Video Light

[chilbal 11]

just want to ask what experince you have with different video light.

 

I have a Gates EX1 with Niterider dual HID light Pro 40.

But I´me not satisfied with the pin connections.

 

The weet connetcions gets coated with verdigris, and give a bad connection, and its seems to give xtra trouble because of the many connections.

(one from each light head, and a Y connection to the battery).

 

So I´me not satified and looking for new lights.

 

I´ve looking at Green Force and Light & Motion Sunray.

Quite expensive but both systems seeems to be ok?

 

Do anybody know about advantages & disadvantages about the 2 systems and is ther other proposal to other systems ther could be of interest?

 

Best regards

Bent

[Guamrider 0]

The weet connetcions gets coated with verdigris, and give a bad connection, and its seems to give xtra trouble because of the many connections.

(one from each light head, and a Y connection to the battery).

 

anybody know about advantages & disadvantages about the 2 systems and is ther other proposal to other systems ther could be of interest?

 

Bent,

I've had the same problem with my Niterider lights (w Y conn) for years. About the only thing that I know you can do is "soak" the contacts in a vinegar solution for a couple of hours. This seems to work for a while.

 

I finally decided to get another system and after considering at a lot of em I got the new Inon lights. My main criteria was to get rid of weight and get acceptable light output. I've got a post on these here in the forum. Hope this helps. Pete

[HDVdiver 16]

just want to ask what experince you have with different video light.

 

I have a Gates EX1 with Niterider dual HID light Pro 40.

But I´me not satisfied with the pin connections.

 

The weet connetcions gets coated with verdigris, and give a bad connection, and its seems to give xtra trouble because of the many connections.

(one from each light head, and a Y connection to the battery).

 

So I´me not satified and looking for new lights.

 

I´ve looking at Green Force and Light & Motion Sunray.

Quite expensive but both systems seeems to be ok?

 

Do anybody know about advantages & disadvantages about the 2 systems and is ther other proposal to other systems ther could be of interest?

 

Best regards

Bent

 

 

Why not forget about cables and pin connections and get "self-contained" lights.

 

Many manufacturers now offer single unit (light and battery in the same case) HID and LED video lights with good lumen output.

[Mike L 0]

Bent

 

Your issue of the wet connectors is something Ive seen with pretty much any manufacturer who uses them...hence the reason Light and Motion recently (after many years) did away with wet connectors on all of the Sunray Lights.

 

Now, with regards to your options for lighting, both the Green Force and Light and Motion lights are good, but it is important to note, they are VERY different lights. That being said, there are some personal questions you need to answer for your self based on the differences listed below, so you can choose a set to fit your needs. Are you shooting with the SWP44c port?

 

For the info below, comparing the Sunray 2000x and Squid 250 HID lights would be the equivalent options.

 

1. LED (Sunray) vs HID (Green Force). The Sunrays have a color temp of approx 6500-6800k where as the Squids are 3800k. Many shooters prefer warmer color temps (GF) lights over the cooler LED color temp.

 

2. Size. The Sunray lights are significantly smaller than the GF lights, which is a positive for those. However, the GF system is bulletproof, to go along with the bulletproofness of the Gates housing so if you are looking for a system to take a beating, the GFs match up with the Gates standard.

 

3. Cost, they are basically identical, so not really a factor.

 

4. Burn time: The Sunray 2000x lights are an hour burn at full power. The Squid 250 lights are approx an hour with the FIIHC batteries, or 100 minutes with the FIII batteries, which is very nice! The FIII batteries are definitely larger and heavier, but Ive worked out some nice solutions which make that issue irrelevant and your system will glide through the water with ease.

 

With regards to self-contained lighting, there just is not anything that is sufficient for use with the EX1/EX1r caliber systems at this point. For smaller systems, there are some acceptable units, but still nothing great. The need for power makes the self-contained systems too large and heavy for mounting up top.

 

Some questions I have for you to help better guide you are the following:

 

1. What is your purpose (broadcast, personal, documentaries, etc)?

 

2. Do you have any preference in color temperature?

 

3. What means more to you, size and weight or battery life and durability?

 

4. Are you shooting with the SWP44c?

 

Personally, I shoot both sets of lights. Some producers prefer one color temp over the other. If Im really tight on space and weight, I take the Sunrays. If Im going to spend a lot of time in the water and do not want to worry about burn time, I take the Squids.

 

I look forward to helping you further. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

[chilbal 11]

Hi and thank to you all for your advice.

 

I think Pete`s idea on several Inon lights is interesting, but same time I dont thing the light is sufficient especially when I use the SWP44 c port.

 

The advice to forget cables and use self-contained lights is also interisting, however I tried that with UK Canon 100 HID but it dident work out well.

The light heads is very heavy, and even the Gates arms for the light, had a lott of trouble, to hold the lights in position.

 

 

The waters here in DK is green and quite dark compared to what you probaly are used to, so most of the time I use the FP44 but I do also use the SWP44 to get overview.

 

To Mike

I dont have any preferences for colortemp.

I like the temperatur of Niterider (5600 k i think) or mayby its just because I´me used to it after used it for some years, and I´ve never had any quistions from a producer on a specific colortemp.

We do a little for broadcast and some for documentaries.

 

When I use the SWP44 It could be nice with more angel on the light than what Niterider gives - and thats vhere Pete´s idea with 4 or more self-contained lights mayby was interisting - but you say that it wont work out...

 

Is ther any other lighting systems you can recommand or is the coise between L & M and GF.

[Steve Douglas 16]

The Canon 100 HIDs were never reliable lights, poor quality control and a very cool color temp. With the Sunray 2000s or 1000s you have a choice of settings. With the 2000s you can reset your lights while filming from 2000 lumens, 1000 or 500 lumens. For close up work either the 1000 or 500 lumens settings are best. With the Sunray 1000's you have a choice between 1000, 500, or 250 lumens. Mike is a bit off on the color temp as they are really closer to 6100k. Also remember that the original L & M HID lights were 997 lumens. I have a set just sitting in my desk as I now use the 2000s. If you want them, let me know by PM

Steve

[wolfeeldiver 7]

I'm very happy with the reliability of my Sunray 1000 LED light system. Never had any issues. Wishing now had the 2000s that have a little more power on occasion. The only 'negative" besides cost is the color temp is on the cool side. Some people like that.. some dont. The battery pods mount via the GAS adapter to my housing's bottom, the light heads are small and very workable up on top. Take a look at some of my youtube videos and you'll see the lights in action in green waters.

Edited April 15, 2010 by wolfeeldiver

[Mike L 0]

Bent, being that you likely only want to invest in one light set up (since you already have the Niteriders), you definitely need to plan for lighting the SWP44c. That really leaves you with the Sunray 2000x (the new version) or the Squid 250s. We are working with some other potential systems for the future, but the problem is setting up the battery packs. I am strongly against clipping off battery packs to the diver and just attaching lights to the camera...that to me is a recipe for disaster.

 

Ive been shooting your exact set up for nearly 2 years, and have tested several light sets with them. Ive found both of these sets to cover the 120 FOV of the SWP pretty good and as such have stuck with them.

 

As for Sunray color temps Steve, Ive seen a few different tests, all with different results...anywhere from 6000-7000k. I generally say they are in the 6500k area as that seems to be the vicinity. The Backscatter test showed the Sray 2000s at 6200 and the Sray 1000s at 6585 last year.

 

According the the latest update on Light and Motions website, the new 2000x lights are tested at 7,138k! Using these lights is definitely a breeze with the G.A.S. bracket.

[chilbal 11]

Hi and thank you everybody for yoyr answer.

I just have one more quistion before I can decide what to choose.

 

My Niterider light - I planned it to work as extra and fill light - has a color temp. 6ooo K and it´s HID

 

So I supose, that if it has to work together with another system, I must check the temp.

L&M is LED prox 6500 K and GF is HID 3800.

 

So acording to the temp my nithrider will works best with the L&M or?

How is the result with HID and LED together?

 

Or is it complete crazy to try to get 2 different systems to work together?

 

Bent

[Drew 0]

My suggestion for light is always a wide even beam with variable power, especially if you are going to use a SWA lens like the SWP44. Too narrow a beam and you get the headlights look (look for Eric's video in Seattle for an example.) Wide beams naturally lose more light but for SWA, I think even lighting of a scene is more esthetically pleasing than the spotlight or headlight looks. Then again, I've seen many productions use a single HMI light but with an AC to work the light.

Everytime you use a color filter, you are taking a hit in power. Hence native color temps are most efficient, but many aren't designed to be in the 4-5k region.

Bent

With such a difference in color temps, your Niteriders will probably look blue if you WB for 3800K. A 500k difference won't be as obvious, but I think Mike has stated the L&M 2000 is actually over 7000k, which means you will need to color correct with gels and lose 2/3-1 stop of light depending on where you want the light temp to be at.

Besides the L&M and Green Force, the very purple Keldan Luna LED specs look pretty impressive, especially the 5000K temp, CRI rating of 95 and 90° beam. I'd check them out.

My personal minimum specs for SWA is 6k lumens combined for daylight shooting, with a wide beam. I like the idea of the contained units without cables but will have to see how neutral these units are, especially if the weight is great than that of the housing underwater, which will then cause the housing to want to flip (much like the Sealux EX1 housing problem, where not enough weight is at the bottom of the housing.)