Hello everybody, I don't know if this is the right place to submit my question. 

I'm looking for a good, powerful and hopefully not very expensive video lamp. Any suggestion? Thank you in advance

People think that gopros & Co. have special requirements for lights or given that the camera is "cheap" same apply for the lights.

It's true the contrary. The tiny sensor requires a lot of light. A FF camera or even a M43 camera can work flawlessly at 1600 ISO and up. While a Gopro @1600 ISO is pure trash.

IMO the only requirement is having something small. 6K is the bare minimum).

There are the Scubalamp/SUPE very cheap (but iirc they are not constant output).

A good option are the latest Kraken lights ( @bghazzal can give you some feedback) or Weefine.

1 hour ago, Davide DB said:

The tiny sensor requires a lot of light. A FF camera or even a M43 camera can work flawlessly at 1600 ISO and up. While a Gopro @1600 ISO is pure trash.

IMO the only requirement is having something small. 6K is the bare minimum).

 

This is a great perspective.  Thanks Davide!

 

Have a look here. This XAvdenturer seems a good option, a fair price and Pietro sell them in Italy.

@Wags could give you his feedback.

 

 

I use 2 of these Wurkkos DL07 torch : Torcia elettrica anfibia Wurkkos DL07

For night dives, where they are my only source of light, I love them, and also when you have to go into macro, or smaller subject.
For wider shot, I would not recommend them, you will most likely need to spend more.

PRO:
-Cheap
-Last two 1h dives without problem
-They need just one 26650 battery, so you can buy two, and swap between dives (they cost ~5€ each)
-Good 120 degree light angle
-Small and weight only ~300 grams, perfect for travel
-Ball head included in the package
-Feels solid
-Have also Red, Ultraviolet and SpotLight mode

CONS:
-Useless on wider scene or if there is too much light (but to overcome these problem, i think you need to spend a lot on light)
-People will thanks you a lot for blinding them underwater 😅
-The magnetic ring that control wich mode you use, sometimes is hard to turn


Here a night dive where my source of light was them (and a bit of torch from my buddys):

 

I can't comment on the X-Adventurer brand - not sure if it's produced by the same factories as Weefine and Kraken and related in anyway, but design is similar (as is often the case for these products 😅) - and Kraken lights are nice.

Really good light quality, constant output (you get the lumens stated during the whole dive, not something which dims constantly), good built BUT button ergonomics  are really not great for UW video use (long press, short press, double press etc) - some lights have the option to use a remote, which is a game changer but less so for a single light kit.
Weefine range is now different from that of Kraken, but they shared the same factory in the past and design/charateristic are still similar, as is the price range. Both are constant output for lights over 2500 lumen.
These are not the cheapest however, in the upper mid-range - look into Hydras for instance.

 

cheers

Edited December 3, 2024Dec 3 by bghazzal

Hi, I have a single M8000 X-Adventurer, the light gives out a very even spread. Turn it down if not shooting to make it last the dive. There is a remote for it so I plan to get that which will make life bit easier. The one light just about covers the camera's FOV at night.

 

I will most probably get a second one so 16,000 Lumen all up. Used during the day you need to use a blue filter on the light else anything the light hits will be too red if you camera is WB to being on the warm side. Using a filter however kills the light power. 

 

Use if with an Action 4 and wide dome port.

If you decide you want high output lights, I have a pair of Kraken 18K lights for sale in the Classifieds.

 

Gary

- @Gmsalterego Ask for a good, powerful and hopefully not very expensive video lamp:
- @Elvandar : Suggest a cheap ass torch, not that bad (45€)
- @Wags & @Proteus: Suggest a really good torch but (~600€+)


@Gmsalterego give us your budget and what you consider "not very expensive" 😆

By the way, all my video on my youtube, are shot with GoPro 11/12 and those 45€ torch, so if you are not a professional, or really into the hobby, you don't need to spend too much to get an ok result.

But if you go for a 600€ source of light because you like taking video, you should maybe consider to change also the camera 😁

But also, I should not question these decision, as i bought almost 1000€ in wet lens for my gopro 🙃

 

 

Dear @Elvandar all good questions. 

I've also spent a lot for macro and wet lens and I dont want absolutely dismiss my GP12 too.

I submitted the present subject because of my chinese lamp burned its led. Now I'm waiting for replacement due to the amazon warranty. 

I was thinking if a different brand was more reliable, considering all the manufacturer are in China.

My budget? Around 400-500 € more or less

Bye Giacomo 

Hi all,

 

Seeking some illumination (pun intended) on this subject and want to establish what is considered the conventional view

 

1. GP or Action cameras have smaller sensors so low light capability is awful, hence requiring a lot more light

2. In addition, most Action Cameras have a minimum focal distance between 30cm to 50cm, so the light needs to travel through a body of water and still remain bright enough to bring out the colours

3. and, the further the light is away from the subject, the more diffuse it becomes, the softer it becomes hence the light needs to be more powerful to compensate? 

4. but most lights have a beam angle of about 100 to 130 degree...but the further you get from the subject, the edge of the lights is usually not that bright so again more powerful or brighter lights?

 

Hence the in-going thinking is...need bright lights when shooting with action cameras

 

Is this a fair summary of the situation? 

 

 

 

I think so, for wide angle shots of course.  Macro requires less light by the way.

This is my understanding.

Ciao,  Giacomo 

Today: lake of Como

Gopro 12 and backscatter wide angle.

Chinese lights

Bye

@Nick I have 2x divevolk dive lights LS50 , they are rebranded from SUPE SCUBALAMP

For the price/quality you can't go wrong, CRI96 and 120 Beam Angle, excellent for video.

 

With 5000 lumens each im using them in medium settings, about 3000 lumens each, but they weight 295g underwater.

 

But beware, the more powerful they are the heavier they become due their large battery.

Ive seen myself adding buoyancy float arms to my rig to compensate the AOI lens + dive lights.

Also a "bigger" system will slow you down underwater, meaning more air consumption and more restrict in movements.

 

If was today probably i would go with Sea Dragon Dive light, max 2500/3000 lumens each.

For example the Sea dragon 3000F Auto weights 110g/3.9oz in salt water,  120 Beam and CRI 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello, I continue this thread. I wa looking at a couple of weefine solar flare 7000S.

Do you have any comments about that?

Is it enough for gopro video?

Thank you, Giacomo

As previously mentioned, Weefine lights are constant output - SUPE/Scubalamp/Fotocore/Divevolk are not, at least not previous models. Same goes for Big Blue lights for instance, not constant output until now.

This means the amount of light drops constantly while the light is used, which is not a problem for a dive light but does have issues for video, as your light dims as it discharges (and you never get the lumens advertised, which are probably already pumped up for most of these product).
In other words, go for constant output lights whenever possible.
More on this here: https://waterpixels.net/forums/topic/1524-constant-output-video-lights

In general, small cameras with a small sensor and a wide field of view, like action cams, require more light.

But then it really depends what you are doing with artificial lighting...

If you want to shoot night dives, low viz, close up shots or macro, then yes 2x 7000 lumen can cut it.
If you want to light an actual wide angle scene from further away, then no, that won't be enough - get the strongest lights you can afford, 10,000 lumen or 15,000 lumen (or more).
If you want to use ambient filters (there's a gorgeous GoPro + Kraken 10K Solar Flare Mini with ambient filters video here btw ), get the strongest lights you can afford, as filters will halve the output (unless you're using lights for highlights on closeups).

If you're rich, get Keldans and keep them for the rest of your diving life and don't look back or regret anything.

Otherwise as an alternative, look into Seafrog SF150 lights - if it is confirmed they are indeed constant output, they're hard to beat budget wise:
https://www.seafrogs.com/npublic/opdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fomo-oss-file110.thefastfile.com%2Fportal-saas%2Fpg2024061210334464153%2Fcms%2Ffile%2Fsf-150%20video%20light%20user%20manual.pdf

Design is very similar to Kraken/Weefine models which are coming out of a Foshan plant near Shenzen.
Kraken/Weefine lights are solid products, even if design could be refined. They also have a remote which is great for video (so do the Seafrog)

cheers

Edited Sunday at 11:28 AM3 days by bghazzal

@bghazzal I decided for a couple of weefine solar flare 7000S. They should be consistent with my video scenarios.

Ordered just few minutes ago.

Edited Sunday at 03:09 PM3 days by Gmsalterego

1 hour ago, Gmsalterego said:

@bghazzal I decided for a couple of weefine solar flare 7000S. They should be consistent with my video scenarios.

Ordered just few minutes ago.

Does dive lights weefine solar flare 7000S are great ( CRI 95 + Beam 150) but does lights deserve better than gopro.

Your filming will have excellent light conditions for sure.

Im using 2x divevolk LS50 (CRI 96 + Beam 120 + 5000 lumens ) and im using them in minimal brightness between 1 and 2 ( 1680 & 1120 lumens each)

The things is, the ideal filming distance for the Gopro is +- 1m to 30cm, and too much brightness will get you too much backscatter, or you will need some extended arms.

But with 2 extended arms sometimes you will be far away from the subject, or limited to small spaces, and the small sensor will struggle in case the diving conditions aren't the best.

Im keeping one of the LS50 for macro filming + divevolk case, and ordered 2x bigblue AL1300XWP (CRI 85 + Beam 120 + 1300L) for the Gopro13.

Dont get me wrong, i love the LS50, but their weight is compromising my system.. a goodman handle with 2x bigblue AL1300XWP + Gopro is all that i need if i want to take advantage of action camera size.

Edited Sunday at 05:22 PM3 days by Nando Diver

5 hours ago, Gmsalterego said:

@bghazzal I decided for a couple of weefine solar flare 7000S. They should be consistent with my video scenarios.

Ordered just few minutes ago.

I use 2 WeeFine Smart Focus 7000, which is practically the same with some extras. I also use it for my Sony A6400, but often with GoPro 12. They're good but don't expect them to lit big reef scenes. However, if you around or closer than 1m they will do the job.

Thank you @bghazzal and @Nikolausz.

I was using a couple of chinese very cheap lamps, one of them burned few time ago.

A friend of mine is using those lights and I got them during black Friday discount. I wish a more reliable product with constant output above all. My favourite scenario is with wide angle wet lens, close to the subject, so you confirmed the good choice. My opinion soon. Bye

P.s. my friend told me that solar flare is more suitable for video, while smart focus for photography.

Edited Monday at 06:47 AM2 days by Gmsalterego

5 hours ago, Gmsalterego said:

P.s. my friend told me that solar flare is more suitable for video, while smart focus for photography.

I considered smart focus, because of the additional blue light and the optical condensor (kind of snoot) you can attache (screw) to the lamp.

Honestly, I haven't used that much those functions, so for video I would also suggest solar flare over the smart focus version.