Fisheye Focus or Nocturnal Lights SL50 for video?

[hortoni]

Hi All,

I just purchased a sony HC7 and a new amphibico housing for it. I'm planning on doing all of my videography during the daytime in the caribbean. After doing a ton of reading and getting thoroughly confused I think I've settled on halogen lighting.

The two setups I'm considering are:


1. Two Fisheye 20 watt focus lights

2. Two Nocturnal Lights SL-20's


Here's what I'm thinking.

I like the small size and minimal underwater weight of the fisheyes as well as the capability to bring extra batteries.

On the nocturnal side I've been very impressed with the reports I've been reading on this board and I like the ability to use different wattage bulbs. My biggest concern with these lights is having the weight up high on the camera. These seem to weigh much more underwater than the fisheye and I'm thinking it's probably due to the metal construction. Two of these lights will weigh more than twice what my housing does underwater (housing is about 1 lb negative)

I've thought about going with a cannister setup for halogen such as the Nocturnal TL-50 twin beam but that cannister is too big to fit in my travel case and it doesn't look like the cables can be disconnected which limits my ability to ditch easily in an emergency.

Any advice would be appreciated. Which would you choose if this was your list?

Thanks!

 

[marksm]

congrats on a nice housing... I like your lighting options that you have spec'd. You only need one focus light (if any). I use a pin spot to find the critters but then I point it away to avoid the hot spot. The different wattage bulbs is "nice" but ND reflector caps work easier for exposure changes underwater. Lower watt does increase battery time if your camera can do with the lower light without adding noise.

If I had the money when I got into it, I would have gone HID. Being closer to daylight color, they make daylight shooting easier for the camera to white balance. You can also use the daylight WB setting for good results with no red filter. I haven't seen low watt HID with video reflectors for a awhile now.

The canisters are smaller for equivalent light time. The disadvantage is, last I knew, you leave them on all dive. Canister stays on waist with the small ones so it doesn't affect buoyancy. Extra halogen bulbs are easier to pack and find. One more thing. If you do mostly close up stuff at night, look into some LED solutions which produce a nice balanced flood on a budget and lightweight.

A lot of my info is "duh" but I thought I'd share. Have fun with the "7". We expect a report!

 

[hortoni]

Thanks for the info. I screwed up.. I meant to list twin SL-50 video lights not SL-20 (which I don't think even exist). I'm actually looking to use these as primary video lights which is why I was looking at two lights. I would either have 40 watts total or as much as 100 watts with the nocturnals but I would probably run the 20 or 35 watt bulbs in those so I could stretch the battery for a whole day of diving.

As for the HC7 - I've had it in the pool and all I can say is WOW!.. The detail is amazing. No manual white balance but it does have an electronic focus lock that seems to work very well. Variable speed zoom is great. Push the button once and you get a nice slow zoom. add the trigger while holding the zoom button and it's super fast to get you where you want to be. Camera settings display on the 3.5" monitor and even though it's not angled it's very easy to see. In the pool with the standard battery the housing was slightly negative (maybe about 1 lb). It has adjustable lead trim weights on the bottom so it's easy to balance the housing on your fingertips. Above water weight fully loaded is about 10 lbs.

It's easy to switch from video to photo mode. You can snap 6.1 mp stills in video mode. The camera has the ability to snap 4 mp stills while recording HD video but the housing does not have that capability. Not a big deal as I figure I can grab any stills I want from the HD footage while editing on the computer.

I'm taking it on a cruise to Cozumel, Roatan and Belize in a month so I'll be really curious to see how it does in open water.

PS. The housing is built like a tank!!!! Got it from H2ophotopros. They were great to work with!

 

[mdmbike to scuba]

I just got a EVOpro from H2o just about a month ago but for the A1U. Can you put a larger battery in there or just the stock one? My wife and I are going to COZ in APR cant wait to try my new cam and housing whooo Hooooo. Mark

 

[hortoni]

Even with the monitor back I still have a good 2 inches between the back of the standard battery and monitor controls. I'm planning on buying the huge 100 battery and don't see any reason why it won't fit in my housing. Mine is the Dive Buddy EVO SE HD5/7 housing

 

[mdmbike to scuba]

Make sure before you buy the batterys. I was told that it would only fit the small battery. Now I could have be told wrong so check me on this one,just to make sure. I was looking at this one and told me I couldn't have the larger batterys. So no W/B bummer. Mark

 

[mdmbike to scuba]

Now the back montior is the thing I was looking for most of all. But my bad luck I have to go with the top mounded one. Im going to get in the pool to try it out with the new monitor. I may have to move the weights or cut them to make it work. Good Luck with yours. So far I love mine but its new. Mark

 

[diversteve]

Make sure before you buy the batterys. I was told that it would only fit the small battery. Now I could have be told wrong so check me on this one,just to make sure. I was looking at this one and told me I couldn't have the larger batterys. Mark

Mark, the HC5/7 take the "H" series batteries. So they're different than ours which takes the NP series. It's also possible that the new camcorders are shorter. I'm pretty sure the housing is the same shell..

So no W/B bummer.

White Balance?

 

[hortoni]

I think from looking at the battery specs that the bigger batteries are the same height and width just longer. If that's the case it should work fine but I'll try to confirm this before spending the $$

 

[mdmbike to scuba]

White Balance? His unit "housing" Sorry should make that statment more clear.Doesnt have a W/B in it. I thought it might or hope it would have it. You Get my PM. Steve.................................Mark