Kraken lights - reliability and best current pick?

[Derfman]

Hi first post, long time watcher.
Apologies for the long first post.


I am based in Australia
I am off to Raja Ampat and Triton bay at on the 31st of Jan for nearly a month - YAY!

My current light setup of 2x 4000 lumen I-Dive Venom c92's +x2 batteries + remote is being passed to my wife's G7X MKII / GO PRO setup and I am in the market for an upgrade.

I have a budget of $2500 - $3000 AUD

I am currently shooting a 5D4 / 3 in a Nauticam housing with the classic 100mm IS, 16-35mm, 8-15mm setup + go pro 12 for 4k video.
I have a pair of Inon Z240's strobes, which i am comfortable with for action and wide angle,
The lights will mostly be for backfill, focus assist, video, and macro, and ability to locate buddy, for travel and local use.
I would like a similar setup in the , x2 Torches x4 batteries so I can hot swap and charge for the x4 daily dives, and remote, ideally with the capacity to run for a single dive at full power if needed or two dives when toggled / 80%.

I harbour no illusions that I will ever be a pro UW photographer or UW videographer, and yes, I am aware of the drop off issues of cheaper lights-https://wetestlights.com

So my analysis:
Light and Motion Sola have no hot swappable batteries, no remote, the video Pro 12,000 is too expensive @ is $2,000AUD

Keldan's start @ $2451 for one 10,000 light + Keldan remote is $1485 - so just way to much $$$ for me.


I am tossing up between:

The Kraken Solar Flare mini 15,000 Flood - big / bulky, heavy, expensive heavy batteries, ok burn time (?) OK Value? - Battery transport issues @ 144Wh ?
$1,175 AUD
Spare batteries are $458 ea
60 mins @ 100% flood -
1345 grams on land / 550grams underwater.
79mm (D) x 238mm (L)

The Kraken LTD 10,000 Flood / 1500 spot - ****** burn time, lighter weight, smaller, cheaper spare batteries.
$935 AUD
Spare batteries are $238 Ea
40 mins @ 100% flood -
910g on land / 430g underwater
74.1mm (D) X 156.5mm (L)

The Scubalamp V6K V2 LED PRO -Expensive, long, no remote option? - 'side switch'
$1249 AUD
Spare batteries are $249 AUD each
Turbo level 12,000 lumens (60 minutes) - normal 6,000 lumens (120 minutes)
877grams on land / 560grams underwater.
56mm (D) x 235mm (L)

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[bvanant]

Why do you think you need so much light? For macro video and for focus lighting, I use a FIX NEO 2000 and mostly am using it at only 25%. It has separate batteries and has the unique (I think) ability to go to very very low power like 1%). Burn times are quite long, but no remote.
Bill

 

[Derfman]

Why do you think you need so much light? For macro video and for focus lighting, I use a FIX NEO 2000 and mostly am using it at only 25%. It has separate batteries and has the unique (I think) ability to go to very very low power like 1%). Burn times are quite long, but no remote.
Bill

Great question Bill, and thanks for the reply.

Yes I may be going around this all wrong, which is why I'm asking these questions.

However I can clearly tell the difference between dive video with and without decent illumination, and I personally prefer the look of well illuminated video.

I equate my experience with Dive lights to car headlights. not needed at all most of the (day) time, but at night or in challenging or unfamiliar driving conditions, more light to see and be seen is best, but high beams can irritate wildlife and other drivers...

Thanks

 

[bvanant]

Surely you can tell well lit video from not well lit but for most macro video (and blackwater) bigger lights are not usually what you need. If you look at the videos on our website (mostly macro, all shot by my wife) they are all shot with Sola 2500s mostly at lower power. If you are looking for video lights for wide angle for the gopro and are trying to overcome natural sunlight then big lights might be useful. Same concept with strobes, running 2 z240s is fine and great for close focus WA but not typically for lighting up sharks/dolphins far away.
Bill

 

[Derfman]

Surely you can tell well lit video from not well lit but for most macro video (and blackwater) bigger lights are not usually what you need. If you look at the videos on our website (mostly macro, all shot by my wife) they are all shot with Sola 2500s mostly at lower power. If you are looking for video lights for wide angle for the gopro and are trying to overcome natural sunlight then big lights might be useful. Same concept with strobes, running 2 z240s is fine and great for close focus WA but not typically for lighting up sharks/dolphins far away.
Bill

Yes, Bill I understand your points and agree, for macro a lower power light is fine.

To be clear I am not a dedicated macro shooter, i use a mix 100mm IS, 16-35mm, 8-15mm setup + go pro 12 for 4k video.

So the lights are intended be multi-purpose - when travel diving, I will have the go pro + lights in case i randomly encounter anything larger, this strategy has worked well for me so far.

Why I'm looking at these lights is they are what is available and fit my criteria: Remote + Burn time, + price, hot swap battery.

I would also consider a small macro light with snoot to mount on the macro port hotshot, for a lighter weight dedicated macro set up.

Thoughts?

 

[bvanant]

I guess I am still confused. If I understand you, you are shooting stills with the 5D and video with the gopro. If that is true then I would go with the Kraken 4K, good enough for shooting with the GoPro in most situations but way way overkill for a focus light for the 5D. On the other hand for compatibility sake and spares why not reproduce what you were using i.e. two sets of the I-dive.

Bill

 

[Derfman]

Yes, i think you understand me now

New I-dive torches are not available any more So that is not an option, the cost over lower lumen 6k or 8k lumen torches is still very high comparatively - which is why I am comparing these specific models.

 

[bvanant]

In that case, I have had good luck with the Kraken lights, never tried the remote though.
Bill

 

[Derfman]

So for anyone reading this, asking the same question some info i have that may be useful.

Kraken, Weefine & X-Adventure all come out of the same Chinese factory, so build quality is on par across brands - but features differ between brands.

IMO It is important at this time for individual batteries to stay under 100wHr for ease of air travel. - higher rated are allowed on some airlines or with permission in advance - but unless you are a pro avoid the hassle - this is why I avoided the Kraken solar flare mini 15000.

Due to stock availability, cost, and battery size I ended up with 2x Weefine Solar Flare mini's.

These weefine lights have a Vacuum check built in, which is nice, but the battery indicator lights are underpowered and hard to see in sunlight, I believe there is a new 'pro' version coming soon that will have an oled battery % display and dial, but no vacuum check.

The weefine remote is ok, just ok, it is big and bulky and because of this difficult to mount.

The remote has push buttons with step control, which IMO is worse than a dial, and you cannot toggle the on / off instantly - it is a 2 second hold.

it has two fibre optic cable ports allowing you to control each light, but actually doing so take a combination of button presses and holds.

Weefine do offer x3 types of bracket for the remote, and some sellers include a bracket and spare CR123A battery.

As for the actual light, I'm yet to try in clean enough water to form an opinion, I have two sets of blue filters to try as well - so here hoping to good conditions in Raja Ampat.

 

[atitawhile]

So for anyone reading this, asking the same question some info i have that may be useful.

Kraken, Weefine & X-Adventure all come out of the same Chinese factory, so build quality is on par across brands - but features differ between brands.

IMO It is important at this time for individual batteries to stay under 100wHr for ease of air travel. - higher rated are allowed on some airlines or with permission in advance - but unless you are a pro avoid the hassle - this is why I avoided the Kraken solar flare mini 15000.

Due to stock availability, cost, and battery size I ended up with 2x Weefine Solar Flare mini's.

These weefine lights have a Vacuum check built in, which is nice, but the battery indicator lights are underpowered and hard to see in sunlight, I believe there is a new 'pro' version coming soon that will have an oled battery % display and dial, but no vacuum check.

The weefine remote is ok, just ok, it is big and bulky and because of this difficult to mount.

The remote has push buttons with step control, which IMO is worse than a dial, and you cannot toggle the on / off instantly - it is a 2 second hold.

it has two fibre optic cable ports allowing you to control each light, but actually doing so take a combination of button presses and holds.

Weefine do offer x3 types of bracket for the remote, and some sellers include a bracket and spare CR123A battery.

As for the actual light, I'm yet to try in clean enough water to form an opinion, I have two sets of blue filters to try as well - so here hoping to good conditions in Raja Ampat.

Kraken Lights are not being manufactured by the same factory as WeeFine and X-Adventure. Some light products in the past may have been shared.