Lighting for Olympus TG-6: Strobe versus video lights

I'm going to get an Olympus TG-6 mostly for shooting nudibranchs, but also to document other fun Big Island dives, possibly including a blackwater dive.  Generally for macro, and photography (not video).  

I am trying to decide between a strobe—probably the Backscatter MF-2—and a pair of video lights.  I've seen a lot of general posts saying that strobes are better, but I'm not sure here.  

1. The TG-6's minimum aperture at wide angle is only f/2.8 and zoomed in only something like f/4 (I don't have the exact number right now).  Closing the aperture beyond is pointless since it is faked with a neutral density density filter; you don't get more depth of field.  This, plus I'm doing macro photography (and nudibranchs don't move fast), I think means the TG-6 doesn't need a super strong light to get decent shutter speeds.  

2. I can buy two cheap video lights for less than the price of one MF-2.  My budget doesn't allow for two strobes.  So I get more lighting flexibility with video lights.  Plus easier light placement and focus acquisition.  I'm not so worried about nudibranchs running away from the light.  

Conventional wisdom says to buy the strobe, but I don't really understand the advantage.  What am I missing?  

Here is a video addressing the light for the TG-6.  

The light is for the GoPro but may work just as well for the Olympus TG-6. 

I have used a regular underwater Light & Motion Sola light with a TG-4 and it worked just fine to photo nudibranchs and similar.  

For my next dive trip I plan to use an Inon Z330 strobe with an Olympus TG-6, a combo which has tested well for out-of-water photos.  My guess is that practically any good underwater light will work well with an Olympus TG series camera. 

If you primarily want to shoot macro photography, I'd recommend a single strobe over video lights.
Even though nudis won't be moving that fast typically, you'll have to account for the camera moving as well. A strobe would be much brighter than video lights and realy help freeze the frame and get the sharpest details.
The MF-2 has a focus light which will help with acquiring focus and previewing light direction.
A single strobe is great for macro and will let you play with light direction more and get stronger shadows, two light sources will have the tendency of flattening out the subject when they're at the same power level.
I've been using a TG-6 and MF-1 for a while now and have been pleased with the results!

The TG-6 has two apertures, f2/2.8 wide and f4.9/6.3 tele.  Realistically if you are doing macro you'll be fully zoomed in and at f6.3 Which is fast-ish for UW work, but not that fast.  People certainly use lights for shooting with the TG-6 and for things in close they are generally bright enough but you probably won't quite get the motion freezing possible from strobes. 

Blackwater is another matter - things are moving and you need good fast AF and enough shutter speed or a strobe to freeze the motion.  The other consideration is that critters that can leave often will when hit by bright lights. 

Macro - video light and mf2. U can get different effects both for video and photography. And still keeping it fairly small.

Wide angle - U need to add a wide angle lens imo. Else you are very limited. When u do Wide. Its either 2 Strobe or 2 video light. Video like obvious for video. And Strobe for Wide.. like an inon s2000. Still can be small-ish but imo... I won't want to go into it.

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9 hours ago, ChrisRoss said:

The TG-6 has two apertures, f2/2.8 wide and f4.9/6.3 tele.  Realistically if you are doing macro you'll be fully zoomed in and at f6.3 Which is fast-ish for UW work, but not that fast.  People certainly use lights for shooting with the TG-6 and for things in close they are generally bright enough but you probably won't quite get the motion freezing possible from strobes. 

Blackwater is another matter - things are moving and you need good fast AF and enough shutter speed or a strobe to freeze the motion.  The other consideration is that critters that can leave often will when hit by bright lights. 

Thanks for the specific aperture numbers, I had lost them.  At 100mm (equivalent) focal length, a 1/100 second shutter speed should be about sufficient to avoid camera shake blur, or maybe 1/150 to be safe.  Is this too difficult for constant lights at f/6.3?  

I know the challenges of blackwater diving and photography, and don't have high expectations—although I was lucky once in the past.  I hadn't thought before about the compromise between bright lights to autofocus, versus bright lights scaring subjects away.  Doesn't any light scare them away?  (Or is, say, the MF-2's 1000 lumen lamp safer?)  

For blackwater, another advantage of constant lights is that you can shoot quickly.  I read that the TG-6's internal flash takes 4 seconds to recover after a full discharge.  That delay might be annoying while shooting macro, but it would be an eternity for blackwater.  

I wonder if my best option for blackwater might be to shoot 4k video and extract stills.  

5 hours ago, tie said:

 

Thanks for the specific aperture numbers, I had lost them.  At 100mm (equivalent) focal length, a 1/100 second shutter speed should be about sufficient to avoid camera shake blur, or maybe 1/150 to be safe.  Is this too difficult for constant lights at f/6.3?  

I know the challenges of blackwater diving and photography, and don't have high expectations—although I was lucky once in the past.  I hadn't thought before about the compromise between bright lights to autofocus, versus bright lights scaring subjects away.  Doesn't any light scare them away?  (Or is, say, the MF-2's 1000 lumen lamp safer?)  

For blackwater, another advantage of constant lights is that you can shoot quickly.  I read that the TG-6's internal flash takes 4 seconds to recover after a full discharge.  That delay might be annoying while shooting macro, but it would be an eternity for blackwater.  

I wonder if my best option for blackwater might be to shoot 4k video and extract stills.  

Shutter speed is going depend on the light you are using.  Black water is different as the light tends to attract those animals, but on the reef small fish etc will often leave.  As far as flash delay goes, that's why you would shoot manual flash, you can set the TG-6 to shoot it's flash in manual at very low power and it will recycle much faster.