Mid July 2023 I received the OrcaTorch D710V dive light for underwater video and photography. We’re now, mid-March 2024, three quarters of a year further, and I’ve had a significant number of dive hours together with the OrcaTorch D710V underwater video light.
First of all, the D710V is, as the V indicates, specifically a dive light for underwater video and photography. As such, it has a wide and even distribution of light, perfect for photography and video. It’s less suitable as a regular dive light, as the widely distributed light will not reach very far, and certainly in murky water, the reflection of the light on the particles in the water will work against you. Under such conditions, wide angle photography or videography will not work out well anyway.
Unfortunately, in the Netherlands most fresh water inland dive site know a visibility of some 3 to 5 meters at best, while visibility in estuary waters is most often quite comparable to that. The opportunities for wide angle shots are therefore limited, and if it is possible, a higher powered dive light, as the OrcaTorch D910V or even better, the OrcaTorch D950V 2.0, is preferential.
However, and this might seem less logical at first sight, for macro photography, the D710V still have its use under such conditions. And indeed, when fitting the D710V with the snoot I originally got with the OrcaTorch D530V, the D710V proofs to have a high lumen output on a small spot. This will allow you to use higher shutter speeds as well as a further closed aperture and consequently better depth of field. And all of this coming from a small and light weight torch, which can be manoeuvred easily to get the light pinpointed at the critter you want to focus on. It will keep the total weight and size of your photography rig limited, an often overlooked but, at least to my opinion, relevant aspect. Certainly when you have to walk some distance to the dive site with your camera gear. In fact, for that reason I’m working with the Sony A7C, a compact but nevertheless full frame camera with all capacities of its bigger brothers in the Sony alfa range.
Fortunately, I was also able to take the D710V along on two dive trips to Bali, one in November 2023 as well as a dive trip together with my daughter in March 2024. If I did not have more OrcaTorch dive lights to choose from, we might have been in somewhat of a fight who could take the D710V along for the dives, as she brought her GoPro. Still, it proofs that apart from using the D710V with a bigger camera, it also serves well with an action cam like the GroPro. Here, we actually use the D710V as it was intended for: providing light to wide angle shots. And indeed, with its clear and evenly distributed light and its soft edges, it provides perfect lighting for wide angle shots, with a seamlessly natural transition between the lighted area and the natural light.
Two additional features of the D710V still need to mentioned. When using flashlight for your under water photography, the D710V also includes a red led. It can serve as a focus light, not disturbing the critters, while the brightness of the flash will eliminate the additional red. Furthermore, it also contains a UV-led, which gives you the option to look for the fluorescence of some corals and critters during night dives.
In all, a torch I’m quite happy to have in my collection!
