What type of Focus light do you use?

With different poeple having different ideas about using different focus lights. I was wondering, which light divers use, and also what is your dream focus light (thats on the market)?

Some divers use LED, old fashion torches, dedicated spot light, modeling light on strobe, red filted light.......ahhh.........too many choices!

You input would greatly appreciated, as I am waiting to receive my new Ikelite housing and strobe.

Thanks

Jason

Jason, at the moment, one of the most popular is the fix light. Expensive but works well and has an adjustable beam.

You can buy it here:

Fisheye Fixlight

Rand

Jason, at the moment, one of the most popular is the fix light. Expensive but works well and has an adjustable beam.

 

You can buy it here:

 

Fisheye Fixlight

 

Rand

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I just recently got one, and I REALLY like it. Just be sure you charge the battery shortly before diving (not a month before), because the battery WILL lose its charge over time, and you just might find that it dies in the middle of your first night dive of a trip.

Don't ask how I know this.

What makes this light more popular than the L&M light? I know L&M had lots of problems and have corrected them. Are these comparable?

Joe

L&M's Mod Light was a good light but had some battery issues and was discontinued back in 2004. Their Classic Focus Light is also a good light but it works with a tethered battery pod:

http://www.uwimaging.com/products/classicfl/index.htm

Got it. Thanks. I just have never liked separate battery packs. I've seen too many problems and it's, to me, another piece of equipment to haul around.

Thanks for the feedback.

Joe

Joe,

The Fix light has a removeable battery. A spare battery is about $100 which seems high until you consider that I needed 2 Modlights (at $400 a pop) to be able to drop in an hour for another dive. Plus, the Mod lights take several hours to charge while the Fix light battery charges in less than a hour.

Rand

The Ikelite DS-125 modeling light does a great job. A pair of them put out nearly as much light as my UK800R 25W light.

I have trouble getting my head around buying a Fisheye when it and a spare battery is nearly the cost of another DS-125.

Be sure to get a pair of fast chargers. Having two will allow you to fully recharge both strobes during your surface interval.

I'm a bit worried about bright focus lights: they disturb sea life, and are a menace on night dives. Martin Edge mentions in the (very interesting) third edition of his book that red filters make focus lights much less disturbing to fishes. I use two UK mini Q 40s bolted underneath my housing in rubber holders, which provide enough illumination to focus, and my Inon Z220s have bright modelling lights. I find the combination works well, but I've made inserts for the Q 40s from a red Cokin filter that drop the light intrensity but still support autofocus, allowing lower exposure values without the light spots appearing in the image.

The other big advantage is that the strobes and the lights all work from AA cells, so I have a single charger and backup batteries for both systems.

Its cheap and works.

Tim

B)

I'm a bit worried about bright focus lights: they disturb sea life, and are a menace on night dives. ...

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The Fix light has ADJUSTABLE brightness, which is a FANTASTIC feature. Seldom is the standard output of any flashlight or modeling light ideal. Being able to adjust the brightness up and down during a dive is a really useful feature, both for conserving battery power when full brightness isn't needed, and to avoid blinding sea life (using just enough brightness to be able to focus).

Adustability and color filters are good arguments for a separate aiming light.

I have not found many creatues on carribean reefs that are noticably disturbed by bright lights.... most are attracted to it. Octopi are an exectption to that though (athough, I think they are attracted to light out of curiosity). I don't like taking pictures of them with the way the flinch when the strobe goes off. Trying to take more than one picture usually ends up with a very red, very angry octopus. I also give sleeping fish a wide berth.

I've used just about every focusing light...lol.

The DS125's lights are good but you have to point your strobe straight at the subject. I seldom do that. With the diffuser fitted (which I always use) there isn't enought light and it's not focused enough for me to use as a focus light.

The Sunray (I own) has been reliable for me in that it hasn't burned out or exploded, but sometimes, I'll charge it, then go diving the next day and it will be dead. No idea what's going on. It has a few power settings and it's smaller than the Fix.

The Fix fisheye light is my favorite. It's infinitely adjustable and has removable batteries. It's just about perfect except for the price and size...lol

Using a tight-beamed flashlight is a problem. You can never get the light pointed at your subject, and then when you do it moves closer and you have to aim the flashlight again. That's a problem. Then it can leave a bright spot in your photos if you're using a shutterspeed under about 1/60th.

Cheers

James

I use a modified 8 C-cell light. I think, it's a shockwave (wide even beam; fairly bright; decent burn time; around $50 + ULCS mounting hw). Basically, I cut off the pistol grip handle, drilled and tapped two holes, and screwed on a V-plate. The light is mounted on top of my housing using a ULCS ball adapter and clamp.

Normally, I use the light to spot subjects from a distance and then use the edge of the beam to focus.

One modification I'm considering is switching to an EverLED bulb and rewiring the 8 C-cells into two groups of 4 separated by an ON-OFF-ON switch. (this would more than double the burn time; but might cut down on beam brightness slightly)

I use a led light (actually 40+ leds).

Its have a very wide and constant light without any hot spot.

It’s probably not good as the fisheye but it’s also don't cost so much.

Does anyone use the Nocturnal Lights SLX Focus light?

http://www.nocturnallights.com/underwater_...s_assist_light/

I have heard some good things about it, but haven't seen one in person to test it out. Pricewise, it's slightly cheaper than the Fisheye light ($355 versus $420), but not enough to make that reason enough to purchase the light. Thanks.

Hi Guys,

Here's a review from dive photo guide.

http://www.divephotoguide.com/noclight.php

I'll try to get more customer reviews posted on our site.

Does anyone use the Nocturnal Lights SLX Focus light?

 

I use a Nocturnal Light. I haven't tried everything on the market, but this light is a fine tool underwater for it's intended purpose. Before buying, my comparison was to the Fix Light, since I'd heard so many good things about it. But on balance, the things that made me go to the Nocturnal were:

 

1) It is is available in both rechargable and non-rechargable versions, which is a weight issue. The cell battery version weighs more than 1.25 lb. less underwater than the battery pack version. Given the heft of housings and strobes, the lighter weight made sense for me.

 

2) Carrying extra rechargable cells is much lighter than carrying extra proprietarybattery packs.

 

3) Being an LED it emits little heat, which seems to work better with some subjects than do hotter bulb lights

 

In my case power settings didn't matter and so were not a consideration

 

In the end it was my opinion that a lightweight, AA cell using, LED lamp is what I needed most. The Nocturnal ended up being the best option for me and I am quite satisfied to date, though I admit 3 or 4 hundred bucks for an aiming light borders on absurd.

 

For that kind of money does it offer a commensurate photographic advantage? I believe it does, but wouldn't argue the point with anyone who prefers using a $ 50.00 light instead

I've gone through a few different lights trying to find a good comprimise of size weight and brightness.

DS-125 Modeling Light: Reduces strobe battery life, most point at subject.

UK Light Cannon: Heavy, Bright, Blue cast can be a problem.

PricetonTec Surge: Small, Light, Bright, 3 hour burn time on AA, $25

The $25 PricetonTec has worked very well. It takes 8 AA batteries and is very bright and reliable. I put a bit of plastic over the lens to difuse the beam and I get very good results with a 60MM macro. The light is bright enough to use as a primary light in the Pacific Northwest as well. The beam could be broader, but otherwise a very practical solution.

Dave

Does anyone use the Nocturnal Lights SLX Focus light?

 

http://www.nocturnallights.com/underwater_...s_assist_light/

 

I have heard some good things about it, but haven't seen one in person to test it out. Pricewise, it's slightly cheaper than the Fisheye light ($355 versus $420), but not enough to make that reason enough to purchase the light. Thanks.

I just purchased a Nocturnal SLX light. I saw one on a dive boat a couple of weeks ago, and was fairly impressed. I looked at their web site and found they have some "Demo" models for sale for just $210. I got the basic flashlight configuration and then bolted on a ULCS ball adapter I had left over from some other device. The mounting holes are pre-drilled in the handle. The demo unit is in mint condition and has the same warranty as any other.

I have not taken it for a dive yet, but it seems like a great light. It's a lot brighter than my current spotter which I was already pretty happy with. It uses just 6 AA cells to power 3 super bright LED's that will burn at full brightness for 4 hours before slowly dimming.

I'll post back once I've taken it for a spin.

Dave

DS-125 Modeling Light: Reduces strobe battery life, most point at subject.

This has never caused me a problem. I use the modeling lights on my two DS125s as dive lights on night dives and I have not even noticed a slow down in recycle time, let alone coming close to running out of power. I also always point my strobes at the subject and in fact find that I can get the direction of the strobes far more accurately with the modeling lights on.

On night dives I also wear a UK Mini Q40 eLED on my mask which lets me see my camera gear as my only other lights are the strobes.