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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

The Gentleman's Underwater Bubble Blower Thread

SOLD

For sale - in tandem or separate:

- Nauticam RED DSMC2 housing for full size PL mount optics and servos. Not listed on Nauticam web page, sold in limited quantities / made to order only.
- Nauticam ARRI ALEXA MINI/LF housing:
https://www.nauticam.com/collection...-rings-30-40-50-and-lens-control-drive-shafts
https://www.backscatter.com/Nauticam-Arri-Alexa-Mini-LF-Digital-Cinema-System-Underwater-Housing

Selling on behalf of rental house, but both housings have seen little use and are in pristine condition, fresh water/pool shoots only. Dome, flat port and port extenders are interchangeable between housings.

Link to Dropbox folder with pictures of gear:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jsw5jm5ww9erxbd/AAC2p7-JAX8BCqKErk-uK0Xma?dl=0

- RED DSMC2 Digital Cinema System housing only (without ports) - list price new: $ 24.600,- Asking $18.000 OBO
- Alexa Mini/Mini LF housing with dome and 3x port extenders - list price new: $ 27.752,- Asking $20.000 OBO
- Accessories, LCS remote cable, flat port etc. Price: TBD

OFFERS WELCOME
Open for deal on both housings bought together.
 
Documentary Ansião - expedition to the depths

Documentary Ansião - expedition to the depths

Deep below, beneath the surface, a submerged cave awaits to be explored.
A vertical descent into a well 45 meters deep. An underground fracture filled with crystal clear water. A team of 20 cavers set up an expedition to advance further in the knowledge of this submerged cave.
This is the documentary of that profound expedition.

Entirely shoot with a Red Weapon Dragon Mg 6K.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-BEicrffL4
 
Hey all thought Id throw this out here as most of you are in the same boat as I so to speak.
I have a new Wave Camera from Freefly and would like to get a Underwater housing for it made. I don't need crazy deep depths. Think of it as a bomber surf housing that could safely do 25 to 30 feet if needed.
Anyone know of a good housing maker for this kind of work. Could be folded Aluminum or milled bullit or Id even consider a Carbon fiber layup but kind of need to start the process to see whats available.
thanks all
Post here or PM me.
 
With KOMODO using the Canon RF mount and now the V Raptor also using the same RF mount. Has anyone out there in Red Land tested any of the native Canon RF lenses behind a dome port to see how they work. The 2 of interest to me are the 14-35mm f4 RF and the 15-35mm f2.8 RF. I would be interested to hear opinions.
Thanks
 
Russ Fill said:
Hey all thought Id throw this out here as most of you are in the same boat as I so to speak.
I have a new Wave Camera from Freefly and would like to get a Underwater housing for it made. I don't need crazy deep depths. Think of it as a bomber surf housing that could safely do 25 to 30 feet if needed.
Anyone know of a good housing maker for this kind of work. Could be folded Aluminum or milled bullit or Id even consider a Carbon fiber layup but kind of need to start the process to see whats available.
thanks all
Post here or PM me.
Click to expand...

Hi Russ,
I asked a Portuguese company named Wave Solution Housing to create a compact water housing for my wave camera. It's made out of 3D printing material and it's super light. It can accommodate an external small V-Mount battery and an atomos screen. the manufacturer told me it can handle 10 meters depth easily and I should try 20 meters but not above. Housing can be filled up with air and there's a nanometer to control the pressure into it. So far, it works great.
Salty Housing in Australia makes compact aluminium housing for the wave too. They also look great.
 
Russ Fill said:
Hey all thought Id throw this out here as most of you are in the same boat as I so to speak.
I have a new Wave Camera from Freefly and would like to get a Underwater housing for it made. I don't need crazy deep depths. Think of it as a bomber surf housing that could safely do 25 to 30 feet if needed.
Anyone know of a good housing maker for this kind of work. Could be folded Aluminum or milled bullit or Id even consider a Carbon fiber layup but kind of need to start the process to see whats available.
thanks all
Post here or PM me.
Click to expand...


Hey Russ,

I'd suggest getting a Salty housing for it, sounds like the perfect solution for what you want to do.

I've got one for the Wave, the new Salty design comes with a clip system rather than bolts, so it's super fast to setup. I can PM you some photos of the build and housing setup if you like..
 
Hi Mark,

Yep, tested with KOMODO. Manolo Mendieta took our DK rig out for some Blue Shark action just off the San Diego coast. Results very much like the 16-35 EF, a 'go to' lens for many UW shooters.

One of our favorite UW lenses is the Canon 15.5-47 cinema zoom. Par focal, so you get full zoom range with a dome port. Very versatile range. AND that lens is now $10K (originally $24K). It's S35, so choose your sensor / crop carefully. AND -- you read it here first -- the focus stop can be removed on the PL mount version to substantially improve close focus. (Manolo tested this, too, and results are impressive). Anyone wants more details, PM me.

John

Mark van Coller said:
With KOMODO using the Canon RF mount and now the V Raptor also using the same RF mount. Has anyone out there in Red Land tested any of the native Canon RF lenses behind a dome port to see how they work. The 2 of interest to me are the 14-35mm f4 RF and the 15-35mm f2.8 RF. I would be interested to hear opinions.
Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Hey all,

What are you guys favourite monitoring options. I am currently running an old SmallHD DP4. With its small screen and poor brightness is not always ideal for hitting critical focus, particularly on or near the surface. It would seem I am getting old. I was considering making an eyepiece for it which would help cut down the glare.

Whilst it would be nice to have a monitor back the Red 4.7 is no better in terms of brightness, so I am loath to spend the money for no improvement. The other options listed by Gates and Nauticam are mostly for Atomos style recorder which are bulky and expensive.

If possible I d also like to get away from the HDMI ports which are fragile at best.

I have thought of hacking the 4.7 monitor for a brighter panel or putting a brighter monitor in the DP4 housing but haven t found good fits for either solution as of yet.

What are you guys running?

Erol
 
EG Eriksson said:
Hey all,

What are you guys favourite monitoring options. I am currently running an old SmallHD DP4. With its small screen and poor brightness is not always ideal for hitting critical focus, particularly on or near the surface. It would seem I am getting old. I was considering making an eyepiece for it which would help cut down the glare.

Whilst it would be nice to have a monitor back the Red 4.7 is no better in terms of brightness, so I am loath to spend the money for no improvement. The other options listed by Gates and Nauticam are mostly for Atomos style recorder which are bulky and expensive.

If possible I d also like to get away from the HDMI ports which are fragile at best.

I have thought of hacking the 4.7 monitor for a brighter panel or putting a brighter monitor in the DP4 housing but haven t found good fits for either solution as of yet.

What are you guys running?

Erol
Click to expand...

I use the 7" SDI Dive And See. Very happy with it.
 
Living Underwater with Red / Gates for 5 years

This is post #1. My only option seems to be “Post Reply”, but I’m not sure to what I’m replying. Hopefully nothing.

My next post, with luck, will be in the for sale section.

As I thought about why I was selling, I realized that I wish I read a post like this before buying. I would have bought anyway, but maybe the learning curve could be cut down by a bit, and I would have left the kit home on some trips (and taken a DLSR). I did learn a great deal about underwater video.

Full disclosure: Lots of people swing this gear around with swagger and bring home great videos and make it look easy. It is possible. There are always people more experienced, more knowledgeable, and just better than you. You folks are my heros.

The Good: 16 stops of dynamic range is unbelievably helpful underwater. For the first time ever, I didn’t have to attempt to choose at time of capture between blown highlights, and black shadows. Not only do you not have to choose, but you can have both with little work in post. It is possible to tease out moods you didn’t see in the original.

The “Red Color” is phenomenal. I never figured out exactly why, but once you see it and live it it’s really hard to go back to DSLR video.

The Gates case is a beast. If you use the pressure seal check, I would be extremely surprised to ever have a flood. It can take an impact and survive, assuming you don’t jam the dome port into something.

When weighted and balanced correctly, in calm water, the setup is magically neutral in buoyancy and attitude. It will remain suspended in the water column as you film, and you can steer it with the smallest effort. The video looks like it was filmed on a dolly. Wonderful. When you use the actual built-in tripod, and let it run without a diver, it opens up amazing new shots.

Once you get many, many things config’d properly, it’s fairly easy to use underwater, controls wise, without even using the Redmote interface. The programmable buttons, extended through the side of the case are great. I eventually settled on aperture control, which seems to work well.

Auto exposure works decently enough.

The whole raw workflow is great. Amazing. It’s what’s really missing on most (all?) DSLR setups. The irreversible damage most cameras do to video in realtime is terrible.

The Bad: Topside, it’s heavy. Really heavy. If you were on a boat for month on an expedition, it would all balance out. But flying around the world to use it for 7-10 days on a liveaboard is expensive, back breaking work. And on the one occasion I hauled it around on a remote shore based trip with multiple operators, it was just miserable.

The case, fully assembled is bulletproof, but the steps to change the card and battery, and check and reset everything, are pretty fragile. The only sequence that I could ever get to work was remove the dome port, remove the lens from the body, remove the back, remove the tricky monitor cable, the Redmote, and the sync cables, and pull the tray out. It’s doable, but it took me too long to figure it out. You have to be very careful not to pinch a wire on reassembly. And you don’t get 3 dives from one charged brick. Often, 1.

REDs changing the “sync” spec, such that one expander works in the case and one doesn’t, was an epic waste of time. I was able to film by using the power button, but … wow.

Unlike just about every DSLR I ever shot with, Red AF doesn’t really work underwater. Not well enough to use. “Focus assist” works well topside, and I know divers who have no problem with it underwater, especially with a big monitor. I’m not one of them. I tried focusing “Nikonos-style”, using the lens metadata, but it doesn’t read Nikon lens correctly. Canons do read correctly, and once you figure out the dome port projection distances, it’s workable. I was never quite sure what the focus would be set to after a power cycle.

The amazing low light sensitivity that has spoiled us with DSLRs is not there.

It’s a billboard in current. Be prepared to fight harder to remain with the group than you ever have before.

http://www.zintel.net/Public/Underwater/Underwater.html

Mike.
 

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Quick questions to all UW housing folks...
Does anyone know where to source through hull levers and buttons like on your housings... Im thinking of building a custom housing and want to find a source for the levers and buttons like on most commercial brands...
Thank you all.
 
vincent kardasik said:
Hi Russ,
I asked a Portuguese company named Wave Solution Housing to create a compact water housing for my wave camera. It's made out of 3D printing material and it's super light. It can accommodate an external small V-Mount battery and an atomos screen. the manufacturer told me it can handle 10 meters depth easily and I should try 20 meters but not above. Housing can be filled up with air and there's a nanometer to control the pressure into it. So far, it works great.
Salty Housing in Australia makes compact aluminium housing for the wave too. They also look great.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion... do you have a link to their info???
Cheers
 
Steve Wall said:
Hey Russ,

I'd suggest getting a Salty housing for it, sounds like the perfect solution for what you want to do.

I've got one for the Wave, the new Salty design comes with a clip system rather than bolts, so it's super fast to setup. I can PM you some photos of the build and housing setup if you like..
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve, I have been in contact with Salty... I have a SPL now and feel its kind of the same but not as robust but with that I gain light weight... So trade offs..

Hey again Im still looking for a source for the control levers that are used on these housings... You know the little buttons or the push rods that go through the housing.. Does anyone know of an off the shelf distributor... Thanks.
 
Rui Guerra said:
So, is this thread / subject completely dead or is it moved elsewhere?
I wonder why there is no more posts related to underwater cinematography with RED, after so many posts on this.
Click to expand...
It kind of ran it's course since many originals moved, Ken Corben went incognito a long time ago, Tom Hamilton passed a couple years ago, I'm semi-retired and Pawel doesn't "have PVC to kick around anymore" :wink5:
 
I'm just started with more serious underwater filming so always happy to chat :)
I got the Raptor, Nauticam housing and also got a collection of new wet lenses. The wet macro that you can switch underwater and the 7kg wet lens as well. Plan on using it this summer here in Cyprus. Last year I was mostly sick and worked FAR to much on VFX so did not have time to do much filming. This year should be more wet and fun!
 
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