which of 3 strobes for cave diving, imaging for science

I just tested the strobe output versus video light. Using my demonic 758 light meter I tested Both the DS125, DS161, and Big Blue 25,000, and 30,000 lights.

The settings were ISO 100 at 125th of a second from 20 inches. Both strobes were at F22 and the lights were at F4.0 5 and F4.0 9. So 25,000lm was right in between F4 and F5.6, while the 30,000 was just barely below F5.6. that's a big difference between the strobe and video lights. Even a small weak strobe would work better for you than a powerful video light in most cases.

I am back from my trip.

I used the S&S strobes and they worked great, but I am going to use video lights next year. Much to my surprise, they were way more power than I need. Unfortunately, the water was a bit cloudier than I remembered, so I had to stay within about 15' from the surface I was shooting. That was my original plan, and would have been fine, except that the topography of the bottom of the cave was so complex that staying consistently 15' above the floor meant that I was hitting walls, i.e., there are boulders that are 20-30' tall, so I had to stop and go up 20' and carry on. I tried this, but it wasn't working. SO, next year I am going to use video lights instead, held by two or three divers down around 15' above the floor to illuminate it, and I am going to be up around 30' from the floor taking the pictures. I will be zoomed in and probably have to crop the images, but that will solve my backscatter problem. I need to sell the strobes now, and hopefully get the lights donated or loaned to me next summer.