Kraken 1000 FE Focus Light Review - with Snoot & Color Filters
You might be thinking, "it's a focus light. It just needs to help my camera focus. Does it really need a review?" Well, when it comes to the Kraken 1000 FE, it definitely does. The Kraken 1000 FE isn't just an ordinary focus light; it comes with some very powerful accessories for creative photography and video - an optical condenser & snoot tip as well as a set of color filters. I took the Kraken 1000 FE diving in the critter-rich waters of the Redondo muck dive outside of Seattle, Washington to put these accessories to the test and to see what kind of content we could develop with such a compact little light.
Kraken 1000 FE Focus Light, Optical Condenser, Snoot, & Color Filter Retail Price:
Order a Kraken 1000 FE Focus Light at Bluewater Photo:
Kraken 1000 FE Focus Light, Optical Condensor, Snoot, & Color Filters
Order an Ultralight Video Light Tripod at Bluewater Photo (to help keep your light stable):
Overview Video
Kraken 1000 FE Focus Light Key Features:
- 1000 lumens output
- 5500K color temperature
- 100 degree beam angle
- 85 minute burn time at full power
- Single button control
- Flood and Red beam modes with power level control
- SOS mode
- Burst mode up to 1500 lumens
- Depth rated to 330 ft
Kraken 1000 FE as a Focus Light
The Kraken 1000 FE is an extremely compact and sturdy light - designed with a hard aluminum body and sealed with a double o-ring. You won't need to worry about flooding this light, even in the harshest of conditions. It also comes with a YS-mount, but the ball is sold separately. As a focus light, the Kraken 1000 FE is very simple. It has a single button control. At a max power of 1000 lumens, the flood light is just perfect for focusing your camera on a subject, without having the light get in your photo. If you want to sneak up on a subject, switch the light to red mode. Your camera should be able to focus almost as easily and most fish can't see red light underwater. This is a great feature for night dives and we use it extensively.
Photo captured using Kraken 1000 FE
Burst Mode
You can connect your Kraken 1000FE to your camera via a fiber optic cable. When you set the light to burst mode it will output 1500 lumens which can be used as a "strobe" to supplement your macro photography. It is not nearly as powerful as a strobe however and should only be used in a pinch - not just for photography.
Kraken 1000 FE Optical Condenser
If you want to take the Kraken 1000 FE to the next level and use it as a creative tool, then you'll need the optical condenser. This condenser uses optical lenses to focus the light into a higher lux (lumens per square meter). This will make the light beam stronger and narrower - perfect for black background photo & video as well as colorful back lighting.
Kraken 1000 FE as a Snoot
After screwing on the optical condenser, we attached a snoot to the front of our light. The snoot attachment focused the light into an extremely bright, small beam allowing it to light subjects with very high contrast to the background. The beam was surprisingly bright and it was very easy to produce dramatic black background photos and videos with the snoot accessory. We really enjoyed the quality and color temperature of the beam and the images they produced (as you can see below).
Overall, we love the Krake 1000 FE, but the DivePro MP30 snoot video light will still give you the strongest and best quality snoot beam for underwater video. If you are looking for a snoot photo or video light that does not have other features, the DivePro MP30 and MP10 are the best choice currently available on the market. But if you need a versatile focus light that doubles as a snoot and creative tool, the Kraken 1000 FE definitely does the job.
A shrimp snooted with the Kraken 1000 FE and optical condenser
A nudibranch snooted with the Kraken 1000 FE and optical condenser
Kraken 1000 FE For Creative Photography (and Video)
One of the most interesting features of the Kraken 1000 FE is that you can screw on colored filters onto the front of the optical condenser. These filters can flip in and out allowing you to switch colors with ease or just use the normal white light. You can also combine filters for different colors. We like to use the filers to backlight subjects and highlight backgrounds in our photos with different colors. The filters can also work well in conjunction with a strobe to accent the edges of your subject. For underwater video, these filters have slightly less use, unless you want to use the light as a secondary light to accentuate backgrounds with different colors.
An octopus photographed with Kraken 1000 FE without color filters
An octopus photographed with Kraken 1000 FE and a blue color filter (backlighting)
An octopus photographed with Kraken 1000 FE and a purple color filter (subject accents)
Using the Kraken 1000 FE with color filters for back lighting. Unfortunately the face of this fish was hidden by a barnacle.
Order a Kraken 1000 FE Focus Light at Bluewater Photo:
Kraken 1000 FE Focus Light, Optical Condensor, Snoot, & Color Filters
Order an Ultralight Video Light Tripod at Bluewater Photo (to help keep your light stable):
Conclusions
The Kraken 1000 FE focus light & snoot/color filter package is an extremely compact but versatile tool. We were pleasantly surprised with how powerful the beam was when using the optical condenser, despite the light only outputting 1000 lumens. It is worth noting that 1000 lumens are the perfect power for a focus light as you won't see the light in your images, but it's enough to help your camera focus. As a focus light, the Kraken 1000 performs as any light should. But it really shines by expanding creative horizons by adding a dash of color and a dollop of snoot-y drama.
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