Dive lights when shooting at night?

[kbs]

Hey all,

I'm curious what sort of dive lights and techniques people use, when they want
to shoot pictures on night dives? Personally, I attached (ziptied) a small 2AA light
to my camera rig, and wore a 2AA headlamp. (This was in clear water in Curacao).

My divebuddy had a real 8 C-cell light, and a backup. I probably had another light as well,
but don't remember what at the moment.

What sort of rigs are the rest of you using? Do you attach a big light to your camera rig?
Does it cause problems with your pictures?

Right now, I'm planning on getting a 4AA headlamp,
keeping a 6AA backup light hung on my BC,
and attaching the little 2AA light back to my camera or strobe.


thanks for the advice!
-kbs


FYI: my rig- On my last trip, I used a Canon s30 with Canon enclosure, and a Sea&Sea YS90dx strobe. This trip, I'm upgrading to a Canon s70.

 

[f3nikon]

Video lights with 20 or 50watt halogen bulbs, wide reflector you cannot see any hot spots. 12 volt gelcell in an Ikelite housing, which is attach to the weight belt, only the the light head is on the camera housing.

 

[ssra30]

I just use modeling light on my Ikelite DS125 strobe as my night light. That way I know that the strobe is pointing in the right direction as well.

 

[maractwin]

I just just the aiming light on my INON D-180 strobe. It's not super bright, but it's enough for clear tropical waters and means it's easy to aim & focus my shots and I don't get a hot-spot in any pictures. Of course, I carry a regular (4 C-cell) flashlight clipped to my BC as a backup.

 

[fpoole]

I have a SQL 4 C attached (Plastic Ties) to my housing tray I use for my primary light and a little SQL2? LED (Mini with 2AAA) attached to the housing right over the lens for a focus light when I'm ready to shoot... doesn't create a hot spot,they're kinda kewl little lights.. have about 5 of them.. heheh.. geesh, I think I have a thing for lights??

I don't do a lot of night diving, but that's what I use...

I do have about 4 other lights as backups.. heheh.. got caught once with dead batteries and wasn't pretty...

Hope that helps.

 

[howard4113]

I made a bracket for my strobe which takes 2 Q40's.
This is useful for modeling/focusing & pointing the strobe. I also use a light cannon slung under the tray when necessary to provide more background illumination.

 

[Wolverine]

I have a light cannon on the housing but seriously thinking about an alternative way to mount it. I also have the modelling light from the D180.

 

[kbs]

Thanks for the replies! Its fun to hear what other people are using.
My rig is pretty simple,,, just the plastic canon enclosure on a Sea&Sea DX base, with
the DX flexible arm and the ys-90dx strobe. Not a lot of space for strapping on lights,
although I was able to zip-tie that small light under the base.

It sounds like some of your strobes come with built-in modeling lights, while others are strapping them on. What are the good options for securely attatching a modeling light to my ys-90dx?
(The strobe case is tapered, so I gave up on zipties. )

I'm glad to be thinking about this now, while I stil have time to work things out before my trip!

-kbs