Focus Light: Shutting off during strobe firing

[Hatul]

I've had a chance to use my new Fantasea 360 focus light and will post a review, but I have one question.

This light has a sensor in the center of the LED array that is supposed to shut off during strobe firing. Is this of any value?

It seems to me that the strobe light would overwhelm any light from the focus light anyway and it should not make any difference. Has anyone noticed the presence of a focus light in the photo?

Adam

 

[ScubaSteve]

One benefit I can see would be eliminating the "head on" light. Typically a diver will have a strobe agled at the subject of the photo to avoid backscatter. Any light that shines straight in front of the camera ("head on" light) lens may produce backscatter and possibly reflections and hot spots.

So I would say that I can possibly see a purpose for it and say that it is a good thing.

Edit....based on the additional responses, it is obvious there are some great and very knowledgeable resources here.

 

[fisheyeview]

Some focus lights will be noticable in pictures. There was a great comparison done by Richard at Reef Photo. He compared several focus lights, and showed pictures of the light emited against a fixed point.

It was really well done. Here is a link. Reef Photo & Video Support Center - KnowledgeBase - Focus Lights - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

 

[JackConnick]

The light will become evident if you shoot slower than about 1/100-1/80 of a sec.

Jack

 

[Hatul]

One benefit I can see would be eliminating the "head on" light. Typically a diver will have a strobe agled at the subject of the photo to avoid backscatter. Any light that shines straight in front of the camera ("head on" light) lens may produce backscatter and possibly reflections and hot spots.

So I would say that I can possibly see a purpose for it and say that it is a good thing.

Edit....based on the additional responses, it is obvious there are some great and very knowledgeable resources here.

In my case I strap the light to the arm of the strobe, so it's coming from an angle at least as large as the strobe light. So this should not be a factor.

Adam

 

[Hatul]

Some focus lights will be noticable in pictures. There was a great comparison done by Richard at Reef Photo. He compared several focus lights, and showed pictures of the light emited against a fixed point.

It was really well done. Here is a link. Reef Photo & Video Support Center - KnowledgeBase - Focus Lights - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I did not see any comparison of photos with or without the focus light on in this website. Also the lights behave quite differently underwater, so I'm skeptical of a comparison done in air. In particular the LED seem to penetrate much better underwater than incandescent light.

Adam

 

[under water]

If you are doing macro, especially at night, it can be very visible in the photo if it did not turn off automatically. This is especially true if you are using a longer exposure for any reason. I have experimented using a backup dive light with the same brightness as my little nano and it was very noticable.

 

[Backscatter::Jim]

If the focus light has a wide, diffuse, even beam pattern, then it will not show up in the photo. If the beam is more concentrated spot, then it can show up in the photo.

Unless you are trying to do some creative rear curtain sync trippy blurred shots, using longer exposures for macro work lets more of the ambient blue/green light to creep in from the sides. I recommend using higher shutter speeds (1/125 at iso 100-200) to cut out the ambient light.

Jim

 

[fisheyeview]

Jim is right. Ever since I started shooting a housed DSLR I have used a focus light mounted on my housing. I have never noticed the focus light in my shots. Here are a couple of examples.

 

[Hatul]

Jim is right. Ever since I started shooting a housed DSLR I have used a focus light mounted on my housing. I have never noticed the focus light in my shots. Here are a couple of examples.

Those are amazing macro shots. Can I ask you what focus light and what strobe you use?