GEAR TESTS: Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 Video Light Underwater Review

ROBIN DODD Producer

The Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 was the most popular compact video light at this year's Digital Shootout. We brought over a dozen of these and just about every single one was used each day. Attendees used them 2 at a time for wide angle lighting, or as a single light for macro dives, or mounted on muck sticks for off-camera lighting. They provided an excellent job of filling the frame when shot on compact wide-angle rigs, like the Olympus TG-6 with Backscatter M52 Wide Angle Lens.

I shot a lot of test content on the iPhone during my time at the shootout and exclusively used these lights to great effect, producing accurate color and ideal exposure of close-up subjects in the foreground. The interchangeable batteries meant that it was easy to quickly swap the lights over from morning to afternoon dives, as we could just drop in fresh batteries and be ready to shoot instead of waiting for the lights to charge up.