Yeah the 7-14mm will be my main video lens...
Fisheye is from my E-PL3 - but is mainly for stills.
Thanks re the arm length!
I meant two arms segments 400mm on each side so clamp arm segment 1 clamp arm segment 2 clamp light adapter light quite large set up
---------- Post added January 8th, 2014 at 02:16 PM ----------
Nice article and thread Interceptor.
Do you know how the manufacturers make lights beam angle ? For topside lights, I see bigger reflectors for wide and small reflectors for narrow. Is it possible to DIY and add a reflector to a wide angle light to narrow the beam ?
I like my lights wide beam for night dives, but like you say, the wide beam is less effective during the day.
I think it is quite straightforward to narrow the beam if this was a single emitting diode however most lights are multielement so you woule need to alter each one that I think is not possible
With your LX7 and a pair of Sola 1200 SF you are sorted as you can use the spot for night dive. Fix has come out with a good light but does not have spot
FIT has a relatively cheap light that has 120 degrees and 2400 lumens that does spot. I believe 120 degrees are a waste but with 2400 lumens you can still cover three feet
I believe that making lights with a wider beam is more straightforward and most likely cheaper in terms of the reflector around it hence those are coming out on the market like mushrooms
Ultimately the beam angle is something you choose together with your camera field of view
I use this rule of thumb
Up to 90 horizontal field of view (or 100 diagonal or 18mm) -> 60 degrees light
Between 90 and 105 (around 16-17mm) -> 70-75 degrees (a cropped gopro sits here)
Over 105 (14-15 mm) -> 80-85 (an uncropped gopro sits here)
Take into account that I stop at 14mm as more you start having too much barrel distortion though with some 12mm zoom lens it still look ok
The other consideration is that of course the ideal area is the one covered by both lights and that also as approximately the same angle of the lights
So with two lights of 90 degree you cover a wider subject than with two 60
Generally for what I do that is not professional level I find the lights useful for macro and for close ups between 1 and 4 feet, the subject itself will be smaller than 4 feet.
Usually a turtle can bare your lights for a short while but definitely other than a nurse or wobbegong shark I have yet to meet a fish that stays there while you fry them with your lights
If I had to shoot wrecks this would be different and I would definitely go to something in the 85-90 beam angle region, having said that I shoot wrecks without lights with just a filter and they are fine and if I use the lights is just to highlight something on the wreck itself. Even with a fisheye for stills more of my wreck shots are in natural light and then adjusted for colour in light room
