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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

Just what you want to read as your stuck in customs at Buenos Aires airport on your way to Antarctica for a month!
Thanks for the heads up Tom.
 
Any details where in the airport? Do they suspect offficials or just opportunists?
 
Well we made it and so did all the gear. Just took 36hrs to clear customs!
 
Glad you made it and gear all well Hugh. Now go get some awesome images..

Kind of on a different note here.
Has anyone used the Laowa 12mm 2.8 rectilinear lens in a dome port yet for UW or even surface adventure water sport stuff. And if so what were your thoughts.?
 
Russ, I have recently started using the Laowa 12mm in my Gates Pro Action, with a Scarlet W. Love the lens, crispy sharp and nice and wide.

I've been using the Gates 10 inch dome with the lens for the best corner sharpness. The lens is full manual though.

When I get home this afternoon I'll upload a little video I shot with the Laowa.

Cheers Pete.
 
Thanks Peter. Im getting a SPL housing for adventure sport work and some snorkeling fashion pool stuff, and want to use this lens in it but Im debating between dome and flat port. Im feeling dome as it will work with both above and below but the flat will be pretty distorted if Im caught half and half... The other side of this is that the flat port will give me some really great macro abilities... What ya gona do?
I was looking at the Gates Pro Action but it still seems a little bulky for Surf and jumping off a boat or dock..

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery welcome.
Ill look forward to the clip..
 
Russ, here is a little something I shot recently using the 12mm.

Personally I wouldn't use a flat port with this lens as I imagine you will get some severe edge distortion etc etc. The lens focuses pretty close as is so even behind a dome port you will be able to get close focus wide angle shots. You would need to crop in post heavily if you want a "macro" image as such. You would have to do that if you were using a flat port anyway to remove the edge distortion.

I'll be the first to admit that I am biased towards Gates. I am the Australian reseller for their products so my view is undoubtedly going to be in favour of Gates products. In saying that, I wouldn't stand behind them as much as I do if the product didn't warrant that. I am sure everyone here knows all about the Gates quality etc so I will save you from a sales spiel :)

I haven't used SPL housings but I am sure they are a quality product too and if that is the right tool for your needs then go for it. I would highly recommend you go for a dome over a flat port for the 12mm though.
Cheers Pete.

https://vimeo.com/256184125
 
Thanks for the info. nice stuff there. No worries on the Gates promo. I have the Deep Dragon so Im all with you on the Gates, get what you pay for part...
The SPL is a totally different animal..
It all looks pretty good. Was wondering what was your distance from her in these shots. Maybe 2 meters?. Im fully in on the dome so no worries there.
So this was shot with your Scarlet Weapon at 5K which is S35 right? So with a FF Monstro there would be quite a bit more to the frame than the 5K image. Ok now Im excited to see what this setup will do.
Hey Peter I was looking at the other clips posted there for Down under and noticed a Phantom 1 clip what frame rate was the surfer shot at if you remember. Looks about 500ish maybe 750..??
 
Most of the shots I was probably within 1-1.5 metres but the face shots, she was almost touching the dome LOL. Yep I almost punched her in the face with ten inches of glass hahahaha.

Yes the Monstro should give you an even wider FOV as the Laowa 12mm will cover full frame.

The Phantom shot with the surfer was at 1000fps but I might have sped it up a tad from memory. Man I love that camera.

Cheers Pete.
 
Tom Hamilton said:
https://safarious.com/article/14124...-2-interview-with-sa-cameraman-roger-horrocks
Click to expand...

I found this passage very insightful;

"I think it has to do with how the craft of story-telling has evolved in the natural history space. It’s moved from being a kind of veneer of a particular behaviour to a very sequenced-based, story-led format, which I think people find more engaging. I think what the production team did very well was to find lots of new stories and tell them in a way that people really related to. It’s all about a story, a location, and the characters. The narrative has become less about science and more character-driven - which some people like and some people don’t - but I think for your general populace, it’s just classic, great storytelling. It’s emotive, it’s emotional, it’s beautifully shot, and it portrays incredible natural history."
 
Have any of you out there had a look at the relatively new Nauticam WACP
https://www.nauticam.com/blogs/news/wide-angle-conversion-port
https://www.nauticam.com/products/n...buoyancy-collar-and-n120-to-n100-port-adaptor
This port looks interesting and according to Nauticam's reviews and press release it gives better corner sharpness at wider apertures. It also covers 130 deg to 57 deg angle of coverage with a 28-80mm lens behind it with a full frame sensor. It is rather pricey at U.S.$3950 and I really would like to get some independent video oriented reviews before forking out that kind of money. It has been designed for still shooters so I am not sure about things like barrel distortion and how that will look on a moving images.
 
Mark van Coller said:
Have any of you out there had a look at the relatively new Nauticam WACP
https://www.nauticam.com/blogs/news/wide-angle-conversion-port
https://www.nauticam.com/products/n...buoyancy-collar-and-n120-to-n100-port-adaptor
This port looks interesting and according to Nauticam's reviews and press release it gives better corner sharpness at wider apertures. It also covers 130 deg to 57 deg angle of coverage with a 28-80mm lens behind it with a full frame sensor. It is rather pricey at U.S.$3950 and I really would like to get some independent video oriented reviews before forking out that kind of money. It has been designed for still shooters so I am not sure about things like barrel distortion and how that will look on a moving images.
Click to expand...

+1 on that

I've changed some messages with Ryan Canon not long ago. Nautical was in the process of elaborating a list of compatible lenses, not sure if at least they have tested a few more. Maybe Ryan can shine some light...

Resides the price, the only drawback I see in the WACP is that it's designed for "low end" lenses (meaning not so wide max. aperture), like the 28-80 you mentioned. Besides the optical results, another limitation is lens physical diameter, although most of the most used lens will fit inside the 100 mm inside diameter opening (the WACP is a N100, but it comes with the N120 port converter included).
Since the main goal of the WACP is to improve overall sharpness, specially in the corners, allowing us to use wider apertures (I've read that the gain is something in the range of 1,5 f/stops - do you confirm Ryan?), it will be nice that we could use real fast glass using apertures in the range of at least f1.8 to f2.8. But again, let's hope that the tests made by Nauticam can produce an extensive compatible lens chart.
 
Ama by Julie Gautier

https://www.facebook.com/juliegautiernery/videos/1589536167826628/?comment_id=1590204684426443

I don't believe this has been shared yet in an embeddable form.

Credits:
Choreographer : Ophélie Longuet
Music : « Rain in your black eyes », Ezio Bosso. (P) Sony Music Intertainment.
Cinematographer : Jacques Ballard
Editor : Jérôme Lozano
Colorist : Arthur Paux @ Spark Seeker
Compositing : Gregory Lafranchi @GoneFX
Sound mix : Nassim El Mounabbih @Dinosaures
Production : Spark Seeker/Les Films Engloutis
Associated Producers : Y-40 The Deep Joy/RVZ
Camera Assistant : Arthur Lauthers
Electrician Romain Mostri
Safety Freedivers : Anne Maury - Fouad Zarrou
Making off : Jimmy Golaz
Camera Rental (Red VistaVision 8K) RVZ
Light&Electric Rental : TSF Cannes
Wardrobe : Tatiana Henri
 
Ama is such a phenomenal piece of art! Absolutely superb.
 
Finally got a bit of time to sit down and edit together some clips of my trip out to Socorro with MONSTRO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXftCeP90rY&feature=youtu.be

First underwater shoot with the RED WEAPON MONSTRO and VV H2O OLPF.
Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico a.k.a. Socorro Islands
Aboard the Nautilus Explorer.

Challenging conditions with a lot of big swell/surge and less than ideal visibility. That milky viz with lots of particulate in the water really put the VV H2O OLPF to the test which really was the point to this trip: to put this new sensor and OLPF in challenging stress test situations while also trying to film something interesting to look at.

Camera: RED WEAPON MONSTRO 8K VV with VV H2O OLPF
Lens: Nikonos RS 20-35mm
Housing: Gates DEEP WEAPON with Gates GT14 lights
Captured in 8K converted to 4K finish
 
I am looking for a Florida based 360 degree stills/ video shooter for POSSIBLE job.
If you or someone you know works this format please send me a direct email - no PM's please.
Looking for HD quality or higher but does not have to be 4k.

Thanks - mauricio dp@aquaterrafilms.com
 
Nice stuff Sean!

Is the H20 OLPF worth using for shallow water, naturally lit freedive shots (vs a standard OLPF)?
Or are the benefits only seen during deeper dives.
 
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