Using Videolight in Lembeh

Hi,

I am going to go 14 days to Lembeh at Two fish resort and do 13 days of diving in Lembeh.

I bring my videogear with me, and would like to now if you need light on all the video you do there,

i am thinking of batterytime etc. Do anyone have experience with how much you need the light for filming in Lembeh.

Thanks,

Søren

Hi Søren,

You would be much better off with video lights. The vis is usually not perfect in Lembeh. There are a lot of particles and the vis on average is around 7m to 9m. It can get as low as 2m and can get to around 20m on a very good day on certain sites. Much of the shooting here is macro (I shoot 95% of my footage with my macro port on), many of the critters are very colorful and you just will not get really good shots without lights. I shoot my with lights on 100% of the time.

If you shoot with a red filter you lose, I believe, around 15% of the light entering the camera. This can really effect your clips when the vis is bad. If you are there for two weeks I would definitely recommend lights on all your dives.

Have a great trip,

Kaj

Hi Kaj,

Thanks for your answer, and thanks for sharing all the good videos you made from Lembeh.

Søren

Hi Søren,

 

You would be much better off with video lights. The vis is usually not perfect in Lembeh. There are a lot of particles and the vis on average is around 7m to 9m. It can get as low as 2m and can get to around 20m on a very good day on certain sites. Much of the shooting here is macro (I shoot 95% of my footage with my macro port on), many of the critters are very colorful and you just will not get really good shots without lights. I shoot my with lights on 100% of the time.

 

If you shoot with a red filter you lose, I believe, around 15% of the light entering the camera. This can really effect your clips when the vis is bad. If you are there for two weeks I would definitely recommend lights on all your dives.

 

Have a great trip,

 

Kaj

I know Kaj is based in Lembeh, but I tend to disagree on this. I've found it no more required to have lights in Lembeh than anywhere else. If you shoot with available light normally then you'll be fine in Lembeh for everything but early dawn and dusk dives, but if of course if you do normally shoot with lights then go for it. Most of the lights vs no lights debate is down to personal preference on how you shoot, but you need some pretty amazing lights to overpower sunlight even on dark days with poor visibility.

Cheers, Simon

Hi Simon,

Thanks for your answer, i will see when i go there. It´s just that i film with HID pro lights 21 w from LM and they only due 35 min!!

I usually also shoot in Denmark with little visibility and offcourse depends on how the divesites are, i usually choose when i am in the water on

how much i use the lights, and offcourse also depending on how deep you go.

Best regards,

Søren

I know Kaj is based in Lembeh, but I tend to disagree on this. I've found it no more required to have lights in Lembeh than anywhere else. If you shoot with available light normally then you'll be fine in Lembeh for everything but early dawn and dusk dives, but if of course if you do normally shoot with lights then go for it. Most of the lights vs no lights debate is down to personal preference on how you shoot, but you need some pretty amazing lights to overpower sunlight even on dark days with poor visibility.

 

Cheers, Simon

Hi Simon,

We're in rainy season at the moment. while it doesn't rain all the time, it can get pretty overcast. 20m at Jahir in th afternoon can feel like a night dive. I would always have the option of lights when diving here. The difference for me trying to film without lights and with lights here is huge.

As you say personal preference, but for me, filming every day, it's lights everyday... We have had guests diving without lights and their footage was good but always seems, to me, to lose colour.

Kaj

I know Kaj is based in Lembeh, but I tend to disagree on this. I've found it no more required to have lights in Lembeh than anywhere else. If you shoot with available light normally then you'll be fine in Lembeh for everything but early dawn and dusk dives, but if of course if you do normally shoot with lights then go for it. Most of the lights vs no lights debate is down to personal preference on how you shoot, but you need some pretty amazing lights to overpower sunlight even on dark days with poor visibility.

 

Cheers, Simon

Hi Simon,

 

Thanks for your answer, i will see when i go there. It´s just that i film with HID pro lights 21 w from LM and they only due 35 min!!

I should have also said that I now shoot with LEDs and it makes it a lot easier, as I can turn the lights on and off at will and get two or more dives out of one charge, and I can change the light level. It made a big difference to using lights when I changed from HIDs to LEDs, I felt I had a lot more flexibility.

Kaj

Hi Simon,

 

Thanks for your answer, i will see when i go there. It´s just that i film with HID pro lights 21 w from LM and they only due 35 min!!

35min ouch!! We ended up doing 100min+ dives with Two Fish everyday for a month at Lembeh, but don't tell them I told you that! (Actually it was before the new managers moved in so that was probably how we got away with it!). I guess you could use your lights for the first 35 min then switch over to ambient light for the last 65 min or so?

Cheers, Simon

edit - I'm assuming you are fully versed with Manual White Balance Soren? I just mention this because if you are not using lights then you absolutely have to be using MWB or your footage is going to come out pretty nasty. At Lembeh for MWB the best option I found was the sun/surface or the palm of your hand. There are some white(ish) sand dives, but you wont be able to rely on them as much of it is black sand.

Hi Simon,

 

We're in rainy season at the moment. while it doesn't rain all the time, it can get pretty overcast. 20m at Jahir in th afternoon can feel like a night dive. I would always have the option of lights when diving here. The difference for me trying to film without lights and with lights here is huge.

 

As you say personal preference, but for me, filming every day, it's lights everyday... We have had guests diving without lights and their footage was good but always seems, to me, to lose colour.

 

Kaj

Hiya Kaj

Yes I've been there Dec/Jan/Feb and never had a problem without lights for the two morning dives, occasionally the afternoon/dusk dive sometimes got a bit gloomy, but unless you have very good lights the benefit of using them would have been minimal. You should understand that I'm coming from the camp who only ever use lights if its a night dive and only then if its not a full moon

Cheers, Simon

I can't imagine only getting 35 minutes from your HID lights unless your batteries are dying. In Lembeh, where I always used lights, I would turn them on and off as needed. No need to run them as you are finning along. Keep in mind that the L & M HID lights burn at 997 lumens so when doing macro, be sure to position the lights so as not to burn out your subject.

I have a pair of L & M HID lights just sitting in the drawer in case any one wants them. Excellent shape with never a problem, haven't been used in several years but I liked them when I did use them.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks again for your answers. Yes, that was the batterytime are about 35 min, and on a good day maybe 40 min.

I really do like the HID light, but I will switch to LED sooner or later.

Yes, I do more or less all my shootings with MWB, and i can imagine that the black sand im Lembeh makes it a bit easier than white/grey sand, when

we talk about burning out the background of your subject.

Cheers,

Søren

I can't imagine only getting 35 minutes from your HID lights unless your batteries are dying. In Lembeh, where I always used lights, I would turn them on and off as needed. No need to run them as you are finning along. Keep in mind that the L & M HID lights burn at 997 lumens so when doing macro, be sure to position the lights so as not to burn out your subject.

I have a pair of L & M HID lights just sitting in the drawer in case any one wants them. Excellent shape with never a problem, haven't been used in several years but I liked them when I did use them.

Steve

Esthetics play a big part in whether to use lights but one should not forget that sometimes lights are essential and sometimes they affect animal behavior.

Using natural works for the less colorful creatures but when you have something vibrantly colored, it pays to use lights. This is especially true as you go deeper. As a VERY general rule of thumb, anything above 10m, use natural light (but use lights for macro) with MWB. Any deeper, consider using lights. Of course pay attention to the animal. If it reacts to your lights, then turn them off. Otherwise you may not get natural behavior except flight!