?? Cameras??

[Jon]

So your thinking that I should drop the coin on the video camera so you can chince out and pop for the digitial camera Ted?

We want to get some nice footage of that dolphin kick that your working on.

It would also be nice to shoot footage of that new gun your saving up for.

Jon

 

[andrsn]

The Sony DCR-PC115 Mini DV Camcorder and the Tetra Mako Housing. The setup is pretty small for such a good system, but is around $3k.

 

[andrsn]

Now I'm thinking the Sony DCR-PC110 w/ a Gates housing. B&H seems to have good deals on the housings. I'll see how generous Santa feels this season.

Anderson

 

[Jon]

The Oceanhaus housing with a Sony PC101 camera is around
2 1/2 pounds total. They also make housings for the PC1, PC110, PC120 and the older PC9- which I think is no longer made.
So many choices. So little money.:waterwork

Gates makes a very nice housing too. Another friend of mine has one and has shot some really sweet footage of some of the deeper wrecks in Superior with it. I think that the housing is built with the display screen on, where as the Oceanhaus has it closed. keeping it closed would increase battery life and make it a smaller package to carry underwater.
I have also seen that Sea and Sea and the Light and Motion MAKO housings are both rather compact. I think that the Oceanhaus is still the smallest, and thus my first choice.

That Olympus has three different types of memory that it can use. You can use two different types on the same dive by switching from one format to the other underwater with the push of a button. If the video ends up being next to useless than I might be back to my original idea of the SONY digicam.

I feel my headache returning.:head

Jon

 

[andrsn]

Jon,

Gates has housings w/ and w/o the LCD window...

How do you hang onto the Oceanhaus?

 

[andrsn]

Gates housing w/ LCD Open..

 

[Jon]

You can put a handle on it like the Gates housing has, or I think that it would just fit in the palm of your hand with a strap around the back of your hand.
Cliff has actually seen the thing up close and personal. Maybe he might join in.
How much are we talking for the Gates housing?

Jon

 

[Jon]

If I did everything right you should see a picture of the housing below.
I guess that you could even mount it onto another camera due to its small size. It can even save digital still photos up to 1 megapixel. Is that large enough to do anything with?
Jon

 

[andrsn]

Jon,

Check out this PC100 and Tetra "Mako" housing on ebay!

Later,
Anderson

 

[Cliff Etzel]

Oceanhaus and Sony is my recommendation

I spoke with Al Broder of ABSea Photo while at DEMA and had the chance to take a look at these housings first hand. They are smaller than the Mako. In fact - I heard a couple of people from Light & Motion almost begging Al to be a reseller. He said not at this time.

The front port is said to be the sharpest w/a port available anywhere. Al has literally designed this baby from scratch and has some Einstein design the lens. The lens is glass - not acrylic like some manufacturers use.

I watched a demo DVD on a digital monitor done with this housing and one done on regular video and have to say it the sharpest video I had seen to date.

Save your $$$ and go with the Oceanhaus housing and the Sony camera - unless there is a need to go with a pro grade 3 chip camera setup.

 

[andrsn]

Yeah, I guess such an investment should require doing more than average research. Anyone know what the dimensions are for the Oceanhaus? I'd like to compare that to the Gates, since MCD has a special on the PC110 housing for about 1/2 the price.

Hey Cliff, did you get to hold the housing w/ the camera in it? I'm VERY curious as to what the viewfinder looks like and how close you'd have to hold that to your eye to see what you're video-ing. My thoughts are that a freediver might need the open LCD so he can see what's going on around him. Especially if there are sharks around. :hmm

Later,
Andrsn

 

[Jon]

$795 for a Gates housing! That is a killer deal. When I looked at the packages on the B+H site it was going to be over $3,000 for the whole set-up without the lights.

The Ebay deal sounds pretty sweet too, but I am leary of buying cameras off of Ebay. I had a friend buy a Nikonos V on Ebay that was flooded- he didn't know that when he bought it.

Cliff, what are you think of buying? I saw one of your posts on another forum asking about the Olympus C-5050Z. Are you going to upgrade your still camera, buy a video, or do both?

After talking to another dive buddy last night at hockey I was thinking about just saving up the pennies and going with the Oceanhaus/Sony set-up. It is a lot of cash for me and I just know that something cooler will come out next year. :head

Someone once told me to just buy the camera and then stop looking at all ads for a least 6-8 months after you buy because your back-end will be sore from kicking yourself.

Jon

 

[Cliff Etzel]

Cliff, what are you think of buying? I saw one of your posts on another forum asking about the Olympus C-5050Z. Are you going to upgrade your still camera, buy a video, or do both?

I'm not sure right now. I am leaning towards the housing and video camera since I am branching out into doing Flash MX and digital multimedia development.

You will never be able to keep up with the technology. It just moves too fast - I have heard someone say that the best way top stay up with technology is to never buy into it. Sort of like the idea of internet secutiry - there isn't any. The only secure computer is one that is never attached to the internet.

Someone once told me to just buy the camera and then stop looking at all ads

I agree with this completely. It's the person behind the camera that makes the image - the camera is just a tool.

 

[andrsn]

Cliff, no help on the Oceanhaus question?

Andrsn

 

[Iyadiver]

Anderson,

My experience with all VIDEO cameras using the built in LCD screen is :

In the bright or certain background condition LCD is not the best to use, details can't be seen. Like viewing a CRT sounder on a boat when the sunlight angle is blinding the screen. Peeping thru the normal view finder is not that great too, much better resolution but un-comfy practice. The best will be to practice feel aiming with the camera.

I tried the LCD feature in a TRV900 housing from Amphibico and an old classic of Sharp with the original humungus Sharp housing.

 

[Iyadiver]

Sorry pressed the sent button to early

 

[Iyadiver]

This is the typical simple resolution capture of TRV900. I ask a friend to capture using some sort of capture board, cant remember the brand.

The TRV has a special memory card slot for digital photography but I did not use it.

This is taken at about 90 feet in viz no better than 12 feet, my 12 feet maybe your 9 feet...ha ha ha. Water was typical sh*tty green.The 3 CCD in the TRV900 is the best low light VIDEO camera I tried to date. Its color resolution and least noise at low light is amazing. Some say it is even better than VX1000 but definitely but a bit under VX2000. As for PC series from Sony, even at 1.5Mega pixel, as single CCD can not match 3 CCD units.

This Video capture is a picture of a propeller shaft on the V bracket from a 550 footer world war 2 wreck, my favourite snapper and trevaly gathering ground. The propeller been salvaged. That shaft is at least 15" diameter or more.

No artificial light or red filter used.
I also noticed that resolution and sharpness drop by some 30% if the capture is made from a moving 25 frames/second video.

 

[Iyadiver]

Let me try again.
This is shot from some 5 feet away.

 

[andrsn]

Originally posted by Iyadiver
Anderson,

My experience with all VIDEO cameras using the built in LCD screen is :

In the bright or certain background condition LCD is not the best to use, details can't be seen. Like viewing a CRT sounder on a boat when the sunlight angle is blinding the screen. Peeping thru the normal view finder is not that great too, much better resolution but un-comfy practice. The best will be to practice feel aiming with the camera.

I tried the LCD feature in a TRV900 housing from Amphibico and an old classic of Sharp with the original humungus Sharp housing.

IYA, I wish I could afford something like that, but this Gates housing is going for about half the price of the others and I've heard nothing but good things about them. I'm just beating my head thinking about the open LCD or closed. :head

I have an Olympus digital that takes video and we've always been fine w/ watching the LCD while videoing. I don't see how it would really be that different. I wish I could see these housings in person to see if the price/size difference is really worth it. ?

Thanks for your help,
Andrsn

 

[Cliff Etzel]

Hey Cliff, did you get to hold the housing w/ the camera in it? I'm VERY curious as to what the viewfinder looks like and how close you'd have to hold that to your eye to see what you're video-ing.

Sorry andersn...:head

The viewfinder is like Nikon's High-eyepoint viewfinder. You can have your eye about an inch form the viewfinder and still see the complete image being displayed. SHould work perfectly with a low volume mask no problem - especially the Cressi Minima.

I can tell you that this thing is small and very well built. It is a work of art to be honest. Extremely well made and small. attachment of a handle grip is via a threaded 1/4-20 hole underneath (I think it is 1/4-20)

Although having the LCD display panel folded out is nice - it does eat quite a bit of the battery's energy.

Hope I answered your question. Let me know if there is anything else.