OP
JamesK
Contributor
Thanks for the compliments and comments everyone. The full video of this dive (well edited from over an hour down to 10 minutes) is uploading now.
As for lights, I like having no cords. That way I can hand off the camera system to someone else if need be. I used three lights during this video. On the camera tray are the twin SOLA 1200's. The camera tray also has twin Light & Motion Sunray 1000's, but those were not turned on. Dead batteries. They are corded, but the batteries are mounted to the tray so I can still hand the entire unit off. Also, with going through some restrictions, i want to be able to completely drop the camera easily if need be or clip it off without the extra cords.
The other light used was my Light Monkey 35w HID with video reflector. The diver in the middle had this. This allowed me to push light out further and light up more cave.
I am actually considering purchasing the HOG Morph system mentioned above. I am wondering what type of burn time I can get by mounting the video lights on to the backup batteries. If an hour I will purchase those and use them as handoff lights or placement lights. If not, I will attach the twin light heads to the battery canister and use it as a handoff light and build a goodman handle that allows me to angle the two light heads to give as much coverage as possible. My SOLA's are eventually going to be either handoff or placement lights as well.
I also have a Greenforce LED that will be getting a new video head. My goal is to be able to have four lights on my camera = or >1000lumen. Four = or > 1000lumen placement lights. A handoff light for the 2nd team member = or >1000 lumen, and my 35w HID which is 3000lumen for the lead diver. With this setup I should be able to light up large passageways and pre-stage lights in rooms before the divers come through, plus have the divers lighting up the room more as they come through.
As for your being able to switch heads underwater, another option is doing what I do with my Light Monkey. If I just want to video a little bit, and not the entire dive, I will take the video reflector off underwater and swap on my standard reflector on a goodman handle. That is one of the nice things about HID's.
As for lights, I like having no cords. That way I can hand off the camera system to someone else if need be. I used three lights during this video. On the camera tray are the twin SOLA 1200's. The camera tray also has twin Light & Motion Sunray 1000's, but those were not turned on. Dead batteries. They are corded, but the batteries are mounted to the tray so I can still hand the entire unit off. Also, with going through some restrictions, i want to be able to completely drop the camera easily if need be or clip it off without the extra cords.
The other light used was my Light Monkey 35w HID with video reflector. The diver in the middle had this. This allowed me to push light out further and light up more cave.
I am actually considering purchasing the HOG Morph system mentioned above. I am wondering what type of burn time I can get by mounting the video lights on to the backup batteries. If an hour I will purchase those and use them as handoff lights or placement lights. If not, I will attach the twin light heads to the battery canister and use it as a handoff light and build a goodman handle that allows me to angle the two light heads to give as much coverage as possible. My SOLA's are eventually going to be either handoff or placement lights as well.
I also have a Greenforce LED that will be getting a new video head. My goal is to be able to have four lights on my camera = or >1000lumen. Four = or > 1000lumen placement lights. A handoff light for the 2nd team member = or >1000 lumen, and my 35w HID which is 3000lumen for the lead diver. With this setup I should be able to light up large passageways and pre-stage lights in rooms before the divers come through, plus have the divers lighting up the room more as they come through.
As for your being able to switch heads underwater, another option is doing what I do with my Light Monkey. If I just want to video a little bit, and not the entire dive, I will take the video reflector off underwater and swap on my standard reflector on a goodman handle. That is one of the nice things about HID's.
