The Gentleman's Underwater Bubble Blower Thread

[Michael Hastings]

Actually at full 5k I could only get 12mm. The shot of the corals was shot with Sigma 8-16 and the shot of diver with moray eel was actually using the Ruby at 14mm at 5k. Gotta post the full res tiffs of all of the lenses for comparison. The Canon 8-15mm I could only shoot at 4khd and at 10mm but the corners curved a bit too much for my taste.

Fraz: 12mm on the 8-16 seems about right since it is about what we have seen on other APS-C wide zooms, but I don't understand why you could only do 4KHD on the 8-15 canon - it is designed to cover APS-C, APS-H (epic is basically aps-h - which is kind of an oddball sensor size halfway between aps-C/S35 and full frame 24x36) and full frame 24x36. The lens actually has markings on the Zoom ring for APS-C (C) and APS-H (H) full coverage limits and I believe you should be at about 12mm for APS-H/Epic 5K and you can go to one of the longer focal lengths to lessen angle of view and some of the edge curvature.

This site has a pretty good review of the lens and the different angles with different sensor sizes and even some comparison with wide angle rectilinear lenses.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-8-15mm-f-4-L-USM-Fisheye-Lens-Review.aspx

 

[greg huglin]

Michael,
Thanks for the tip for the cheap 'underwater case' for my Redmote. Very kind of you to suggest that option which saves me $1,500. I bought two of those and will mount the Redmote on my left wrist to control the Epic in the housing. The housing I'm using is made by Sonny Miller and takes my 70-200 Canon lens. Good for surface shooting and sits on my shoulder with the viewfinder (EVF) easy to see.
When finished, I will post a photo.
BTW, Michael it wasn't you I was referring to in my previous post. I REALLY appreciate all the info posted on this thread and just wanted to comment.
Interesting how everyone here shoots with such hi resolution cameras but most times the worldwide audience views that work on either a cell phone or computer screen.

 

[Greg F]

28m, Molokai Hawaii

Just a clue this is what happens when you do not forget your SSD :rolleyes5:


Anybody have any clue how to delete crap off the camera that you do not wish to keep so you can record new? I was unable to record the humpback flyby that was INSANE... I was at 0% storage left loaded with shark footage.

 

[Pawel Achtel]

Anybody have any clue how to delete crap off the camera that you do not wish to keep so you can record new? I was unable to record the humpback flyby that was INSANE... I was at 0% storage left loaded with shark footage.

It's not possible. I have requested this feature several times and the argument was that you may accidentally delete a clip that you need and therefore it is better to not be able to record a new one - logic that I do not agree with.

Get a 512Gb card.

 

[Greg F]

If you accidentally delete the wrong thing you deserve it. Just sayin.. After my experience today of missing whales doing whale things I was kinda mad.

 

[Pawel Achtel]

... I am sure everyone here would like to get this feed back seeing Pawel totes them as being the best.

I'm delighted to report ...


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Best Fishes,

 

[Dean Cropp]

Hey mate, I have some Greenforce Squid HID lights if you get stuck without illumination in Sydney.

 

[Rudi Herbert]

Proud to report our little video piece featuring the Aquarius Habitat, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU4a4DNpwDg has been chosen to appear on the Sylvia Earle's alliance website www.Mission-Blue.org Apparently, our piece, at over 45,000 views is the most watched science-oriented underwater short video on Youtube, and though that feels good, that is by no means a very high number, which is sad. But we are delighted nonetheless that Dr. Earle liked the video so much she asked for permission to show it.

 

[Michael Maes]

Fraz: 12mm on the 8-16 seems about right since it is about what we have seen on other APS-C wide zooms, but I don't understand why you could only do 4KHD on the 8-15 canon - it is designed to cover APS-C, APS-H (epic is basically aps-h - which is kind of an oddball sensor size halfway between aps-C/S35 and full frame 24x36) and full frame 24x36. The lens actually has markings on the Zoom ring for APS-C (C) and APS-H (H) full coverage limits and I believe you should be at about 12mm for APS-H/Epic 5K and you can go to one of the longer focal lengths to lessen angle of view and some of the edge curvature.

This site has a pretty good review of the lens and the different angles with different sensor sizes and even some comparison with wide angle rectilinear lenses.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-8-15mm-f-4-L-USM-Fisheye-Lens-Review.aspx

I shoot the Canon 8-15FE on 5K HD at 11 "plus a bit" mm. Works like a charm. Love that lens

 

[Greg F]

Does anybody have any susgestions on how to make the footage look better on vimeo? The source videos look so much better

There was at least 15 differnet individual hammerheads, 12 different galapagos, white tip reef shark, few gray reef sharks, oceanic blacktip shark. It was pretty fun down there

 

[Rudi Herbert]

Greg,

If you're using Adobe, the Media Encoder has export settings specific for Vimeo, which encode the video with flags that tell vimeo not to re-encode, which is where the quality loss comes from. I have found that to be the best quality for Vimeo.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Greetings all, an issue has come up with Heffernan Insurance, we have just found out that flood is not covered under our policy, it is an exclusion contained in five little words at the bottom of page 46, in a 47-page document. This was pointed out to me by Mauricio, we were having a discussion on various things, this little gem came up by chance. Thanks very much Mauricio, bacon saved, lots of beer on me brother.

I am a little non-plussed that Heffernan would not have pointed this out from the outset, not sure what they think underwater cameras and housings are supposed to be for. Ultimately my fault, however, for not fine-tooth combing the document from the outset; lesson learned, again.

In any event, we are now in the process of obtaining comprehensive cover for our primary risk, I shudder to think what would have happened these last two years in the event, especially with those big hammerheads banging merrily away on the dome port.

Please check your documents carefully.

Warm Regards

Tom

 

[Greg F]

Greg,

If you're using Adobe, the Media Encoder has export settings specific for Vimeo, which encode the video with flags that tell vimeo not to re-encode, which is where the quality loss comes from. I have found that to be the best quality for Vimeo.

I was using finalcut to export? It has a vimeo plugin for it? I suppose I am going to have to move away from final cut anyway as its a pile of garbage pretty bad

 

[Jason Sturgis]

Tom,

Thanks very much for pointing this out. Apparently I also failed to read page 46 of my policy and will be making amends so that I am covered in case of some leakage. I also hate to think of the phone calls that would have ensued if something would have gone sideways.
Best,
Jason

Greetings all, an issue has come up with Heffernan Insurance, we have just found out that flood is not covered under our policy, it is an exclusion contained in five little words at the bottom of page 46, in a 47-page document. This was pointed out to me by Mauricio, we were having a discussion on various things, this little gem came up by chance. Thanks very much Mauricio, bacon saved, lots of beer on me brother.

I am a little non-plussed that Heffernan would not have pointed this out from the outset, not sure what they think underwater cameras and housings are supposed to be for. Ultimately my fault, however, for not fine-tooth combing the document from the outset; lesson learned, again.

In any event, we are now in the process of obtaining comprehensive cover for our primary risk, I shudder to think what would have happened these last two years in the event, especially with those big hammerheads banging merrily away on the dome port.

Please check your documents carefully.

Warm Regards

Tom

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Glad you are on it Jason, just got off the phone with Frazier Nivens, he has been uncovered this whole time as well. He is in shock. That would have spelled the end of his business. If you've seen his rockin' hammerhead video just a few posts up, you'll know how close he came to a total uncovered loss. Total brave shark fecker he is

I have just received a communication from Heffernan's Internet Sales Director, accusing me of hypocrisy; yes, he used that word, apparently I am guilty of not 'understanding' the exclusions.

I highly recommend a strongly worded email to those folks, we have been silently shafted.

In any event, we need to put our heads together and find a reliable and honest insurer. Please post your findings as you get them.

 

[Greg F]

I have mine under my homeowners insurance and they have indeed confirmed catastrophic loss due to flooding is covered. Thats about all I know I went to the underwriters and got clarification on the matter and they did indeed confirm it is covered. I am pretty pleased that its covered like that as well as all my other dive gear is in the event of theft or loss/flood.

 

[Pawel Achtel]

Insurance companies are not charities. They are in business of making money by charging insurance premiums that are based on risk. The higher the risk, the higher the premium. The risk is calculated based on the industry average.

In the 15 years of filming underwater with cameras often costing more than $100k, I have never insured my equipment from flooding. It is not hard to work out that, if I can significantly reduce the risk, in the long run, the prevention is cheaper than cure.

Accidents do happen, but the devil is, as Tom and Frazier experienced, in the detail. That detail for me is in fail-safe design, precision engineering, superior materials, but also the precautions and procedures.

Because I strongly believe that the risk that I'm taking is well below the industry average, which is what insurance company would use in order to calculate the premium, I've always self-insured (as in "had no insurance"). No claims, no hassle...and tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars better off in the long run.

I would rather aim for the most reliable, the safest housing and take safety precautions, rather than pay for and rely upon expensive insurance that is based on a risk that is significantly higher than the actual risk that I take.

Greg, you may like to check if the word "home" in the "home content" can refer to "the ocean"....I'm sure some of us can probably argue this point successfully

 

[Johnny Friday]

I have mine under my homeowners insurance and they have indeed confirmed catastrophic loss due to flooding is covered. Thats about all I know I went to the underwriters and got clarification on the matter and they did indeed confirm it is covered. I am pretty pleased that its covered like that as well as all my other dive gear is in the event of theft or loss/flood.

This works, but for home-owners and their gear, but NOT for professionals....be sure to ask if it covers you while on a job and theft or theft off the airlines....this will reveal a new feeling of interest. but if you only shoot close to home and are not a working professional then a good route to go....

 

[Ross Isaacs]

I always insure my gear multi risk to cover most contingencies including flooding. If you have ever worked on a big underwater feature film you would know that many things are out of your total control. Big gear being moved around with huge crews. Usually the main underwater camera is being handled by trained but not infallible assistants that try as they may make mistakes. Typically on a big shoot everything is rushed and it give certain peace of mind to have an insurance policy that covers all contingencies. Also on a natural history shoot some things are out of my control such as if a whale hits your gear with a tail swipe and an number of other situation which might arise when you put yourself in harms way to get the shot. In those cases it won't matter how well the housing is engineered it is simply out of my control. In Australia I use Cinesure formerly FIUA to cover multirisk and they have looked after me for the past 30 years. In my mind to not get coverage for flooding is ridiculous for any high end user.

 

[Jon Shaw]

I'm with Ross I use FIUA for cover. it isn't cheap but it isn't exorbitant and it covers floods, travel etc etc etc. I am happy for the piece of mind