You're wasting your money on lights.....

[robbcayman]

So, I was all set on buying a set of sola 500 lights for my new go pro setup. I have a new go pro 2 with the LCD back, dive housing, magic filter, tray with arms ready for lights. Anyways, I make a phone call to a large online retailer asking about my choice of lights. The sales rep asked where I dive and I said mostly tropical locations i.e. Cozumel, Turks and Caicos, Florida etc.. and he said I would more than likely be wasting my money unless I wanted to get 2 sola 1200's and then it would still be a reach and only useful for underneath ledges or in deep water past 50 or 60 feet on very close filming. I would have to spend around $1,500 and it likely wouldn't make a huge difference then I was for sure out on that.

He said that lights are really good for dark water, green water, night diving etc.. His analogy was to think of shining a flashlight on a bright sunny day.. it's not very effective, but it is very noticeable at night. He said that the clear and bright tropical water is hard to punch through with lights and even powerful lights are only good for a few feet. I was a little surprised at his candid response, especially since it meant he wouldn't be making a sale. His advice was to use the filter from about 15 feet to around 60 feet and it should be more than enough for good memories. He also mentioned I should find some good editing software and I would be happy with the results. I was just surprised at his response and wondered how many other guys on here just skipped lights all together or regretted spending money on lights that aren't that effective. I'm really new to this so forgive me if I am missing something.... it wouldn't be the first time.

 

[toozler]

Lights would serve not only to make things brighter, but mostly to reintroduce the complete spectrum of visible wavelengths that has been filtered through the water column, leaving little of the red, orange and yellow wavelengths at depth. Yes, it is little noticeable when it's clear and shallow, in those cases you are better with a UW filter, but once you go past 60 ft, filters too can't do much - and usually do more harm then good, as they reduce the total amount of light being captured.

 

[lsorenson]

Heck, I don't believe RED makes it past 20'... I guess its really about how serious you are about your memories... Me, I like to blow up the choice pictures but like many on this board and others that are not; I have way out spent what I should have to get a decent picture... Hell, my wife's little snappy takes great video and pictures but with some limitations...! lee

 

[Mike]

I think his advice is great if you're going to only snorkel with it.

 

[antattack]

Cameras record light. Water filters light. If you want good shots, you have to bring light with you. In shallow, clear water, shooting at in the noon day sunlight, you can probably take some good shots without bringing your own lights. But below 20 FSW, in the afternoon, you will need lights.

It is true that a couple of 500 lumen lights attached to your camera tray will not illuminate that blue whale that swam 100 feet from you. You pretty much have to get lucky with mid day sun and shallow water for that. But if you want to video your buddy feeding a moray eel, you will get good use out of your video lights.

I read an article a few years ago about the amount of work that goes into National Geographic pics of underwater caverns. Those guys cart down arrays of lights and ttl wires to stage those gorgeous shots. Seems like lots of work. The more ambitious you are, the more lights you will need. You've probably noticed that the lights are more expensive than the cameras these days.

Happy shooting!

 

[RockyHeap]

You Heard his advice, and I'd say to ignore it, but everyone has a different application.

So to cover all the bases, yes you SHOULD and MUST get a good light set-up. People drool over my SOLA 600's and they have bigger ligths too.........get some SRP filters that that gets you started. Add lights as time and budget and applications need.


BUTTTTT yes you will need lights. That sales guy should be fired.

I just saw SOLA 1200's for ~$549 in Seattle, and 600's for ~$300 in california.


The 500's he was selling you on don't have wide and spot mode.

get the big bad blue ones like the 600, 800 or 1200s with both spot and wide.

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. Un-pack, power on, and shoot. I had an old Point and Shoot digital still camera tray gather dust (Sealife? I dunno) It 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 "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. __________________

For the Fellow Divers, here are some screen captures, of the GoPro Hero2 System, shot at 720x60 fps, so low res shots, and not much color contrast over your PC and the web, but you should see them on a 60" big screen LCD flowing smoothly as video........grins. 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 red filter and motion capture of my bald head doing a giant stride entry with GoPro on a 24" PVC pipe pole cam. __________________

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[Kilili]

Sounds like a nice story for those willing to believe [and save money], but much of it makes no sense. Underwater, more light helps, period, but why listen to my story?
I don't work for a "large, online retailer", I merely do underwater photography.

 

[Fatterboy]

I had been to Cozumel a few times when I bought my light. I use it during the day close up as it really makes the colors pop better. I only have one dual power light and wish I had 2 lights, with one light it has to be adjusted to where you are pointing the camera and there seems to be a "spot" that is more colorful than the surrounding picture. I also wish it had a wider beam. I feel with 2 lights a person could focus one short and the other a little farther out (overlapping slightly). I have an Intova 1K lumen. Last time we were in Coz, even the DM said "dude, where'd you get that light" when we did our night dive. I was so proud...

 

[Interceptor121]

Lights for underwater video are useful at close range between 1 and 3 feet depending on what arms you have got
Light are also something you can't go cheap a bit like strobes in pictures you need at least $800 lumens each to have any effect
So if I consider two sola dive 800 is 499x2 plus another 60-80 for locline arms you are talking about $1100 for a set up that camera wise is worth 500-600 and actually can't fully benefit from the lights because of the limitation of the gopro at close range and the impossibility to do real macro
I believe that the sales assistant at the shop went through a fairly similar reasoning and advices you not to spend money and stick to ambient light and a filter as you are mostly diving in clear blur water

 

[TONY CHANEY]

lights are really worthless...until you need them. So yes you can get some really nice shots with overhead light but in caves, cavers and at night ..a totally different story. Considering than most animals underwater come out at night you get more of a chance to see them at night...thus you do need lights unless you never plan to dive at night, caves, inside wrecks, under ledges, dark river or quarry diving etc.