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DEMA 2009: Video Lights And Unique Video Systems
By Matt J. Weiss, November 11, 2009 @ 11:53 PM (EST)
DEMA 2009: Video Lights And Unique Video Systems
We've noticed a trend of dive light companies that are now also marketing these high powered LED or HID lights as video lights as well. It would have been impossible to cover every product listed as being a video light but here are few that cover the spectrum.
Keldan
Keldan is a company that produces high quality video and dive lights, and also has been our DEMA neighbor for two years in a row. This year the booth had on display the LUNA 8 LA-V, their new dedicated video light. Videographers who understand the importance of color accuracy and consistency will appreciate the Swiss precision that goes into manufacturing these lights. I overheard a few people refer to them as the nicest video lights they had seen.
The LUNA 8 LA-V has been carefully optimized to be very bright but to avoid hot spots via proper diffusion and a small dome on the light itself. It has 5 adjustable levels, between 10-watt and 40-watt . It features 2100 lumens at 40-watts and a color rending index of 95 with a color temperature of 5000 Kelvins. It’s rated to 200 meters and is very light weight in water. All in all, a very impressive light from Keldan.
Nocturnal Lights
Nocturnal Lights also makes very high quality video and focus lights. This year they were showing off their SLX800i and SLX800xi. It is a 800 lumen focus or vidoe light that runs for between 2-8 hours on 6 AA batteries with the SLX800i version or 4-16 hours on the SLX800xi version. There are three different versions of the light available, a 12 degree, 60 degree and 90 degree beam angle that retail for $450 dollars. This looks like a really cool light. Did I mention it's my birthday in December?
Bright Star Technology (BSTW)
This was a new brand for us. BSTW had their E-1 HID lights mounted on their own tray system. The E-1 is a 12-watt 550 lumen light that can burn for 3.5 hours on a lithium-ion battery.
Cathx
Another brand we never covered before is Cathx. They make dive lights but also had a video light on display, the Widebeam Diver Video Light. The LED light has 10 power levels and can last for 75 minutes of full power (2500 lumens). It has a 40 degree beam and is very compact. It also has SOS and strobe modes.
Bigblue Dive Lights
Bigblue Dive Lights was at the photo pavilion because they were featuring a variety of video lights. The most newsworthy product was the VL-2 x 30W LED Aluminum Video Light System that features two lights with 1,000 lumens output each through very small single chip 30 watt LED video heads. It has an 85 degree beam angle and lasts between an hour to 1.4 hours depending on the power level. The VL-2 comes with 2 light heads, 2 canisters and a charger for $1449 dollars.
They also had a lower power 1,000 lumens video light, the BB 1x-30 that retails for $419. The BB 1x-30 is a LED light with a 65 degree beam angle, a magnetic on/off switch with high and low settings. It has a self-contained battery Ni-MH rechargeable battery pack and comes in variety of colors.
Big Blue also offers a variety of diving lights including the FF 1x5 AFO and FF 3x5 AFO. The FF 1X5 is a 5 watt 200 lumen dive light with a 45 degree beam angle powered by four AA batteries.
Adventure Eye Video Systems
Adventure Eye Video Systems sells POV cameras for the extreme image maker. They have a variety of small cameras designed to be taken on all kinds of extreme activities, like skiing, surfing, and of course, diving.
We were shown the V.I.O lipstick lens video camera. The small little video camera is built to withstand all kinds of conditions such as exposure to shock, dust and water. The lens can be mounted to almost anything, and it comes with a wireless controller that is also mountable. It only has a depth of 30 feet, but can placed in their WaterBag to take it down to 50 feet.
The wireless remote works with radio frequency, which can be set manually, so you can have multiple systems being used together without interference. The V.I.O retails for $500 and comes with a 2gb SD card.
Also on display was the Go Pro HD HERO camera that can also be mounted for shooting POV video. The camera can shoot 1080p/960 and 720p video for up to 2.5 hours. Additionally, the it can be set to take 5 megapixel still images at either 2, 5, 10, 30 or 60 second intervals. It can take up to a 32gb SD card that can record 9 hours of video.
It comes with a housing that is waterproof to 60m/180’ and comes with multiple options for mounting. At the booth they had sample HD video of a Go Pro HD HERO mounted to a surfboard and the footage was really cool. An interesting product I wasn’t aware of before DEMA.
The FF 3X5 AFO is a 15 watt 500 lumens dive light with 16 degree beam angle that is powered by eight AA batteries. Both lights have automatic flash off functions (AFO) which means the light will momentarily turn off when it detects the light from your camera strobe. The 5 watt model retails for $149 and the 15 watt model for $319.
Other Goodies
There were a bunch of booths that were offering unique video systems, mostly in the form of small POV video, and much more situational than standard camcorders. Also there were a few niche products, like the Submerge scooter video mount and a really cool camera from the Manta Network.
Adventure Eye Video Systems
Adventure Eye Video Systems sells POV cameras for the extreme image maker. They have a variety of small cameras designed to be taken on all kinds of extreme activities, like skiing, surfing, and of course, diving.
We were shown the V.I.O lipstick lens video camera. The small little video camera is built to withstand all kinds of conditions such as exposure to shock, dust and water. The lens can be mounted to almost anything, and it comes with a wireless controller that is also mountable. It only has a depth of 30 feet, but can placed in their WaterBag to take it down to 50 feet.
The wireless remote works with radio frequency, which can be set manually, so you can have multiple systems being used together without interference. The V.I.O retails for $500 and comes with a 2gb SD card.
Also on display was the Go Pro HD HERO camera that can also be mounted for shooting POV video. The camera can shoot 1080p/960 and 720p video for up to 2.5 hours. Additionally, the it can be set to take 5 megapixel still images at either 2, 5, 10, 30 or 60 second intervals. It can take up to a 32gb SD card that can record 9 hours of video.
Liquid Image
Liquid Image made a splash over the last two years by producing masks with built in video and still cameras. The big news this year was the release of the HD320, the first product in the line to be a true dive mask and shoot HD video. The mask can shoot 720p video when in video mode. The mask is also certified up to 115 feet/35m, a big upgrade over the earlier models that could only reach 33 feet/10m. The mask runs on AAA batteries and comes with a 2gb micro SD card and 64mb of internal memory space, but can take up to a 32gb micro SD card. It has an internal microphone and you can easily mount Liquid Image video lights (as pictured below). The HD320 retails for around $300 dollars.
The H20V is a thick acrylic housing for built specifically for the ContourHD video camera by Twenty20, which claims to be the smallest HD video camera. on the market It can reach recreational scuba limits (135ft/45 meters), comes with a universal ¼-20 mounting plate so it can be mounted to helmets, light systems, handles, tanks etc. The housing is hand made and they were really excited about how rugged it was. It certainly makes for a very small HD video system.
Submerge Scooters was displaying one of their scooters set-up with a very cool Revolving Video Mount. The mount attaches onto to many brands of scooters including Submerge UV scooters which was the model on display. It can accommodate most video housings with a hole pattern that can be customized by Submerge to fit the particular model.
The Manta Network is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to the conservation of mantas around the world, and in doing so, a side project was born - Ocean Presence Technologies (OPT). OPT produces an internet-controllable remotely deployed video camera called the OceanCam that sits on the ocean floor and looks a lot like a robot from Star Wars. This year at DEMA they released the OceanCam-HDPTZ, a high def camera. It can transmit H.264 video in 720p at 30 fps in 180ft of water. The camera also supports MPEG-4 and JPEG formats in 16:9 picture quality. Obviously these cameras have very specific applications, and hopefully we'll be learning a lot more about marine species behavior from these remotely operated cameras.
Ikelite
Then there was Ikelite...At DEMA Ikelite made the most impact on the video world. The inexpensive HD video housings were cool, but the show stealer was the DS161 Movie Strobe.
Ikelite naturally had a large presence in DEMA’s 2009 photo pavilion, considering they continue to be one of the biggest players in the underwater photo and video industry. Ikelite offers high quality, affordable polycarbonate housings for consumers who are looking for a good value. TTL seemed to be a big deal at the show this year and I think it’s a little overlooked that Ikelite has built in TTL electronicss into their SLR housings for some time now. No add-on's required.
By far the biggest news at the Ikelite booth was the new DS161 movie strobe. The DS161 combines Iketlite’s flagship DS160 strobe with a 500 lumen LED video light. This is a clear response to the barrage of DSLR's with HD video capabilities. This is the first of many hybrid still/video strobes to come. Ikelite had the advantage since their strobe design was conducive to easily adding video light capabilities, and the DS161 is an exciting advancement in the underwater imaging market. Again, I imagine there will be improvements and other forms of this technology, but a big congrats to Ikelite for getting this product out so quickly!
By far the biggest news at the Ikelite booth was the new DS161 movie strobe. The DS161 combines Iketlite’s flagship DS160 strobe with a 500 lumen LED video light. This is a clear response to the barrage of DSLR's with HD video capabilities. This is the first of many hybrid still/video strobes to come. Ikelite had the advantage since their strobe design was conducive to easily adding video light capabilities, and the DS161 is an exciting advancement in the underwater imaging market. Again, I imagine there will be improvements and other forms of this technology, but a big congrats to Ikelite for getting this product out so quickly!
Ikelite offers a package for the JVC camera and housing for $460 or the housing alone for $260. The Kodak Zx1 and Flip Ultra HD housings are sold without the camera and go for $260 each.
I am really glad to see the influx of products geared towards allowing the casual underwater photographer or videographer enter the hobby inexpensively.
- DEMA 2009 Main Page
- DEMA 2009: Entry Level Products
- DEMA 2009: DSLR Housings
- DEMA 2009: Compact Housings and Beyond
- DEMA 2009: Photo Accessories
- DEMA 2009: Video Lights and Unique Video Systems
- DEMA 2009: Video Housings
- DEMA 2009: The DPG Booth and the Showfloor
- DEMA 2009: Award Party and DPG / Wetpixel Cocktail Party
- DEMA 2009: Closing Remarks
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