Strobe or video light? It’s an all too frequent question that’s always on every beginner’s agenda. So what do you choose and why?
Video lights are amazing, but there’s just no contest against an underwater strobe if you want to get creative with your photography underwater. With a strobe you can control the amount of light which hits your subject,
Strobes can help you achieve black backgrounds to your photographs with ease by adjusting the power output on the back. This frog fish here was taken in this way. Which strobe do you choose? I personally love the INON S-2000 which is both small and compact which delivers a great punch for wide angle photographs too.
When shooting a wide angle subject, place your strobe over the middle of your subject. You may need to purchase an extra arm. I loved using my 6 inch ones.
Video lights are really useful to, to help your camera focus in lower light conditions and of course to video subjects underwater. Make sure you choose one with an adequate beam of light for your needs and that you can change the output if necessary, so as not to frighten smaller, shyer subjects.
So there you have some simple starter information to get you up and running with your first light. If you have any questions, just fire away and look forward to hearing how you get on.
Underwater Photography for Compact Camera Users 