Tested Hartenberger Nanos as Video Lights

Well I just went out and gave the Hartenberger Nanos a try as video lights. I am new to video and this was a very rough 1st trial. These are brand new so the bulbs have not burned in and the batteries where full but have yet to be drained down and recharged.

Setup

Canon Elura 90

Ikelite Housing

Inon UAL 100 Wide Angle Lens

2xHartenberger Nanos each on 8" arms

Conditions

Viz Approx 20’

Green Water

Overcast

The Nanos have four power settings. To turn on you move a small lever on the back to the + symbol and they come on at the lowest level. Move the lever to the + you go up one more power setting. Early in the dive one thing that was a bit confusing was when I put them on their highest Level (4) a couple of seconds later the 4 indicator lights showed 3. I thought this meant the light was on power level 3. After a few minutes I realized this was indicating battery power. If you push the lever again it showed 4 lit indicator lights.

Burn time turned out to be about 50minutes. This was with power at full about 25-30minutes of the dive and a lot of changing power up and down throughout the dive.

I ran a couple of “testsâ€. I would pick a target, sit at a set distance and then shoot at the different power settings. I will try to post some sad boring video later.

Test 1 shot in direct sun about 25ft depth, 20ft viz

At 3ft from subject: Level 1 no light on subject, Level 2 no noticeable light on subject, Level 3 light on subject and getting some color, Level 4 light on subject and lighting about 4-5sqft area around subject as well.

At 6ft from subject: Only level 4 put some light on the subject and started to see color around subject.

Test 2 shot in deep shade, inside a structure 20-25ft depth, 20ft viz

Here level 3 and 4 gave fair light up to 6-8 feet out covering about 8ft x 8ft area.

The beam angles did not seem as wide as my Fisheye. On several occasions I found I had to point them in to get light on a subject 4-6 feet away.

The lights preformed as well as my Fisheye 20watt and the light seems to be significantly whiter than the Fisheye. For close up and overcast conditions I think they are fair performers. I look forward to getting them out at night and seeing how they do. I know many video shooters want to get rid of their lights with cables and battery packs but I don't know if this setup would meet high-end users needs.

NWDiver

Did you try it with the flood reflector, which is a diffuser to spread the light. It'll take 1 stop of light away but the beam will spread to about 60°.

Halogens like HID/LED have their drawbacks. Shorter burn times being the biggest. Thanks for the review.

These were purchased from Backscatter and came standard with a "frosted" lens. I am curious if you can get fronts with clear glass.

The beam angles did not seem as wide as my Fisheye. On several occasions I found I had to point� them in to get light on a subject 4-6 feet away.

 

The lights preformed as well as my Fisheye 20watt and the light seems to be significantly whiter� than the Fisheye. For close up and overcast conditions I think they are fair performers.

I realize this is only after one test, but which did you like better, these or the Fisheyes?

I like the Hartenbergers a little more because the light seems a little whiter and they seem better built. I hope my Fisheye can be reparied then I can compare the two head to head. The main issue with the older Fisheyes seems to be dependability.

These were purchased from Backscatter and came standard with a "frosted" lens. I am curious if you can get fronts with clear glass.

Interesting. The standard lens is the spot narrow beam according to Hartenberger. And you can change the lens if you want to.

So here is some poor video of my test of the 2xHartenberger Nanos as video lights.

Part I Starfish, 20ft viz about 6ft from subject. You will see jerky motion every time I increase the power from 0-4

Part II Cabizon. 20ft viz from about 4 feet just a test of OFF and Full Power (4)

Part III Anem, 20ft viz from about 5ft you will see my fingers indicating light power

Part IV Wall, 20ft viz in the shade

http://www.aquabluedreams.com/Hartpost.wmv

Hi All,

For the US market, the Hartenberger Nano lights come with the frosted lens. A spot reflector is available as an added option.

Jim

They don't look too powerfull. Not sure if I would consider them usefull enough to bother.

20watts is 20watts for the serious video folks who want to light things up durring the day this maybe not the way to go. But for our needs it will work. I hope to get them out at night and see how they do.

They should work better a night. No sunlight to overcome.

The Hartenberger Mega D2 Video is brighter if you are looking for more light. It has a 35W HID bulb that is equivalent in brightness to 100W halogen. When I turned the light on an shined it on a white wall, the brightness reflecting off the wall made my retinas fell like the were going to burn out of my eye! It's blindingly bright!

Jim