Video light recommendations?

[ronscuba]

Oh I see what you mean. We usually have one camera operator and three guys with video lights.
Thank you for the comprehensive explanation of the technology. This was very helpful!

If you are part of a team, what kind of lights are the others and the video shooter using ? A cameras white balance can be adjusted but, if multiple lights are illuminating the field of view, it is important the video light color be all the same.

Common light colors are 7200, 6500, 5000. 7200 will look whiter than 5000.

 

[Ally Kiyomi]

remember that 2 lights are ALWAYS better than one, even if you sacrifice brightness.

as said above, no light is capable of 30k lumen for 2 hours with that small of a battery pack.
The light output profile will look like it's little brother
We Test Lights | VL15000P Test and Review

It will be less obvious on lower brightness settings, but they are certainly a bit optimistic with their claims. In video with high quality cameras, even gopro's, you aren't going to notice the dropoff. I had a fairly well known diver buddy of mine who is big into photography/videography swear they didn't do it until he he took interval shots on his dslr in manual mode and then he saw it. It's enough that if you want to do professional video work with them, I would probably avoid them, but for gopro work in a cave, they're perfectly fine. My biggest axe to grind is the false advertising they are doing. As long as you are fully aware that your 30k lumen is really going to be like a 25k lumen at the beginning, and probably a 10-15k light after an hour, then you're ok.

If I were looking, I'd probably go with a pair of these
1-V30WS_UV Video Light – ANO Online Shop
or these
V70WS Video Light – ANO Online Shop

I'm not a huge fan of the ring switches, but they work quite well and the charger dock is super nice instead of having to disassemble each night. A buddy has a pair of these lights and is quite happy with them. Another has the 2300 spot, and 6000 lumen video canister light which are quite nice. For budget lights, I'd have no problem with them

I'm also looking for my first pair of video lights without breaking the bank. Never heard of Ano. Can anyone else vouch for Ano light ( vs. sola or sealife)

 

[glee719]

I made a mistake of buying two Sola lights at different times, and their color difference is really bothering me on the shots. So if you plan on buying 2 lights, make sure you buy them together!

Also, I am sorry but the night time video of the 30000 lumen is really not representative of the output. I can probably achieve that with 2000 lumens The challenge is always shooting in day light!

 

[VR78]

I made a mistake of buying two Sola lights at different times, and their color difference is really bothering me on the shots. So if you plan on buying 2 lights, make sure you buy them together!

Also, I am sorry but the night time video of the 30000 lumen is really not representative of the output. I can probably achieve that with 2000 lumens The challenge is always shooting in day light!

Not much sunlight in caves so the second part of your comment is not terribly relevant to my question - but thank you for mentioning color temperature differences between batches. This issue hasn't crossed my mind and is certainly something to consider. Anyone else noticed this with lights other than Sola?

 

[glee719]

I think you misunderstood my 2nd statement. In the absence of ambient light, artificial light doesn't have to be a supernova to light up your subject (or scene). Just go out at night and stare at any vehicle headlight and they will be plenty bright. Also, having a super strong light at night will most likely attract enough planktons to ruin your shot.

However, the same vehicle headlight is probably not noticeable in broad day light because your ambient light is way stronger. When you are using them underwater, you will need plenty of power to lit up the shadows casted by the sun and show details of your subject, or you will just have a silhouette.