L&M Sola 600P vs 1200V

[Aquanut2]

Looking for help choosing between these two lights
My setup is an LX5 with 10Bar housing and YS101a strobe with FO cable.
The $100 difference is not the question rather choosing based on need for a focus/video/still fill/dive light
Also understand that the red light on the 600 is real bonus while night diving but that is a lower priority which I'd list in this order

1. Focus light for still (the built in light on the 101a is ok but strobe not always pointing where focus spot needs to be).
2. Fill light for still
3. Primary video light doing more video with the LX5 surprisingly good
4. Day/Night primary dive light when not shooting
5. Night video/focus light

Obviously getting one of each model would be ideal but not in the immediate plans so I want to start out with the best solution overall.
From the reviews on the 1200 it seems suitable as a close up fill to balance some shadows from my strobe for still photos and is a better choice for video. But if you look at the Beam Test comparisons on the L&M web site LIGHT & MOTION || SOLA 1200 VIDEO I am hard pressed to see much of a difference between the 1200 and 600 both set to flood High.



There are good reviews on the Scuba Board but not much in way of comparison of each.
Thanks for any help.
Mike

 

[bvanant]

In my hands at least the sola 1200 is about 1.4 stops more powerful (about 3 times as much light at 3feet) than the 600. The red light is more gimmick than real use except perhaps for mandarin fish. I will be posting some more detailed pics from it soon. For video, the extra power is quite useful, as a night dive main light or focus light the 1200 is overkill.

Bill

 

[Aquanut2]

Thanks Bill looking forward to your post, unfortunately I do not expect to encounter any mandarin fish in the near future.
Mike

 

[BluewaterPhoto]

Anyone doing video will appreciate the higher power of the Sola 1200.

I used to think the red light of the Sola 600 was a gimmick, until I went to Anilao and had several night dives where worms and small crustaceans clouded up the vis in front of my white light, and then went away while using the red light. The red light also helped get better photos of several subjects, including the bobbit worm and mandarin fish. - Scott

 

[CyprusSeb]

For focus light the 1200's are wayyyy overkill. Even the 600 the low red setting is the highest you'll probably ever have to use. And I'd say it's far from gimmick. The 600 as a dive light isn't very good as it only has a flood setting, no spot beam. For video the 1200's are incredible. The 600 is good too, but if you have no need for the red, then go for the 1200's.

 

[mozaik]

SOLA 1200 - Definitely

I would definitely go for the 1200 , if you do a lot of night diving , you can always get a small underwater torch and cover it with Red tape , that'll cost you 30$ or so.

The SOLA 1200 is good for night dives , good for video , it has flood and spot which is very useful for switching between just a dive torch to an actual video light.

For getting vivid colors in daytime , a 600 Lumen light will not be effective. Having one SOLA 1200 is a bare minimum for getting nice videos in daytime.

Here is a stills shot taken with a Nikon P7000 and a SOLA 1200 in daytime at around 70 feet.