Bluewater Photo 1000 Lumen Focus Light

Focus lights are an often-overlooked piece of equipment that can make a huge difference in your underwater photography. A great focus light allows you to obtain sharp focus and quick autofocus with your camera, even in dark or nighttime conditions, while also being compact, light, easy-to-use, reliable and affordable. 

Bluewater Photo Store recently released their new 1000 lumen focus light. It was designed by underwater photographers and manufactured by Kraken Sports, a well-known focus and video light brand. So how does it stack up?

Specs and Key Features

• 1000 Lumens (wide white beam)
• Modes: White, Red, SOS
• Beam Angle: 100°
• Battery: 1 x 18650 (3400 mAh)
• 80 minute burn time on full power
• Depth Rating: 100m / 330ft
• Material: Aviation Grade Aluminum
• Size: 33.8mm x 127.5mm
• Weight: 200g on land w/ battery / 100g in salt water w/ battery
• Single on/off/mode switch
• Double o-ring seal
• Two mounting options: ball mount and YS mount
• Comes with a "snoot" adapter to create a narrow spot beam

The Bluewater Photo 1000 Lumen Focus Light is available now!

At 1000 lumens, with a wide 100 degree beam, this light has more than enough power to help you achieve focus in dark or nighttime conditions. It also has that very important feature for taking shots of any skittish subject - a red mode. It's hard to overemphasize how important it is for your focus light to have a red option. Since water absorbs red light first, many animals cannot even see red light. So animals which would be scared off by a bright white light will sit calmly under a red light, while you lock in your focus and take your shot. 

The single on/off/mode switch makes it easy to operate, even if using it on a night dive. The battery can be swapped out between dives, which can be very important if using the light heavily for macro shooting or night diving, where there is not enough time to recharge between dives. And the battery is sealed with a double o-ring, to reduce the risk of flooding.

Along with getting sharp macro shots, this light includes a "snoot" adapter which can be put onto the light to narrow the beam down to a spot beam. This allows for the photographer to get creative with spot lighting. The light is especially good for producing macro photos in which the subject is lit up but the background (especially if it is on something bright, like white sand) is dark. 

Comparison to the Competition

There are a number of similar lights available from a variety of manufacturers. Here is how they stack up on the key features.

If you expect to use this light fairly heavily in a dive day, then you should consider a light with a removable battery. 

A removeable battery narrows things down, removing the Light & Motion options from consideration. This leaves the Bluewater focus light, the Kraken WSR 1000+ and the iTorch Fishlite V12. The Kraken WSR+ is the most versatile of these options, but also the most expensive, while the Bluewater and iTorch lights provide better value for money. If you are interested in having some more creative lighting options available, then the Bluewater light is a good choice, as it is the only one which comes with a snoot adapter. 

If you expect to use the light less intensively during a dive day, consider a light with an integrated battery system, as that is easier to maintain and less likely to flood. 

The lights with integrated batteries avoid the risk of flooding after changing batteries. However, the distinct disadvantage of this design is that if the light runs out of battery power, you have to charge it before you can use it again, and charge times range from 2.5 to 3 hours.

The Sola Dive 800 and Photo 1200 are both lights with nice specs, but somewhat high price tags. The Light & Motion Gobe provides a lot of versatility (including land usage) and through the purchase of different interchangeable heads, can be used for many different purposes. 

Underwater Performance

Our editors at the Underwater Photography Guide had the chance to take the Bluewater focus light to the dark and murky depths of the Puget Sound. On this particular day, visibility didn’t range farther than five feet. And at a depth of 80 feet, it was the equivalent of doing a silty night dive – perfect for testing a focus light. To push the light even further to its limits, we decided to shoot with a Panasonic 8mm fisheye lens in order to get a feel for just how wide the beam angle was. It was also a good way to assess the quality of light. Overall, the light met and exceeded expectations. 

This light is very small, and it’s easy to use. So easy that I didn’t read the manual. I just figured out the single button after a minute. Much smaller than other focus lights I’ve used – even to the point of being a little too small and skinny. For this reason, it’s important to have a secure mount, rather than holding it the whole dive. Despite its size, the Bluewater focus light packs a high-quality punch. I found it more than bright enough to for quick focus up to a meter away in bad visibility – more than the distance you need to take a good photo underwater. The red light was also effective for sneaking up on subjects. As a focus light – it does the job. There’s really not much more to say than that. 

However, we decided to push the light just a little bit further and took still wide-angle photos with it, in almost no visibility. I was more than impressed. The photos looked great! A nice, even, circular beam. The color temperature was especially nice and conducive to photography – getting the colors just right. Although I wouldn’t use this light as a dedicated light for taking photos or video, it certainly does the job in a pinch. I would recommend using it for this purpose in low light conditions, as the beam would not be powerful enough in clear water with a lot of light. 

Who should buy this light? 

Anyone looking for a high quality, reliable focus light that can take photos and videos in a pinch should consider adding this light to their arsenal. It’s also perfect for anyone that wants and easy-to-use light with no learning curve or complicated controls. 

Conclusion

The Bluewater focus light is a well-thought-out light designed to accomplish its core purpose very well, which is to give you enough light to lock in sharp focus for as much burn time as you need. It is very competitive with the other options available, with the added option of creative lighting effects via the included snoot adapter. This light should be seriously considered by anyone looking to get a focus light.

The Bluewater Photo 1000 Lumen Focus Light is available now!