Category Archives: Dive Equipment

My new lights… it makes all the difference in the world!

Light and Motion Sola 1200 and 800

Have you ever taken underwater photo’s and videos only to have them look very blue?   This was my problem and for the longest time and I thought it was the cameras I was using, so I kept looking for better camera equipment.  What I have recently discovered is that the best investment you can make in underwater photography and videography gear is not the camera or the housing, but the lights that you use.  There are plenty of lights to pick from, strobes and flashes for photography, and other lights for videography, but for me, what I have found works best are Light and Motion Sola lights that can mount to my camera housing via a tray.   When I need the lights, I turn them on, and then when not using them I turn them off to conserve the battery life.   With this method, I found that I can do 3 full dives and have juice left over after shooting a lot of video and photographs.

 

 

Light and Motion Sola 1200 and 800

These lights provide a very rich color that works great even with my Sony TX7 entry level underwater camera.  I can’t wait to try them out with the Sony NEX7 in a Nauticam housing which I will be doing at the 2012 Digital Shootout in Little Cayman this June.    I highly recommend that if you are serious about underwater photography or videography to pick up some of these Light and Motion lights.

These LED lights can illuminate a wide or narrow beam of light with three different intensities to create many lighting modes as well as extend battery life of the lights under water.   Charging the lights is fairly quick and easy to see what the current state of the battery life is both while charging as well as while using the lights.

My tropical dive gear…

When I travel someplace warm, I have my travel gear I take with me.   First, I use the coolest travel bag called a DiveCady Gen 2 (http://www.divecaddy.net/).  This system lets me pack almost all of my dive gear, and easily get through TSA at the airport and on the plane.   I love it.

My regulator is an Atomic B-2 (http://www.atomicaquatics.com/reg_B2.html) which I have really enjoyed using as well.  This is actually my reg I use for warm and cold water diving and I never go anywhere near the water without it.

My tropical BCD is a Scubapro Litehawk (http://www.scubapro.com/en-US/USA/bcs/products/litehawk.aspx) and it really lives up to its name when it comes to small/compact but fully capable BCD’s.

My Dive Computer is a Uwetec Galileo Luna by Scubapro (http://www.scubapro.com/en-US/USA/instruments/computers/products/galileo-luna.aspx).   This is a very capable dive computer and I have really enjoyed using it, however, the screen can sometimes be a bit hard to read in the water.  The nice thing about this computer is the ability to upgrade it to add more capabilities if you need them in the future.

Mask/Fins/Booties/stinger are nothing special, but they do the job for me.  I tend to not be too picky about such things.

Also, you may notice I have not listed any thermal (wetsuit) because I do not wear thermal if the water is above 70 degrees.   I tend to not get cold and the feel of being unencumbered by a wetsuit is a wonderful feeling in the water.   The stinger suit (basically nylon/lycra body suit) protects me from sun exposure and of course, stingers in the water, but that is about it.

I love this equipment and it travels quite well.

If you have any questions about this equipment, let me know, happy to answer any/all questions.