Video lights for 7D housing

Any chance of links for the videos that Ron is posting? None of this embedded stuff works for me. I just get blank black or white rectangles.

Any chance of links for the videos that Ron is posting? None of this embedded stuff works for me. I just get blank black or white rectangles.

You've seen footage like this before Nick. 3 chip Sony HDV cam with manual white balance.

http://www.vimeo.com/931226

http://www.vimeo.com/945492

This is the video with the impressive lighting. I believe it's a Sony EX1 and he had at least 2 divers providing lighting in addition to his on housing lights.

http://vimeo.com/7577736

Drew, is there any video shot with the Watervisions lights available for internet viewing ?

I've taken mine off years ago. I think Craig Jones had them too but not sure if his website still have those videos up. I think Howard Hall used halogens on Under the Sea. It looked pretty warm if I remember correctly.

As a comparison, David Reichert and Shane Moore used Lou's HMI lights in Nature's Great Event.

I currently use this. Great power, built like a tank. Burns the battery quite fast though, but you recharge it to full capacity in one hour. Useless at 10mm coralscape if you're only using one. I've used it in night dives and I don't think I'll want for anything more out of it. I'm planning to buy another one soon.

I get a pretty good deal on that at our dive center trade rates, actually.

One question: what kind of beam angle do you get with it, and which lens have you used it with so far?

Thanks,

Vandit

I get a pretty good deal on that at our dive center trade rates, actually.

 

One question: what kind of beam angle do you get with it, and which lens have you used it with so far?

 

Thanks,

Vandit

I believe the angle is about 90 degrees. So much more with a diffuser. I have only one lens for UW so far, 10-22mm Canon.

anyone had a chance to try out the mangroves at 4300 lumen for 600 euros? they certainly look interesting

http://www.aditech-uw.com/en/underwater-li...act-vc-4l6.html

I currently have a pair of Fisheye HG20DX 20 watt halogen lights. They are too warm but I see that I can get a blue filter for these lights. How do these halogen lights with a blue filter compare to the Fisheye FIX LED 1000DX?

I am obviously trying to use what I already own but cannot find a comparison of the two lights as one is rated in watts and the other is rated in lumens. I remember reading that there is a rule of thumb conversion of so many lumen per watt and if my memory is correct - 20 watts is a bunch of lumen. I understand that a blue filter would reduce the brightness but the end result might be comparable with the LED light. In the past, practically everyone has owned a Fisheye HG20DX light, has anyone tied that light with a blue filter for video?

TomC

Tom

There are a few factors you have to consider. The problem with using a filter is that it absorbs light, up to 2 stops. That's 3/4 of the original light gone! So to compensate, you need more powerful lights. Another point about using the HG20DX is that the beam is very narrow, which is fine for macro but no so much for video. The provided diffuser is widens the beam slightly and also absorbs light.

Then choosing the right filter to move the mireds shift to the desired temperature isn't easy

Halogen lights have been used in underwater broadcast and film work for years. If you think they are too warm, mwb to them.

Tom

Another point about using the HG20DX is that the beam is very narrow, which is fine for macro but no so much for video.

Drew,

Are we talking about the same light? I am not thinking of the beam from this light as being "narrow". Attached is a photo from the web.

Tom, if I remember the beam from when I had one of those, it's less than 60° wide. Anything less than 90° is narrow to me. Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word "very"

Even if you find the beam wide enough, the other points still stand. At 20W, you get about 400-450 lumens, probably less with a wider beam from that frosted bulb. Even 200W halogens have difficult lighting up anything more than 3ft away in daylight.

As a point of clarification, the HG20DX has a 90 degree beam.

I think they are fine lights for macro video. I wouldn't filter them, I'd just white balance to them. I feel they are underpowered for mixed lighting situations.

Thanks for the clarification Ryan. I must be getting old and the memory is going soft.

White balancing is easier with DSLR than the consumer camcorders with no temperature adjustment. Just set the WB to 3600°K or even 4000°k if MWB isn't doing it right. That'll remove the warmth and make the blue water even slightly bluer. Most important is to match the blue on the natural light shots so there's continuity.

Thanks for the replies,

On our recent trip to the Caribbean, I made my first half-way serious attempt at video with my 7D for three days. I used a Sigma 28-70 f2.8 lens, a red filter and my Fisheye lights. I also rigged a white balance white dive slate to my rig so I could mwb quickly. I tried many different combos of filter / no filter, lights / no lights, mwb / auto wb. As you expect, the wide angle shots with the filter and mwb came out the best. Macro was a bust. When I used the lights, I quickly discovered not to use the red filter, however the lights themselves also resulted in a reddish effect. This could be because I mwb on my dive slate and then shot the video. Drew's comment about setting the wb to a temp range might be a good idea and that is what I will next try. Too bad I have to wait so long to try again.

I have posted some of my videos from this trip on vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/user4822359/videos

TomC

And this one?

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/keldan-luna...o-light-review/

And this one?

 

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/keldan-luna...o-light-review/

Quote from Eric's review.

"During the day, the lights simply added color to what was already lit (blue and cyan) by the sun. I'm not sure how to really describe it: the areas lit up by the lights weren't necessarily any brighter than were other areas, but subjects suddenly came to colorful life when within reach of the beam. No portable, battery-powered video light is going to really be able to blast out enough light to compete with the sun during bright daylight, but the two Keldans made enough of a difference that I started leaving them mounted all the time."

Kind of matches my experiences with using lights during the daytime and why I only use lights for daytime closeups/macro and night dives.

The Keldan looks nice, but it costs $1995 for one lamp.

anyone had a chance to try out the mangroves at 4300 lumen for 600 euros? they certainly look interesting

http://www.aditech-uw.com/en/underwater-li...act-vc-4l6.html

Gulp. That's a lot of Lumens for 600 Euros! Anyone used them?

The Keldan looks nice, but it costs $1995 for one lamp.

GULP

Here is a link to a Howard Hall video showing behind the scenes footage from his IMAX 3d shoot of great whites.

Interesting to see what it takes, but for this thread, it also shows the limitations of video lighting for daytime wide angle. Not sure what he is using, but obviously they are much better and more powerful than the lights were are discussing.

[vimeohd]17439927 [/vimeohd]

Great behind the scenes footage. Loved hearing Michelle laughing in the background.

Anyone here with experience using the Sartek video lights?

Steve

Which Sarteks ?

I have the little 1500 LED. Limited testing, they are not as powerful as my 50 watt halogens, but the light color is better for daytime shooting. Night shots need to be white balanced.