Thoughts on a single light for a GoPro setup?

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

I've always filmed with just a GoPro but as I go to places with deeper dives, the videos just get grainier with less light to the point where im considering adding a light. At the same time Im hoping to keep my gear as small and unobtrusive as possible. Has anyone have experience or examples of how videos with just a single dive light looks like?

I think there are 3 options:
1. Tray with 1 overhead light, ,this seems best as I can adjust the light and it illuminates the subject/fish from the top down.
Example: Underwater Tray for GoPro with Video Light Supe PV32T 3000 Lumen

2. Light undermount, this seems like the lighting would be weird and might cause glares from below. I do love how streamlined it is though

3. Ring light, seems odd underwater but the light here might seem the most consistent and natural

Weefine Ring Light 3000

Weefine Ring Light 3000 is a unique video and strobe photography tool that makes macro and close-up photography easy underwater. The unit screws on any 67mm port thread or lens and gives out a beautiful omnidirectional illumination with no need to fiddle with your light's positions. The Ring...

www.mikesdivecameras.com

4. (Give up and just get a tray with 2 lights)

 

[Sure Squintsalot]

GoPro filming underwater is cool because options are extremely limited and very clearly related. The trade-off for a small, easy to use video package is a tiny, but slow sensor that requires a lot of light, slow-speed motion, and relatively close subjects.

"Unobtrusive" underwater is a bit of an oxymoron: you need a bright light, or you need to get very close. Either way, you're getting into something's face. Here's where limited options become related; as distance from lens increases, so does needed brightness and light angle. A single, thousand lumen light mounted on a 9in. arm is ok for near-macro filming, but quickly turns useless when filming arms-length subjects.

Additionally, a single bright light casts dark, ugly shadows, a secondary light helps fill in those dark shadows. Longer arms off your tray also help aim your lights obliquely for much more pleasing illumination. Short arm single lighting gives too much of that backscattered, bleached effect.

Proper underwater filming is a huge endeavor; the required forethought and technical knowledge is pretty deep and broad.

Improper underwater filming is a huge waste of time; all that money spent being underwater fiddling with crappy gear only to bring home useless video you won't even want to watch.

 

[Tippytoes12]

I have a SeaLife SeaDragon 3000 lumen with a single arm and tray. I add my TG on some dives or use the GoPro by itself. I also have a smaller SeaLife arm to use the GoPro onto of the TG housing. It’s a brilliant setup. There are some. Dry good dive torches that you attach to your Selfie Stick and art the GoPro onto. This takes amazing photos and videos.Two lights would be even better

 

[passeparici]

Like you, I don't want to carry underwater anything bulky. Even a Gopro tray is too cumbersome for me. I have a 10 000 lumens 120° Bigblue torch. It is on my left hand with a glove. I can use it even if I don't want to take videos. The Gopro is fixed on a stick and I clip it to my right should D ring with a bolt snap. When I take a video the torch is far appart from the Gopro so it is not too bad. Yes sometime as there is only one source of light you can get an ugly shadow but very often it's ok. Past 1 or 2 meters, even with 10 000 lumens it is useless

 

[lairdb]

This is a little self-serving, but: Light&Motion used to make a GoPro specific light called the Sidekick. (https://amzn.to/3xAWYM3).

Makes for a very compact package, though it does have the downsides mentioned by others of being a single source, close to the camera. Upside is the compact-ness; no tray, no arms, pocketable, clippable…

Self-serving because I happen to have a BNIB one in my desk that I’m not really using. LMK if you’re interested in buying.

 

[Boarderguy]

I use this on pretty much every dive. I can change out to bigger lights when needed and adjust the light angle as I see fit.

https://a.co/d/cfFXdSX