light & motion c5050

well this might be a stupid question but i am going to ask it anyway B)

i currantly use the ikelite n90s housing ike 200,s etc. i have been thinking of going digital for a while and the tetra 5050 might be what i want,both macro and wide angle use on the same dive

my question is, how much light doe's the camera need at night for the auto focus to work correctly.

the package #2 from light & motion come's with a focus light not the sunray recall one, is anyone using this set-up, are you happy with it ?

any help in this matter would be nice, i was giong to get the d100 set-up but it's the size i am trying to get away from.

nrssp.

Yeah, you are definitely going to need a focus light.

I have been thinking of getting macro framers machined for our digicams with a removable target for focusing. I became very jealous after watching film shooters frame swimming nudibranchs in their macro framers and click away!

I used it for a while. The focus light that comes with the Tetra Travel Pacs is a nice little light - but it would probibly work better with a diffuser. (It has a real narrow beam.) Spot metering on the camera also helps - if the focus-spot is where you point the light...) It isn't very powerful, but it's fairly low-cost. (You can get the light, clamp, & mini-arm for -$50.)

I find myself getting away from using a focus or pointer light, and instead going with manual focus. Especially for macro. I find it easier to preset my distance based on the composition I'm after, and then move the camera in or out to fine tune the focus as needed. I find I can (usually) determine correct focus faster and better than the CP5000 I'm using, and I don't need a light to do it. (Maybe this would be different if I had a better light, but I'm pretty happy with how doing it manually is going so far.)

Hi nrssp,

You will need a focus light in low light conditions with the Tetra. Ken must have better eyes than I do. I find it hard to get critical sharp focus in manual.

I used the small light supplied by Light and Motion but found it to be a pain trying to get it directed to the subject.

I've had better succes hand holding a four 'C' cell light with foil to diffuse the beam. Finally ordered the sunray mod light from L&M. It didn't arrive in time for my last trip so Ryan, from Underwater Camera pros sent me a nifty little set up that worked quite well. It has two mini Q flashlights mounted side by side with a diffused light that had great coverage. If cost is an issue, I would highly reccomend this set up.

Rand

... Finally ordered the sunray mod light from L&M. It didn't arrive in time for my last trip so Ryan, from Underwater Camera pros sent me a nifty little set up that worked quite well. It has two mini Q flashlights mounted side by side with a diffused light that had great coverage. If cost is an issue, I would highly reccomend this set up.

Rand

I have one of these. I think it's a great light for night dives, but I find that when used as a focus light, it causes anything not firmly attached to the reef to flee. It's really bright even at low power settings.

Hmmm.

That's the first I've heard of that. Everyone seems sold on that light. The miniQ's that Ryan sent use like a sandblasted finish on the reflector bowl that diffuses the light nicely. The only draw back is 8 AA's about every third dive.

What are you using now Herb?

Rand

I generally am doing deep dark dives and use a SL4 or SL6 C cell light. While it is not diffused I have never had a hot spot in an image. To mount it to my Ultralight arm I use a triple clamp at the housing and a C cell light adapter in the third position.