to distance and % you scare the sharks

 

[SlvrDragon50]

Sorry to bring this up again now... but I just realized I'm shooting 170* FOV with the GoPro wide.

Marty, I believe you do this as well. Do you find that the beam angle of the SOLAs are too narrow to cover such a wide area?

 

[kkfok]

Those shots are not bad at all and with your Sony and a red filter they will look even better. I would not even think of using lights for those shots due to distance and % you scare the sharks

Thanks. Seems that it was a bad decision to have bought the lights.
I will try 5D3 Raw video in this coming trip, hope that the extra latitude for post processing is good enough for wide angle shots.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

So if I am reading this properly, and since I am using an Intova Sport Pro with a 110 degree FOV, I should be able to get good use from these? Welcome To Bigblue Dive Lights Thanks again for the rule of thumb and the thread...best advice I have seen.

Sorry but I did not fully understand your last reply. So the camera has a lens that has a 110 degree FOV. Most of the light suggestions pertain to shooting picture or video of fisk. I am in the caves and need deeper peneration. Well they also offer this light for video / pictures but it has a 120 degree beam. http://www.bigbluedivelights.com/pro...asp?REC_ID=119 That soulds great at first but since I have been doing my research the with of the beam decreases the punch toward distance. So I thought of pairing up two of these Welcome To Bigblue Dive Lights in order to ditch the excessive weighted setup I have now.

 

[SlvrDragon50]

Sorry but I did not fully understand your last reply. So the camera has a lens that has a 110 degree FOV. Most of the light suggestions pertain to shooting picture or video of fisk. I am in the caves and need deeper peneration. Well they also offer this light for video / pictures but it has a 120 degree beam. http://www.bigbluedivelights.com/pro...asp?REC_ID=119 That soulds great at first but since I have been doing my research the with of the beam decreases the punch toward distance. So I thought of pairing up two of these Welcome To Bigblue Dive Lights in order to ditch the excessive weighted setup I have now.

I was reading in another thread how people throw on a third light with a tighter beam to punch through in addition to the wide angle FOV. Maybe you could do that?

 

[Interceptor121]

Thanks. Seems that it was a bad decision to have bought the lights.
I will try 5D3 Raw video in this coming trip, hope that the extra latitude for post processing is good enough for wide angle shots.

That is the way forward
I think blackmagic pocket camera has an housing from nauticam and shoots very high bitrate

---------- Post added January 10th, 2014 at 09:09 AM ----------

Sorry but I did not fully understand your last reply. So the camera has a lens that has a 110 degree FOV. Most of the light suggestions pertain to shooting picture or video of fisk. I am in the caves and need deeper peneration. Well they also offer this light for video / pictures but it has a 120 degree beam. http://www.bigbluedivelights.com/pro...asp?REC_ID=119 That soulds great at first but since I have been doing my research the with of the beam decreases the punch toward distance. So I thought of pairing up two of these Welcome To Bigblue Dive Lights in order to ditch the excessive weighted setup I have now.

Those field of view are measured in air and are diagonal not horizontal
So the gopro once in water drops to less than 100 degrees horizontal and the intova will do the same
You can test it yourself in a pool against the tiles on the wall
Unless you have a fisheye lens of some sort you never exceed 110 horizontal field of view

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Got it and thanks again.

 

[Mike]

I was reading in another thread how people throw on a third light with a tighter beam to punch through in addition to the wide angle FOV. Maybe you could do that?

There is really no substitute for using equipment that accomplishes your goals in the first place.

Adding that 3rd light to 'punch through' usually means it's located on top of the camera which is the place you typically don't want a light since you're susceptible to backscatter in the water.

I can't see anybody going wrong with Solas, they cost what they do because of what they are. Cheaper usually means work arounds and comprimises. If you can afford it, spend money on lights until it hurts, you'll never regret money spent on lights.

 

[Dauntless]

I think sharks don't come towards a video light period. Even if it was 1000 lumens to them it looks glowing and they can't see so won't trust it to get anywhere near in my opinion
Shooting sharks has to be done with ambient light. If are deep there isn't much so what you can do is to remove the filter and then change the footage to black and white

These guys didn't get the memo about lights In the 1st one, my buddy Brad, snuck up behind me and was calling the sharks in with a plastic bottle crinkling. You gotta watch to the end to see the shark come right up to the light

[video=youtube_share;nPzI9-BtvxQ]http://youtu.be/nPzI9-BtvxQ[/video]

[video=youtube_share;S7CzSfHw4Go]http://youtu.be/S7CzSfHw4Go[/video]

---------- Post added January 11th, 2014 at 01:26 PM ----------

There is really no substitute for using equipment that accomplishes your goals in the first place.

Adding that 3rd light to 'punch through' usually means it's located on top of the camera which is the place you typically don't want a light since you're susceptible to backscatter in the water.

I can't see anybody going wrong with Solas, they cost what they do because of what they are. Cheaper usually means work arounds and comprimises. If you can afford it, spend money on lights until it hurts, you'll never regret money spent on lights.

That may have been my post, I use only two, a wide angle and a medium angle, one on each side. Seems to work. Wide=BigBlue 1800 (120 dgrs) Intova Tovatec 1K as punch light. Wish I could say it was a calculated setup, naaaah, I had two lights and put them both on and when I looked at the video, wow, that's neat !

 

[Interceptor121]

In clear water with no suspended particles there is no backscatter you can point the lights right ahead
However that is rare and in majority of cases you so have some stuff in the water
Obviously all depends on the conditions you dive in but best practices suggest two symmetric lights for wide angle with same intensity and colour