do i need lights?

[Big fish63]

i have a just bought a amphibico endeavor and i plan on shooting mostly wide angle footage with some close ups of reef fish etc. most of my video will be in south africa. do you need lights? im thinking of buying some amphibico 10w arc ive seen at a good price, but wondering if i will need lighting for what i shooting?

thanks.

 

[robint]

Lights only work for close up.. like under 5-10' away from the camera. All wide angle you will either white balance or use a red filter.

robin

 

[sharksdelight]

I wish I had lights that would light up a scene from 10 feet away in the daytime. Robin is correct but I never go in the water without my video lights on. Lets say a nice whale sharks is headed your way, good chance it may come within the reach of your light throw. It would be obvious if you didn't turn the lights on until you were 5' from it, better to have had them already on. I keep mine off during most of a dive but if I think I will be getting a good approach shot, they go back on. Of course, for macro and night work they are a must. 10watts seems awful weak to me though.
Steve

 

[Big fish63]

thanks for the replys. i was thinking the light would just dissipate into the blue when shooting wide angle.
i'm going to pass on the amphibico lights they seem expensive for the light output they provide. im still going to look into getting a set though, as steve says a head on approach could be greatly enhanced with some light.

do some lights (or all) irritate or damage the eyes of our underwater friends? i want to avoid anything that does. i know if someone shines a metal halide in my direction it feels like my retinas are melting.

 

[tyesai]

thanks for the replys. i was thinking the light would just dissipate into the blue when shooting wide angle.
i'm going to pass on the amphibico lights they seem expensive for the light output they provide. im still going to look into getting a set though, as steve says a head on approach could be greatly enhanced with some light.

do some lights (or all) irritate or damage the eyes of our underwater friends? i want to avoid anything that does. i know if someone shines a metal halide in my direction it feels like my retinas are melting.

Anyone know a " fish whisperer "

 

[Big fish63]

^I've just spent 5 minutes waiting for this page to load on my mobile to read that ugghh.

 

[sharksdelight]

Hey Big Fish,
That's a great question and maybe a fish whisperer would know, but from personal experience, I can say that I have never, ever, ever had a whale, fish or shark either email a complaint, make a phone call to me or even complain directly to me while I was filming that I was hurting their eyes or causing them to squint. Now that I think of it, unlike most movie stars, these marine creatures do not even show the least bit of pretension by putting on shades. They just smile and go on their way so I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Steve

 

[Big fish63]

i am asking the question from personal experience.
i was in sipadan and there was a group of divers with cameras one of them got up close to a green turtle and started to take photos. the turtle immediately turned around startled and began trying to rub its eyes with one of its fins. also i have heard storys of pygmy seahorses being blinded by lights.. i dont know how true this is and was just wondering if anyone had any usefull information on the subject, clearly not. cheers anyway.

 

[sharksdelight]

What you are describing really comes down to harassement. Turtles are usually very curious and will often come up to you but now imagine a whole bunch of divers descending upon one turtle at the same time, obviously that is a scary thing for the turtle. It's not the lights he was reacting to but all the divers and their bubbles that probably frightened it. Seahorses, pigmy or otherwise, are shy and will often turn away just as you have your composition set up right. Because the pigmy variety is so small and their camouflage depends upon the gorgonians they stay in, it is possible that the lights make them vulnerable to predators and thus they react. However, anytime I have ever filmed the pigmy variety I have never seen one taken by another fish.
Steve