DivePro Snoot Video Light Underwater Review

At Bluewater Photo, we have not been this excited about bringing a new light to our product line in a while! The DivePro MP30 & MP10 macro snoot lights have the potential to revolutionize how our customers capture underwater macro video. If you've always wanted striking colors and black background in your macro video, the DivePro snoot lights make it easy (well, as easy as snoot video can get...).

 

Underwater snoot video lights are used to isolate subjects from their backgrounds. Snoot lights produce beautiful contrasting colors in the foreground subject with an aesthetic black background. Most snoot lights are simple devices where a physical barrier restricts the light coming from a video light. However, after months of searching for the perfect snoot light, we think the DivePro Snoot Lights are the best underwater video snoot lights on the market. This is because DivePro snoot lights have special lenses that condense light within the body of the device, producing an extremely strong beam that narrows to a point. This means lower ISOs (cleaner video) and more leeway with your aperture (you can create video with a shallower depth of field). We have dived for months with the DivePro snoot light with multiple underwater cameras, so be sure to check out our underwater video - the results speak for themselves!

 

DivePro MP 30 Macro Snoot Light Retail Price: $215

 

DivePro MP10 Supermacro Snoot Light Retail Price: $160

 

 

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Order a DivePro Snoot Video Light at Bluewater Photo:

DivePro MP30 Macro Snoot Video Light

DivePro MP10 Supermacro Snoot Video Light

 

Order an Ultralight Video Light Tripod at Bluewater Photo:

Ultralight Video Light Tripod

 

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Sample Underwater Video

 

DivePro MP30 Macro Snoot Light Review

 DivePro MP30 Key Features:

• Powerful Output: 210,000 Lux (High), 100,000 Lux (Mid), 15,000 (Low)
• Run Time: 110mins (High), 230mins (Mid), 1340mins (Low)
• Beam Angle: -5°
• Single push button operation
• Illuminated Battery Indicator
• Burn time: Approx 110 minutes
• Charge time: 8hrs
• Dimensions ~ 28.7 x 25.7 x 206.3 mm
• Weight: 242g with battery

 

DivePro MP30 Macro For Underwater Video:

The DivePro MP30 macro snoot light is our "goto" snoot light for macro video. It's perfect for subjects anywhere from an inch long to a few inches. The light itself is like no other snoot lights on the market. The MP30 has built in optical lenses that condense light to a point in the water. These lenses are designed only to work underwater, so the light may seem dull above water. But underwater, it looks like you have a mini searchlight or laser in your pocket. The beam angle of the MP30 is -5 degrees. This means the light rays actually meet up at a point in front of the light, cross, and expand again. This allows you to adjust the width of the beam dramatically by adjusting the distance of the light from the subject.

 

The MP30 is very bright. So bright in fact, that we often filmed our underwater video at the lowest or intermediate power setting. Because the light condenses using lenses, the power of the light is measured in lux (lumens per square meter). At the highest power, the light is 210,000 lux. For many underwater critters, this is so bright that it can scare them away, so it is often necessary to shoot at a lower power. Having so much light in a concentrated area means that you can shoot video at any time of day or night with a low ISO and very little noise. Our video was very, very clean which isn't the case for a lot of snoot video. This huge concentration of light also allows you to shoot at open apertures while maintaining a black background. This means that you are able to have a shallow depth of field and a black background at the same time for the ultimate subject-background sparation. The DivePro MP30 snoot light is the first snoot light that we have used for underwater video where it was very easy to maintain a black background even in the daytime.

 

The DivePro MP30 snoot light is a very easy light to use. There is a single button control that allows you to scroll through your settings and a fairly universal 18650 lithium-ion battery. We found the burn time of 110 minutes to be plenty for snoot video, as there is no need to turn the light on unless you are filming. We still recommend carrying a normal dive light for diving, as the beam is so small. The only improvements we hope to see in the MP30 is the charging time. A full charge takes 8 hours, so make sure you have an extra battery or two on a dive trip!