Help choosing video lights

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Uticafats

Registered
Messages
8
Reaction score
2
Location
New York
# of dives
500 - 999
I'm interested in shooting some video and would like to know what l need. I currently have a canon g16 with a Fantasea housing, macro and wide angle lenses and two ys-D1 strobes. I also have a GoPro 3. What video lights would you recommend ? Do I need two or will one do? Blue water has the I-torch venom 38 on sale. Any thoughts. I'd like to get the most for my money. Thanks!
 
I'm interested in shooting some video and would like to know what l need. I currently have a canon g16 with a Fantasea housing, macro and wide angle lenses and two ys-D1 strobes. I also have a GoPro 3. What video lights would you recommend ? Do I need two or will one do? Blue water has the I-torch venom 38 on sale. Any thoughts. I'd like to get the most for my money. Thanks!

I'm far from the most experienced one here but if it helps get the ball rolling I'll have at it, lol. I have an i-Torch Video Pro 6+ and love it. Excellent light output with no hot spots. Just my thinking here but the number of lights required will be determined by your camera's viewing angle. If shooting in fish-eye widths the 120 degree lamp will likely leave dark edges so you'd need two if you expect to be evenly lit throughout the frame. Obviously the more zoom you use the narrower your field-of-view and less beam angle you'll need. A question I can't answer is if you want to video in macro range. I've heard that you'll need a video light that can do "spot" rather than "flood" to get the best macro. The i-Torch Venom 35s has dual mode for spot & flood and lists for the same price. I wonder if that might be a better choice. Since I've posted it's pretty much a given that the more knowledgeable will soon follow-up and correct any misunderstandings on my part :)
 
Hi,

I use the Big Blue Dive Light VL5000P with my canon XA10 and are very happy with them. They are fairly cheap, robust and have a good burn time, which I really like when you do several dives per day.

You should check them out.
 
2 lights will deliver better results than 1 and will not need to be as bright. I like the Big Blue lights and own a few different models. While you really need to pay attention to burn times and lumens don't forget about the bouyancy characteristics. I have a light I don't use much that is extremely bright and lasts quite a while but feels like a boat anchor in the water. The ones I'm using now are 3 times as bright, burn twice as long, and have about half the weigh in water as the ones I replaced, all while staying similar in size.
 
Jack-what are you using now?

Have been looking at the sola 800 and fix mini 1000 swr.
I'm currently using the Big Blue 7500 lumen lights. They're bright and can be used on lower power settings for extra time. Prior to those I used the BB 2800 lumen, Knog lights, 25k lumen, and a few others.
 
I've been shopping around for video lights, too. I think I have settled on getting the Archon W42VR (aka D36VR).

Archon W42VR D36VR Diving Photography Underwater Video LED Flashlight Torch | eBay

<$400 for over 5000 lumens in a 120 degree beam. Plus modes for Red and Blue/UV. For the white light, it has 8 x Cree XM-L2 LED emitters, which are rated for over 1000 lumens each, so I suspect the 5000 lumen rating is somewhat legit.

I have an Archon light already that has been very good. It's just not bright enough.

I would not buy a Light & Motion (i.e. a Sola) just because you can't change out the battery for a fresh one if you need to. Plus, 800 lumens just isn't that bright. But, if 800 lumens is enough for you, then the Archon D11V is about that much light, is only about $55, and is the light I have now which, as I said, has been very good for what it is. It's just not bright enough for me. A 120 degree beam that only effectively illuminates subjects out to about 3 feet away just doesn't often help me much.
 

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