The Gentleman's Underwater Bubble Blower Thread

[Tom Hamilton]

Josh, what are your Bimini dates?

 

[Zeb B]

Josh, what are your Bimini dates?

8-13th then onto Freeport

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Should be a good time. For best results, hopefully you're on a boat with just a few other divers.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

I know some of you here on this thread are involved in free diving, Rudi's wife for one, just wanted to share some distressing news.

Nick Mevoli lost his life at the Vertical Blue competition in the Bahamas on Sunday, I filmed one of Nick's record attempts at the Roatan competition in May of this year. I am shocked and saddened by this terrible news, he was attempting to set a new record, 663 feet, he lost consciousness shortly after resurfacing, they could not revive him.

I salute his bravery, pushing the envelope is always fraught with peril, he was one of the best, he died doing what he loved best.

RIP Nick Mevoli

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/19/sport/nick-mevoli-freediving/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

 

[Zeb B]

Anyone using the Nauticam RED housing?

 

[paulherrin]

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showth...rator-with-Zeiss-Glass-and-Underwater-Housing

 

[Michael Maes]

Anyone using the Nauticam RED housing?

I have experience with both the Gates Deep Epic as the Nauticam NA-ROSSA.

 

[Zeb B]

I have experience with both the Gates Deep Epic as the Nauticam NA-ROSSA.

Thots between them? Seems to me since the Nauticam uses the side handle rather than the RedMote it is a smarter design and would be more dependable and easier to use.

 

[Michael Maes]

Thots between them? Seems to me since the Nauticam uses the side handle rather than the RedMote it is a smarter design and would be more dependable and easier to use.

The biggest difference between the two housings are:

* Side Handle vs REDMOTE
* Size
* Weight
* Drag
* Regular dive weights vs Proprietary weights
* Weight adjustable in water with one button
* Service
* Dedicated ports for lenses
* Replacing the camera from the housing (5 seconds vs many minutes)

These all seem to favor the ROSSA.
BUT !!!
Personally I think there's a big trade-off to make: service, reliability and cinema.
Gates' service is second to none, truly not from this world.
When you're on an expedition in the middle of, say, Raja Ampat and you need a spare part, they will get it to you, soon, with mounting instructions and so forth.
My personal experiences with Nauticam have not yet reached that level of service.... by far... ahum....

Nauticam suffers and breaks. If you dive it more than,say, 100 dives per year, you might look elsewhere unless you don't mind breakdowns.
Gates works... period. Nothing breaks, nothing gets stuck, nothing gets misaligned....

Gates takes PL lenses, remote focus pullers, on land monitoring, ....
Nauticam err..... not really.

So basically it all comes back to your usage.
If you're a freediver, the ROSSA will be welcome for less drag.
If you work in a team with DP and so forth, you're better off with the Gates.
If you shoot mainly on remote places: Gates
If you like John E.: Gates.... haha!

I decided to get both to have the best of both worlds.
One thing I don't like though is the REDMOTE.
It responds very bad in my housing but that seems to be happening only with me.

Just my 2c :-D

Michael

 

[Zeb B]

@Micheal
Great write up! Thanks!! I have the Nauticam for the Canon 1Dc now but am missing the RAW in post white balance flexibility. I haven't had any issues with that housing but don't dive professionally like many in this thread. Using the Keldan LED's . . . happy with those as well. Thinking of getting the Nauticam for RED and using the 8-15mm with small dome to keep it lean. Thoughts?

 

[Tom Hamilton]

There are several of us here using the Rouge and very happy with it, both Redmote and/or Sidehandle not necessary. I travel with mine in a standard airline roller bag.

 

[Michael Maes]

@Micheal
Great write up! Thanks!! I have the Nauticam for the Canon 1Dc now but am missing the RAW in post white balance flexibility. I haven't had any issues with that housing but don't dive professionally like many in this thread. Using the Keldan LED's . . . happy with those as well. Thinking of getting the Nauticam for RED and using the 8-15mm with small dome to keep it lean. Thoughts?

Keldans are great, esp the CRI. Very warm color to my taste.
I love the 8-15FE on the Epic.
I shoot it at 11-11.75mm, seems like a sweet spot.
Since you already shoot NA for DSLR, you'll feel at home with the ROSSA.
I would however advice you to use a big dome like the Zen 230 for sharper images edge-to-edge and evt split-levels.
The mini-dome works fine, if you're happy with the distortion (many won't notice).

 

[Michael Maes]

There are several of us here using the Rouge and very happy with it, both Redmote and/or Sidehandle not necessary. I travel with mine in a standard airline roller bag.

Just to make it clear: I'm not trying to favor one housing vs another.
I only give my own u/w experience which is limited to the Gates and the NA.

BTW Tom: I had the Rouge in my hands at DEMA and it is a great housing! I LOVED the side handle Aquatica had mounted on it.... yummy!

 

[Michael Maes]

Hey Michael,

That's a great Tiger shot, would love to see the video.

Yes, was referring to Pawel's (alleged) solution. As that is clearly not forthcoming, you are the man of the hour, please let us know how it all goes.

Thanks Tom ))
The video will.... take a while :-/
Time, time, time...

I'm taking the Epic down this Friday with the new filters.
I hope the sun will be abundant by then as we're having some bad weather these days.
Keep you posted!

 

[Tom Hamilton]

So sorry to have missed you at DEMA Michael, I had to leave early Saturday morning. That was my rig on display, I had it fitted with the full package while I was there, including the Atomos Samurai Blade.

Best of luck on your tests, we all await the results eagerly!

(Regarding the 3rd photo, I have apparently been swimming too fast, because I have no hair on the top of my hydrodynamic dome, can anyone suggest a fix for this?)

 

[Michael Maes]

So sorry to have missed you at DEMA Michael, I had to leave early Saturday morning. That was my rig on display, I had it fitted with the full package while I was there, including the Atomos Samurai Blade.

Best of luck on your tests, we all await the results eagerly!

(Regarding the 3rd photo, I have apparently been swimming too fast, because I have no hair on the top of my hydrodynamic dome, can anyone suggest a fix for this?)

Yeah, sorry to have missed you too. Saw Frazier and many others
WOW, that's a dream setup! The Samurai on top and the RED monitor at the back.
I don't think the Samurai will fit the ROSSA though.
I really like the Rouge, esp in black !!!

Same problem here.... no fix found yet... hahaha!

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Not to worry mate, I am developing a brand new product for the follicle-ally challenged u/w guys, top secret as it were, manufactured from finely woven strands of neoprene, available in several colors and styles, the first two prototypes will go to me and you for field testing.

Although the marketing team has yet to agree on branding, I am provisionally calling it 'Deep Toupee X'. It will feature hands-free operation, and circle the dome completely.

Kinda has a nice ring to it, doncha' think?

 

[Michael Maes]

Not to worry mate, I am developing a brand new product for the follicle-ally challenged u/w guys, top secret as it were, manufactured from finely woven strands of neoprene, available in several colors and styles, the first two prototypes will go to me and you for field testing.

Although the marketing team has yet to agree on branding, I am provisionally calling it 'Deep Toupee X'. It will feature hands-free operation, and circle the dome completely.

Kinda has a nice ring to it, doncha' think?

ROFLMAO!
Gigantic success awaits you!
Just make sure it is "sharp from follicle to follicle"! )

 

[Tom Lowe]

Has anyone used Dragon underwater? I thought I saw Corbin or someone posting that Dragon was about to take a plunge?

 

[Jarred Land]

Johnny Friday just went down with some Dragons in Gates housings. Some of the images that came back are phenomenal....