My DIY Hero Tray, Travel Bag, Light Arms

[RockyHeap]

Thoughts I'd show my complete package, on how I DIY combined two cheap trays, with Loc-Line Flex Arms, Dual SOLA 600 lights, into a small light padded travel bag.

Perfect for airplane Carry-on, taking onto a dive boat, or general needs without carrying lots of loose parts.

I had an old Point and Shoot digital still camera tray gather dust (Sealife? I dunno) Had an arm and Loc-Line arm length (white nylon tray and right hand grip)

When I bought my Twin Sola 600's Lumens from Backscatter, along with the Hero 2 flat port housing with threaded 55mm filter mount, I bought their <insert cheap/crappy overpriced here> "tray/grip" which is simply a flat stock aluminum with too thin foam grip on it, meant for a single light mount. P.O.S for the ~$40-45 they charge for it but what-ever.

soooooooooooo (insert cool creative engineering genius here) I take the white nylon "single light" tray, drill a 1/4-20 bolt hole through it and mount a Trip-pod GoPro mount to it. Take Backscatters overpriced single grip tray (that normally has the aluminum top angle bent the "wrong" way to put a single light right smack dab over the camera (need to get light spread WIDE, not 4" from the lens duhhhh) So I put their aluminum in my vise and bent the angle so it points out, and not "inward" cool that's pointed correctly now.

Assembly, take (1) right handle white tray and mount (1) Left Grip Aluminum tray together with several stainless steel screws into the nylon tray. Drill hole for clip-on lanyard for securing camera to BCD. I left lots of room locating the camera tripod spaced from right hand grip, so you can hold camera by left grip, and operate shutter and controls with your right. Very Sweet.


I lanyard on a 55mm threaded Red Filter to the tray, or just carry it in a case in a BCD pocket and thread mount/un-mount as desired.


Wrap Lens cap securing cord around Tripod mount base.

Now package it all in Scuba regulator padded carry on bag, and you've got a nice widely spaced (30 inches!!!) light spread dual video light system that travels well and allows you to position your lights either pulled in tight right next to housing and keeping them spaced backwards 2-3 inches so no flaring on lense, or spread 30" wide to capture 12 foot wide Manta rays wingtip to wingtip fully illuminated..........

I love my SOLA lights, so small, light, nimble, and powerfull, Porsche like performance.

any questions and comments, feel free to ask and share.


I love to share my DIY projects, as good karma pays forward.


All in all, a sweet very flexible usable dual light tray, with bag and arms, for less than ~$100. Above or Below water surface.

 

[avigulf]

Nice mount, thanks for sharing. Unfortunately Sola 600 isn't enough lights in darker conditions.

 

[fbk]

Unfortunately Sola 600 isn't enough lights in darker conditions

He's right RockyHeap, what were you thinking... throw those little things in the bin and go and buy $4000 worth of lights for your $300 camera.

I've only had my GoPro (and same Sola 600 lights) two weeks and done four dives, inside a pitch black wreck, dont get much "darker conditions" than that. I am blown away by how well they perform. Do they have enough grunt to overpower the sun in daylight or light up the inside of a huge cave like 50W HID's... duh no. But they are excellent lights for not much money (just like the camera).

Oh and nice tray and arms Dave. Bit long aren't they?

 

[Marty Cerven]

I agree on the lights, I have 2x Sola 500 photo's and they are plenty for my hero2's in a completely dark environment and the hero3 likes these even more. Its only in daytime you could do with more lumens to help overpower the sun a few more feet further away for an extra few $1000 lol.

Can you easily unscrew the handles? Will save you much more space and when I travel with my tray setup I take it all apart which only takes a few seconds but gives me much more room.

 

[RockyHeap]

He's right RockyHeap, what were you thinking... Oh and nice tray and arms Dave. Bit long aren't they?

FBK Mate, those extra long arms experience major shrinkage in our cold 46-52F water, unlike "your" Aussie warm water stubby shafts that are too short to begin with......



.....but then again, It's much more impressive to say your arms are 250 millimeters long instead of good old american 10"



In Hawaii crystal clear blue waters, I actually found on High power mode my twin 600's were actually over exposing and blowing out the picture, yup. :cool2: both in close up Macro as well as when a 12 foot wingspan manta is dog-piling you into the coral reef with his claspers trying to have his way with you...........in a pitch black night dive.

Twin 600's, more than enough light for me, I'd rather have twin 600's than one 1200, at the same price too.



Glad to hear and share all our worldwide experiences, metric lumens or american lumens...........grins, Watts wrong with that?

 

[JamesK]

Wow. I have to disagree with almost everyone on the SOLA's being bright enough for the GoPros in completely dark conditions. I use dual 1200's along with a 35w HID video light. In larger cave passages the light get eaten up quick. In the smaller passages the SOLA's perform great. However in the bigger darker walled passages, it is no where near enough.

Your mount looks nice btw.

 

[RockyHeap]

I don't want this thread to turn into a lighting discussion of what's best or what doesn't fit "your" application.

Sorta like drag racing, run what you brung, and if it doesn't fit your needs or isn't fast enough, then change it.


No the Go Pro isn't a caving system, nor are mere mortal afforadable recreational diving SOLA lights, but I can light up a 12' wide manta ray just fine for my standards at a ~20-25 foot distance in complete darkness.

Please don't turn this into a lighting lumen comparison thread.


Here are some screen captures, of the GoPro Hero2 System off of Kona Hawaii, shot mostly at 720x60 fps, so "low" res shots, and not much color contrast over your PC and the web, (with zero color touch up in Sony Vegas by the way) but you should see them on a 60" big screen LCD flowing smoothly as video........grins. I'm loving it. YMMV

Night shots using the twin SOLA 600 lumen lights, of the 12' wingspan Manta with a 3 foot wide mouth (see the ~30" long dive fin for scale) and other screen captures of daylight shots with a Fantasea red filter and motion capture of my bald head doing a giant stride entry with GoPro on a 24" PVC pipe pole cam.

 

[avengerki]

I like it not quite my style for the gopro since I have an dslr in an ikelite housing to take up in my hands. Although I may end up modifying my mount to incorporate the gopro underneath it at some point.

 

[JamesK]

I was not trying to badmouth the lighting system. It seems you took it slightly personal and I apologize for that. I was simply stating that they are not all that and a bag of Cheetos every situation. Now if I had a better camera system they would be much better. I do not blame that on the lights. I hate dragging around my big aqua video housing camera set up though. That is why I need a GP3.

Sorry if you feel I took your thread off topic.

---------- Post added November 25th, 2012 at 09:32 AM ----------

By the way nice shots.

 

[RockyHeap]

Nah James, no harm no foul.

As in many things in life, there is often no one best solution, but a compromised answer that fits our needs at that time and place.

I've dove Cenotes, and yes even that crystal clear water absorbs light.

I read an article once on how National Geographic did professional shoots of cave diving, and I think a single photographer placed/positioned and remotely triggers/fired something like TWENTY or THIRTY Ikelite DS-125 strobes all at once for each shot.


Keep up the good commentary James, thanks for sharing!