Good Dive Light for Night Dives for a Photo Bug

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

Going on a Nekton trip in December, decided it was time to buy our own dive lights(we have a really small LED but doesn't put out a lot of light). Since I take tons of photos, and I really love taking them on night dives, I need a better light that can possibly strap to my bc, arm or forehead. We got the lastest issue of ScubaDiving Magazine and there is only one listed, don't remember the name offhand but it was about $75.00 I think. Anyone have experience with this and/or suggestions for a good light that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars?

 

[fatbadak]

i had trouble taking pics during nite dives. i tend to get tangles up with the camera strobe arm and the torch cord. So i've been toying with the idea of replacing my inon tray with one from ultralite. A dual handle set-up, so i can still have my strobe on one side and the other attach my dive torch. Apparently ultralight has a an attachment which allows you to clamp your torch to the handle - so you get a nite light and a focus light.

I'm only saying coz i got a wee UK torch that attach to my mask strap but that got awkward pretty fast. Felt like my mask was sliding off all the time.

 

[fisheyeview]

I would suggest a focus light mounted on the camera housing, but you said you didn't want to spend hundreds.

 

[MdScubaAl]

You might want to think about a strobe with a modeling light such as the Inon's - I've used this on a bunch of night dives and it works great. They can be set to stay on after the picture is taken.
Al

 

[Katamuki]

I night dive 1-2 times a week and use a Nocturnal Light mounted on top of a Ikelite with the 3-hole Ultralight clamp. The light does not turn off during the strobe cycle and yet does not burn any extra color into the image. It is powerful enough that it also serves as my primary dive light while mounted on the camera. The following images are from 50 feet, moonless night and the squid are open water column photos in absolutely pitch black conditions. I cannot say enough about how good this light is.

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

Thanks for the info. I already bought the head mount light and went on my trip, it was okay but the batteries die out faster and it hurt after awhile. I tried using it on my hand and around my wide angle but I'll have to figure out something else or buy another light altogether.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

An Ikelite DS 200 (or SS 200) has wide enough coverage for 100 deg lens (~20mm), the modeling light is bright enough to use as the primary dive light and only the most trigger happy snapper would run the battery down on a 60 minute dive. They also have the fastest recycle time of any underwater strobe I've ever heard of; a no-brainer for many divers, I have two of each!