How powerful should my video lights be?

[robint]

Some light systems aren't overly negative and mounting the battery on the housing is a good option if the housing is positive. You'll want the whole system, housing, lights, arms, etc., to be close to neutral.

You can wear the battery on a belt or BC, but if you are going to do that, you'll want the cord to have a wet connector.

Don't forget to check the buoyancy of the lamps too. 1lb or 2lb negative doesn't sound like much, but put that on the end of a lamp arm and see what happens to the handling of your system.....

I am glad someone else brought this topic up as I am still contemplating a light system. Since I have an Ikelite housing, I am looking at the Ikelite lighting system.
Ikelite Pro Video-Lite 3
The battery mounts underneath the housing in place of the weight there so no problems with that but I am trying to decide if getting one 50w light or one 100w light would be best (both are around $600). I am planning to use it for night dives primarily. I am thinking that for night dives, the 50w would be plenty and then I can always add another 50w later on if I want.
Yes? No? Comments?

robin
2 months til the Nekton in Bahamas!

 

[ronscuba]

Robin, I believe with the Ikelite lights the difference BTW the 50 and 100 is just the bulb, which should be easy to switch and they are cheap at less than $5 each.

 

[robint]

Robin, I believe with the Ikelite lights the difference BTW the 50 and 100 is just the bulb, which should be easy to switch and they are cheap at less than $5 each.

That's what it looks like to me, too. What do you think of the lights themselves? They sound like they would be perfect for night diving, yes? I really can't spend more than $800-900 for a light setup, plus I want to make sure it will work with another rig when I eventually upgrade. (If I stay with Ikelite housing)

robin
2 months til Bahamas on Nekton!

 

[ronscuba]

Robin, as expected the Ikelite lights match very well with their housings. I would use the 50 watt bulb, and yes, I think it will work great for a night dive and closeup shots during the day.

I use halogen lights myself and find they work very well for video, especially considering the price.

 

[Papa_Bear]

Lighting underwater is always a challenge! The higher the wattage the the more is required on the power end of the scale. The other thing to understand is the effective range of most light is 3 to 4 feet at best! On location many pro teams use 110v Quarts Halogen lights connected to a power supply on the boat! and then you might get six feet! Remember the medium is 800 times denser than air! So 50 watts is probably enough and the battery life should be around 1 to 11/2 hours. Turn them off when nor in use and use your WB for distance shots. You can do a lot with 1 hour burn time, it is as much as your tape! Then have recharged batteries ready for the next dive! Also get as close as you can, that is the real secret

 

[benbda]

Lighting underwater is always a challenge! The higher the wattage the the more is required on the power end of the scale. The other thing to understand is the effective range of most light is 3 to 4 feet at best! On location many pro teams use 110v Quarts Halogen lights connected to a power supply on the boat! and then you might get six feet! Remember the medium is 800 times denser than air! So 50 watts is probably enough and the battery life should be around 1 to 11/2 hours. Turn them off when nor in use and use your WB for distance shots. You can do a lot with 1 hour burn time, it is as much as your tape! Then have recharged batteries ready for the next dive! Also get as close as you can, that is the real secret

Thanks for that - I had considered the new squid 150s from greenforce to gain extra range but again need to consider whether this is going to be too bright for macro stuff - I know I can iris down but there is the health of the organisms to consider. On another matter - I have read good things about Halcyon and Salvo video lights on forum pages but also really like the look of the Green Force lights does anyone have any experience with these brands?

 

[PerroneFord]

The other thing to understand is the effective range of most light is 3 to 4 feet at best! On location many pro teams use 110v Quarts Halogen lights connected to a power supply on the boat! and then you might get six feet!

This is a fascinating comment.

Could you explain why my cave light's penetrate upwards of 50ft? Or why twin 50w HIDs are able to light 40ft+ of cave wall on videos (I'll gladly point you to examples)? In an environment with absolutely zero ambient light, we are able to throw sufficient light to film with amateur HDV cameras with 1/3" CCDs.

Do you really only get 3-4ft of penetration with your lighting gear? What are you using?

 

[Papa_Bear]

Sure, because you in a cave with GIN clear water, if you haven't kicked it up! In the ocean it is hardly the same! More particles in the water defuse the light much faster! Even at night the range is very restricted and color muted beyond 4ft! In a cave its pretty mono color and still all the color drops out by the end of the beam!

 

[Papa_Bear]

Here is an example! The 100watt Quarts Halogen lights are on! How much does it light up on the reef?

 

[SparticleBrane]

They're 100w Halogens. What do you expect?