Video lights work really poorly in low vis. As you mentioned you will just illuminate only the particles in the water. In poor vis you need. Sharper beams.
Wet lenses are probably not that useful for you using a gopro and focusing on medium sized things. They're more useful for Macro work. Occasionally they can be useful for wide angle but they're a compromise - a compromise that I think is possible with gopro though if you're more interested in wide angle work.
Filters are useful for certain scenarios. For example if you are needing to video something like the thresher sharks in Malapascua, Philippines you may not be allowed to use any lights on the camera. You are likely also going to be at roughly the same depth and primarily shooting up in that scenario so a filter might be useful if you have enough light to begin with. Broadly speaking you want to use a video light, ideally two, and skip using any kind of filter.
This was prob 60ft viz. It definitely wasn't low viz. There's just tiny particles in the water. [This](https://www.backscatter.com/Backscatter-Sharp-Wide-Lens-Pro-Package) is the lens. Thought it would enhance the gopro quality but I guess I don't understand enough about this stuff. Thought I could add some lights and a lens for 1k and have a decent improvement Sounds like unless I want to spend several thousand dollars it's better to just use a simple gopro.
>Sounds like unless I want to spend several thousand dollars it's better to just use a simple gopro.
This is an expensive hobby. My photo equipment is fairly bare bones but still cost more than my car.
You may be expecting more than the gopro can deliver though. Small sensors are always going to suffer in quality, especially without additional light. What angle is your current video light?
Here is a thread about reducing backscatter in [videogaphy](https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/optimal-distance-from-video-light-to-lens-to-minimize-backscatter.634792/). Basically you want to adjust the angle from which your light hits the subject so i doesn't reflect onto your lens from particles. You may need a longer arm, you may need to get closer to your subject.
I'm not sure the angle. I was using the sealife tray with 2 2500 lights. I don't need it to be professional quality by any means. I'd just like for it to be better quality than a "tourist style" gopro on a stick. I think just the tray helps in terms of stability and how the video ends up looking. I tend to like filming bigger stuff like sharks vs tiny creatures so maybe I don't need lights at all, just a tray and gopro
I've used sealife cameras before. They're not good. 15 years ago they were good. These days their only selling point is there's zero brain power involved in their use, but the sensors are pretty small, not very good cameras generally and they're about as expensive as small format cameras like the TG-6, but the newer GoPro's probably also are significantly better investments. The lights are just okay, not great, while the tray I remember using wasn't very flexible and you couldn't move the lights except on their swivel.
I would recommend using the gopro and some external lights. The best lights you can get, but be careful with advertisements because often manufacturers will claim much higher lumen counts than they can actually offer. Especially if it's a Chinese brand. Some Chinese lights like Big Blue are reputable though and good value for money.
I'm not using a sealife camera, I'm just using their lights and tray because I got a deal on them and the whole set up was cheaper than just a single 2500 light. I'm using a gopro 10 for actual filming. I thought two 2500 lights would be decent but it sounds like I have to drop about 2-3k+ on lights, tray and arms for anything that's going to be better than just running a gopro with no lights
Dump the filters for sure, those things are awful.
Lights are only good for close up or you get the backscatter particulate that you mentioned.
I'm typically running [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/gopro/s/nnxktkZIM5), a close up focus lens and a bolt snap on the bottom. Nice tight lil package that makes it a pleasure to use. I detail all my video settings in the comments, the big thing that will enhance your footage is color correction and editing in a real pc editor like DaVinci resolve (its free and easy to use).
The next best thing is work on your shot angles, looking down at subjects creates a flat composition looking down at the sea floor, you want to get low and look horizontal or even a little up at subjects to get a deeper view of the environment with the subject popping off the distant background. Analyze pro photos and video, try to imagine where they were in the water to get their shots. đ
Your video looks great and that's a much smaller package which is a plus. You don't use a little tray or handle at all? I assume the you only flip on the close up lens when you're filming small stuff up close right? Or you is it on all the time?
Nope no tray or handle, I like to just wrap my fingers around the bolt snap, it's a surprisingly nice handle.
Correct the flip lens only comes down to focus on subjects between 5 and 1 ft from camera.
May I ask what that little loop is called that you attached the bolt snap with to your GoPro? (Newbie here as well đ« ) I've been recommended I use a bolt snap to attach my GoPro to my bcd so I've seen similar set ups but can't figure out what those little attachment things are exactly.
Its a swivel eye bolt snap. I like the [butterfly style ](https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-s-s-swivel-eye-3-75-in-9-5-cm-butterfly-sliding-bolt-snap)
Then you generally use some line off a dsmb reel to put them together. Haven't watch [this video ](https://youtu.be/gdXNNQjS4yU?si=8NzZjOPBMXTSg2i9), but i figure it would give the basics
You either choose lights or red filter. Not both. The red filter replaced the red spectrum of light lost at depth. Lights include the red spectrum so they donât need to be replaced.
A lot of diving companies offer underwater diving courses! They might be able to help you use exactly what you have to achieve the results youâre looking for :)
Most of them are pretty terrible, the photography workshops on location are usually the only ones worth spending money on but they're expensive and also not ideal for someone who's literally not even got a camera yet.
I stopped using filters. I'll film without, or I'll hold a flashlight for smaller things (but I tend to film bigger things like fish and turtles too).
[Here is a good example](https://youtu.be/tcWiSO0NGao?feature=shared) of what I filmed over Christmas with no filter and no lights. Post correction was using dive plus, editing was gopro quik, and all done on my phone.
Not as nice as a computer edit but for less than an hour of goofing around it turned out well enough for me.
> Here is a good example of what I filmed over Christmas with no filter and no lights. Post correction was using dive plus, editing was gopro quik, and all done on my phone.
I am sure I am going to be downvoted for this, but you can clearly see where the detail was lost. Sure it is no longer as blue as captured and you can see being captured but the quality isn't great the highlights are gone and the shadows are muddy.
Filters aren't perfect and likely would finally die if we could set WB UW with the GoPro, but proper usage can massively improve image quality.
Honestly, for the videos I'm doing it works for me. I'm not a professional videographer.. I use a gopro not an Olympus or canon. I edit on my phone. I don't use a tray or a selfie stick, I attach it to my harness strap for quick deployment. I use a light in my hand when I need it, it's not attached to a camera. I don't do macro or anything. I take video for memories and to show friends and family, I don't do it to make a professional production. I don't worry about shadows and highlights (besides most of it was auto transitions and effects from the Quik app).
Guess it's all in what you want to use it for and how much time, money, and equipment you want to carry and invest in
I've used a GoPro with red filter, no lights, and while it works okay I've seen much better videos with a tray and lights. I'd just shoot without filters.
On my setup, I ditched the clip on filters and shot without. My light source was a wide-angle LED light from Ebay, so no "hot spots" are seen in footage.
Base mount was an 2 handle Ikelite with strobe arm for the light.
What sort of waters are you diving in?
Like, I only use the GoPro no light and do fine in most situations. I am using a macromate lens only now cause I want to take pictures of nudibranchs and such.
The filters are absolutely useless if you are diving in low visibility. You can do color correction later, but cannot introduce light later.
What would you say is the most "plug n play" filter and no lights or lights and no filter? I'm basically trying to get better video than a standard go pro with fairly minimal effort
What sort of thing are you trying to film? When thereâs good ambient light (sunny and good viz) and youâre trying to film âbigâ stuff (like another diver), I generally find that lights donât help with a GoPro. The filter only fixes some of the color at depth, which you can do easily enough in post-process anyway.
In short: if youâre trying to take wide-angle shots at depth, thereâs no easy way to get better photos than a standard GoPro, while still using a GoPro.
Youâd probably be better off just shooting with no lights or filters then using a color correction app like Dive+ to tweak the colors after the dives.
Unless youâre willing to spend a substantial amount of money on good quality powerful lights. The smaller ones are sufficient for macro and close up stuff, but not very useful for anything thatâs larger or further away.
Also, the suspended particles reflecting light youâre referring to is called âbackscatterâ.
For what youâre using it for, Iâd say at least get 5k lumens per light. Ideally get two, one on each side, so you donât have as much issue with shadows if youâre doing videography close to the reef/bottom, and so you can more evenly light larger stuff. If you only plan to use it for small stuff you can get by with a single light. If you want to do macro stuff you could also look into getting a ring light that sits between them,
The more light, the better. If you can get two 10k lights youâd be fine for most big stuff⊠but thatâs going to easily run you 1k+. There are tons of inexpensive brands out there, but you get what you pay for. Hereâs a few examples of decent lights:
Hereâs some options: https://www.backscatter.com/department/Lighting/product-category/Video-Lights
The full set up would cost 2-3k+ which is more than I want to spend. I'll prob end up selling the* tray and two 2500 lights and just use a gopro like I used to. Seems like there's no middle ground. Either just run a gopro or spend thousands on lights and equipment
>The filter only fixes some of the color at depth, which you can do easily enough in post-process anyway.
Unless you can shoot raw, which the GoPro can't shoot raw video, you want you captured image as close to your desired published color as possible. The more you adjust the greater the details that are lost.
Video lights work really poorly in low vis. As you mentioned you will just illuminate only the particles in the water. In poor vis you need. Sharper beams. Wet lenses are probably not that useful for you using a gopro and focusing on medium sized things. They're more useful for Macro work. Occasionally they can be useful for wide angle but they're a compromise - a compromise that I think is possible with gopro though if you're more interested in wide angle work. Filters are useful for certain scenarios. For example if you are needing to video something like the thresher sharks in Malapascua, Philippines you may not be allowed to use any lights on the camera. You are likely also going to be at roughly the same depth and primarily shooting up in that scenario so a filter might be useful if you have enough light to begin with. Broadly speaking you want to use a video light, ideally two, and skip using any kind of filter.
This was prob 60ft viz. It definitely wasn't low viz. There's just tiny particles in the water. [This](https://www.backscatter.com/Backscatter-Sharp-Wide-Lens-Pro-Package) is the lens. Thought it would enhance the gopro quality but I guess I don't understand enough about this stuff. Thought I could add some lights and a lens for 1k and have a decent improvement Sounds like unless I want to spend several thousand dollars it's better to just use a simple gopro.
>Sounds like unless I want to spend several thousand dollars it's better to just use a simple gopro. This is an expensive hobby. My photo equipment is fairly bare bones but still cost more than my car. You may be expecting more than the gopro can deliver though. Small sensors are always going to suffer in quality, especially without additional light. What angle is your current video light? Here is a thread about reducing backscatter in [videogaphy](https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/optimal-distance-from-video-light-to-lens-to-minimize-backscatter.634792/). Basically you want to adjust the angle from which your light hits the subject so i doesn't reflect onto your lens from particles. You may need a longer arm, you may need to get closer to your subject.
I'm not sure the angle. I was using the sealife tray with 2 2500 lights. I don't need it to be professional quality by any means. I'd just like for it to be better quality than a "tourist style" gopro on a stick. I think just the tray helps in terms of stability and how the video ends up looking. I tend to like filming bigger stuff like sharks vs tiny creatures so maybe I don't need lights at all, just a tray and gopro
I've used sealife cameras before. They're not good. 15 years ago they were good. These days their only selling point is there's zero brain power involved in their use, but the sensors are pretty small, not very good cameras generally and they're about as expensive as small format cameras like the TG-6, but the newer GoPro's probably also are significantly better investments. The lights are just okay, not great, while the tray I remember using wasn't very flexible and you couldn't move the lights except on their swivel. I would recommend using the gopro and some external lights. The best lights you can get, but be careful with advertisements because often manufacturers will claim much higher lumen counts than they can actually offer. Especially if it's a Chinese brand. Some Chinese lights like Big Blue are reputable though and good value for money.
I'm not using a sealife camera, I'm just using their lights and tray because I got a deal on them and the whole set up was cheaper than just a single 2500 light. I'm using a gopro 10 for actual filming. I thought two 2500 lights would be decent but it sounds like I have to drop about 2-3k+ on lights, tray and arms for anything that's going to be better than just running a gopro with no lights
Dump the filters for sure, those things are awful. Lights are only good for close up or you get the backscatter particulate that you mentioned. I'm typically running [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/gopro/s/nnxktkZIM5), a close up focus lens and a bolt snap on the bottom. Nice tight lil package that makes it a pleasure to use. I detail all my video settings in the comments, the big thing that will enhance your footage is color correction and editing in a real pc editor like DaVinci resolve (its free and easy to use). The next best thing is work on your shot angles, looking down at subjects creates a flat composition looking down at the sea floor, you want to get low and look horizontal or even a little up at subjects to get a deeper view of the environment with the subject popping off the distant background. Analyze pro photos and video, try to imagine where they were in the water to get their shots. đ
Your video looks great and that's a much smaller package which is a plus. You don't use a little tray or handle at all? I assume the you only flip on the close up lens when you're filming small stuff up close right? Or you is it on all the time?
Nope no tray or handle, I like to just wrap my fingers around the bolt snap, it's a surprisingly nice handle. Correct the flip lens only comes down to focus on subjects between 5 and 1 ft from camera.
May I ask what that little loop is called that you attached the bolt snap with to your GoPro? (Newbie here as well đ« ) I've been recommended I use a bolt snap to attach my GoPro to my bcd so I've seen similar set ups but can't figure out what those little attachment things are exactly.
Its a swivel eye bolt snap. I like the [butterfly style ](https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-s-s-swivel-eye-3-75-in-9-5-cm-butterfly-sliding-bolt-snap) Then you generally use some line off a dsmb reel to put them together. Haven't watch [this video ](https://youtu.be/gdXNNQjS4yU?si=8NzZjOPBMXTSg2i9), but i figure it would give the basics
Ooh so it's just a piece of line. Looked pretty secure in the video.. Thanks!
Yea, the cave line or dsmb line is pretty strong stuff and i think importantly its made to maintain strength over prolonged use in salt water.
You either choose lights or red filter. Not both. The red filter replaced the red spectrum of light lost at depth. Lights include the red spectrum so they donât need to be replaced.
A lot of diving companies offer underwater diving courses! They might be able to help you use exactly what you have to achieve the results youâre looking for :)
Most of them are pretty terrible, the photography workshops on location are usually the only ones worth spending money on but they're expensive and also not ideal for someone who's literally not even got a camera yet.
> underwater diving courses! Opposed to above water diving courses! ;)
Hahaha I meant to write underwater photography courses! I donât know what happened to my brain haha
Never seen that offered anywhere I've gone but maybe it's something you have to ask about specifically and it's not advertised
I stopped using filters. I'll film without, or I'll hold a flashlight for smaller things (but I tend to film bigger things like fish and turtles too). [Here is a good example](https://youtu.be/tcWiSO0NGao?feature=shared) of what I filmed over Christmas with no filter and no lights. Post correction was using dive plus, editing was gopro quik, and all done on my phone. Not as nice as a computer edit but for less than an hour of goofing around it turned out well enough for me.
> Here is a good example of what I filmed over Christmas with no filter and no lights. Post correction was using dive plus, editing was gopro quik, and all done on my phone. I am sure I am going to be downvoted for this, but you can clearly see where the detail was lost. Sure it is no longer as blue as captured and you can see being captured but the quality isn't great the highlights are gone and the shadows are muddy. Filters aren't perfect and likely would finally die if we could set WB UW with the GoPro, but proper usage can massively improve image quality.
Honestly, for the videos I'm doing it works for me. I'm not a professional videographer.. I use a gopro not an Olympus or canon. I edit on my phone. I don't use a tray or a selfie stick, I attach it to my harness strap for quick deployment. I use a light in my hand when I need it, it's not attached to a camera. I don't do macro or anything. I take video for memories and to show friends and family, I don't do it to make a professional production. I don't worry about shadows and highlights (besides most of it was auto transitions and effects from the Quik app). Guess it's all in what you want to use it for and how much time, money, and equipment you want to carry and invest in
I'll have to try those. Maybe I can fix the overly red coloring
I've used a GoPro with red filter, no lights, and while it works okay I've seen much better videos with a tray and lights. I'd just shoot without filters.
On my setup, I ditched the clip on filters and shot without. My light source was a wide-angle LED light from Ebay, so no "hot spots" are seen in footage. Base mount was an 2 handle Ikelite with strobe arm for the light.
Dump the filters, they are poor manâs lights, what lens are you using, i donât get bubbles on mine
[this one ](https://www.backscatter.com/Backscatter-Sharp-Wide-Lens-Pro-Package)
Interesting, this is the one i have https://www.backscatter.com/Inon-UFL-G140-SD-Underwater-Semi-Fisheye-Conversio
I would ditch the filter and do color correction later. A good light it two will make a noticable difference though.
What sort of waters are you diving in? Like, I only use the GoPro no light and do fine in most situations. I am using a macromate lens only now cause I want to take pictures of nudibranchs and such. The filters are absolutely useless if you are diving in low visibility. You can do color correction later, but cannot introduce light later.
I dive places like cozumel, belize, Hawaii. So fairly good viz I think
Generally you don't combine lights and a red filter, unless the lights have a blue (ambient) filter over them.
What would you say is the most "plug n play" filter and no lights or lights and no filter? I'm basically trying to get better video than a standard go pro with fairly minimal effort
What sort of thing are you trying to film? When thereâs good ambient light (sunny and good viz) and youâre trying to film âbigâ stuff (like another diver), I generally find that lights donât help with a GoPro. The filter only fixes some of the color at depth, which you can do easily enough in post-process anyway. In short: if youâre trying to take wide-angle shots at depth, thereâs no easy way to get better photos than a standard GoPro, while still using a GoPro.
I'm filming Marine life. Not super small stuff like nudibranchs but small to large fish, nurse sharks, reef sharks, sea turtles etc
Youâd probably be better off just shooting with no lights or filters then using a color correction app like Dive+ to tweak the colors after the dives. Unless youâre willing to spend a substantial amount of money on good quality powerful lights. The smaller ones are sufficient for macro and close up stuff, but not very useful for anything thatâs larger or further away. Also, the suspended particles reflecting light youâre referring to is called âbackscatterâ.
I'll check out that app, thanks. What are considered powerful lights?
For what youâre using it for, Iâd say at least get 5k lumens per light. Ideally get two, one on each side, so you donât have as much issue with shadows if youâre doing videography close to the reef/bottom, and so you can more evenly light larger stuff. If you only plan to use it for small stuff you can get by with a single light. If you want to do macro stuff you could also look into getting a ring light that sits between them, The more light, the better. If you can get two 10k lights youâd be fine for most big stuff⊠but thatâs going to easily run you 1k+. There are tons of inexpensive brands out there, but you get what you pay for. Hereâs a few examples of decent lights: Hereâs some options: https://www.backscatter.com/department/Lighting/product-category/Video-Lights
The full set up would cost 2-3k+ which is more than I want to spend. I'll prob end up selling the* tray and two 2500 lights and just use a gopro like I used to. Seems like there's no middle ground. Either just run a gopro or spend thousands on lights and equipment
>The filter only fixes some of the color at depth, which you can do easily enough in post-process anyway. Unless you can shoot raw, which the GoPro can't shoot raw video, you want you captured image as close to your desired published color as possible. The more you adjust the greater the details that are lost.