SOLA 4000 LED Video Lights

Right at the end I am like 2 foot from the sand and slowly rise, you can see there are no hot spots.

Damn' you guys have it much too easy in tropical waters with no surge whatsoever... :-)

I would say that I am not too impressed by the angular coverage of the Sola 4000 if you are seeing the border of the illuminated field already at 2 ft from the ground. What is the angular coverage of your lens? It gets worse as you go away from it. Did you optimize the separation of the lights or are you still working on it?

Just picked up a pair of Sola 4000s from David at ScubaCam here in Singapore. Decided to go with the 1 inch locline arms. Spent some time mounting them in the optimal position on the handle on my Takla Makan housing.

Very impressive light output. On full power underwater, these beasts will challenge the sun. On lower power, a couple of dives can be done on one charge. The range of power settings should allow quick balancing with ambient light.

Switches on in the middle of the power range (1500 lumens) and can then be stepped up and down from there.

Very even light coverage over 90 degrees. The pair easily covers my WA dome on full wide.

Balance: Not sure yet. I've mounted them on the centre of balance so impact should be neutral.

Weight: The pair are slightly heavier than 3 x Sola 1200s so I might be able to take out 1lb of weight from the housing.

Has a couple of nice features: Travel switch to disconnect the batteries from the light head. Even has a icon of a plane. Should get through most airport inspections in Asia. But, for even more stringent places, can remove the light head altogether.

Another bonus: SOS light in case you get lost. Very bright and lasts for many hours.

Dislike: Very minor issue but the travel bag supplied with the lights is made from some kind of black towelling. (David reckons they look like cossack hats). The towelling is shedding lots of bits of fabric. I'll put it through a couple of wash cycles but if they don't stop shedding they are destined for the bin. Last thing I need is a bag full of fluff near my o-rings...

Dislike: The blue filter is not included. Looks like L&M are going to charge extra for them. A bit cheeky given that their website indicates that it is part of the light.

I'll be doing a dozen dives with them in the Andaman Sea next weekend so I'll report back after then. So, fingers crossed that the batteries, chargers and electronics are reliable.

Regards

Peter

Decided to go with the 1 inch locline arms.

Actually it is 3/4 inch locline. It looks about 1 inch diameter but apparently locline use the internal dimension for their product description.

It is strong enough to hold the weight of the light out of the water so should be fine underwater.

Regards

Peter

Just back from 14 dives in the Andaman Sea around the Similan Islands and Richelieu Rock. Great diving. Good weather. Calm Sea. Good Viz. Lot's of interesting critters.

The Sola 4000s performed flawlessly. Good even light coverage. More than enough charge for a couple of hours. Easy to operate. No hiccups.

So far, so good.

Regards

Peter

Hey Peter

Great to hear.

Did you do any night dives with them?

I found they are way too bright on full power at night lol

Did you do any night dives with them?

I found they are way too bright on full power at night lol

I did 3 night dives with them. Found that a setting of 3 (out of 7) was about right for night dives.

Regards

Peter

New to the forum here and found it as I was doing a search for recent info and issues on the 4000. I was told earlier today (from our rep) that there is a grounding issue in the chargers and thus why my two units have yet to ship (that and the new chargers got stuck in customs earlier today). Has anyone who has one of these units had an issue of this sort? Or charging issues due to corrosion on the contacts?

Best regards,

Don

Has anyone who has one of these units had an issue of this sort? Or charging issues due to corrosion on the contacts?

No to both. Both lights and chargers working well after 2 trips and 40 dives.

Regards

Peter

Thanks Peter... I was told L&M will be shipping the units to the location we're diving next week and was curious if there were any other issues that folks have run in to. I'd like to ask a couple questions. Since we we didn't have the units prior to our departure and will be rigging the units on site... what are the buoyancy characteristics for fresh water? Also, I will be using locline arms so is the mount merely snapping the ball into the line or do I need to cobble some sort of adapter? I like the idea about securing the unit with a cable that I read in a previous post and have included that in the rigging kit .

Thanks in advance for the help...

Don

Thanks Peter... I was told L&M will be shipping the units to the location we're diving next week and was curious if there were any other issues that folks have run in to. I'd like to ask a couple questions. Since we we didn't have the units prior to our departure and will be rigging the units on site... what are the buoyancy characteristics for fresh water? Also, I will be using locline arms so is the mount merely snapping the ball into the line or do I need to cobble some sort of adapter? I like the idea about securing the unit with a cable that I read in a previous post and have included that in the rigging kit .

 

Thanks in advance for the help...

Don

I bought mine through David at ScubaCam in Singapore. He had also ordered the locline adapter from L&M. We just had to unscrew the ball adapter and screw on the locline adapter. You might want to check that they will be included in your order otherwise connecting locline arms to the lights will be a challenge.

Because locline is waterproof, I drilled a small hole in the side of each of the top, middle and bottom locline pieces to allow the air to flow out and water to fill it up. Best place to drill the hole is at the narrowest diameter as that does not affect the locking.

Full of water, the locline and lights seem to be very slightly negative buoyant in salt water. I did not detect any impact on balance but then, my whole housing is very stable and well-balanced.

Regards

Peter

Do your Locline arms creak when you adjust them?

Thanks Peter...not being familiar with the connector I sent a message to include whatever is required to attach it to the locline arms. Thanks for the tip about drilling a hole as I wouldn't have thought about that until well into the dive. Most of my video shooting is done with my unit mounted to my SS with revolving mount and was more curious if the two units were going to throw off the center of balance or not. Trial run for these will be in Ginnie Springs so we'll see how well they light up portions of the cave...that is if they ever arrive.

I apreciate your insight.

Best regards,

Don

Hey Nick,

It has been my experience that all Loc Line arms creak when moving them around but since I do not capture the audio to the NLE, it doesn't really bother me. Don't know if spraying them with something like WD 40 would accomplish much, I doubt it. Never the less, I prefer loc line arms to ultra lights as I can move them to different positions much quicker. Nocturnal Lights also have similar arms with each piece having already drilled draining holes.

Steve

Hey Nick,

It has been my experience that all Loc Line arms creak when moving them around but since I do not capture the audio to the NLE, it doesn't really bother me. Don't know if spraying them with something like WD 40 would accomplish much, I doubt it. Never the less, I prefer loc line arms to ultra lights as I can move them to different positions much quicker. Nocturnal Lights also have similar arms with each piece having already drilled draining holes.

Steve

All my locline arms have creaked.

I would not suggest WD40 as the arms might not hold their position so well.

I like Locline for their flexibility, quick movement and variable positioning. Also good for out of the water as you can just roll them in a circle with the light head tucked out of the way alongside the housing to protect them.

The creaking is not a problem as you rarely want to use the footage during the couple of seconds that you are repositioning the lights. The camera will be moving and the light direction changing, not something you want in the final cut.

The creaking sound sometimes can be a plus in editing. Say you shot some "quick grab" footage of some interesting marine life and then, once the quick grab is in the can, you repositioned the lights to get an even better lit shot. Then, during editing, you want to find the better section, you can see the creak as a big bunch of seismic activity in the audio track...

Regards

Peter

My Locline arms used to creak. I noticed it often used to scare the critters away when I was stealthily trying to get up close to them. I also used to get stick about it from other divers on the boat. So I made some arms out of Gorillapod instead. They worked well for a while, and no creaking at all, but after a while they started to go floppy. I found myself supergluing one joint after another until they almost turned into rigid arms. When I get back into the water I'm planning to switch to rigid strobe/light arms. Also planning to make a tripod out of some cheapo rigid strobe arms while I'm at it.

Since Light and Motion has yet to deliver my Sola 4000 lights (but they do deliver great excuses) I used a friends Locline arms with my primary light while shooting video of a dpv class at Ginnie the other day. Noticed they do creak a tad when adjusting and since that is edited out, isn't an issue for my projects. What impressed me about the Locline arms is while we were all scootering at a fairly good rate and against the flow at Ginnie...and even as we scootered in to the Ear, the arms actually held in the position I put them in...

About to give up on Light and Motion as the frustration level is peaking...

My Sola 4000's arrived today!! Just in time as i leave in the morning for a weeks diving in byron bay!

Will let you know how they perform.

Cheers Pete.

Pete,

Interesting.... I spoke with my rep two days ago and he indicated they would be arriving today...I reserve my enthusiasm until I actually see it however...enjoy Byron Bay.

Don

Enjoy your toys

Hi don,

I think there is a bit of a wait to get a set. I can tell you that the wait is worth it, these things are great! I turned mine on in my loungeroom yesterday at lunchtime & they lit up the whole room!

Of course, I read the manuel that has in bold writing "don't look directly into the LEDs" so what did I do? Put them on full power & looked straight at them!

I was blind for some time after that....

I am really looking forward to getting them wet tomorrow.

Pete,

The tripod mount arrived yesterday also.

Great dealing with you as usual.

Looking forward to a great weeks diving now I have a tripod to play with & some kickass lights!

Cheers pete.