dive lights and movie lights?

[fish80]

Hi guys,

you advice proved very helpful in the past, so let's see if you are able to direct me to the right option also this time.

I have about 30 dives, i had some fun doing some underwater movies with my gopro3 black, so far using a nice red filter (SRP), no lights. I shoot at medium angle, 1080 x 30fs.

I now want to do the PADI advanced open water, and one of the dives is a night dive so i have to buy dive lights. What set up do you recommend? Is there any cheap dive light which I could also use as a video light when I go deeper than 60ft? Do I need both primary and backup lights?

BTW an example of my videos... as you see nothing professional so i am not planning to spend a lot of $$$ on the light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGmBbluGIi4&feature=share

Thanks a lot!

CJ

 

[tbone1004]

unfortunately what you want for those two situations is very different. In night diving you need a light with a center spot for signalling other divers, and for video lights you can't have the spot.

Best bang for buck system is this
Hog Morph Backup Light - Dive Right in Scuba
plus
HOG Morph Video Light Head - Dive Right in Scuba

Use the included head for normal diving, buy the video light for kicking around to help eliminate shadows. It's a surprisingly good light for the price, and the ease of swapping the heads is very nice.

 

[dvankirk]

You could try the big blue VTL2500P. It produces a wide beam 120 degree at 2500 lumen video light, but can also do a 900 lumen 10 degree beam. The 120 degree beam also has 2 lower power settings. I use 2 of them with my gopro.

 

[fire_diver]

You could try the big blue VTL2500P. It produces a wide beam 120 degree at 2500 lumen video light, but can also do a 900 lumen 10 degree beam. The 120 degree beam also has 2 lower power settings. I use 2 of them with my gopro.

I think you skipped the part where he said:

BTW an example of my videos... as you see nothing professional so i am not planning to spend a lot of $$$ on the light.

 

[dvankirk]

I think you skipped the part where he said:

Compared to a lot of the video lights out there (namely Solas), I think that they are relatively cheap. I got mine for $350 a piece. Not bad for meeting the 2 needs that he is trying to accomplish. Certainly cheaper than the Hog morph mentioned above with two different heads.

I guess "a lot of $$$" has different meanings for different people.

 

[fire_diver]

Yeah, for someone looking for REAL UW videography then a $350 light is really cheap and may not even fit their needs. For someone looking to light up holes and reef that is 12 inches away, it's complete overkill.

 

[raftingtigger]

You can go the really cheap way and get 2 of these. New-608 Cree XM-L T6 800lm 1-Mode White Light Diving Flashlight - Fluorescent Green (1 x 18650) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme Paint the reflector white and you get a very even light. They were used in the following video.[video=youtube;gjrWkeiuV-A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjrWkeiuV-A[/video] My buddy is using 4 DRIS 1000 lumen lights DRIS Dive Gear 1000 Lumen Dive Light | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba that he has fitted with diffusing film.

With the cheap lights check the o-rings first and leak test with the guts out.

I have been using the same set-up* for about 2 years now and overall am pretty happy with it -- especially at the price.

*similar LED emitters and drivers - different housings because I like to diddle and keep "improving" things. The little yellow lights are the ones I keep coming back to.

 

[kelemvor]

I got some of those green lights like yours raftingtigger. Mine were a bust. Didn't flood but the light turns very purple at any depth. Given the price, I wasn't mad. The kids now have some neat lights for the pool!

 

[tbone1004]

the hog morph with two heads is $250, $300 if you buy one of each light, how is that more than a single $350 light? I wasn't saying buy the canister, you only get about 80 mins of burn time on the handhelds, but that's generally enough for most divers anyway, if not, it'll be long enough for each dive and just carry a second charged battery and good to go.

Cheaper alternative would be to get the morph with video head, and get a little mask light like this for signalling
Sartek Industries EBL1 | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba

 

[3D diver]

Check out the DRIS impact lights. Both spot and video heads are available. A pair with the video head would be fine on a night dive.