Video Lite: is it a must..??

[V_kids]

Hi guys
I need some advices here,
I just bought an Ikelite housing for Sony SR-12 + Fisheye Fix Led 1000 lumen.

I don't have any experience about underwater video (i'm an underwater photographer). However, from my observation, a lot of people making a video UW using an external light.
they only turn it on, when they want to capture macro shots and close wide angle.
for infinity shots, they turn off the external lite...

My question:
1. If we want to create a good UW video, do we have to use External light? Please advise me.

2. How about the white balance if we are using external lite? according to ikelite manual, i should just leave it "out-door"

Thank You in advance

Andree

 

[TheBigPhillyFish]

Well if your new to video stick to leaving everything in Auto till you get the hang of it. That way you can concentrate on the shot, and steading the housing for smooth shots and transitions.

Yes with video lighting is very important. But for most stuff down to 60' you can get away with using underwater filters and Ikelite has them available for all there housings. I usually dont switch to lighting until deeper then 60' or if viz is bad then I switch over to lighting. And chances are 1000 lumen light is only gonna be good for macro work. Just watch out for hot spots in the lighting.

There is some good information out there on video underwater. Read as much as you can about some of the technique's used. There are some good members here shooting the same camera so if you have questions just ask. Once you get the hang of it, you can start messing with the camera settings to get better video. Hope this was helpful!

 

[V_kids]

Hi Thebigphillyfish.

Thank you for the advice.
I will try it this sunday.
BTW, if any member is here also shooting with Sony SR 12, could you please give me your best setting for underwater video?
for me:

1. I turn off the "digital lighting" cause i believe by turning this on, I will get more noise.

other than this, I just leave it to original setting from the factory.

Thank You
Andree

 

[KiiY]

they only turn it on, when they want to capture macro shots and close wide angle. for infinity shots, they turn off the external lite...

You can leave the lights on all the time, but their effectiveness is always a matter of the balance between their power and the ambient light. With a lot of ambient sunlight, even strong battery powered lights are going to have pretty minimal effect beyond a few feet. But if you go deeper, dive on darker days, peer into wrecks or under ledges, etc... then the lights will be more effective.

1. If we want to create a good UW video, do we have to use External light? Please advise me.

No, I don't think so. They can be very useful, but unless you do night dives they're not essential for good video. You can start with a UW Red filter which is much cheaper, less troublesome, and gives good results in many situations.

2. How about the white balance if we are using external lite? according to ikelite manual, i should just leave it "out-door"

Depends on your lights. There are halogen, HID, and LED lights and they all have different color temperatures, so you have to set your white balance differently for all of them.

HID is pretty close to sunlight, so you can use the daylight setting on your camera. Halogen is more yellow and you should manually white balance if possible. Never really looked at LED, so I'm not to sure about those.

 

[Video rookie]

Most of my video has been done without lights, with some as deep as 110 ft.
Conditions will dictate if you need lights or not. Generally when diving clear blue water (Bahamas, Bonaire, Cozumel, Roatan) the lights are more trouble than they are worth. Also, your budget will probably be a factor in lights, and how much they will help.

Personally I found that a manual white balance did more for my video quality than lights. For macro, shooting under ledges, and swim throughs, the lights are helpful, but you also have to be aware of "hot spots" the light create.

If you are new to video, my recommendation is to hold off on the lights for now.

 

[V_kids]

Good Morning guys!
thank you for all the advises.
I will remember all this advises and apply it for this sunday
I hope I can get a good UW video ^^
BTW
the LED color temperature is around 9000k
any suggestion for the white balance, if im using this LED 1000 lumen light? + i dont need to take off the red filter when I'm turning the LED light on right?

Thank You

 

[TheBigPhillyFish]

Good Morning guys!
thank you for all the advises.
I will remember all this advises and apply it for this sunday
I hope I can get a good UW video ^^
BTW
the LED color temperature is around 9000k
any suggestion for the white balance, if im using this LED 1000 lumen light? + i dont need to take off the red filter when I'm turning the LED light on right?

Thank You

Rule of Thumb is to MWB before almost all shots. The reason behind this is lighting conditions change by you simply swimming 3 feet on one direction. But in reality, we just don't have the time to MWB every 30 seconds. I have learn to adapt my eyes to light change, as soon as you can determine there has been a change in the light or direction of light you should MWB. I keep a nice underwater MWB card attached to my housing. Some people use various things to MWB, like the sand if its close to white, etc. I also use neutral grey card, but thats getting real serious with it, just makes it easier for me in post production. And also remember you can tweek a lot or a little in post. Which means a lot of your footage is going to be forgiving. Thats why I mentioned in my last post, to concentrate on your shot, get the correct composition, make sure your shots are steady. Another thing, take short 10 - 15 second clips, until you get use to it. This will ease your post production. And as you gain more experience you will be able to foresee your shots, and you will know better how long the shot needs to be, etc.

Well good luck! let us know how it turns out.

 

[dpaustex]

I don't think you need a light if you shoot relatively shallow, and during mid-day. You MUST use a red filter, to get rid of the "blue" tinge. Of course, at night you need to have a light.

You can adapt a dive light. I use a UK Light Cannon, and drilled out the pistol grip, and mounted it on an arm for my video housing. I took a connector to the housing, and ground it down, where it fits up inside the pistol grip. I attach it with a stainless steel bolt with wing-nut and lock washers. A bit unwieldy out of the water, but fine once you're in the water. And you can do this for $500 brand new, and it uses 8 D batteries (buy rechargeable Li-ion). Better yet, you can use the light as a pistol grip the rest of the time.