Sure Squintsalot
Contributor
Extend that light with an articulated arm. Use a two by four if you have to, for God's sakes!
Thoughts on a single light for a GoPro setup?
- Thread starter LeggoDiveyDivey
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
I can move it up some just by moving the ball clamp; I'm also a total newb to this, so go easy - what's the advantage (especially if you only have one light) to having it offset from the camera so much? Is there a "best place" to have it?
Sure Squintsalot
Contributor
If you illuminate from the front, like you have it set up now, you'll also be illuminating all of the floaties between the camera and the subject. Don't do that. Illuminate from the 3/4 side and your single-light videos won't be overwhelmed with backscatter and won't look like crap.
Also, if you plan to take this sport (and filming) seriously, get at least a gopro 9 and another light. If you're not filming in 4K, everything you project on modern screens and monitors will look like crap.
Also, if you plan to take this sport (and filming) seriously, get at least a gopro 9 and another light. If you're not filming in 4K, everything you project on modern screens and monitors will look like crap.
Boarderguy
Chief Narctopus Wrangler
That's a great theory, but in application for compact point and shoot this setup works well. Too much crap in the water and you'll end up with video like this. When there is too much crap in the water I turn off the video light and use my primary to illuminate the area and not the subject. Taking home and sharing memories is different than getting published.
I agree with getting an updated go pro. I went from a 7 to a 10 and it was a lot better.
Video light vs no video light.
Fair enough. The camera is an Akaso Brave 4 my kids got me; it does record in 4k but most of what I’ve read suggests 1080 is better. The point about illuminating all the stuff between the camera and the subject makes sense. I just put the set-up together last week so I’m at the start of the learning curve.
ScottsdaleSteve
Contributor
Just completed 18 dives in Roatan with my brand new Nitescuba V20, and it worked great. It's mounted to a tray with my GoPro. Some dives to 100 feet. No leaks, no issues. Very happy with it...
Boarderguy
Chief Narctopus Wrangler
They are good down to 160 based on personal experience. I've taken the S20, V20, S12, and both of their big video lights down to that depth.
Good to hear! Mind sharing a pic of your setup and/or the brand of your tray?
I am using a small tray with two Orca torches D530V.
I began with a single one: daylight it was difficult to notice the coverage, but in a wreck and/or night dives it became annoying when using the GoPro on Wide because the angle of coverage was insufficient (or I was lazy in constantly adjusting the arm). Hence the second light.
These two are sufficient for me. In dark environment I use them at 50% power, otherwise it is too bright. Daylight they are meh, but enough for close range. Don't expect them to illuminate a wide-angle scenario at distance more than 1-2 meters.
However, I switched from housed camera + strobes to GoPro because I was too lazy (a repeating motive) toting a big, housed camera + strobes and now I need a GoPro with two torches, arms etc. it became big and bulky enough to defeat the purpose of having a small handy camera.
So lately I find myself diving with the gopro without arms/torches, and I just take a single Dive Rite CX2 torch + diffuser (this one Video Diffuser for Primary Lights - Dive Rite) which I mount on a goodman handle. It makes as good- if not better- coverage and brightness as the couple of D530Vs.
If there are lots of particles suspended in the water, then instead of extending the arms to put them far away from camera to reduce backscatter, I just extend the hand with the single torch
I began with a single one: daylight it was difficult to notice the coverage, but in a wreck and/or night dives it became annoying when using the GoPro on Wide because the angle of coverage was insufficient (or I was lazy in constantly adjusting the arm). Hence the second light.
These two are sufficient for me. In dark environment I use them at 50% power, otherwise it is too bright. Daylight they are meh, but enough for close range. Don't expect them to illuminate a wide-angle scenario at distance more than 1-2 meters.
However, I switched from housed camera + strobes to GoPro because I was too lazy (a repeating motive) toting a big, housed camera + strobes and now I need a GoPro with two torches, arms etc. it became big and bulky enough to defeat the purpose of having a small handy camera.
So lately I find myself diving with the gopro without arms/torches, and I just take a single Dive Rite CX2 torch + diffuser (this one Video Diffuser for Primary Lights - Dive Rite) which I mount on a goodman handle. It makes as good- if not better- coverage and brightness as the couple of D530Vs.
If there are lots of particles suspended in the water, then instead of extending the arms to put them far away from camera to reduce backscatter, I just extend the hand with the single torch
Similar threads
