2 cheaper less powerful lights or one bigger light

[RandomGuy1]

Which would you choose and why. I am trying to get a good lighting setup for my gopro and I'm on a budget. Not looking to be a professional, but want my vacation videos to look good. I was looking at the sola lights on bluewaterphoto and I am thinking about either a pair of sola 500's or a single 1200, but I'm open to suggestions. I would prefer new and my budget is around $600 but could be stretched for the right setup. Any suggestions?

 

[3D diver]

A pair of lights is better, IMHO, as it allows you to reduce backscatter by offsetting the lights to the side without causing bad shadows.

I'm a fan of the DRIS Impact lights & use 4 in my rig.

 

[tbone1004]

so this is a tough one because a lot of it depends on the conditions you'll be diving in. If you're planning on using these with a gopro during the day, I frankly don't think any of them are going to do anything meaningful for you.
Sola 500 is discontinued btw, and the 1200 is really not all that powerful....
Impact Stubby Dive Light - Dive Right in Scuba
One of these has essentially the same light output as the Sola 1200, longer burn time, is small, and you can get 4 of them for the same price.... I'd recommend 2 of these to start to cancel out any shadows, but you aren't going to get much benefit during the day. For that you need a few thousand lumens to make a meaningful difference at any distance, but at night or if it is cloudy, you'll see a huge benefit.

 

[kelemvor]

There are some very nice lights on ebay for next to nothing, check this thread out: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lights/504205-dive-light-e-bay-great-buy.html

The one I got has a tight beam which is great for a primary but not so great for video without modification. There are plenty of lights on ebay for next to nothing with wide beams that make nice video lights. You could get a whole gaggle of lights (and batts/chargers) for your budget if you're willing to experiment with various ebay lights.

I've bought a lot of stuff from DRIS, they're good guys. However 129 for a 1k lumen light which only takes a single cell (18650?) seems overpriced. I guess you're buying good support (which I can vouch that the do provide). You aren't gonna get any support if an ebay light bites the dust.

---------- Post added June 11th, 2015 at 01:13 PM ----------

One of these has essentially the same light output as the Sola 1200, longer burn time, is small, and you can get 4 of them for the same price.... I'd recommend 2 of these to start to cancel out any shadows, but you aren't going to get much benefit during the day. For that you need a few thousand lumens to make a meaningful difference at any distance, but at night or if it is cloudy, you'll see a huge benefit.

One of my dive buddies (mermaid0sea) bought a sola light. It does produce a much nicer color temperature than these type of lights. Unfortunately runtime (and price) on the sola is laughable.

 

[tbone1004]

runtime, price, and brightness..... You can always put a filter on the cheapies....

https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-max-video-handheld-light
https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-max-video-clamp-ys-28mm

$60 with the clamp for the light rigs. Same emitter as all of the others. Didn't realize they had video heads out already, last I talked to them they didn't have them.

 

[diversteve]

In standard 1080P mode your GoPro shoots 170^o wide angle footage. There's also a 1080/120^o option on some models.

Don't quote me on this but I believe both the Sola's you mentioned have a 60^o beam angle.

So using one light you will see your subject illuminated with a nice dark circle surrounding it at night. As mentioned you likely won't even see 1200 lumens during the day except maybe in a wreck or small cavern etc.

So two lights with the widest beam angle possible, some arms for backscatter reduction and overlap the coverage.

 

[kelemvor]

runtime, price, and brightness..... You can always put a filter on the cheapies....

https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-max-video-handheld-light
https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-max-video-clamp-ys-28mm

$60 with the clamp for the light rigs. Same emitter as all of the others. Didn't realize they had video heads out already, last I talked to them they didn't have them.

That one looks pretty nice. Are the batteries removable, or do you unscrew the head and plug a charger into the body or some other third thing?

 

[tbone1004]

I think the butt screws off and the cells come out. Either that or the head, but I'm pretty sure it is the butt that comes off. Uses standard 18650's which is nice. Regarding the lumens, most mfg's are quoting lumen at the emitter not out the front, so while it is 600 out the front, it is the same as all of the other 1000 lumen backup/video lights.

 

[Midget]

I just picked up two Inon LE700-W's for $305 shipped from Singapore.........Hoping I don't regret it!!!!

I only plan to do close up work with it.

 

[kwinter]

I think the butt screws off and the cells come out.

Well if there's anyone that knows about butt screwing, it's tbone.
2 lights are better than one. You don't have to pay a fortune, but you should be vary aware of light spread and hot spots. Some of the lights being mentioned are great for diving but not for video. And lumens are usually misquoted.


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