Lighting recommendation for upcoming Fiji trip.

[James Casteel]

I have been a photographer for the better part of 15 years and while I have a few great shots (jamescasteel.com), however, I feel I struggle underwater. I know that part of this is because of the limited lighting that I have at the moment. Some of that is also just the limited amount of time I have spent doing it as I live in Colorado. I have a 12-day dive trip in Fiji coming up at the end of the summer and I am in a bit of a conundrum about what to take and what lights I should get.

What I have:

Cameras/housings
Nikon D800 with Ikelite housing capable of running 16-35f4, 105mm 2.8, 28mm 1.8 and a few others. Arms and floats

SeaLife phone (iphone) housing, dive tray, arms and floats

Lights
a variety of handheld torches like an ARCHON video light (with mounts to connect to arms)

While I love my D800 and what it can do, at times I feel it is unwieldy underwater in the Ikelite housing. Because of that, I find that on most dives I have been bringing my SeaLife housing. I think part of this is also because, with the lights I have, it is easier to get quality photos from my phone.

So my question is: Is it worth it to get strobes like may be DS51's to add to my D800 setup or should I upgrade my torches for my phone setup? I realize this is a personal preference, but I'd appreciate feedback from those who have more experience underwater than me.

 

[davehicks]

Fiji is all about wide angle reef photography. Ds51s are going to be underpowered for this environment. You need strobes like the Ds160 or similar.

 

[Darnold9999]

... and one is limiting for wide angle. Shot with one for years and for macro it worked well. For wide angle not so much. Some shots worked but having just upgraded to a pair I can tell you two is way better than one. An option to think about is the very high lumen video lights that would work for both your iphone and the D800. I have a gopro I attach to my D750 and Ikelite housing. I have a pair of 6,000 lumen (claimed) lights that work pretty well even for wide angle. Strobes are much better, but at higher ISO settings I can get reasonable results with the video lights and autofocus works much better. My video lights are from nitescuba and reasonably priced compared to my Ikelite strobes. Not recommending video lights, just suggesting them as something to consider in your situation. I would look at the 10,000 lumen options.

 

[arew+4]

Do you shoot video as well, do you want to? By the time you add enough light for wide angle reef photography the bulk of the camera & housing will pale in comparison. You could get a decent little video light that would provide enough light for ok up close photos, 3-4 feet fish/coral head portraits. A well as good video at 5-6 feet, and great macro lighting for still and video. Something like the backscatter Macro-Wide 4300 about $450

 

[James Casteel]

Appreciate the feedback and experience.

Do you shoot video as well, do you want to?

I have been shooting a lot of video when I use my SeaLife case with my phone. I really enjoy it I also like how easy it is to switch from video to photos. The D800 does OK at video but it is not the greatest. Doesn't use the best codec, has big limitations on time and can only do 1080p at 30fps. I do worry about bulk as it isn't always convenient to drag everything along on a day boat ride.

Not recommending video lights, just suggesting them as something to consider in your situation. I would look at the 10,000 lumen options.

This is an interesting suggestion. I will check them out. How do the video lights compare to the strobes for WA work? I know for macro, in most cases I wouldn't be able to beat a strobe setup but from what have done above water strobes are tough for wide-angle work.