Lighting Options for the Sony XR520...

[ScubaDocER]

I cannot tell you how excited I am about the new Ikelite housing that is coming out for my Sony XR 520!!! Just another week I think. The question I have is what lighting options do you think would be most beneficial and why? I have looked at the Pro-V8 and the Pro Video Lite 3. Any others you would recommend?

 

[diversteve]

Are you looking to stay with Ikelite?

Otherwise Niterider or Green Force are a couple other options. L&M has their Sunray systems and Amphibico also sells lights. Backscatter has a lot of options listed on their site: http://www.backscatter.com/HostedSt...hop&s2=Video&s3=Lights&sf=Price&so=Descending

 

[ScubaDocER]

Are the ones you listed compatible with the housing? I had thought I would but I am open to more options.

 

[robint]

If you are getting the Ikelite housing then I would first look at the Ikelite light system. (I have one.) They attach very easily to the housing arms and the battery pack fits directly under the housing in place of the weighted base. The system is well balanced underwater also.

 

[Henry at Niterider]

We have developed special brackets to mount our video arms onto Ikelite housings. Same with the battery however I can't guarantee a seemless fit on this new housing.

 

[TMan2]

Getting new gear is always fun.

In regards to lights I guess it would depend on where you want to be budget wise; you have quite a few options Feel free to stop by our website where you can see great light systems from these manufacturers:
NiteRider
Ikelike
BigBlue
Amphibico
GreenForce
Nocturnal Dive Lights
Light & Motion

You can find systems from $270.00 all the way up to 5k! let us know if you need any help or info.

Good luck in your search.

 

[ArtF]

The two Ikelite lights might be the easieist to mount on the Ikelite case, but you need to consider what you plan on photographing. In today's light technology, the Halogen based Ikelite Pro Video is an inefficient way to produce light. This means a shorter burntime underwater or a pretty heavy battery pack. State of the art lights are LED based. These are long life and much more efficient at converting electricity to light.

As to the Ikelite Pro-V8 LED, this is only 250lumens. As an example the Light & Motion Marcro250 is also 250 lumens and it is application-positioned for MACROS i.e. close to your subject. For more typical distances the Light and Motion Sunray 1000 and 2000 provide 1000 and 2000 lumens respectively.

My point is-- unless you are going primarily for MACRO I recommend that you should have more light output AND for best burntime with reasonalbe battery packs, I'd opt for LED based videolights.

Check out the other lights folks have suggested!

ArtF

 

[robint]

The two Ikelite lights might be the easieist to mount on the Ikelite case, but you need to consider what you plan on photographing. In today's light technology, the Halogen based Ikelite Pro Video is an inefficient way to produce light. This means a shorter burntime underwater or a pretty heavy battery pack. State of the art lights are LED based. These are long life and much more efficient at converting electricity to light.

As to the Ikelite Pro-V8 LED, this is only 250lumens. As an example the Light & Motion Marcro250 is also 250 lumens and it is application-positioned for MACROS i.e. close to your subject. For more typical distances the Light and Motion Sunray 1000 and 2000 provide 1000 and 2000 lumens respectively.

My point is-- unless you are going primarily for MACRO I recommend that you should have more light output AND for best burntime with reasonalbe battery packs, I'd opt for LED based videolights.

Check out the other lights folks have suggested!

ArtF

I didn't recommend the Ikelite Pro-V8 lights, they aren't real video lights to me. I recommended the REAL video lights that they sell, the PRO VIDEO-LITE 3, which I also have: Ikelite Pro Video-Lite 3
For less than $700 each, they are a better option for most people.

 

[Mr.X]

I use a hip-mounted canister and HID video lights from Salvo. This way I have a very flexible, modular system which gives me a lot of options vs. mounting some heavy batteries onto the Ikelite. I've been using this method now for years. I've had them all - Niterider, Light and Motion and in the end having some battery attached make the thing heavy and less maneuverable in the water.

X

 

[ronscuba]

I think the newish Ikelite Pro lite 3 Robin has uses a much smaller and lighter battery than the older Ikelite version.

Ikelite housings use a weighted stand to offset the housing buoyancy. I believe the battery takes the place of the stand so their is no additional weight or bulk. Robin, can you confirm this is true ?