Sola 2500 F review, now with rich velvety shipwreck goodness (the SS wexford)

[AngloFish]

So it was time to replace my existing video lights. I'd been using a set of prototypes from Edge Dive Tech for about two years and while they had excellent run time and produced lots of light I just couldn't diffuse them enough to get rid of the really noticeable hot spots. They are clearly much more useful as standard dive lights or even scooter headlights
After lots of searching and reading I set my sights on a set of solas. I took a single Sola 2000 out for a test and was very impressed with the coverage and amount of light it produced. With 1 I didn't have enough coverage for wide angle but it was pretty obvious with 2 I would.
While chatting about it with the LDS I was informed that the 2500 F were out. I did some checking and really liked the beam angle (90) and the burn time of an hour at full burn. Figured I'd take a chance and ordered up a pair.
Now side by side, the 2000 does appear brighter IMO, however that's likely due to the whiter nature of the 2000's light (which is quite white, on the harsh side). and the 70 degree beam angle vs 90.
The 2500 F is a much softer light which seems to be much better at capturing more natural skin tones etc.

Now on the dive I was able to use them on setting 1 and let me tell you my cameras auto focus absolutely loved it (outside with plenty of ambient light). I could not necessarily see the light in the video after, but my eyes and more importantly the cameras sensor did. Once I got down inside and bumped power up to 3, then the magic happened. Really nice even coverage and the light colour was really great.

So in short I'm very impressed with the performance so far and would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a set of great lights.

[youtubehq]m_5FRjgeuDY[/youtubehq]

 

[Interceptor121]

Nice one. The Sola 2500F are actually 90 degrees and the video 2000 only 70. The other Sola lights of lower power stop at 60 which is really only for close up
Sometimes in caves I wonder if I would want 90 but actually other times I even think I rather have a narrow beam because of backscatter
[youtubehq]-zhv3XfhE9E[/youtubehq]
I quite like the black around the frame instead of a fully lit frame but I guess if you shoot very deep the 90 degrees light are a clear winner

 

[AngloFish]

Lol wow did I ever screw that up. You are correct, 90 not 110. I totally confused the fov between my big and little camera (110 and 90) with the lights. That's what I get for typing a review before coffee.
I will edit but leave this reply for all to see my shame :doh:

That's some clear water and nicely edited! I was looking to go as wide as possible since I plan to start using my 8mm fisheye shortly. With my m4/3 sensor my 12-35mm is actually closer to 24-70mm. While 24 is still pretty wide, with the generally poor vis locally it's not quite cutting it. I know with pictures on my old camera 8-10.5mm is pretty ideal so hoping to reproduce those kinds of results on video.

Nice one. The Sola 2500F are actually 90 degrees and the video 2000 only 70. The other Sola lights of lower power stop at 60 which is really only for close up
Sometimes in caves I wonder if I would want 90 but actually other times I even think I rather have a narrow beam because of backscatter
[youtubehq]-zhv3XfhE9E[/youtubehq]
I quite like the black around the frame instead of a fully lit frame but I guess if you shoot very deep the 90 degrees light are a clear winner