So I settled on the Kraken Hydra lights and now I'm trying to decided if it's worth the extra 250.00 each for the 5000's? This will be a duel setup on a GoPro silver 4 and I dive mostly Caribbean waters. Should I save the money and put it into other trips or blow it on more powerful lights?
2800 or 5000 lumen worth the price?
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95% of my dives are daytime 80' and above. I actually like to stay shallower and look for the macro type things if I can. I use the flip filters with the macro mini. Not saying 500.00 would pay for a whole trip but that's a good amount of air on shore dive trips 
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I started out with two 1000 lumens for my Gorpo/Intova camera. It provided a nice wide angle beam, but did not have deep penetration. So, I went to two 2600 lumens lights. I don't regret doing it.
I have also been looking at the lights from this company. My scuba shop showed me various models from this company and they all seem really good. 100M rating, bright, sealing housing, rechargeable etc.
I bought the NR-3000 which I need to go pickup tomorrow. I have my first night dives this weekend so I'm using this as a primary, and have other lights for backups. If the light treats me well, then I think I will pickup the 5000-WSRU for a gopro 3+ setup on a tray in the next month or two.
*edit* I will try and get some footage at depth of the nr-3000 this weekend and report back. Visibility not the greatest where I'm going, but I will try.
I bought the NR-3000 which I need to go pickup tomorrow. I have my first night dives this weekend so I'm using this as a primary, and have other lights for backups. If the light treats me well, then I think I will pickup the 5000-WSRU for a gopro 3+ setup on a tray in the next month or two.
*edit* I will try and get some footage at depth of the nr-3000 this weekend and report back. Visibility not the greatest where I'm going, but I will try.
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I would buy the Archon D36V instead.
5200 lumens, for $290. Plus it has red and UV LEDs.
Archon D36V/ W42VR 5200lm Underwater Photographing Light + Battery + Charger | eBay
The Archon has 8 x Cree XM-L2 LED emitters. Those are rated for over 1000 lumens each, so 5200 out of 8 of them seems like an actually legit claim. And, Archon makes good lights.
5200 lumens, for $290. Plus it has red and UV LEDs.
Archon D36V/ W42VR 5200lm Underwater Photographing Light + Battery + Charger | eBay
The Archon has 8 x Cree XM-L2 LED emitters. Those are rated for over 1000 lumens each, so 5200 out of 8 of them seems like an actually legit claim. And, Archon makes good lights.
Regardless, I would buy 1 x 5000 lumen light before I bought 2 x 2800 lumen lights. 2 x 5000 lumen lights is even better, of course, if you can afford it.
My apologies. I should have been more clear with what I meant.
I did not mean that 1 5000 light will give you better video than using 2 2800s. What I meant was that I would buy 1 x 5000, so that I could get another 5000 later. Using the single 5000 in the meantime would be somewhat of a compromise.
The thing with lights is that their penetration roughly follows the inverse square law. Meaning, to get the same illumination at double the distance requires 4 times as much light. Roughly.
Up to now, I have been using 1 x Archon D11V. That has 1 x Cree XM-L2 LED. So, it's rated for about 800 lumens. When videoing sharks down in NC, you can't even tell I have a light on until the shark gets about 2 feet from the camera, then suddenly their skin color changes from blue-grey to brownish.
Here's an example:
I don't know whether the Kraken Hydra lights put out a true 2800 or 5000, or if that is the typical "Chinese lumens" rating. I didn't go look up the specs on the COB LED emitter they are using. The D11V I was using in that video is rated at 1000 lumens, depending on what source you consult. In reality, it's anywhere from 300 to 800, depending on what other source you consult.
So, I figure if I were to upgrade to 2 x 2800 lumen lights, that would be roughly 6 times as much light. Which would extend my "illuminated distance" from 2'ish feet to maybe 5 feet? 2 x 5000 lumen lights might actually extend that out to 8 feet or so.
If you are shooting stuff that is further away than that 5 to 8 foot range, you might not get any real benefit from any of the lights you're looking at.
For underwater photography or videography, it's hard to have too much light. So, I'm in favor of always buying the biggest lights you can afford.
I don't have the budget right now, or I would have 2 x Archon D36V. Since I don't have that budget, I did recently upgrade from the 1 x D11V to 2 of the Evolva D02 at $37 each:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FD3QQBU/
I haven't gotten to try them yet (in the water), but I figure they should be solidly double the light I'm getting from the D11V. 2X the light and 2X lights means 4X total light, which, hopefully will double the illuminated distance I'm getting now. I did try them at home and one Evolva is clearly WAY brighter than my D11V.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
I did not mean that 1 5000 light will give you better video than using 2 2800s. What I meant was that I would buy 1 x 5000, so that I could get another 5000 later. Using the single 5000 in the meantime would be somewhat of a compromise.
The thing with lights is that their penetration roughly follows the inverse square law. Meaning, to get the same illumination at double the distance requires 4 times as much light. Roughly.
Up to now, I have been using 1 x Archon D11V. That has 1 x Cree XM-L2 LED. So, it's rated for about 800 lumens. When videoing sharks down in NC, you can't even tell I have a light on until the shark gets about 2 feet from the camera, then suddenly their skin color changes from blue-grey to brownish.
Here's an example:
I don't know whether the Kraken Hydra lights put out a true 2800 or 5000, or if that is the typical "Chinese lumens" rating. I didn't go look up the specs on the COB LED emitter they are using. The D11V I was using in that video is rated at 1000 lumens, depending on what source you consult. In reality, it's anywhere from 300 to 800, depending on what other source you consult.
So, I figure if I were to upgrade to 2 x 2800 lumen lights, that would be roughly 6 times as much light. Which would extend my "illuminated distance" from 2'ish feet to maybe 5 feet? 2 x 5000 lumen lights might actually extend that out to 8 feet or so.
If you are shooting stuff that is further away than that 5 to 8 foot range, you might not get any real benefit from any of the lights you're looking at.
For underwater photography or videography, it's hard to have too much light. So, I'm in favor of always buying the biggest lights you can afford.
I don't have the budget right now, or I would have 2 x Archon D36V. Since I don't have that budget, I did recently upgrade from the 1 x D11V to 2 of the Evolva D02 at $37 each:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FD3QQBU/
I haven't gotten to try them yet (in the water), but I figure they should be solidly double the light I'm getting from the D11V. 2X the light and 2X lights means 4X total light, which, hopefully will double the illuminated distance I'm getting now. I did try them at home and one Evolva is clearly WAY brighter than my D11V.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
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