Video Tips on Underwater Video Lighting

What lights should you use for your underwater video system?

The answer to that questions depends on how much money you are willing to spend.

First of all, do you need them? If the diving you are doing is during the day and wide angle, probably not. The new camcorders available today have amazing ability to use available light.

If you are planning to take close-up or want to take video of creatures in holes and crevices or at night, then yes, you need lights.

Lights in general for the consumer underwater video system, cast light during the day to about 3 feet. So that shark or school of fish is probably not going to end up with much light on them. But that beautiful soft coral or frogfish or Nudibranch is going to have the colors stand out with added light on them.

Now the question is what kind of lights do I use, Halogen low intensity or HID? First let’s look at Low Intensity Halogen versus High Intensity Definition lights. The low intensity halogen lights have been the first choice for consumers because of cost until recently. The HID lights have come down in price and are now a reasonable choice.

Low Intensity halogen lights give off a warm softer light than the HIDs which give off a whiter light. The HIDs are VERY bright and at night disturb some marine life. But they are suppose to give the same light as day light.

What do I use? I use a Light and Motion Mako housing with two 20 watt halogen SunRay Elite lights. They cost $1700. I also have a $400 Fisheye FIX Light HG20DX Focus Light with a halogen 20 watt bulb. I use this one during the day for close-up macro. I don’t use any extra lighting for the wide angle or large creatures during the day. At night, I use the Mod light like a night light and turn on the SunRays when I see something I want to take video of. Both types of lights have a high, medium and low setting.

Since night dives can be from 1 to 1 ½ hours in length, the batteries on most expensive lights for camcorders only last 45-50 minutes on high power. I overcome this by keeping the mod light on low power and use full power on my SunRays when I see something to shoot with my camcorder.

What are other Low Intensity solutions? Ikelite makes the Pro Light for their housings. The light comes in 50 watt and 100 watt. I have used the 50 watt and it is more than adequate for night dives. You can change out the lamp to the higher wattage if you desire. This light retails around $500. It comes with a mounting arm which resembles a bar. There is no flexibility in aiming it, unlike the mod light and the SunRays which are on articulated arms.

I recommend the rechargeable and find a way to mount at least one (two are pretty bright) to your camcorder housing. There are a number of different mounting systems available for underwater cameras which can be adapted to your housing.

The best source is Ultralight Control Systems . They have an adapter for the Light Canon under their "Strobes & video light adapters" page. This adapter attaches to one of their many arm choices. You would probably have to talk to them about how it would attach to your camcorder. They sell through dealers and give the info on their website on who to contact.

The reason you want flexibility with your Light Canon movement is the same reason you wanted to use strobes for underwater photography. You want to vary the distance and direction of the light to the subject. But they don't have to be as far out (long) as the strobe arms. Since the Light Canon has a very bright light, you don't want it directly aiming at your subject or too close.

Since the HID light doesn’t give off as much heat, it can be used out of the water when gearing up at night. But there is a draw back. The Underwater Kinetics Light Cannon 100 is similar in size to the large strobes used on underwater cameras and it has only one intensity setting—high. Light replacement is expensive on the HIDs, about $70-$80 per bulb versus the halogens which are around $35.00.

What would I use if I was to buy lights today? If I was to buy lights today for my underwater housing, I would buy two Fisheye FIX Light HG20DX Focus Lights. Two reasons why I would buy these lights; First, the cost is $400 each (which is half the price of the SunRay Elite Lights). Second, the rechargeable battery comes out and I can put a back up battery in while the other is charging. There are no wires going to batteries mounted on the housing. The Elites have batteries which slide onto the base of the housing and have wires running from the batteries to the lights.

Ultra Light has attachment arms available to attach it to different types of housings. The Fisheye FIX Light HG20DX Focus Light has a 20 watt halogen and two (one on each side of the housing) would be plenty for balanced lighting.

What other lights are available? There are certainly other manufacturers of both Low Intensity and HID lights available. Most underwater housing manufacturers have lights which they recommend with their housings. This is a good place to start but the not the final place. Decide how much money you want to spend and sometimes a compromise is required between dollars and wattage.

This article has tried to address the confusion about what is enough wattage for underwater video for consumers. It is not intended to address all lighting situations or what a professional videographer might require. The equipment which I use has been more than adequate for any light requirements which I have encountered.