OK, basic decisions for video lights at that price point are:
halogen vs. HID
self contained battery vs. separate
battery mount location
light and battery buoyancy
flexible locline arms vs. fixed ball joint arms
Halogen vs HID is well documented with pluses and minuses on each side.
The area I see many overlooking is buoyancy and how it affects housing handling. Lamps more than .5 lb negative will be tough to handle. Negative batteries mounted on your BC or waist will need a wet connect cable. Negative batteries mounted on the housing need to be carefully evaluated to see how it affects housing buoyancy. An overly negative housing/battery system will be a nightmare to shoot with.
Do you know the buoyancy of your housing ? Does it use an easily removable buoyancy weight ? If you know how much that weight is, compare it to the buoyancy of the light batteries.
RobinT just got the Ikelite lights mated to her Ikelite housing. Might want to wait until she returns from Roatan to ask her opinion. I don't know anyone with the Niteriders you mention. Scubatoys sells the Darkbuster HID lights with self contained battery and near neutral buoyancy. Folks over on wetpixel seem to like them using a homemade diffuser. I like my halogen Sartek lights with wet connect cables. My BC is perfect for mounting the battery on the waist, your BC might not.
Sorry, I know I probably made you more confused, but video lighting can be confusing and expensive to boot. Best to thoroughly explore your options.
halogen vs. HID
self contained battery vs. separate
battery mount location
light and battery buoyancy
flexible locline arms vs. fixed ball joint arms
Halogen vs HID is well documented with pluses and minuses on each side.
The area I see many overlooking is buoyancy and how it affects housing handling. Lamps more than .5 lb negative will be tough to handle. Negative batteries mounted on your BC or waist will need a wet connect cable. Negative batteries mounted on the housing need to be carefully evaluated to see how it affects housing buoyancy. An overly negative housing/battery system will be a nightmare to shoot with.
Do you know the buoyancy of your housing ? Does it use an easily removable buoyancy weight ? If you know how much that weight is, compare it to the buoyancy of the light batteries.
RobinT just got the Ikelite lights mated to her Ikelite housing. Might want to wait until she returns from Roatan to ask her opinion. I don't know anyone with the Niteriders you mention. Scubatoys sells the Darkbuster HID lights with self contained battery and near neutral buoyancy. Folks over on wetpixel seem to like them using a homemade diffuser. I like my halogen Sartek lights with wet connect cables. My BC is perfect for mounting the battery on the waist, your BC might not.
Sorry, I know I probably made you more confused, but video lighting can be confusing and expensive to boot. Best to thoroughly explore your options.