My DIY canon HF200 Light Rack

[H20doctor]

well after seeing the quality of HD video and how amazing it comes out !! , i took the time to research Camcorders .. I had to look at what did what ? and for how much $$ , I also had to consider once i bought a camcorder , then I had to waterproof it in a Housing ... So I had 2 choices , camera and Housing... with all the options available ... The FLIP , Panasonic.. Go Pro Hero.. and many others .. I went with a Canon
The canon line is impressive and had many options for Video... I also didnt want to eat a Housing $$ , and Most Ikelights Housing arent cheap , they also dont let you use 100 % of the camcorders functions... So I bought the Canon Vixia HF 200 back last Christmas for 699.00.. And i just Now got the Housing last week for 425.00 from Abes of Maine..
Yes its a Big purchase thousand Bucks in video... So i am getting dive insurance on the gear before I get it all wet..this light rack will allow me to switch between my camera and My video, all on the same set up..

I got some Loc line and a chunk of delrin from Tap plastics ...cost on the loc line was cheap like 35.00

So Today i had to realize that my other super chip SST-90 is 8 weeks out from Avnet... which means I wont have a Light Rack till the end of summer... And also the 5 amp drivers wont be avail till the end of April maybe 1 week of may, Plan B , build a light Bar with 2 SSC P7 chips ...This seems good but I would have to order chips from Hong Kong , and thats also 7 weeks out.. So the little voice in side my brain said ... just use the Led's i have in stock and make a light rack for now.. and get the Big bad light rack made later towards the end of the summer.. that way i can get filming underwater and still have a good light set up.. I worked today on the Light Modules, Or light engines>> 3 XRE chips , putting out about 700 lumens per engine.. so a total of 1400 lumens for video light.. My future set up will have close to 5000 Lumens

well i had to figure out how to mount the camera to the delrin... so i went to wallmart and bought me a piece of crap O camera tripod for 20.00 , then i took off the top mounting plate thingy and stuck in on the delrin with 3 nice stainless screws.. the other end threads into the bottom of my housing.

and here is the WPV1 mounted

total cost for the whole build was under 200.00, Oh the battery pack is 10 sub c batteries 4500 Ma from All battery . com , when charged its 14 volts , and i get a 3 hour light burn

 

[Underwater Ogre]

Very nice...great looking rig! Would love to see some closer shots of the light housings.

U/O

 

[knowone]

Well. Now you can cancel the other stuff and triple bang stick the tripod for less than aware non vid divers.

 

[EAN]

Nice. Keep us updated on your progress. I have this same camera, but I haven't bought the waterproof case yet.

 

[H20doctor]

here is a video i shot the other night...with this set up ...

Hd dive Movie # 2 on Vimeo

 

[antero]

here is a video i shot the other night...with this set up ...

Hd dive Movie # 2 on Vimeo

Really nice video. Good clips of sea life. I like the transition from black and white (boring/grey) surface to colors (live and fun) underwater scene. I understand that visibility was not perfect is that is why it was like in a macro mode? Light seems a little bit spoty, maybe needs a diffuser? what is the power per star, and did you use any collimators?

 

[H20doctor]

Our vis right in Puget sound is full of algae Bloom, so everything is really Green and vis is like 10 feet , as for the lights , they seem to have 2 hot spots .. I built a diffuser for the right light and it helps alittle , but not much.. As for shooting Macro.. I don't have a Macro lens or the wide angle for this housing, because its another 400.00 . So I am working on a DIY lens setup ... Each light Housing is about 700 lumens

 

[Didje]

This is awesome, well done!
How did you attach the strobes to the arms?

 

[H20doctor]

i just used some cheap black zip ties