Help Me Pick A Sea Dragon!

[topher]

I have a DC1400 and am learning to use it. So far I really love it. But-I really need a flash and am ready to buy one. I am a novice but love shooting macro life -see below. However, without a real flash rig everything not macro or very shallow is overly blue (see sea star below and profile pic

)- I guess I'm preaching to the choir... Anyway I'm confused about the lighting options and the sea life website is not very good at explaining lights/strobes etc to the novice. Wondering if you guys can give me your opinion on lighting systems to add to the DC1400. Thanks

 

[topher]

This looks pretty good. And it seems that the light can double as another dive light. if I am shooting mostly stills is this overkill?

Sea Dragon Duo 2000 with Flash | Sealife Cameras

 

[Pillpusher]

This looks pretty good. And it seems that the light can double as another dive light. if I am shooting mostly stills is this overkill?

Sea Dragon Duo 2000 with Flash | Sealife Cameras

Personally, I'm not a fan of the video light/strobe combos. Reason being you have two different light sources from one side to the other which can potentially cause uneven lighting. However, I'm a big fan of some of the other SeaLife setups.

Myself, I use dual SeaDragon strobes because you can manually adjust the strobe strength. If an image is under or overexposed, adjusting the strobes (1-10 scale) is much simpler than adjusting your ISO, shutter speed, or f-stop (Note: Those adjustments can only be made in manual). This gives you the flexibility to adjust those settings depending on the type of photo you are trying to take, then make simple adjustments to the strobe itself for exposure. The strobes also have an auto-exposure mode if you want to roll that way, and make manual changes when needed. The main downside to the strobes is that they aren't for video. But, if you're taking mostly stills as you said, that shouldn't be a huge deal. However, if you prefer the video lights (yes, they can be especially nice to have during night dives), I suggest either the Duo 3000 or Duo 5000 setups just so you'll have the same light source on each side. I plan on sticking with the strobes, though.

 

[SeaLife Cameras]

I have a DC1400 and am learning to use it. So far I really love it. But-I really need a flash and am ready to buy one. I am a novice but love shooting macro life -see below. However, without a real flash rig everything not macro or very shallow is overly blue (see sea star below and profile picView attachment 369396 View attachment 369397 )- I guess I'm preaching to the choir... Anyway I'm confused about the lighting options and the sea life website is not very good at explaining lights/strobes etc to the novice. Wondering if you guys can give me your opinion on lighting systems to add to the DC1400. Thanks

SeaLife offers a variety of lighting options that will add beautiful colors to your stills and videos. The powerful Sea Dragon 2500 is the most popular choice among underwater photographers. It features 2500 lumens across a 120° beam angle with a color rendering index of 90 (sunlight is 100) and a color temperature of 5000k. Another alternative is the new Sea Dragon 1500 that features 1500 lumens across 120° beam angle with a CRI of 80 and color temperature of 5700k. Both lights solve the issue of blue underwater photos and videos while bringing out the best colors.

If you are looking to add a strobe to your DC1400 camera, the Sea Dragon Duo 2000 includes the Sea Dragon Flash, Sea Dragon Duo 2000, 2x grips, and dual tray. The set provides versatility for shooting photos or videos. Additionally, the Sea Dragon 2000 light has Auto Flash Detection Mode which will turn the light off for 2 seconds when an external flash is detected.