Need suggestions for underwater video light

Other Types of Lights Diving Lights
21

Much appreciate your efforts!!!

The Zebralight I have been using is a floody beam, but not their FLOOD model.

I definitely do not need any spot or throw. Just a large bright glow of light, where the camera picks up everything around it’s lens.

That light you suggested might be perfect.

I think you are right regarding: “for your application I would say you could probably ignore any step down information with probably almost all flashlights”

I don’t notice ANY step down with the Zebralight. And when I pull the pole out of the water, the light is just as cool as the water. So heat is never an issue.

I have come across several lights which have the specs and beam I want, but they are all rechargeable with the charging port integrated into the body of the light, which I am very skeptical of, despite their IPX8 claims.

Right now I am torn between buying that Armtek vs. buying the older Zebralight SC700Fd. The ZL doesn’t have as many lumens, but it’s shape is better suited for my current rig, and that brand has proven to provide a steady flow of light without stepping down under water.

I have never owned Armytek, so I don’t know.

22

Your post reminded me of something completely off topic - the realization that we, in other realms, can “see” without our eyes.

Perhaps there will be a proper thread for such a discussion.

As for my GoPro, I always just use the “auto” settings. Ha! All of my cameras do an excellent job in “auto” mode, providing the best quality images under the given conditions of light, etc.

1 Thank
23

One big advantage to the armytek is it probably has a big enough battery to get you through a full outing. You should be able to get more than 90 minutes of runtime on turbo 2 with your use case.

Edit . oops
. No you’re only going to get 20 to 25 minutes of runtime unless you use a 6000 mah 21700. Or the new BAK 6500 mah. Then you might get 30 plus minutes.

And then you can recharge it at home without taking the tail cap off. The the less you screw around with the tail cap the less likely you are to ever have water intrusion problems. The armytek double o-rings work good but you have to keep them lubricated if you’re going to frequently remove the tail cap so they don’t get stretched.
Armytek (max) claims a spot of 110° and the flood out to 150° but there is no well defined spot.
So depending upon which GoPro model you have you might want to look at the degree specs of that.

2 Thanks
24

See my edit in the above post. With the stock battery the run time will be less than 30 minutes.

1 Thank
25

Good point. I currently use 2 or 3 18650 cells during one outing with my ZL. It would be fantastic to get by with fewer changes, or none at all.

There are times where I see something worthy of a video, only to find that it happens at the very moment my light steps down and I miss the shot.

Yes, I am very aware of the need for lubricant on all O-rings. Thanks!

26

Go pro does have EV comp adjustments, ISO and shutter speed, try playing with those, you may be able to adjust your settings and not even need a new light,

1 Thank
27

Well, after being provoked by you to research that Wizard C2 Pro Max a bit more, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered one.

You were not a good influence for this addiction. Ha!

Looking forward to seeing how it does under water, compared to my old Zebralight.

28

Now you’re going to need a WR or a WG model so the bugs don’t bother you at night while you’re out there working.

Did you get a warm 4000k or a cold 5700k?

Also do you post any of these on YouTube?

29

WR? WG?

I ordered on Amazon and it does not state the k rating, which surprised me. I’m guessing it’s the cooler white, which is fine. I normally prefer the warmer tones, but I’m ok either way for this purpose.

I haven’t posted any of these under water videos on my YouTube yet. Mostly just wildlife stuff. I have thousands of photos and videos to sort through. Ha!

I mostly have shared my wildlife photos and videos, including under water stuff, on my Facebook only. But I need to start posting on YouTube for folks to enjoy.

My YouTube channel is Jonnyvids14 (Jonathan Brett), but as of right now, there isn’t much on there. But it’s a start. Here is a link if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/@Jonnyvids14/videos

30

Cool white is ok for underwater, I’ve never seen a warm/neutral dive light. According to a diver on another forum who tested numerous lights under water, fresh murky water, best color is green, it makes things look sharper, but there aren’t any on the market.

1 Thank
31

Yeah, I was thinking the cooler white would be fine, even though I have been using my ZL non-dive light which is warmer.

Green? Hmmmmm. That doesn’t seem like it would be good but who knows.

My only experience with green light is trying to light up ice caves at night. Ha!

image
image1920×1440 578 KB

3 Thanks
32

Yea, it was his opinion, In general human eyes are most sensitive to green light, 555nm is the brightest light as it perceived by human eye, regular green leds are around 530nm, but in your case, it is camera that is looking, so that pretty much negates all benefits.

1 Thank
33

This is a single frame from the videos I typically get from exploring the lakes from my kayak at night.

It’s amazing how still the fish are at night. Pretty much every species. Even came upon a pair of mating pike a couple years ago, as well as a pair of mating snapping turtles.

Also captured some lower quality footage of a beaver swimming under water.

image
image1920×1062 323 KB

2 Thanks
34

Armytek makes a white / red WR headlight and a white /green WG headlight. Again both are available in their so-called warm 4k or cold 5700k.
Different types of bugs are less attracted to one versus the other. So if you are spending a lot of time out at night on lakes and ponds you might need both.
There are certain times of the year when certain bugs out and a white headlight of any type is just miserable.

And yes there are other headlights available with a red LED also. But none of the other ones have a beam that is as wide as armyek lights. Nor are they as waterproof. And four levels of red or green available that go from very dim to very bright.

1 Thank
35

I much appreciate the info Oli. But it appears you have never experienced the biting insects of northern Michigan and Ontario. Haha!

If mosquitoes were not bad enough, there are plenty of horse flies, black flies, stable flies, and deer flies to attack.

I can assure you, these bugs could care less about light or no light. Ha! They are HORRIBLE no matter what. Especially in May or June.

I spent two full days fighting off deer flies (?) trying to kill me while peddling a bike around Grand Island on Lake Superior in the DAYLIGHT. Was even worse at night, regardless of me using any lights or not. They find you. They always find you!!! Ha! See photo below, looking down on my leg while trying to avoid them by walking knee-deep in the water.

One must learn when and where to go, without relying on chemicals or lights, in order to enjoy nature at it’s finest.

In reality, from my personal experience, the bugs that are attracted to our lights are not of the biting sort at all. They just like flying around the lights, but don’t actually bite.

image
image1920×1083 345 KB

1 Thank
36

Is there a particular brand\model number of cell that you would recommend for me to get for the Wizard? I would like to buy a few extra.

37

If you’re looking to get something from a company within the US I would get the Samsung 50S from 18650battery. com. 25 amps

The Eve 50E from liionwholesale .com is probably ok. Bare minimum at 15 amps.

If you want to wait an extra week (shipping from China) and spend a little more money, the best cell out there now for you is probably the BAK 65E. That you’re going to get from convoylight. com. 20amps? You should get the best run time with this.
Convoy has other cells that would be suitable also.

It’s got to be a 21700 with 5000mAh or more and I would say no less than 15 to 20A CDR
. Bigger numbers are better.
This light can be tough on the positive end and dent them. I’m working on a potential simple cure to at least limit this to some degree.

1 Thank
38

Thanks for the info on the battery.

I just received my new light today, and just now tested it out in the dark, compared to my Zebralights.

Although it is a bit brighter than the ZL, I find it strange that there is absolutely no difference in brightness between Turbo 1 and Turbo 2, given how vastly different the stated specs are (1300 vs. 4000 lumens).

They are identical. And I even made sure I was in the “Advanced Type” (Turbo 1) vs. “General Type” (Turbo 2) when testing. I would think Turbo 2 would be noticeably brighter, otherwise why even have two.

I took pictures of my lit up barn to compare. No difference in the pictures, and no difference to my naked eye. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Other than that, it’s a very nice light. Surprisingly though, the ZL actually has more flood angle. Not by much, but definitely more. But the Armytek is plenty wide for my purposes.

39

The first thing I would check is to see what the battery voltage is at.
If you click it three times fast from off, or on, you should be in the turbo section. At that time you should have two modes if you press and hold. As you keep holding the button it should be switching between turbo 1 and turbo 2. If you see it attempting to switch or blink but there is no difference in brightness then the battery voltage has to be pretty low. If it’s not already on I would also turn on the switch indicator light.

And until you figure this out. 15 amp batteries might not be enough as the voltage goes down below 3.6 volts.

40

I found the problem. For whatever reason, when I charged it via the USB cable plugged into my computer - the way other lights charge just fine - and the charging light turned solid green, leading me to believe it was fully charged, it wasn’t. Not even close.

I had to charge it via a wall outlet, which took about 5 hours.

Not sure why it turned solid green while being plugged into the computer. Obviously this was a false reading, because after being charged from the wall outlet, it’s MUCH BRIGHTER, and there is now a significant difference between Turbo 1 vs. Turbo 2.

The light should be perfect for my intended use as an under water flood light for my GoPro, so THANKS A BUNCH for the recommendation.

I could see this light also working very well as a camp light hung from a tree, or a mechanic’s work light stuck on the hood, or a bike light mounted to the handlebar.

However, for anyone else, if I were buying this to use as a headlight, I would have been greatly disappointed. It has the most uncomfortable head band of any headlight I have ever had, due to it’s hard plastic mount, which has hard edges that press right into my forehead. No way could I wear this for any more than a minute or so. They might want to take a look at Zebralight’s (and others) flexible rubber design which is far more comfortable.

It also has a funky UI and charging method. The only light I own that must be unscrewed in order to charge it. And the UI is all over the place. Ha!

I tend to agree with Selfbuilt’s outstanding review of this light, and his comments about these things.

But for MY purpose, it should be great. A very well built light with an excellent flood of light. O-rings could have been a little thicker though. Very thin.

Looking forward to submerging this to bring the under water world to the screen.