I'm looking to mount my GoPro (w the flat lens fix) onto a lighting set up to take scuba diving with me next month. I'm considering buying two of the Mini Q40 eLED Amazon.com: Mini Q40 eLED Plus Dive Light Module Only: Home Improvement to mount the gopro to. Does anyone have any experience with a set up like this? Is there a better option at a decent price out there? Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

that looks like it would do the job fine. How are you planning on mounting the lights and the camera together?
Thinking WAAY back to my days of shooting stills U/W, I used a Nikonos system with long articulating arms for lighting ( seems to me they were 20 in. each). It was awkward on the surface, but great U/W. it let you get the lighting above the lens and angled in so that the beam patterns overlapped perfectly at about 3 feet. Probably overkill for the gopro.
I'm wondering if you couldn't cobble together a small PVC rig for it??

Nick,

You could try making holders out of loc-line. I made flag out of it. I did get it in black from one of my suppliers. modularhose.com - Loc-Line 1/2" ID System (http://modularhose.com/Loc-Line-12-System) . If you have a aquarium store by you, they can get it for you.http://aquariumcenter.net/en/plumbing-fittings-locline-modular-piping-c-13_14.html

Dan

Nick, in addition to Dan and Wayne's ideas, you might want to think about modifying a Gorillapod to mount your lights and the camera. There are Gorillapod knockoffs available for very little money that just might work.

Be sure to post your results as we are all interested!

Curt

Most likely those lights are too small and will not put out the correct amount of light...

Here is a site that has some equipment for underwater shooting....

Ultralight Control Systems (http://www.ulcs.com/)

Thanks for all the great responses and suggestions, I really appreciate it.

Ray, I was afraid it wasn't going to be enough light. Maybe four instead of two Q40's would be enough?

Curt, I really like the Gorilla pod idea, I own one already so I'm going to look into these adapters to attach lights to it ... have you done a rig like this before? If so please tell me about it ... how you attached the lights etc

Dan, thanks for forwarding the links ... maybe with a combo of the gorilla pod, 4 Q40's a couple adapters from Ultralight Control Systems and/or the links you sent I might be in business ...

Wayne, I was going to try to connect the two Q40's with a something similar to the image below .... Its the set up we use with our Splash Cam: Seatrex High Definition Point of View Camera (http://www.splashcam.com/dbhd/seatrexhd.htm#camspecs) (at my day job) we've used this set up at 100ft while ice fishing and the 2 q40's seemed to give off enough light if the subject was close enough to the camera. I like your idea on the 20in arms, that seems like it would allow the lights to be farther spread out ... maybe I can accomplish this with Curt's Gorilla pod idea .... but I'm also interested in hearing about your PVC idea?

Sorry Nick, I haven't actually built a set. Attaching the lights might be a challenge. I am sure someone has some ideas!

Don't know if you've tried your rig yet, but my biggest concern would be that those light would put out a wide enough beam to cover the whole gopro field of view. Look like you might end up with light in the middle, and dark in the corners.

Exactly as Ben says.

The GoPro has a very wide angle coverage. If you want the lights to illuminate the full frame of the GoPro, you will need W/A beam lights, plus they will need to be very powerful. For a given power level of light: the more the beam is spread out, the less the beam will penetrate the water. For example, a 50 watt light with a 15 degree beam angle might illuminate a fish 15 feet away at night, but a 50 watt light with a 90 degree angle might only go to 5 feet.

If you are shooting daytime, you will need even more powerful lights because it needs to overpower the sunlight.

If you are shooting during the day, I recommend a pink filter.

Hi, which pink filter would that be?

Lee or Roscoe gel filter. They are very inexpensive. You can get a whole 20 x 20 inch sheet for $7. Cut out a small piece the size of a penny and drop it inside the GoPro housing.

GoPro Test 2 on Vimeo

GoPro test on Vimeo

Ron: How long ago was that? Was it the Caribbean? Seahorses are getting a lot harder to find with the insurgent lionfish cleaning them out.

Bonaire about a month ago. To be honest, I found the diving conditions disappointing. Reef and coral did not look healthy.

Thanks, but do you have a color number for the pink?

I think it was 790.

I believe both Lee and Roscoe give away or sell swatchbooks. Since the GoPro is so small, the swatchbook is a great way to experiment with filter colors to match your dive conditions.

Some stores give them away with purchases, other stores will sell them to you. Think I saw them going for $2-$4.

Thanks for the info Ron ... I am considering purchasing the ultra light TR-GP with TR-DHB handle Ultralight Control Systems - GoPro Accessories (http://www.ulcs.com/gopro.html) and the Aqua Sun eLed Rechargable: The AquaSun eLED Dive Light Underwater Kinetics (http://www.uwkinetics.com/products/aqua-sun-eled-rechargeable)

This Aqua sun seems like it would put out plenty of light and it says it is a wide beam but doesn't give specifics on how wide.

I will be shooting during the day but at depths up to 120 feet ... will I still need a pink filter with this set up?

Thanks for the info.

The GoPro needs light. When things get a little dark, your footage will have a lot of video noise. Try shooting indoors and you will see what I mean.

120 feet is pretty deep. At that depth I would skip the filter and bring the biggest most powerful lights you have. Where are you diving ? Is the water clear ?

Headed to the Cayman Islands ... the water should be clear. I know what you mean about the gopro's noise problem in low light situations ... So the filter isn't necessary if I have enough light correct? I'm just worried about a drastic white balance shift in the middle of a sweet shot of tarpon or something : )

Filmed while snorkeling:
YouTube - #x202a;Bonaire - watercolors‬‏ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gBkJIm5A6g)

Headed to the Cayman Islands ... the water should be clear. I know what you mean about the gopro's noise problem in low light situations ... So the filter isn't necessary if I have enough light correct? I'm just worried about a drastic white balance shift in the middle of a sweet shot of tarpon or something : )

The filter helps with color at the expense of cutting out light. As you go deeper, the need for light can override the need for color. The exact depth where this takes place varies depending on water clarity, time of day and sunlight.

Typically filters for video are used for depths between 12 feet and 80 feet. I not aware of many recreational dives in the Caymans deeper than 80-90 ft. In my humble opinion, use the filter the whole time in Cayman Islands, unless you are doing a night dive or diving over 100 feet.


Bonaire, Hilma Hooker. Around 75-80 ft, low viz maybe 35-45 ft. Late afternoon. Using the filter. On this dive, the need for the filter out weighs the need for light.
Untitled on Vimeo

Hello

i also search an affordable LED light for my underwater video with the gopro (medium FOV).
I will dive no more than 10m.
Any suggestion for the lamp? thx