Fisheye FIX LIGHT HG20DX Spotting Light 
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Author: James Wiseman
Review Item: Fisheye FIX LIGHT HG20DX
Digital cameras, and especially consumer cameras, have difficulty acquiring autofocus lock in dim lighting. Since light is removed by the water column, in many diving situations, it is beneficial to have a supplementary light source to help the camera focus. On land flashes, there is usually a red focus assist lamp that comes on when the shutter is pressed. Very few underwater flashes have this feature, and for the few that have either “always-on” or shutter activated focusing lights, the strobe must be aimed directly at the subject in order to utilize the feature. This can result in backscatter in many situations. For this reason, many underwater photographers elect to use a separate focus light, mounted on the housing. This is nice because the light source does not move when the strobes are moved, and the light can also be used to help “zero in” on small subjects, before looking through the viewfinder.
A bright focused light source is good for spotting, but it can be a problem as it may show up as a hot-spot in slower exposures. When I used a Mini Q40, I have seen my focusing light hot spots in shots as fast as 1/60 th of a second, and I noticed it on many of my manta ray night dive photos from Kona. I really needed the lamp to achieve autofocus, but I was disappointed in the hot-spots. The solution is to use a lamp with a diffuser that spreads out the light in an even pattern. One such light is the FIX LIGHT manufactured by Fisheye in Japan . Wetpixel received this light for review and testing and I am happy to report the results. Eric Cheng and Craig Jones are both using the light on dive trips in the Indo-Pacific and will hopefully have some field notes to report upon their return. I have prepared a bench test and review for Wetpixel readers based on limited use with the light, as I won't get to take mine diving until the Holiday break – but I'll be using it in the dark and cold water in San Diego.
The FIX LIGHT HG20DX by Fisheye
The light comes with many accessories, such as a flashlight handle, lanyard, and o-ring maintenance kit.
What's Included:
- Light Body
- Battery and Charger
- Handgrip
- Strap
- Spare o-ring Set and Removal Tool
- Spare 20watt Bulb
The 20 watt lamp and dimpled metal diffuser/reflector are designed to throw a bright white diffuse light.
Size, Weight, and Construction:
The light is about 6 inches long. A bit longer and “girthier” than the Sunray Mini-mod, but the difference isn't much, as shown in the photo. The unit weighs ~16 oz in air and just 2.8 oz underwater and is made of a polycarbonate plastic. The design depth is 250 feet – about the same as most underwater housings.
The size is slightly larger than the LMI Sunray Mod-Light
Features:
This small light has a lot of design features that make it easy to use and hard to mis-use. For instance, when the light is turned off, the on/off switch is locked with a small lever which needs to be pressed in order to turn the light on. The rear cap contains a pressure relief valve in the case you flood the light, it won't explode. The power knob is also a dimmer switch, smoothly adjusting the power from full to very dim. When the battery charge is low, the light automatically switches to a low power mode – and is supposed to burn an additional 10 minutes at this setting. Enough time to get back to the boat if you're depending on the light for navigation. The light has a battery charge indicator on the back, so hopefully the user will never need to use the “10 minute dash” feature. There is also an indicator that lights if the unit is flooded.
At the other end of the level from Full is an SOS setting. When the Fixlight is put in the SOS setting, it flashes the Morse Code signal for SOS!
The battery is removable so that you can bring a spare with you in your dive kit
The charger is a stand-up unit with LED's that indicate charge level and charge completion. It is a “smart” charger that doesn't overcharge the cells.
Use:
The instruction manual indicates that the light will burn for 55 – 200 minutes on a full charge. Of course, burn-time will depend upon power level. I tested this in the Wetpixel “test bed” here at home and I found this claim to be true. Light fall-off started at about 50 minutes under full power. It's nice to know that the light will burn for a full dive, and as most of us seldom use the light for the whole dive, it may be good for two. If you need always-on full power, then a second battery can be changed out between dives, which is nice.
Testing the burn-time in the Wetpixel “test-bed” - my salt-water aquarium.
When the 20watt lamp burns out, a red light on the back of the unit indicates it's time for a change. It's user serviceable by removing the front bezel and pulling out the old lamp and sliding in the replacement.
Conclusion
Pros:
- Long Runtime
- Packed with Features
- Locking on-off Switch
- Replaceable Battery Packs
Cons:
- Two Piece Charger – Don't Lose a Piece!
- Size is a Little Larger than Most Modeling Lights
Not Addressed:
Reliability is Yet to be Field Proven but a Track Record has Already Begun.
Wetpixel Conclusion:
Highly Recommended
The following are a few of the US distributors for the Fix Light:
Backscatter U/W Video & Photo 225 Cannery Row Monterey, CA 93940 tel 831-645-1082 fax 831-375-1526 email sales@backscatter.com http://www.backscatter.com
Scuba Adventures' UnderWaterCameraPros.com 5100 NE Chouteau Trafficway Kansas City, MO 64119 Tel (toll free): 866-454-8927 Tel (international): 816-454-8927 Fax: 816-455-2398 Email: info@uwcp.com www.uwcp.com
MARINE CAMERA DISTRIBUTORS 11717 Sorrento Valley Road San Diego, CA 92121 Tel: 858-481-0604 Fax: 858-481-6499 Email: mcd2000@marinecamera.com www.marinecamera.com
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Comment(s):When I was in Australia, I visited an Underwater Camera shop call ScubaPix, http://www.scubapix.com/.
They had a Fisheye Mod light that they had ordered to demo, and it either arrived broken, or broke soon after they got it.
I didn’t get all the details, but just thought I’d add that to the “track record”.
At this point, the Fisheye Mod light is still on my wish list, so hopefully it will turn out to be a great product.
Posted by Jim March on 12/09 at 12:51 AMGood review, looks like a nice accessory.
Any ideas how much its supposed to cost?
Another good option to modeling is a led slight, I tested one few weeks ago, its have a white and very unified beam. another advantage is the long burn time - more the 7-8 hours. (I can add here also the full review if its interesting)Arnon
Posted by Arnon on 12/09 at 12:57 AMHi,
I also have one of those LED lights. It has about 25 little LED's packed into the head. The thing is, it doesn't put out nearly as much light at the Fix Light with its 20w lamp.
Cheers
JamesPosted by James Wiseman on 12/09 at 04:03 AMI used one with 50 LED lights, its was much stronger then the usual light I have - Lumen 6 and all the others small light in the area.
Posted by Arnon on 12/09 at 04:22 AMWhat's the msrp? The web sites don't have any info on this new light yet.
thx,
MartyPosted by Marty Steinberg on 12/09 at 08:04 AMI just got back from a trip to Irian Jaya and two of us used these lights. Worked great. Long burn time and with the ability to turn down the power when not needed it lasted for more than a dive. Did find that when you turned the on off switch too far it went into lock mode and you had to push the button to get it into the on position. Not bad with no gloves or thin gloves; but it might be a problem with thick gloves in cold water.
They are making a red filter to use for night dives. NOt sure when that will be out.It uses a standard Ultralight Sea and Sea adapter so you can use it with all your
ULCS clamps and arms.I accidently dropped one light and it still worked fine. The bulb was a little off center after the drop; but I opened it and straightened it out.
Terry
Ultralight Control SystemsPosted by on 12/09 at 09:45 AMThanks for the report Terry - glad to hear that the lights worked reliably.
Cheers
JamesPosted by James Wiseman on 12/09 at 10:44 PMMy quick report and thoughts. Just returned from 10 days in Lembeh.
Best thing about this light compared to the mod light was the quick re-charge time. Less than 2 hours. Mod light takes at least twice that, although I’ve never actually timed it out.
Lasted out the longer dives too. I liked the ability to turn the lamp to different intensities.Negatives: Bulb burnt out after 4 days (16 dives), happened to have a spare lamp bulb for my Mod light that was a perfect replacement. That one burnt out two days later. So, in the end, I was still using the L&M;mod light that’s almost two years old now and still going strong.
I also feel the charger is a little flimsy. I kept having to bend the copper tabs around so the battery would contact them properly.Overall, if the bulbs wouldn’t burn out so fast, I’d highly recommend the light.
Rand
Folks,
Have several dives with the my new Fisheye. Works great, really helped w/AF on the Nikon 60mm Macro lens. As others have said don’t use the lock when diving with heavy or dry gloves; otherwise the controls were easy to minipulate with dry gloves. One note, the end battery cap does retain a little water after the dive so be carefull when swapping out the battery. Leaving for a week on the Kona Aggressor we will see how it does!
Martin
Posted by on 02/03 at 01:47 AMHi all,
We have two Fisheyes and are using them for our Sony HC40 in an Amphibico housing.
They are working fine to date, very even soft light and battery useage is as indicated by everyone else.
Our only negative is that the battery cap can be REALLY HARD to unscrew, so much so we are now not tightening it too much when screwing in....and keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn’t flood....
If the battery cap had a more substantial knurling (more and deeper grooves) it would be easier to screw in and unscrew.
Paul W
Posted by Paul Wix on 04/13 at 11:49 PMJust bought two of the Fisheye’s for a trip to Komodo...while they were working, they were great...unfortuneately the bulbs burned out on BOTH with less than 15 hours total burn-time...comments above about difficulty in unscrewing and cumbersome switching from “lock” mode are right-on target...On balance I like the lights provided they work out the premature burning issues…
Posted by H2Oplanet on 06/13 at 12:55 AMDoes anyone use these lighhts for video use?
Posted by johnny boy on 01/25 at 07:04 AMI use two of these lights on an Ikelite housing for video and have been using them for the last three years. To date I have only had one globe burn out on me. They produce a very even light with no hot spots. Yes they are hard to turn on when wearing gloves and yes the battery cap can be a bugger to unscrew, but I can overlook all that when I see my results after a days diving.
Posted by wommby on 08/31 at 12:29 PM
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