Adding lights to GoPro - one light or two?

[cburdick1]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to upgrade my GoPro Hero rig with some lighting. Until now I have used FlipFilters system but without light I have no way of shooting video in low-light situations, like under ledges, in caves or when deeper than filters can compensate for.

I'm considering adding one powerful (4000 lu) wide angle light to my rig, rather than two lights. This is for two reasons:

1 - I only dive around 10 times a year, and therefore dropping large amounts of money into my GoPro rig doesn't make much sense.
2 - I'd like to keep the rig relatively small so I can get it into hard-to-reach places.

So, what sort of compromises am I going to run into when running one video light as opposed to two?

Thanks in advance.

 

[JackD342]

For UW lighting, the typical goal is to move the light as far from the camera lens as possible, to minimize backscatter from direct illumination of all the little "stuff" floating in the water. If only using one light, this would create some significant shadows that are best softened or eliminated with a second light source from the other side. On daytime dives with a significant amount of ambient light that has been filtered by the water column, those shadows will also have a distinctly different color temp. (I usually see them as green areas when no fill light is used.)

Depending on what kind of subjects you are shooting, guidance may vary. For instance if you are right on top of the subject in relatively clear water, having a light source directly above the camera angled down and forward may work very well.

Also, what do you think that 4000 lumens is doing for you? There is still a color shift as your subject moves further from the camera and the light source, no matter how bright it is. If you are close to the subject, that kind of power may overwhelm the camera sensor, and is even likely to cook (and/or blind) your subject. I am starting to think that a light that powerful may be best used when trying to add some light back to a large, dim/dark subject, and expect that I may then still want to use a filter, or realize my image may be more grey-scale than color.

 

[cburdick1]

Well put. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Please take a look at our tray and lighting system.

thanks
dano

https://www.makospearguns.com/Two-Handle-Camera-Tray-p/m2htct.htm

 

[caruso]

I've experimented with filming using one versus both lights on my GoPro rig to see if I can conserve battery power and switch from one to the other if I run low. I found one light doesn't adequately cover the field of view and had to crop off parts of the video that were too dark. Not the end of the world and I figure I'd get better at framing the shot with practice but I prefer the 2 light effect.

 

[2ndjetty]

I'd second JackD and caruso - two lights will deliver better results than one single light - both for coverage and for light positioning to minimize backscatter. Two lights also help minimize harsh shadows. Like Jack said, especially when shooting on GoPro, a powerful lights might overexpose the footage unless you're carefully monitoring exposure on the LCD. You can still get a very streamlined dual light system for those hard-to-reach places. Hope that helps!

 

[Sam Miller III]

1) enroll in your local; community college Photography classes
2) take basic course
3) after basic enroll in the following
a) lighting
b) composition

You will discover there are two light required for good photography
1) key light
2) fill light

Immediately purchase @MAKO Spearguns handle systems
It has accommodations for two lights. A Key and a fill

SDM

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Yes the Go-Pro captures a wide field of view. You need a good spread of lights and the lights MUST be intended for video. Normal dive lights are focused and have hot spots, which can actually ruin (or seriously degrade) the quality of your video.

Our video lights provide a wide and uniform illumination with no hotspot problems.

If your intent is to shoot close up, maybe within a foot or so, you can probably get by with a single wide angle light, but for most shooting, twin lights have some significant advantages with coverage. This is especially true if you do NOT have a camera with a video screen on the back. If you are just shooting by aiming, it takes some practice and several iterations to learn to judge the necessary light spread at varying distances. Having two lights with some overlap and a wider illumination area gives you a little more leeway to capture a fully illuminated video image.