Using lighing combinations for both stills and video...

[C Monkey]

Hi guys.

I'm a newbie at underwater photography and have a basic question. Before I go out and spend a healthy sum of money on lighting, I want to be sure I understand my options. I'm hoping someone will take the time to answer my question.

I will be taking both photos and video. As a result I will need two types of lighting. So my thoughts are to go with a single video light that is 6000 lumen and has a 110 degree field for shooting video. I want to use the video light in conjunction with the strobe for stills. The primary reason is to keep costs reasonable. Having said that, I am wondering if it is possible to have a strobe on one side of the camera and use the video light on the other side when shooting stills. My thinking is that the video light would act as a focus light and fill light for the strobe when it fires.


My concern is that the TTL will not fire the flash if it detects the video light and ambient light. I want the lighting to be sufficient enough to prevent any blurred images of course. So my question is this, will the flash fire regardless of the detectable light and provide the additional lighting needed, or would the image possibly be over exposed?


Please advise.

Thanks

 

[sunnyboy]

I use just such a setup. I have a Sola1200 for video/focus and a DS51 for my strobe, on an Ikelite housing for a Canon G16. The TTL strobe works just fine with the video light. You are correct that if the video light is bright enough, the TTL won't fire the strobe. On something like the Sola with 3 light levels, you can play with this and see what you like.

 

[C Monkey]

I use just such a setup. I have a Sola1200 for video/focus and a DS51 for my strobe, on an Ikelite housing for a Canon G16. The TTL strobe works just fine with the video light. You are correct that if the video light is bright enough, the TTL won't fire the strobe. On something like the Sola with 3 light levels, you can play with this and see what you like.

Appreciate the feedback Sunnyboy. I make these assumptions, but prefer to know for certain. The video light I will be using can be leveled up an down in 25% increments, so I can work around it.

 

[bvanant]

You will have no issues with TTL firing (although why you want TTL is another question entirely)
think of the strobe as a 10M lumen light (although for a very short time).
Bill

 

[StevePratt]

I'm looking at doing something similar (video and stills), and would like to know if it's feasible to take stills with two video lights. In other words, is the strobe a must-have? I really don't want to give up my two lights for video...