I've used a MiniQ40 attached to the bottom of an Ikelite housing with some success, but am wondering if anyone has tried something else that worked? I shoot with an Oly 4040 and an Ike DS125.

We also used MiniQ40 as modelling or spotter lights for our housed cameras, we did upgrade these to the Q40 LED which give at least 8 hours on full power. This year we swapped to the Dive Rite 7 LED light as this gives a broad beam and makes focussing easier as the subject is easier to lock onto.

We both use a total of three lights each - the Dive Rite 7 LED on a hot shoe as a modelling light, MiniQ40 LED attached to the strobe and a super bright 3W LED light attached to the camera base. As all work on 4 x AA batteries with a life from 8 to 30 hours this makes life easier for multiple night dives.

Ron, last time in Bonaire I tried something that worked very well. Previously, while night diving I would carry my light in one hand and my camera in the other. I did not like the arrangement as it did not leave me a hand to ward off the sharks. They are always ready to knock off your mask, hey, I watched Seahunt as a kid, I know they are out there in the dark just waiting, waiting.

Sorry, what I did this time was attach the light to the camera. So where ever the light was pointed so was the camera. I used some black electrical at the dive site and attached the UW housing's lens extrusion to the end of the flashlight. I would not have trusted this out of the water, but UW is was strong enough. It worked very well and I was ready for the sharks.

Now the downside, a wicked hot spot right in the center of my pictures. If you look at the bottom of the thread there are some examples.

I have learned since then that if you crumble some Aluminum foil in the reflector of the flashlight, this problem goes away. Now they tell me.

i can't focus without a modeling light - the DS125 has a modeling light -use it and carry a spare battery pack;)

as far as hot spots i always wandered if the aiming light wouldn't mess up the exposure of the overall frame - dunno if i have seen that - use a tight aperature to be safe;)

i mounted an ikelite flashlight on the ikelite housing tray for a backup - just makes it harder keeping both things aimed at the target but does save the battery on the strobe...

whatever...

Cecil,

One reason you're capturing that hot spot is because your shutter speed is too slow.

There's no reason to have a slow shutter speed at night since there is no background exposure to deal with. The slower the shutter speed, the more ambient light you collect onto the sensor. That is why the hot spot is captured. Increase the shutter speed,less ambient light is captured, and the hot spot goes away.

Try a shutter speed of 1/125 sec or faster.

Better yet, use a red gel film such as Roscolux #27 inside the aiming light, placed between the reflector and glass lens, to diminish the alarming effect of pointing a bright white light at whatever you're aiming at. Try it at home first. My guess is that you will still be able to achieve focus lock with the red light even in an otherwise dark room.

Ron,

I use my DS 125 modeling light until I find something of interest with it. Then I shut it off in favor of a mini Q 40 with a red lens as described above. A freshly charged DS 125 battery will last longer than a single night dive, even with the modeling light on constantly.

hth,
b

A red light works wonders.

You may find that the filament/center of the bulb looks yellow/white (it does to the other animals, too!). A small circle of aluminum foil in the center of the red gel blocks that. The 'spot' made the difference for me with E. antillensis.

Is there any problem with night vision switching from the visible spectrum of the DS125 modeling light to the red filtered focus light? If I understand this right, one would leave the red focus light on all the time, and turn off the modeling light on the DS125, once you have found a subject, to avoid blinding light sensitive critters.

Ron,

I turn my red mini Q 40 on just before I turn off the DS 125 modeling light. That said, I guess you could keep the miniQ on all the time if you wish for convenience. Whatever works for you. I don't have any visual problems going from white light to red light.

btw, having such a small focus beam dictates exactly what the camera will focus upon. iow, the camera will only focus on what you aim the light at! No more you thinking one thing's important and the camera thinking another part of the composition is more important. I find this an added benefit to the technique.

This image of a spongy decorator crab was captured at the Town Pier with the technique described previously........

You may find that using the red light all the time, with no white, will find more critters, ones that run from white. My favorite subject when talking about this, the Flaming Reef Lobster, will run from white light as I mentioned above. Likely others. Be fun to try.

Glen,

Although I've never tried it, I'm sure you're correct. I've definitely observed a difference in behaviour by underwater critters when only my red light was aimed in their direction.

The image below of an octopus is another example of the advantage of the red focus light. Notice that the octo's eye is wide open (appears black). If you notice on most other images you see of octopus captured at night, the eye more often than not is closed shut or at most squinting due to being "blinded" by our bright white focus lights.

Crustaceans also appear not to be as intimidated by the red focus light in my experience.............

otoh, tarpon and green morays prefer the brightest white beacons to hunt by



btw, I must thank Ellen Muller for teaching me the value of the red focus light.........

After a long Google search for an "off the shelf" red focus light, I contacted the manufacturer of the Mini Q40. The answer from the local rep? "I have a red lens on my desk, just give me a mailing address and it's yours" Talk about service!! In my reply, I mentioned that I thought his company was missing a bet by not offering either a stock red lens option for the Mini Q40, or offering their new LED Mini Q40 in red. If you would like to see this on the market, email to info@uwkinetics.com The squeaky wheel DOES get the grease.

Where does a person look to buy Roscolux #27? My husband and I are travelling to Bonaire for the first time in May and are really looking forward to the photo opportunities, especially on night dives.

We're currently just using the Mini Q40, mounted on a tray with our Canon A610 (we are very much amateurs). On our recent trip to Coz, we were very unhappy about the hot spot we got with this setup. The solution described here sounds great, as I am always concerned about the blinding effect on the sealife, too.

Let me make sure I under stand correctly what is being described here:

We put a small circle of the Roscolux #27 inside the clear lens of the flashlight? And then put a smaller circle of aluminum foil in the middle? (This is the part I'm confused about).

Anyone have a diagram?? LOL!

Thanks in advance for any help!

Google "Roscolux #27" you will find sources.

Um...yes, I realize that I can Google it (and I did)...but I prefer to have recommendations from folks before I buy something blind off the internet, even if it's just a piece of plastic.

Also, I was wondering if there was a type of "store" where it could be bought, rather than shopping on the 'net. I probably didn't make that clear in my original post.

Rebecca,

Rosco makes gels used for theatrical lighting.
The gel, Roscolux, is sold in whole sheets 20 inches by 24 inches. Roscolux #27 is a nice deep red.

You may also visit your local community theater or high school with a small theater department; they should have plenty of supplies of Roscolux #27. Perhaps you can ask for a sample.

Otherwise you can contact

http://www.rosco.com/us/retail/index.asp

to find a retailer and buy a whole sheet. In my current catalog it will cost $6.95 per sheet.
That's a lot of little circles for your flashlight.

I believe the small piece of aluminum foil is scotch taped in the middle of the gel to reflect back some of the very focused light, thereby preventing a 'hot spot' of focused light.
Play with your flashlight for a while. Have fun.

hope this helps,
mare

Thank you Mare, I am busy working on the requested diagram.

Many thanks, Mare and Tom! Its becoming much clearer. My husband is an actor, so he probably would have known exactly what and where to find this stuff, but I didn't consult him before posting my post.

(I was mostly kidding about the diagram, BTW)

Just noticed that Underwater Kinetics sells an upgrade kit to change a regular Mini Q40 into a LED Q40...pretty cool. Its not much less expensive than buying a whole new light, but it does mean less waste, I guess.

I fastened the alum foil in place with standard household silicone glue. Likely any adhesive that will bond alum and plastic will work, as well as the tape. The silicone has the advantage of being waterproof, in case of a flood. And by using a waterproof adhesive you will prevent a flood.

Before someone asks how that works, it is the 2nd Corollary of Murphy's Law: the things you are prepared for don't happen.

The mini Q40 LED was the best a year ago, look at the Dive Rite 7 High Intensity LED now it is the same same size as the Q40 but with a lot more light. I just did a search and it looks like it sells for about $39. We also have the Lenser Frogman dive light which is also LED and gives a very bright white beam that cuts through the water again this is the same size as the Q40. I would highly recommend this light which sells for around $60 it is brighter than most traditional lights.

There is one big difference with these lights in that you turn them off by screwing the top tighter. Some kind person turned off my light in the boats rinse tank by unscrewing the top till the light went off last trip. I have just bought two more, so I have spare now.

We did try using red filters on our lights but gave up due to the huge amount of lost light. We will try again if we can get something in the UK