Lights for both photos & video

[vinsanity]

I'm still undecided on whether I want to do video or photography more.

Before buying anything I'm trying to cop together some knowledge from the gear I have. I have a really old powershoot D80 with a housing. I tried putting a red filter on it and making a video, but I got a red video. Removed it and took some pics and got blurry pic. Not enough light. In mediocre vis Pacific Northwest peaking into cracks for GPO, I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and buy some lighting.

Looking for reasonably inexpensive recommendations on lighting for someone who doesn't know if I'll be taking stills or video? :-( Is there a downside to using video lights for stills?

 

[tbone1004]

reason you got red video is because the artificial light negates the need for the filter. No need to use both.

What lights are you using? It is possible to use video lights for photos, but obviously no way to use flashes with videos. With video lights for photos you just have less light for the dollar and less overall burn time on high.

good article by a professional videographer/photographer and a comparison in lights for you. Granted the video lights used are top of the line and massively powerful, and are between $2k and $2400 depending on battery size, but it does the compare and contrast for you. Less costly options are available from Big Blue and you may not notice any difference during video, but if you use them for photos they have a light output dropoff and it will show up there
Strobe vs Video Light for Still Photography

 

[vinsanity]

Sorry. I got ahead of myself. I do not have any lights. I guess my camera didn't know what to do with the weird white balance from the filter. I've heard that one of the popular GoPro knock offs has the same issue.

So I move to the assumption that I need light. My thought was that if I can use a video light for both, then maybe the safe route is to buy a video light, but I knew it was too easy. The light for your dollar makes sense.

Thanks for the article. Sounds like I can either commit to photography and buy a strobe, or get the best video light I can justify and know that that gets me a mediocre (albeit much better than the built in flash) light for photography. I might be able to still live with that for now.

 

[Nathan Wong]

I'm still undecided on whether I want to do video or photography more.

Before buying anything I'm trying to cop together some knowledge from the gear I have. I have a really old powershoot D80 with a housing. I tried putting a red filter on it and making a video, but I got a red video. Removed it and took some pics and got blurry pic. Not enough light. In mediocre vis Pacific Northwest peaking into cracks for GPO, I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and buy some lighting.

Looking for reasonably inexpensive recommendations on lighting for someone who doesn't know if I'll be taking stills or video? :-( Is there a downside to using video lights for stills?

You could check out the symbiosis SS-2/SS-1 strobe it has a video light up to 4k lumens and it is connected to the strobe. (Uses the same battery for the strobe and video light).

 

[tbone1004]

Sorry. I got ahead of myself. I do not have any lights. I guess my camera didn't know what to do with the weird white balance from the filter. I've heard that one of the popular GoPro knock offs has the same issue.

So I move to the assumption that I need light. My thought was that if I can use a video light for both, then maybe the safe route is to buy a video light, but I knew it was too easy. The light for your dollar makes sense.

Thanks for the article. Sounds like I can either commit to photography and buy a strobe, or get the best video light I can justify and know that that gets me a mediocre (albeit much better than the built in flash) light for photography. I might be able to still live with that for now.

yeah, it's also really tough if you are diving during the daytime because the effect of the light is greatly minimized during the day. Unfortunately lights get expensive, and big lights get real expensive due to the batteries required to run them.

 

[Barmaglot]

For what it's worth, I found a pair of Archon D36V lights to be effective at restoring natural colors in daylight at a distance of a couple feet or so. Burn time with good (~3300mAh) batteries is a bit short of 2.5 hours at full power.

 

[casts_by_fly]

I run double strobes and a central video light. The light is more for focus light and peering into cracks and ledges. I don't really do much video but having another bright light underwater is never a bad thing.

Depending on your budget I would get one of each and put them on opposite sides of the tray. Go used if you want to save money. Get last year's model on closeout.

Rick

 

[vinsanity]

Depending on your budget I would get one of each and put them on opposite sides of the tray. Go used if you want to save money. Get last year's model on closeout.

Will that cause weird balance issues issues since the lights aren't the sign brightness?

If that would actually work well, I'm not opposed to it. The way I would do it would be to get a good video light and go play. After a bit, if I find myself mainly shooting stills, buy a strobe to go with it, and if I find myself taking video get a second video light.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Strobes are pretty powerful so you shouldn’t have issue with white balance depending on how far the subject is and how strong (guide number) your strobes are. You may find more issues with shadows and hot spots or uneven lighting if using just one but you can combat it a bit with your video light on the other side.

You can opt for just 1 light to start which you can use for photo and video. In this case I suggest a wide beam video light. Or you can do 1 light and 1 strobe. Unfortunately you will be fighting white balance or will need filters if you just have a strobe. That’s only good for photos.

I recommend getting as bright if a video light as you can for your budget. It’s frustrating to want more lumens but not have it than to have it and not need it. You’d be surprised how much you want when underwater. You can also use it as a focus light in darker conditions alongside your strobe. If you decide to go with two strobes one day, you can mount the light and still keep it for video and as a focus light which is what I have done. It gives me a lot of flexibility.

 

[Jeff85248]

hello all. I am looking to learn about lights.

I am trying to get into this and see if I like it.

currently have a Canon powershot with housing. looking at getting a light with tray and grip. found on leisure pro a sealife sl674 sea dragon 2300 lumens. i think I can use this for photos and video.

what do you all think?

thanks for any help