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The Gentleman's Underwater Bubble Blower Thread

Been away for a long while,

I see there are more Dragons out there in the wild, yet no underwater samples to look at. For whatever images have come my way, I still feel that Dragon behaves similarly enough to MX in the dreaded magenta/desaturation issue, but I would dearly love to be proven wrong. Anyone ready to share some footage, PLEASE?
 
Hi Simon,

Have been taking Gates housing to 140M and had to upgrade (or maybe just new) springs for the controls. I found that below 75M i had a hard time accessing any controls. Once i put the new springs in was not an issue. Not sure about the Nauticam housing though ??
 
Hello Rudi, good to see you on the forums again.

http://www.red.com/news/epic-dragon-goes-underwater-with-bob-cranston-and-johnny-friday

There are indeed more Dragons underwater now, so footage is expected.

J-

Rudi Herbert said:
Been away for a long while,

I see there are more Dragons out there in the wild, yet no underwater samples to look at. For whatever images have come my way, I still feel that Dragon behaves similarly enough to MX in the dreaded magenta/desaturation issue, but I would dearly love to be proven wrong. Anyone ready to share some footage, PLEASE?
Click to expand...
 
Hi Ross
I have been using my Amphibico Rouge for one full year now of heavy use- starting March 2013.
In that year I have put it through the ringer... absolutely no issues with the housing electronics.
I sent the housing back to Amphibico in April to get a Black paint job and at the same time I had all inspected and checked.
I got a clean bill of health on all housing fronts- electronic grips in particular have no issues.
I have filmed from Mexico to Indonesia to 60 days in the Caribbean... so i was in the water much of the year....

Disclosure- as many here know I am a Dealer sales and support for the Amphibico Rouge- but I am the number one critic of any issues the housing and or
any other aspect of this rig might have and I do not let issues go.

Feel free to contact me directly if you would like any other questions asked... mauricio@handlerphoto.com

Best
 

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Mauricio Handler said:
Hi Ross
I have been using my Amphibico Rouge for one full year now of heavy use- starting March 2013.
In that year I have put it through the ringer... absolutely no issues with the housing electronics.
I sent the housing back to Amphibico in April to get a Black paint job and at the same time I had all inspected and checked.
I got a clean bill of health on all housing fronts- electronic grips in particular have no issues.
I have filmed from Mexico to Indonesia to 60 days in the Caribbean... so i was in the water much of the year....

Disclosure- as many here know I am a Dealer sales and support for the Amphibico Rouge- but I am the number one critic of any issues the housing and or
any other aspect of this rig might have and I do not let issues go.

Feel free to contact me directly if you would like any other questions asked... mauricio@handlerphoto.com

Best
Click to expand...
Good to know Mauricio I am very happy that Amphibico have solved the massive problems they used to have with their control handles.
 
Tom Hamilton said:
Why are you comparing the 20+ year-old Amphibicam to this housing?
Click to expand...


Full disclosure: I'm a manufacturer of competing products. But I believe I have a reputation of being pretty fair and supportive of all manufacturers.

First of all, it wassn't just the Amphibicam, it was a serious issue with a number of different housings, mainly having to do with two things 1) external waterproof switches - these were not just the oring pushbuttons that hit the buttons on a camera like on many dslr housings, they were actual separate switches underneath the buttons on the external handle that then actuated functions on an internal circuit board. For whatever reason these external switches just never seemed to be particularly reliable (on housings from any manufacturer) mainly, I think, because it is just something that is hard to do and

2) The addition of a circuit board in the housing to control the camera, something that is common to all electronic housings and are just naturally subject to a lot of different failures, general component failure, component failure due to moisture, component failure to mechanical shock that often occurs with underwater equipment in handling (things like banging against a pitching boat or during travel), wiring failures since they typically are not easy to route in a housing and the connectors are typically quite small and rather fragile. The number of housings sold is usually quite small so there is only so much time and money that can be spent making mission critical reliable circuits or robust connectors to work with the small connectors on the cameras. The combination of all of these things adds up to significant potential reliability problems and there really isn't much about today's technology that is more reliable. The electronic handles on the Rouge seem pretty similar to the previous ones so I wonder what developments they made where they would be significantly more reliable.

Overall, this is just a tradeoff argument between KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle that causes some of us to primarily work with completely mechanical systems versus the additional convenience or functionality that can be achieved with the electronics.

Since the electronic housings tend to be pretty expensive, the first question is just how much additional utility do you really get? I can honestly say that there is rarely any difference in the actual results that can be achieved with an Epic and the $4500 PVC housing I make and the most expensive housings, given that we can use the same lenses and have the same quality port options. For the most part you are setting iris and focus (and often focus is nearly preset as well) and then it is up to the shooter to find a good subject, good angles, a steady hand and appropriate movement - none of which changes much between housings if you take a little time to balance them out properly.

There is probably a good argument for a hybrid housing with mechanical controls for the most important functions, with electronics for additional control where an electronic failure wouldn't be critical.

Many of the electronic housings over the years were simply not functional without the electronics. I have had a little bit of hands on with the Rouge but I can't remember which functions are available manually. (Maybe Tom or Mauricio can chime in.)


Mauricio Handler said:
Hi Ross
I have been using my Amphibico Rouge for one full year now of heavy use- starting March 2013.
In that year I have put it through the ringer... absolutely no issues with the housing electronics.
I sent the housing back to Amphibico in April to get a Black paint job and at the same time I had all inspected and checked.
I got a clean bill of health on all housing fronts- electronic grips in particular have no issues.
I have filmed from Mexico to Indonesia to 60 days in the Caribbean... so i was in the water much of the year....

Disclosure- as many here know I am a Dealer sales and support for the Amphibico Rouge- but I am the number one critic of any issues the housing and or
any other aspect of this rig might have and I do not let issues go.

Feel free to contact me directly if you would like any other questions asked... mauricio@handlerphoto.com

Best
Click to expand...


Mauricio: that's good to hear but Rouge was pretty late to the game, after overall Epic housing sales tapered off, so I wonder how many units are actually out there and how many actual man hours of use they have had to give some significant basis for assessing reliability of the current handles?

PS If I seem like a jerk for bringing this up I don't mean to be adversarial, since somebody else brought it up, I just wanted to discuss what I think are real issues in the mechanical vs. electronics issue.
 
Hi Michael
There is an argument for each and every aspect of each and every piece of gear we all use- some like some do not.
How many Rouges are out there to prove that the issues have been resolved to satisfy the critics? Probably not many - about 30 I would guess.
Many are in the hands of pros in the far reaches of Mongolia I presume... and they do not visit our forum to voice their thoughts. The only housing that I am really putting through the ringers and concerned about is mine, as it is the lifeline to my production of content underwater. This is how I earn a living- not by manufacturing the product - which I have nothing to do with.


Full disclosure #2:
I think that housing manufacturers for our cameras are all good -with Special note to Gates Housings who has proven to be an A+ in every aspect of the production and support to its users. I used a brand new one a few years back and loved it. I have never tried one of your housings Mike- sorry.

My path though my professional life led me to an on off association with Aquatica/ Amphibico which led to a natural progression to get involved and ultimately use their housing, The Rouge - which I am very happy with. Can it be better, can it have manual override for some control, ca it do this or that? This is not the point of this particular rig.
The Rouge does what it does and for me it does it well. Should my requirements chance and or should the housing fail me at some point then I would, like all of us would, re-evaluate my position at the time... right now It suits me perfectly.

I love stick shift over auto transmission but just because my super duper Volvo XC-70 AWD does not have it does not mean I am going to be bent out of shape over it...
If you want manual- there are options. If you want Auto- there are options. if I really want manual shift I will change my car!

Let's not revert to the evil ways of forums past... lets not begin once again to tear each other apart. I think we all know were we all stand. Lets address convincing customers off forum instead...

Now get our housings wet and lets see some footage!
 
Greetings all, am running a separate thread on Fabien Cousteau's Mission 31, just wanted to let the Bubble Blowers here know about it. Splashdown is tomorrow morning, the team will be spending 31 days underwater, I will be filming daily with Dragon from the boat, very excited to be part of the team. Here is an interview conducted by CNN this morning:

http://www.cnn.com/video/standard.h...fabien-cousteau-full-intv.cnn&video_referrer=

The project can be followed live here:

http://mission-31.com

Warm regards to all,

Tom
 
hay mike all is well.all is working with the aquavideo redon mx housing with the tokina 11-16mm canon lense and birger mount..I have 6 inch dome do you no if tokina 10-17mm lense will work on 6 inch dome..before I buy one thanks..|Jim kozmik
 
Tom Hamilton said:
Greetings all, am running a separate thread on Fabien Cousteau's Mission 31, just wanted to let the Bubble Blowers here know about it. Splashdown is tomorrow morning, the team will be spending 31 days underwater, I will be filming daily with Dragon from the boat, very excited to be part of the team. Here is an interview conducted by CNN this morning:

http://www.cnn.com/video/standard.h...fabien-cousteau-full-intv.cnn&video_referrer=

The project can be followed live here:

http://mission-31.com

Warm regards to all,

Tom
Click to expand...

Hey Tom! Very cool mate....good luck down there. I am on the market for an Amphibico rouge for my DRAGON so happy to see it in the wild, holler at me when you come back west. Cheers.
 
jim kozmik said:
hay mike all is well.all is working with the aquavideo redon mx housing with the tokina 11-16mm canon lense and birger mount..I have 6 inch dome do you no if tokina 10-17mm lense will work on 6 inch dome..before I buy one thanks..|Jim kozmik
Click to expand...


Jim: Optically it should be fine with a 6" dome. My only concern is if it is long enough for the position of your camera in the housing as it is a pretty short fisheye and it may vignette. (i.e. you see the corners of the port mount. It should be pretty close but the only way to know for sure is try it - maybe get from B&H or somewhere you can easily return. It is vignettes but you still want to do it you just need to position the camera a little farther forward. Your mount plate has the holes necessary but the controls would need to be moved forward the same amount. Each hole moves it forward by 12.5 mm. If you move forward at least two holes it is pretty easy to put new holes in for the Power and trigger controls and put plugs in the current ones.
 
Hey Bubble Blowers,

I'm in need of another Epic or Scarlet brain this Friday & Saturday (Jun 6, 7) for our display at CineGearExpo. I know this is more appropriate in the rentals forum, but I'm willing to trade a one week underwater housing rental for the loan of a brain if anyone is interested. Local to Fort Lauderdale or LA preferred, but shipping isn't a problem.
 
Ryan,

PM me for more but what underwater housing are you offering for the one week trade? I'd like to test out an UW housing for the Dragon this summer in Northern California and can provide a Dragon brain possibly.

Ryan Canon said:
Hey Bubble Blowers,

I'm in need of another Epic or Scarlet brain this Friday & Saturday (Jun 6, 7) for our display at CineGearExpo. I know this is more appropriate in the rentals forum, but I'm willing to trade a one week underwater housing rental for the loan of a brain if anyone is interested. Local to Fort Lauderdale or LA preferred, but shipping isn't a problem.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Will,

My company distributes Nauticam, and I have both the EF and PL mount variants of that housing. We'll have both on display at Cine Gear Expo if you are able to stop by! Booth is 97B, on New York Street.

I actually just got the allocation email on my Scarlet Dragon, so if I'm able to get that set up for will call pickup tomorrow I'll be covered. I'll let you know, and thanks for the offer!
 

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I finally uploaded a new Blue Marlin sequence... short and sweet. These are not only very rare to see without a hook in its mouth
or dead on a pick up truck- but also as many of you they are extremely difficult to encounter- period.
It is a fun edit to promote the new sequences...

Shot with Red EpicX / Sigma 15 inside an Amphibico Rouge housing.

https://vimeo.com/97524796
 
Hey Clay,

Good to see you back in the swing o' things, hope your time away was productive, useful, and full of joyful progeny :-)

Always ready to assist for your u/w needs, call me brother, I'm there.

Here a grab of the Cousteau science team, amazing project, more to follow.
 

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Tom,

You could provide another valuable service for our group while on the mission. I have shot Aquarius on RED ONE M and MX, Epic, F900, Ex1 and Alexa, which is to say, I have plenty of material to compare Dragon footage against. The water in the Keys is not as bad as, say Grand Cayman, for our magenta contamination issues, but I have identified the problem there as well and know how to quantify it. So, any Dragon footage of Aquarius you could share would be quite useful, any of the structure areas with the yellow of the habitat, especially with the soft corals on the end where the bunk beds are, or at the top pf the grille where the divers are standing on the photo you posted. Even the reef nearby I have shot extensively, so really, anything would help. You can send me a few R3Ds privately as you have before.

I could possibly come down and interview Cousteau towards the end of the mission, depends on whether I get back home in time, so I might see you there.
 
Hi Rudi,

Give me a few days to sort through some of my footage, I'll send you some R3Ds of the requested locations.

Re interviewing Fabien, his schedule is quite solidly booked, but I can send you our publicist's contact details if you like.

Tom
 
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