Aotus

All three are sold now! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

two sold. The one on the far left (no diffuser) is still available. Also, thanks for the offers, but no trades please.

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.

I bought these three strobes used in the spring for a project in an underwater cave. It was my first time using strobes, and it turns out these are (a lot) more power than I need. All three are tested on several dives down to a max depth of about 60ft and worked great. All three exhibited some corrosion on the battery contacts when I received them, but I scrubbed them with alcohol and haven’t had a problem. Two of them have the oem 100 diffusers, and all three are configured with the oem ball mounts. If I have no takers these will be up on eBay (seller: antillothrix). $350 each, shipped conus, PayPal only. UPDATE: the two with the diffusers are SOLD. One remains, with no diffuser, $350 shipped CONUS.

thanks very much for all the great comments. Marko - yes, you're right, for photogrammetry. That's an interesting point about graininess and ISO. I'll have to test that idea. Fruit - thanks very much. I won't be able to make a change for this trip, because I leave this week. But I may have a chance to swap the strobes for the next trip next summer. I REALLY hope these work out for my needs, but having another field season already on the calendar allows for some mistakes. About the video lights, BigBlue look good but the output declines quickly, much faster and less even than Light&Motion or other lights. For you, or anyone else here with an interest, some white plastic bag and a rubber band works well to smooth out those sharp edges if you don't have a proper diffuser. As for brightness, using the light&motion 3k lights i got fine results from about 1.5-2 meters, but that was with a canon 5Diii, which is more capable in low light than my lumix LX10. I'l report back and post some images when I return next month. thanks again.

Tried it, didn’t fit. That’s fine though, because in the lowepro backpack it is super protected. I considered using your trick anyway to reduce the chance that I do something stupid while opening the bag, but since it doesn’t fit, I used one of the dividers to add a layer over the lens before closing it. That way I have to un-Velcro the flap to remove the lens, even after the bag is opened. In the pic below I am holding back another Velcro flap over the center strobe (the flap over the lens is removed here).

I'll try that. thanks.

About 11 inches wide, and it’s a snug fit. I added a third strobe and my gorilla pod tripod, but I still haven’t played with rearranging it much. I’m thinking I will designate a safe nook for the lens and lose the big boxy padded case for it - save 1lb and a lot of space.

i just read the short article here, http://wetpixel.com/articles/eneloop-batteries-not-recommended-for-use-in-strobes and was very disappointed. I JUST received my new enloop batteries in the mail yesterday for use in my strobes. now i have to decide whether to use them. I get it, there are plenty who use them and it works great, so i should be fine. it would help me make up my mind if i knew 1) why enloops are thought to be the best for strobes, and 2) if all the alternatives that I could use have "potentially" the same problem.

those are amazing. thanks for sharing.

diffusers are great for video lights, though i am almost saddened to say that a white plastic bag and a rubber band often can produce the same softening effect (though maybe not the increase in angle). Re: OP's question. If the light doesn't connect, tilt inward. If you haven't used the Solas with their diffusers yet, you may not have a problem. L&M are awesome and serious about their lights (check out their test site, www.wetestlights.com). I used the 3000s and found the edge was hard, so I used the bag trick to soften it. Later I tried a 3800 with diffuser (just in the house), and the edge is wide and soft. I do not think a second set of lights is the answer, at least not on the same rig. I considered using a pair of 1200s with a pair of 3000s. I had them all so I set up the rig -they're small enough that it can be done, but I have a hard time imagining it working well without making weird uneven lighting. No reason not to try it though. I wouldn't get a second set of arms. I was going to use a triple-ball clamp to hold two sets to the end of one arm. Then tilt each light individually. worked like a charm in my living room, but decided i didn't;t need the 1200s, because they made little difference to the intensity or spread of light (again, in my house). As for the lights you are using, I used a pair of 3000s in a cave and got great images and video. I very much doubt that light spread is an issue with 3500 (aren't they 3800?) with diffusers. If you're competing with ambient light, or want to reach farther, you may need to go up in power, but I think we'd have to hear more about your application to guess at that. Their 9000 (9600? i forget) is an amazing light, but it's way way way bigger and double the price.

i've been using on1 for about a week now. i'm a novice, but found it easier to get around than my trial version of lightroom, and the many many youtube video tutorials have been a gold mine for me. that said, on1 is a little buggy. there are times when i'm adjusting a slider and my image goes purple or something, and there is one image that almost always shows a weirdly inverted filter in the preview, though that goes away when i open the image. i am hoping that all these quirks get worked out as the 2018 version matures, and i guess i'm willing to cope with them in light of the LR CC going subscription-based and the very high price of capture one.

you've probably already looked at the panasonic lx10 because backscatter and others are singing its praises (see also discussion here https://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/lumix-lx10.551061/)- but just thought it deserved a line in this thread. I didn't have an open budget, and would have preferred a canon 5d mk iv if price was no object for lowlight, but obviously that is the antithesis of going light. For a sense of how compact my kit is, look at this pic I posted of my lx10 with housing, lens and strobes all fit into my new backpack, in this other thread: http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=60589

I just received my new Lowepro whistler 450. My initial impression is that it is heavy, but capable, comfy, and well-built! I really like it! That's a relief too because I had to stop myself from reading more reviews after ordering because I was having new doubts. I will tinker with the arrangements but here is a first take for scale. It feels heavy to lift, but very comfortable and less heavy on my back. I’m 6’ tall, and it looks medium to med/small for a day pack, certainly OK for carry on but don't think it's going to fit under the seat (I have to look that up). I would hesitate to use the back side pocket for anything not easily compressed for flying. 2 x sea and sea ys-d1 strobes Nauticam housing with pro kit (handles) for a panasonic (compact) Lumix LX10 Nauticam wise lens IN CASE Nauticam floatation ring for lens

old post, i know, and old review. Can anyone offer any additional experiences and opinions about these diffusers? the review said they're light hungry, which is concerning, but the website also says they are using a new material now. Any comments are much appreciated.