Ikelite Pro Video II - Opinions?

[ECPaul]

I'm relatively new to UW videography, just making my maiden dives with an Ikelite housing and a Sony DCR-PC1000 mini-DV. So far I'm pretty happy with this system, although I have yet to figure out what the whole white balance thing is all about (should I just leave it on "auto"? - yes, that's right, I really am an amateur!).

But I do know that my next investment will be in a light (or lights) for my rig.

The Ikelite Pro Video II "looks" good, but I'm curious to know if anyone has experience with it. The other option that I'd consider would be UK light cannons, as I have seen a lot of positive posts about these.

Looking for experienced recommendations.

 

[dougaldiver]

I have the pro video light system. It's not lightweight but produces a nice wide even light spread. If you have the Ikelite housing it fits very nicely and is easy to swap over if you want to dive without it.

I started off with the 100w light head and then changed to have two 50W (bought a 50w head, arm etc and then swapped the bulb in the existing head).

This gives me the option of running 20w for 'spotting' and either 50w or 100w for filming.

I can't compare it to anything else but, if I was buying again I would look at something like a 18w Salvo with a video reflector for comparison before I spent the money.

The salvo would be more expensive but has much longer burn time and a higher colour temp - on the downside there's no obvious way to mount the battery on the camera housing so I'd have to wear it and be connected to the camera by the light cables (I prefer to be able to hand the camera off, particularly for getting back on the boat)

 

[simonspear]

I've used to Ikelite Pro Video Lights and overall I wasn't really happy with them. I had some technical problems with them initially (sorted out by Ikelites A1 aftersales service - can't complain about that!!) and even when I did get them working I still wasn't happy with the end result. I found the arms themsevles to be very unpractical in use and the light coverage and colour wasn't what I had expected. I'm about to switch to something else - possibly Light Canons, but you then have to look into how to mount the things on an Ikelite Housing, which can be a little more complicated than it sounds.

Just my opinion. Like everything I suppose it comes down to personal taste and I'm sure there are others out there who would swear by the Ike set up.

Cheers, Simon