Light & Motion Sola Video Pro 8000 Light Review

[JackConnick]

Optical Ocean Sales' Margo Cavis put the Light & Motion Sola Video Pro 8000 lights to the test and liked them. We've got a new review and test footage on our site.

"...One thing that stands out about these lights is the LED display. Light & Motion really put some thought into both the display and the controls of these lights. The LED display is bright and clear, making it so much easier to read than any other lights I have tried – no matter what the lighting conditions of your dive. Then, on top of that, the controls are simple and specific. One control is just a dial, it will turn the lights on or off. In the off position, the light is locked so the other control will not work and the light will not be accidentally switched on during travel. The second control is both a dial (lock) and slider. To make the lights brighter – slide it towards the head of the light, to make the light dimmer – slide it towards the back of the light. The slider always pops back to the center, so each bump in either direction adjusts the light by 1000 lumens. This made it much easier to get the settings I wanted – when I wanted them, unlike most video lights where you would have to cycle back around through all the settings in order to bump the brightness down a notch...." Read More
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[drbill]

Lights of this power level concern me due to potential impacts on marine life. I love the Sola 1200s and 2000s I own, but usually run both sets on lowest power since I shoot primarily up close. If these are used on distant subjects they might not pose a problem, but we do need to consider the impact of our lighting systems on marine life.

 

[JackConnick]

They don't come even close to what strobes put out Bill.

 

[drbill]

Jack, I've had several species retreat from my video lights (or was it me?) at 500 lumens. I agree that strobe output is far greater, but that does not mean that video lights can't be a problem for some species.

 

[CuzzA]

It was likely you.

I have very serious doubts any portable, battery powered dive light can have any impact on marine life in the ocean. Google LED reef tank lights and you'll see what I mean. We are blasting our tanks with far more light than any dive light could produce as we try to mimic the sun so we can grow coral.

Here's an example.

And this is one of two lights I have for my tank. Each unit is 102x 3 watt LED's with 90 degree optics. Which means I have 204x 3 watt LED's over my tank. No marine life is ever effected and coral grows like weeds.

 

[CuzzA]

I'll add the only effect I'm aware of that dive lights have on marine life is on night dives as the prey's position has now been revealed to predators.

 

[JackConnick]

Hmmm, interesting topic. But I think that most any affect would be fleeting, and much more due to the huge air-breathing monster swimming up to shoot some video/photos than the lights.

I would agree that some species especially seahorses and like macro subjects are quite sensitive and some care needs to be taken with over-shooting them. The non-effect of red lights on crabs, shrimp, octos does also show there's an "effect", but as long as the critters aren't trapped under a rock, the effect is pretty minimal, and most critters know how to hide...
There's always going to be some effect on the underwater world and divers need to be in tune with the signals given out by their subjects.

But for the most part (IMHO) it doesn't mean that more powerful lights are going to have more effect on them than less-powerful lights. YMMV.

 

[drbill]

You bring up a good example with sea horses. I recently tried filming a Pacific seahorse (Hippocampus ingens) with my dual Sola 1200s at 500 lumens each. It retreated into a shaded area and later disappeared from the site. I can't scientifically establish that it was the video lights, but as a marine biologist of nearly 50 years, I have a strong suspicion that it was.

Our waters are far more murky than in tropical regions so light is attenuated much more quickly with depth. Many species of marine life have eyes that evolved under much lower light levels than when they are being shot under constant video. Of course this may not have any lasting effect on their vision, but are we sure?

 

[kelemvor]

Sounds like a subject worthy of a formal study. Maybe someone can recommend it the next time a marine biology student pops up here looking for ideas to do graduate project on.

 

[ronscuba]

Although the light has 8000 lumens, I imagine videographers dial down the power for their macro video subjects like seahorses. Even if you weren't concerned about the marine life, it saves on battery power.

I have fixed power level 1500 lumen lights. On night dives, I use a standard flashlight and turn my video lights on/off when recording. Less likely to scare away marine life and lengthens battery time.