Photo & Video

While looking for a lighting solution for use with my Seatool video housing, I came across some people who had used the Fix Light HG20DX as video lighting, and they were pleased.  For a purchase price of $419.00, it was quite expensive for a single "flashlight" style of light, but I went with it because it was less expensive then a full video lighting system.  I also purchased the Fisheye rotary shoe base for $60 to connect it to my video camera.

The light shipped to me and was missing several parts.  I was told by the distributor that this happened with several orders, and was shipped the missing battery, charger, rubber battery cap remover, etc.  Once I got everything, I was able to crank this thing up.

The battery charger has a wierd quirk.  I fully charged the battery.  I had 4 green LED's that indicated it was fully charged.  I left it on the charger for a couple more hours and came back to it and it only had 2 LED's lit - indicating a half charge.  Strange.  This also happened one other time when we were charging it on a trip.  In addition, on 2 occassions, the battery claimed a full charge - but would not power up the light.  Taking the battery out and placing it back on the charger for a couple of seconds, then back into the light made it work again.

Above water this light puts off a well diffused light with good strength at a 15 foot distance from what I am illuminating.  Underwater, it provided great lighting for close up subjects (3-4 feet or less) or in crevices and under overhangs.  I used an orange filter for anything longer then 4 or 5 feet away.  This was during the daytime.  At night, the light really provided good light up to 15 feet away from the subject/reef.  I felt it illuminated a large diameter of the reef (maybe 15ft in diameter when 15 feet away).  For night video, this Fix Light provided a massive improvement over my previous attempts to get night footage underwater using my C8 flashlight.

Pros:
1.  Great light that is well diffused.
2.  One light lighting solution for close up video shooting and night video.
3.  Built Very Sturdy.
4.  Lock on the ON/OFF switch.
5.  Adjustable brightness.

Cons:
1.  The battery cap can be very difficult to remove.  Must be careful not to overtighten.
2.  I've heard the bulbs have a short life.  They are $35 each.
3.  Spare batteries are $120.00.
4.  Not sure what happened with the battery charger, and the light not turning on at times - but that 'problemattic behavior' stopped and hasn't happened again - yet.  Could it have been operator error?  Doubtful, but that is a possibility.

Overall, I was very happy with my purchase of this light - it provides a great lighting solution for the 'newbie'.