New LED Lights from L&M

[wolfeeldiver 7]

Mike-

 

Where did you find the black plastic pipe you used for your floats, or did you paint it black?

 

Thanks for any info.

 

Vic

Its black ABS plastic pipe and ends. Not painted. Our local family owned full service hardware store here in Bellingham (Hardware Sales) stocks Black ABS plastic pipe in various diameters, and the end caps too, and the epoxy. I happened to use 1-1/2" diameter because they had a 4' scrap piece lying about, but I recall seeing 2" diamenter also. Not sure if Home Depot has this stuff or not. I suppose checking with a plumbing supply house that caters to contractors would have what you need. I'm not sure, but this stuff may also be used for electrical conduit too. Perhaps check with an electrical supply firm as well.

 

I... I was able to use cyan filters in daylight

 

Yes, I too am curious to know which CC filter you use on the camera, and which CYAN filters you selected for the lights. Thanks!

Edited August 15, 2008 by wolfeeldiver

[Drew 0]

If you all watch this video from Eric, you can see the 2000 LED in action:

 

 

If you note from the spiny dogfish video, it shows 2 distinct beam spots on the sea floor. Right in the middle is the overlap of the 2 beams. Wide angle is where you can see why Craig's old watervision head needed 16k lumens at 180° beam vs the 2k lumens at 75°. His 16K lumens sounds amazing, spread the beam out to cover almost 3x the area and it's significantly reduced in brightness, thus Craig noted he had trouble illuminating past 4 ft in daylight.

It's not just about the lumens per watt but the quality of the beam. With the 2 tight beams shooting at a mobile object, the dogfish swims into several dark zones as you can see from 0:38 to 0:41. With a wider beam of say 100°, you can avoid that. There is a risk of getting some sort of backscatter if the beam is too wide but you can place the lamp farther away from the port. As mentioned many times before by others, it's about placement of the lamp as well.

Shooting wide angle with lights at night shows a lot more of a beam pattern's irregularities. This allows the user to know what to expect from the lamps. Still, it depends on what you are shooting. A narrower beam allows the shooter to play with lighting a bit better, whereas a wider beam obviously illuminates more evenly.

Choosing your lights to create a certain esthetique look is what it's all about. Then of course there's CRI, lumens per watt and beam patterns to consider

[echeng 0]

Yeah, this is the first time I've used the lights. That dogfish video was early -- I adjusted in future shots so there would be less hotspotting. But I had to decide whether I was going to be shooting close and down (thus, requiring even illumination of the floor) or at subjects out further. I ended up pulling the lights back a bit to widen the beam. I'll post examples when I can...

[wolfeeldiver 7]

I used my Sunray 1000s this past weekend, shoting exclusively closeup work. I'll try to post a short clip soon. They worked great for closeup work. I initally set the camera (Sony HC7) White Bal setting to OUTDOOR for the initial shots, and frankly was not pleased with the color. Nice but just a tad cooler look than desired. Then I set WB to a white slate, and wow the colors look great to this rank amateur. Vivid oranges and reds, subtle mid tones too, white whites, etc. I'm pleased, for my intended usage.

 

In 50 degree F waters I kept them on continously for most of two dives. I got a total of about 1.5 hours of run time at full power, then the batteries ran out. discovered that when the Sunray 1000s batteries start to run low, they switch from high power to a lower power setting automatically. That sort of gives you a clue the batteries are low. Then eventually they will just stop working.

Edited August 20, 2008 by wolfeeldiver

[wolfeeldiver 7]

Heres a link to a short video, all close-up work, shot using the Sunray 1000s.

WB was set to a white slate for most of the video.

 

[Texas diver 0]

Mike-

 

Very nice, and very steady. The color and clarity is wonderful, great detail, and edited like you must do this alot. I'll give you five stars.

 

Any tricks for keeping steady? Especially when on Macro?

 

Vic

[wolfeeldiver 7]

Mike-

 

Very nice, and very steady. The color and clarity is wonderful, great detail, and edited like you must do this alot. I'll give you five stars.

 

Any tricks for keeping steady? Especially when on Macro?

 

Vic

Howdy Tex... thanks for the kind words.

 

I am a rank amateur.. but like to shoot videos of the kids, family, etc.. and tinker on the NLE...so thats where I got my feet wet editing. Still too much to learn.

 

Regarding clarity: I purchased a Century Optics 39mm +2.5 Achromatic diopter. I put that on the lens before closing the housing up. I'm quite pleased with the shapness for HC7 use. It brings in closer the minimum focus distance to about 8-12" or so, great for closeup, however you are limited to shooting closeup only with the diopter on. Distant objects are out of focus. A dogfish shark swam by that day, and was all blurry. And I used the Sunray 1000s on full power.

 

Depending on the bottom, for the few opening shots, I was on a muddy bottom, so I gently rest the housing or a portion of it on the sandy bottom when I can.. trying not to disturb too many little critters. Most others were on a wall, in a current, that was a challenge. I just try to hold as steady as possible.. for a count of 12 seconds.. and hope...

[SMY 15]

@ Mie: great shoots, looks like the LED 1000 is enough....and not as expensive as the Sunray 2000

 

Sascha

[SMY 15]

Does anyone has a comparison between the intensity of light

 

- 100 W HLX

 

- L&M HID

 

- L&M LEDs (1000 & 2000)

 

I was used to use light from a german manufacturer (Hartenberger Video Maxi) with flood reflector an 100W HLX. Now I bought a used set of L&M HIDs and I am offered an upgrade to either LED 1000 or 2000. So at the end of the day I would have the same light intensity as with the 100W HLX...

 

Sascha

[Drew 0]

Sascha, all the bulb's output in lumens are available on the websites of each manufacturer. With Hartenberger, google the 100W HLX 12v. You will get all your lumen outputs to compare.

Good luck.