How Do Carry A Dive Light, with your Digital SLR Camera Right, when Night Diving?

[divingdds]

Although I've been diving a while, I've been only doing underwater photography for 4 years. Recently, I've been finding that I really enjoy night diving with my camera. I've discovered some problems.

I've tried using my focus light as my dive light. I have a Noctournal light which I mount on the top of my housing (Subal ND20, for the Nion D200). Although adequate as a soft focus light, the light output with the diffuser (to remove any hot spots) is not bright as most dive lights for finding little critters.

I've tried carrying another light on my wrist, but that was a little clumbsy.

I bought a cave diving, wrist mounted light, but that was also lame. I had to keep holding one hand up, while holding the camera rig with the other hand.

I don't want to dive with a cave diving headlamp....and blind my buddy and look any dorkier.

I tried mounting a 4 C-cell light in an Ikelite houlder onto a clamp on the Ultralight arms holding my strobes or the ball joint clamp holding my focus light. In each of the two situations, each time I made an adjustment in the strobe position or focus light, my regular light would drop downward.....and vice versa. Really, one clamp should control the movement of only one item. This shared clamp situation lead to a little bit frustration.

I don't need the light to see my cameral controls, as I have them pretty much memorized. I just need a brighter light, like a regular dive light, to find the critters....then my focus light would take over.

At the present time, if I don't get any better ideas, I'm going to go back to carrying a wrist lanyard and a UK light with a handle.

Perhaps a stong retractior with a lanyard, to hold the UK light on, might be an idea. Or also, I can just plan to clip the light back to my BC when I find a critter I want to shoot.

Does anyone have any better suggestions that have worked well for them.?

 

[BigJeff]

Why not buy a strobe with a modelling light in it?

I use 2x DS-125's and when I night dive I use one as a dive light. Plenty of power and as my housing has two I have a backup included.

You can switch them off when close enough to use the weaker "focus" light.

 

[HowardE]

I use the ULCS Ball mount as my primary, and hold the camera in front...

I use an Ikelite 4C Battery as my focus light and primary on night dives. I find the less light you use on a night dive, the more apt you are to get closer to things.

 

[Nocturnal Lights]

Have you considered a hand mounted light like the SLX Technical Package?

 

[texasaubiefan]

I've got a Hartenberger Nano I use as a focus and primary dive light. It lights up well but is clearly short of a good focused dive light. What I did was to buy a small Ikelite PC-Series LED and put it on a retractable. Still not as good as a big dive light, but works well enough and tucks away so it's not in the way. it's also manageable with the camera too.