uw torch light

[beivied]

hope you guys dun mind i start a new thread ... so that in future we wanna search back on this topic also easier k ...

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthrea...t=52643&page=4

[lovells19]

i was thinking of that as well.. but must first find the diffuser and its arm..
cheap mah.. tahan till i saved up enough for a strobe,.

anyway at nite its easier to mount your torch on your camera while searching for targets? or do you guys prefer to keep them seperate?

Quote: There is a customed made piece of diffuser to reduce the hot spot issue. Also that flexi arm used, enables him to adjust the shadows effect. Too bright, use Av / Tv settings to control that.

[waisj]

Originally Posted by lovells19 i was thinking of that as well.. but must first find the diffuser and its arm.. cheap mah.. tahan till i saved up enough for a strobe,. anyway at nite its easier to mount your torch on your camera while searching for targets? or do you guys prefer to keep them seperate?

let me give you a bit of insight into this issue, since i did it before.

in order to mount your torch onto your camera and housing,

Firstly you will need a tray, if for comparison purpose you are using Lanxx's fisheye tray it will set you off about 100 i think, and more for the Ikelite ones.

Secondly you will need strobe arms. this may cost up to 400 plus bucks.. depending on what model or make you are using or want to use.

Thirdly, the adapter for the Torch, (and if you do not need it anymore after upgrading to a strobe, then the part will be redundant.)

all these aside, If you shoot "within the box" you will be able to achieve results similar to those with strobes; and who knows better than those with strobes.
(lighting angle aside)

it is all about knowing your equipment and what it can do. For most of the Digital cameras on the market, you can use the internal strobe first. Shoot untill you are familiar with it then upgrade to strobes.

Do note that with strobes there will be alot of task loading involved.

After all these said what camera and housing you using??


after all that.... more light is still better than no light.

why not try with internal strobe first then evaluate what you need. (or dont need)??

[beivied]

wah, for someone like me, i'd rather get strobes.... waisj you got strobes le ma?

[waisj]

Originally Posted by beivied wah, for someone like me, i'd rather get strobes.... waisj you got strobes le ma?

new one 1860 leh..... with ball arms...


you wanna sponsor me...??

that aside, i am still waiting for the reply of some one off the internet. will need it for next year's dive to MANADO...

[Lensman]

Wiseman speaking. I am still living off this advice from the liao-jiao and stick to my humble 1 pc setup.

Still learning to move off from AUTO to P and now wanting to try Av & Tv mode. Another few more trips and a few more Gb of photos should do the trick.

Strobe. the $$ is there for it but will be a white elephant if I cannot even take care of the basics, let along the extended family of supporting gears.

Originally Posted by waisj it is all about knowing your equipment and what it can do. For most of the Digital cameras on the market, you can use the internal strobe first. Shoot untill you are familiar with it then upgrade to strobes.

[beivied]

you guy sui sui bian bian earn 50% more than me ... still want me to sponsor.. hai ya i realise i really too eng, my posts all over UWCS .. going off le! ciao

[lovells19]

Originally Posted by waisj let me give you a bit of insight into this issue, since i did it before. in order to mount your torch onto your camera and housing, Firstly you will need a tray, if for comparison purpose you are using Lanxx's fisheye tray it will set you off about 100 i think, and more for the Ikelite ones. Secondly you will need strobe arms. this may cost up to 400 plus bucks.. depending on what model or make you are using or want to use. Thirdly, the adapter for the Torch, (and if you do not need it anymore after upgrading to a strobe, then the part will be redundant.) all these aside, If you shoot "within the box" you will be able to achieve results similar to those with strobes; and who knows better than those with strobes. (lighting angle aside) it is all about knowing your equipment and what it can do. For most of the Digital cameras on the market, you can use the internal strobe first. Shoot untill you are familiar with it then upgrade to strobes. Do note that with strobes there will be alot of task loading involved. After all these said what camera and housing you using?? after all that.... more light is still better than no light. why not try with internal strobe first then evaluate what you need. (or dont need)??

Wah piang eh.. in order to add one torch i have to spend 500% more of what the torch is worth! *Faints* :P

Internal Strobe? no idea whats that.

c5050 with housing coming on next payday :P

[lovells19]

i think i should try to toy with my camera more so i know it better..

as for strobes.. dream dream dream..... :P

later part when i become more pro (hopefully) then i think about strobes..

really not other easier/cheaper way to mount a small torch? with a piece of diffuser infront.. :P

cos i like to keep my gear compact leh.. nite dive one hand torch one hand camera.. i tried before.. its like havoc underwater lor..

[denizenx]

how is a video light vs strobe? pricing vs brightness vs scaring fish away?

[kng]

Originally Posted by denizenx how is a video light vs strobe? pricing vs brightness vs scaring fish away?

Actually, video lights can work as a strobe, but the brightness and penetration won't be as powerful. In fact, a very 'cheap' (relatively speaking) alternative is to buy the UK Light Cannon (<$300) and mount it. There are some aftermarket manufacturers who replace the pistol grip with an arm setup and sell it as a video light. The Light Cannon is suitable cos it is HID and produces white (not yellow) light. One advantage of a video light is that it also functions as an aiming light and helps the camera focus.

[Goondoo]

I got a feeling many forgets that even O rings in your touch lights need to be regularly lube. I apply cheaper silicon grease on my C4 and SL4 before and after every trip and they had never caused me the slightest problem. Problems normally appears on touch lights because night dive is like one or twice maximum every trip and divers always remove the batteries to prevent the chemicals spilling. These opening and closing of the cap cause the O rings to flip or even dry up. Thus, leading to flooding.

One question here, what is the major difference between normal UW camera strobes and UW strobes designed for Digital camera? I got a friend whom kept preaching me that 90% of the available strobes in the market today are not meant for digital camera. It would be nice if some experts would state some examples of Digital camera strobes and their price for my reference. PM me if theres a "no-price" policy around here.

Thanks

[kng]

Originally Posted by Goondoo One question here, what is the major difference between normal UW camera strobes and UW strobes designed for Digital camera? I got a friend whom kept preaching me that 90% of the available strobes in the market today are not meant for digital camera. It would be nice if some experts would state some examples of Digital camera strobes and their price for my reference. PM me if theres a "no-price" policy around here. Thanks

The "normal" (ie non-digital) strobes typically are attached to housings via a sync cord. The cheap housings we have for digicams don't have a sync port so the manufacturers have come up with a "fiber optic" cable which slave fires the strobe by transmitting the light from the digicam's flash ('internal strobe') to a sensor on the strobe. The digital strobes also ignore the "preflash" on digicams and only slave fire on the 2nd flash.

Some brands like Ikelite have (expensive) housings for digital cameras that have a sync port- apparently can accomodate TTL metering! Ask Waisj!!

The price differential between the digital and normal strobes isn't that much (10%??) but being able to use normal strobes will mean you have the cheaper option of 2nd hand strobes.

[lanxx]

Originally Posted by Goondoo One question here, what is the major difference between normal UW camera strobes and UW strobes designed for Digital camera? I got a friend whom kept preaching me that 90% of the available strobes in the market today are not meant for digital camera. It would be nice if some experts would state some examples of Digital camera strobes and their price for my reference. PM me if theres a "no-price" policy around here. Thanks

Tell me if I am wrong, but:
Digi cams uses preflashes.
Normal SLR, does not emit preflash. SO,

the normal strobe will pick up the preflash and fire off before the actual flash (before the eye of the camera is opened), resulting in under-exposed pics = no strobe at all.

digital strobes are meant to 'read' the preflash, ignore it and only fire along with the main flash, thus resulting in a successful shoot.

[lanxx]

I had been thinking.
I do not know if it works, but you can use a normal halogen torch.

Using the cringed aluminium foil method(I tried it before), it works 100%, diffusing the light evenly, causing no hotspot. So, that settles 1 portion of the worries, but with the spread of the beam, the light does not penetrate as far.

Then, the halogen bulb is warm, slightly orangey.
If you can somehow set the WB or the color settings in the cam, you MIGHT be able to change the orangey light to quite close to sunlight temperature. maybe ard 5400 - 5600k.

Anyone want to prove my theory wrong? I am all ears.

[frisky]

Originally Posted by lanxx Tell me if I am wrong, but: Digi cams uses preflashes. Normal SLR, does not emit preflash. SO, the normal strobe will pick up the preflash and fire off before the actual flash (before the eye of the camera is opened), resulting in under-exposed pics = no strobe at all. digital strobes are meant to 'read' the preflash, ignore it and only fire along with the main flash, thus resulting in a successful shoot.

Not only Digi cam uses preflash, a number of newer SLR also uses preflash.
If you have one of those, then you need equipment that can handle that, or find a way to turn off the preflash.

[frisky]

Originally Posted by lanxx I had been thinking. I do not know if it works, but you can use a normal halogen torch. Using the cringed aluminium foil method(I tried it before), it works 100%, diffusing the light evenly, causing no hotspot. So, that settles 1 portion of the worries, but with the spread of the beam, the light does not penetrate as far. Then, the halogen bulb is warm, slightly orangey. If you can somehow set the WB or the color settings in the cam, you MIGHT be able to change the orangey light to quite close to sunlight temperature. maybe ard 5400 - 5600k. Anyone want to prove my theory wrong? I am all ears.

I am pretty sure it will work, assuming you do get sufficient light to use.
Just probably a bit more lachae that's all.

[waisj]

At the End of the day it is still the amount of power/light produced.
Video light will not be able to output as much light as a strobe on 1/60.

[waisj]

Originally Posted by kng Some brands like Ikelite have (expensive) housings for digital cameras that have a sync port- apparently can accomodate TTL metering! Ask Waisj!!

1860 for new DS125 with manual controller , ball arms, and sync cord...
you wanna sponsor me???

[waisj]

Originally Posted by lanxx I had been thinking. I do not know if it works, but you can use a normal halogen torch. Using the cringed aluminium foil method(I tried it before), it works 100%, diffusing the light evenly, causing no hotspot. So, that settles 1 portion of the worries, but with the spread of the beam, the light does not penetrate as far.

Bro i have tried on a C4, the problem is that the beam spread is not wide enough for some scenes and also the light is not "bright" enough after the aluminium method.

the WB thingy is one thing that i would love to try. .... So next year???