Focus light question

I want to buy a focus light. Mainly for macro photography. From time to time maybe short Videos of the small critters.

My two favorites are: Weefine Smart Focus 6000 or Smart Focus 4000

--> I especially like the control and the multicolor mode on the 4000.

But both are very big and im pretty sure..heavy  

Now I ask myself the question whether it must be absolutely 4000 or 6000 lumen as focus light or whether also the small Weefine 1000 ...Weefine 2300 would be sufficient.

The smaller 2300 light is fine as focus light
When it comes to video usage the color rendering is more important than power for macro as 2000 lumens is fine for close work I think only the solar flare 3800 is high cri
You definitely dont need 5k or 6k to focus
When it comes to wide angle you need around 10K twin set to have decent illumination and you are in a different game altogether


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Yeah, that's what I think. For wide angle video the 6000 is too weak and in the position on the dome the light also looks ##**'. 

The small 1000 is too weak, isn't it? I would like to play around with the various colors

Yeah, that's what I think. For wide angle video the 6000 is too weak and in the position on the dome the light also looks ##**'. 
The small 1000 is too weak, isn't it? I would like to play around with the various colors [emoji4]

I use a 300 lumen 60deg beam INON dive torch for a focus light, it works just fine.  bright lights cause a lot of creatures to leave.

Yeah, I agree with Chris. I use a Sola Photo 800 which has a max of 800 lumen although I doubt I use half of that - plus I usually use the red setting which seems to disturb the little critters less.

What then are the focus lamps good for with more than 3000 Lumens? :-) 

Why are focus light brighter?
Because led are becoming cheap and nobody produces anymore low brightness devices and narrow beams
Also lumens are a measure of the volume of light not the intensity hitting a point
A light with a narrow beam like a sola 800 with an apex of 60 degrees produces double the intensity than the weefine 1000
Consider that 450 cd at 1 foot give nearly 5000 lux so you can fry an subject
Manufacturers seem to go for more lumens and wider beams that are useful for video but not as focus light where 60 degrees is more than enough considering you macro lens has less than 30 degrees field of view

The switch off feature of the weefine I believe is useful that is one of the reasons I use the strobe focus light that shuts off over my sola that I use for macro video
Regarding the red light etc is almost always rubbish except mandarin fish I have yet to meet anything that is not bothered by a red light


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16 minutes ago, Interceptor121 said:

Regarding the red light etc is almost always rubbish except mandarin fish I have yet to meet anything that is not bothered by a red light


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You've meet some right wimps then. Seems to work for me!

You've meet some right wimps then. Seems to work for me!

I have Weefine 2300 and can recommend it, I like it a lot:

#1.: The red LEDs opened a new world to me, as the red light does not chase (most) critters away (although AF with the more intense white light is more effective).

#2.: The 2300 lumen are plenty of light for complete nightdives (I switch immediately to red, when I see an animal of interests and continue photography with red light; feels like working in the darkroom ). Basketstars completely unfolded and endless time to frame shrimps, patiently posing outside their crevices...

#3.: More than enough light for macro video. The lamp provides enough light, even for occasional WA video. As you say, however, dedicated video light is the way to go in case you want to make serious WA video (we are talking here about a focus-light).

#4.: The blue LEDs are nice to have in nightdives. No nightdive since I have the lamp, where I do not switch on the blue light occasionaly - it is fascinating to see the fluorescence, even without any yellow filters. At a pinch one can even make occasional fluorescence photos (For serious photos you need, of course, special equipment).

There is now the Weefine 3000 Smartfocus lamp available. In case it is as small as the 2300, I would go for this one instead. To my opinion the 6000 is too big for just a focus light, even for a simple night dive lamp. Whether two of them are  good and strong enough for WA video, I cannot say, maybe someone else has practical experience.

Wolfgang

ist not so easy

I like the display and the possibility to use mulitcolor on the Weefine 4000 ... If only it weren't so big.  

I own the 3000 and have used the 2300 before. If you only want to use it as a focus /night dive light I would actually recommend to get the 2300. Because of the functionality as a strobe the lamp is more complex and switching between white and red in strobe mode is a bit of a hassle. I've tried using the lamp as a strobe for macro using the Weefine Snoot Condenser lens, but it is pretty week.

I think the display and extra functionalities of the SF3000 or SF4000 only make sense if you want to use them as a hybrid video/foto light for macro, but then I think you really need the 6000 as the others are too weak. For wide angle led lights cannot replace strobes, yet. Maybe in 10 years.

If it's purely for focus you really don't need the brightness, I have this light and the the INON YS mount:

http://www.inon.jp/products/le_light/le350.html

Well made, 350 lumen with a 30° beam, they supply a diffuser to get 60° and also red filters.  It uses the same NiMH batteries as your strobe and I mount it on a long YS mount on the hotshoe.  Simple and effective.

Ah I see Hyp - the functionality between 2300 and 300 is different (I aplologize for not beeing up to date on the different models)!

LED flash is indeed no substitute for a real flash. In case 3000 is physically bigger than 2300, the little increase in intensity is not worth the upgrade (I call it little, since exposure goes log2 wise with intensity and only 4600 (9200) lumen will gain you 1 (2) EVs).

The different LED colors are very desirable. In my experience red cannot be perceived by a lot of animals (but of course they perceive movement and currents, most even better than any light, so one still has to be careful and patient in order not to chase them away).

So is the "strobe-off" function, although I tested with white/red light "on" during exposure and did not see much of a difference, depending on camera settings. Only slight interference in most cases, but good to have...

Wolfgang