Watch our video breakdown of everything you need to know about the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light.
The Ultimate Compact Video Light for Macro, Wide, and Snooting
The Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light is the ultimate video light for any video or photo shooter. Its compact size is great for travel, it’s versatile for macro and wide shooters, and offers practical signaling options usable on any dive that goes way beyond a simple SOS pattern.
The small size and simple control set of the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light make it travel friendly and easy to use.
The 4300-lumen wide beam is great for compact camera shooters looking for a small compact light that has a bright output for wide angle video.
The 1400-lumen macro beam has been tailor-made for macro video shooters for all levels, from GoPro and compact all the way to full-frame SLR and cinema.
Photographers looking for a focus light have plenty of power, plus a red mode for night time to avoid spooking critters and avoiding “the swarmies” from congregating all over your light and ruining the shot.
Divemasters and guides will love the Alert and Beacon modes to get a diver's attention and to mark off locations on a night dive.
Read on to learn all of the features and various uses for this highly versatile light.
This demo reel was shot on location at Lembeh Resort by Backscatter Photo Pro James Emery with the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300, Backscatter Optical Snoot OS-1, and Backscatter Color Filter System.
A 1400-Lumen Spot Beam Tailored Specifically for Macro Shooting
The spot beam on the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light was made specifically with macro shooters in mind. The tight, narrow beam with a hard edge has a beam pattern that will light up the subject without light spilling over into other unwanted areas of the shot. To get even tighter beam patterns, pair the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light with the Backscatter Optical Snoot OS-1. Because macro mode is so bright, it has 5 power level settings to provide more granular control of the light output.
For compact camera users, the light is bright enough to be used in place of a strobe for stills photography. For a pro-level macro shooter, this is all the light you’ll ever need for macro video.
©James Emery - Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Frogfish
Even though this is a video light, it’s bright enough to knock out ambient light during the day time, even when shot with a snoot.
A Video Light Built For Snooting
Snooting has been very popular for photography in the past few years. It’s a great way to isolate a macro subject that usually blends into its environment and make it stand out and add more dramatic lighting. Snooting used to be limited to still photography. No more. The Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light has a spot beam designed specifically for the macro video shooter. This has been hard for video applications as most lights don’t have snooting capability, aren’t bright enough with a snoot, or if it is bright enough, are way too large to be practical for macro shooting.
The Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light was designed from the ground up to be used with the Backscatter Optical Snoot OS-1. The macro light pattern matches perfectly to the snoot to ensure the brightest beam possible for a snoot and video combination at a fraction of the size of larger lights.
Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 & OS-1 Optical Snoot on a Camera System with Macro Subject
The Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light is the ultimate macro video light with a tight beam that can be made even tighter with the Backscatter Optical Snoot OS-1.
With a narrow angle and a super-bright beam, the macro mode on the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light is bright enough for small apertures and higher shutter speeds or shutter angles. With an EV value of 17 with the Optical Snoot OS-1 at its largest setting, the light is capable of an exposure of 1/125 ƒ32 at ISO 100. This is perfect for 4K 60p video shooting while maintaining a 180-degree shutter angle, and eliminating ambient light--even in the day time.
4300-Lumens of Power for Wide
The 4300 lumen 85 degree wide beam pattern is designed specifically for wide angle video. The beam pattern has been tailored with a balance between beam angle and brightness. This makes it ideal for getting good light on foreground subjects while still making it easy to avoid introducing backscatter into the image. The wide mode has 3 power level settings.
The Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light pairs well with a GoPro or a compact camera for those shooters looking to keep travel size but still have a wide powerful beam for wide angle.
Red Mode For Stealth on Night Dives
Use the red mode for night diving as a focus light for macro, or for setting up a video scene. It's perfect for stealthily approaching skittish critters that don’t like a light at nighttime. The red mode has 3 power level settings.
Calibrated Wide Angle Color Temperature
The wide beam on each light is individually calibrated at the factory for color temperature, ensuring that when using a pair of lights together for wide angle, the two lights will match. Our factory settings for wide angle are calibrated at 6000K which strikes a perfect balance between white balancing for foreground and background color.
The macro beam is ~5000K which brings great saturated color reproduction to macro images.
Use It As a Signaling Tool With Alert and Beacon Modes
In addition to the wide, spot, and red modes, the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light has 2 additional modes that are great for divers and dive guides.
With Alert mode, a quick pulsing flash makes it easy to get another diver's attention at distances past the limits of visibility. This makes it easy to find the rest of a group on a dive and an easy way for a dive guide to gain the attention of a wayward diver.
The Beacon mode acts as a signaling device and makes it great for marking a spot on a night dive where there is a subject of interest for the rest of the group to see or to mark an entry/exit spot on a night dive. Use different Beacon patterns on multiple lights to indicate specific places along the dive. The Beacon flashing pattern can be customized for personal preference with the following patterns:
- GLOW: Slowly ramp up and ramp down the light in a slow pulsing signal. This is the default BEACON setting from the factory.
- PING: 2 quick flashes every 2 seconds.
- SOS: International signal for SOS
All of the Backscatter Mini Flash MF-1 Accessories Work with the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light
Already own a Backscatter Mini Flash MF-1? All of the accessories that work with the Backscatter Mini Flash MF-1 work with the Macro Wide Light. Get creative with backlighting, colors, or combine all for a new and unique take on videos and photos.
Backscatter Optical Snoot Underwater Snoot
Color Filter Set
A variety of accessories are available to help you get more creative with your shots for a new a unique look.
Interchangeable Batteries Means This Light is Always Ready to Go
The Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light uses two standard 21700 li-ion batteries. This allows the batteries to be changed on the fly between dives. There's no waiting for a light to charge or sending in a sealed light back to the factory for battery servicing.
At full power on the wide beam, the light has a run time of 50 minutes of continuous use. On the macro beam, the run time is 110 minutes at full power.
The Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light was designed around the Nitecore NL2150HP battery and is the only recommended battery for the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light.
To always be ready when the action strikes, it is recommended to purchase a spare set of batteries and a charger. The charge time will be cut in half if only using 1 battery charger slot at a time instead of charging 2 batteries together in the charger at the same time.
Double O-ring Battery Cap and Sealed Battery Compartment
Batteries and safety are a primary concern with the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light. It has a reliable double o-ring seal battery cap to minimize the chance of water intrusion to the battery compartment, and also an overpressure safety relief valve in the rare case of battery failure. There is an extra layer of protection with a sand seal gasket to block sand from the main body o-rings to ensure those o-rings stay clean even in tough entries and exits. The battery compartment is completely sealed from the rest of the light. In the rare chance of water intrusion to the battery compartment, the rest of the light will stay safe.
Interchangeable batteries, double o-ring seal, sand protection, and a sealed battery compartment make sure this light is always ready to go.
Easy Control Set
The control set has 3 buttons to control all functions of the light, making it very straightforward and easy to operate. On/Off and Mode are done with the front button and light level, Alert, and Beacon are done with the two rear buttons. There is a special menu to access the options for the Beacon Pattern.
Indicator Light for Macro Mode
When using a snoot it’s near impossible to tell if the light is in macro mode or wide mode. The only visible difference is how bright the light is. In wide mode with a snoot, the light will appear less bright than in macro mode as the macro mode has been designed to optimally work with the Backscatter Optical Snoot OS-1.
To help avoid making this mistake, there is an indicator light to conveniently show if the light is in macro mode. Save battery power and increase brightness by using the macro mode for snooting.
An integrated LED indicator shows battery level remaining in 3 levels: green, yellow, and red.
CONCLUSION
The Backscatter Video Macro Wide Light--Perfect for a GoPro, Compact, or Pro Level Video Shooter
The Backscatter Video Macro Wide Light is a great compact but powerful light that pairs well with many different video situations. The 85 degree wide angle beam is calibrated at the factory for a color temperature of 6000K so that pairs of lights will always match in color temperature.
The macro capability is second to none with a tightly focused beam made for macro wth a warmer color temperature to make macro subjects pop. When the macro beam isn’t tight enough, add on the Backscatter Optical Snoot OS-1 for even more flexibility. The light is bright enough to shoot stopped down apertures for more depth of field and dark backgrounds to isolate subjects.
Use the Backscatter Color Filter System to get more creative with video. If you already own a Backscatter Mini Flash MF-1, all of the accessories will fit with the Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light.
