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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

The Gentleman's Underwater Bubble Blower Thread

Tom Hamilton said:
Cheers Dave, will call them.

Pawel post deleted, received a pm from Graeme, the solution seems to be at hand.
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Cool. They are an hour away if you need any help, we order their filters regularly. Will be interesting to see what Graeme turns up.

I don't think Hugh is advocating this as a fix, its more highlighting the issues of UV and UV filtration.
 
Hi
Its best to just ring Formatt as the size/mount/filter combo isnt on their website. Sounds like Red have something up their sleeve anyway so may not be necessary in the long run. I did some testing because of the shoots I had this quarter. The main thing I took from it was how poor off the shelf UV filters could be!

All the best

Hugh
 
Hugh & Dave,

I want to thank you both for taking the time to post your findings on the UV test- very helpful and generous of you to share it with the UW community. I am interested in how the UV cut translates to the final image...might have to give Formatt a call on monday.
Again, thanks for your testing and posting of results.
 
We are starting this fabulous project, "Secrets of Macaronesia". We' d like to share with you this breathtaking trip where we will reveal some of its jealously kept secrets.

 
Super Rafa! Cannot wait to see the completed film... as always best of luck..... Mauricio
 
question has anyone tried this BIGBLUE 15,000 lumens video light yet...can you even fly with this monster 5 pound monster..great for me at home shooting shipwrecks..kozmik
 
jim kozmik said:
question has anyone tried this BIGBLUE 15,000 lumens video light yet...can you even fly with this monster 5 pound monster..great for me at home shooting shipwrecks..kozmik
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I saw that thing and thought to call them and got email to them....asked about it and if i could try it out, but they told me they do not loan out etc....so that was last of that. i think it was over the top expensive if i recall. But not allowing selected folks to try it out and give feedback seems a mistake. I could find nothing about the light other than what they say on their site.
 
Johnny Friday said:
I saw that thing and thought to call them and got email to them....asked about it and if i could try it out, but they told me they do not loan out etc....so that was last of that. i think it was over the top expensive if i recall. But not allowing selected folks to try it out and give feedback seems a mistake. I could find nothing about the light other than what they say on their site.
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If you want to try my Orca Lights, come to Cayman Johnny! Would be more than happy to lend them to you :-)
 
jim kozmik said:
question has anyone tried this BIGBLUE 15,000 lumens video light yet...can you even fly with this monster 5 pound monster..great for me at home shooting shipwrecks..kozmik
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Jim, I have the BigBlue 15000, used it to shoot a very deep and dark shipwreck in South America recently, happy with it.
 
Johnny Friday said:
This one in fact i have seen at DEMA this year...HEAVY, but what LIGHT and looks well blanced from what i saw.
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We have these lamps in our rental stock. The output is well balanced and its very bright as a lamp. We have some spectral measurements of it and looks better than its advertised CRI.
 
yes tom going to bts show this weekend.. can you fly with this 15,000 lumens monster..will it burn 2 hours at 7500..that would be nice for our deep dark wrecks in the great lakes.
 
Hi Rafa,

Yes, that is one of the drawbacks, about 2 lbs negative, we used some small foam buoyancy units to balance, I am, however, working on a more elegant solution, I really like this light. One of the features that I am very interested to experiment more with, is the red LED function (1000 lumen output, see pic attached) and how that might work very well with u/w spectral issues in general, and with getting the red back in particular. Methinks will be very effective with macro subjects. For autofocus lenses, it apparently improves focus accuracy as well.

Another obvious advantage, the Li ion battery pack can be removed completely for airline travel.

A clever addition is the SOS function; press and hold the control button for two seconds, the light flashes the SOS morse code signal at highest power. I'm thinking of setting the light in SOS mode on top of my bank account just as the funds for Dragon come due. :coolgleamA:

Jim, burn times are as follows; Level 4 - 1 hr, Level 3 - 2 hrs, Level 2 - 4 hrs, Level 1 - 10 hrs. I did not really get a chance to test those numbers last gig due limited bottom time on air, but I am confident those numbers will hold. While i was using the light, the battery level LED indicator never budged from full.

Additional specs BigBlue VL 15000P

Color Temp; 6500K
Beam Angle; 160 deg
Max Depth; 100m
Construction: Anodized aluminum

The light also has a thermal protection system, if you use it topside, the circuitry will shut the light down approaching max temp, automatically switch it back on when it cools.

PS For Rafa and other Rouge folks, I am just about done manufacturing a hard dome port cover, about two weeks away, any DSLR guys out there with the Aquatica 9.25" Mega Dome as well, pm me for details. Expensive glass, too many close calls for comfort, boat hulls, swinging tanks, pitching seas, well worth the small investment in my opinion.
 

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Jim, Level 3 is 50%/7500 lumens, so yes, two hours at that setting. Recharge from zero to full is about six hours, if you need quicker turnaround, spare battery packs are available from BigBLue/Tim Rathcliffe for $250.
 
:blush5:
Tom Hamilton said:
Jim, Level 3 is 50%/7500 lumens, so yes, two hours at that setting. Recharge from zero to full is about six hours, if you need quicker turnaround, spare battery packs are available from BigBLue/Tim Rathcliffe for $250.
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IIRC Tim is the sales rep/US distributor for Big Blue.

AquaVideo has been an authorized Big Blue dealer and AFAIK we still are although it has been a little while since we've ordered. Mainly we were buying their arms and accessories because previously none of their "video" lights were powerful enough for high end serious use and they kept saying they didn't think there was a big enough market for them. I think Tim will admit that I was the one that kept pushing them to make a high powered version like this one.

I'm on record that I'm not a big fan of all in one high powered lights because you have a lot of size and mass hanging out quite far from the housing, so it messes with stability. I prefer having the battery pack attached to the housing or diver and cabled to compact lamp heads. However, I have not yet perfected our high powered compact lamp head version - (as a couple of my patient REDUSER friends know :blush5:) so I think the Big blue currently offers clearly the best bang for buck and a pretty good solution overall.
 
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