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Bob Cranston testing DeepX

Bob Cranston testing DeepX

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Bob Cranston kindly invited me on his boat to evaluate DeepX housing.

I joined Bob and Peter Kragh at Catalina Island yesterday morning and we haded for some local diving. While the visibility was only about 3m (10 ft) the marine life and kelps didn't disappoint.

Bob, Peter and I had excellent time diving, chatting and filming together. I was assisting Bob with lighting most of the time. Peter had a good go with DeepX too. I value his feedback because, along with Bob and Howard Hall, I regard him as one of the best underwater film maker I've ever met.
Peter immediately suggested that, because of the low profile and symetrical top and bottom, the DeepX can be turned upside-down for very low angle shots - something not possible with any other housing. He loved this possibility.

The feedback I received from Bob exceeded all my expectations. He said with a big grin on his face: "It's fantastic! I want to use one on my next [feature] project...I wish Howard [Hall] was here so I could rub his nose and give him a hard time..." ... all friedly, of course :)

What Bob liked most was the size of DeepX, image quality and the ability to change the lens in a few seconds, which is exactly what he asked for just before he jumped in the water for the second dive.

I enjoyed the diving at Catalina and even more so Bob's and Peter's company. Pictures of Bob and Peter taken yesterday are attached. Bob's report and footage should be coming soon.
 

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Tom Hamilton said:
For anyone who has joined this thread recently, Mark Thorpe won the very prestigious Prix du Public at the 34th World Festival of Underwater Images in Antibes, France, for his short entitled 'The Majesty of Muck'. Well done mate!

When Mark talks u/w imaging, I iisten. Very carefully.
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Cheers Tom, I'm not the most technical person out there, love the imaging and just get on with it.

Thanks,
Mark.
 
Will agree with you there Mark. Went out on Johnny's boat in La Paz a while back, we consumed more beer than the salty sea water what was floating the damn boat. But it all worked out in the end. Some very pretty images of fish, water, light. Johnny certainly knows his schtumpf.

Fluid dynamics vs liver buoyancy I guess, there's gotta be a scientific give-and-take formula there somewhere. Way beyond my ken. :cheers2:
 
Tom Hamilton said:
Will agree with you there Mark. Went out on Johnny's boat in La Paz a while back, we consumed more beer than the salty sea water what was floating the damn boat. But it all worked out in the end. Some very pretty images of fish, water, light. Johnny certainly knows his schtumpf.

Fluid dynamics vs liver buoyancy I guess, there's gotta be a scientific give-and-take formula there somewhere. Way beyond my ken. :cheers2:
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Well we only brought what....two cases of beer for 3 guys for a week. Maybe three...but hell, that's not even Canadian limits....and we had a Canadian onboard.

damn nice time though and lots of incredible imagery there.
 
Frazier,

I would have paid money to find a spot like that, what I got was horrible. We went all around French reef with the scooters and still couldn't find anything. Anyway, will be back in the Keys next week. We have our boat on Pilot House marina, mile marker 92, from there is a short ride to all those spots. We're pretty loaded with gear but have space for one more. Will PM you when we have a better idea of when we'll head down and you're welcome to join us onboard.
 
Rudi Herbert said:
Frazier,

I would have paid money to find a spot like that, what I got was horrible. We went all around French reef with the scooters and still couldn't find anything. Anyway, will be back in the Keys next week. We have our boat on Pilot House marina, mile marker 92, from there is a short ride to all those spots. We're pretty loaded with gear but have space for one more. Will PM you when we have a better idea of when we'll head down and you're welcome to join us onboard.
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Snapper Ledge on a good day is amazing with fish and marinelife. But vis can be up or down, the shots of the snappers was actually on a not so great vis day. Theres a link to some of this stock, rough edit on youtube of the footage here, it was shot on RED One and EPIC with various Canon lenses. I personally don't dive French anymore, not too much happening there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIXPvhIC9Gs&list=UUjMMBWTZChCcoO_amPKAgGQ&index=1&feature=plcp
 
Frazier Nivens said:
Snapper Ledge on a good day is amazing with fish and marinelife. But vis can be up or down, the shots of the snappers was actually on a not so great vis day. Theres a link to some of this stock, rough edit on youtube of the footage here, it was shot on RED One and EPIC with various Canon lenses. I personally don't dive French anymore, not too much happening there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIXPvhIC9Gs&list=UUjMMBWTZChCcoO_amPKAgGQ&index=1&feature=plcp
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Gorgeous images Frazier lovely and sharp edge to edge fabulous!
 
Thank you Ross for your kind comments. Several different lenses were used. The Snapper Ledge was shot on Canon 16-35mm 2.8. Most of the rest was shot with canon mount Tokina 11-16mm 2.8. And a 14mm lens. I do use a custom color correction filter that I got from Aquavideo for most of the shots, in a Aquavideo housing and Mikes glass some port. I have a Sigma 8-16mm lens I want to try out sometime, I shot it once on my Red One and it wasn't bad but at 8mm curved too much for my taste.

The original R3D files of Snapper that was shot with Canon 16-35 seems good edge to edge and looks nice on my HD monitor. One of my favorite shots. Wish u could see the real thing in HD.
 
Must say here, I am astonished at the compact size of Pawel's Epic housing. The fact that John E and Bob Cranston took the time to investigate his gear says quite a bit. To me anyways.

A few issues I might mention, the substantially negative buoyancy of his housing, and his solution, a purpose-designed BCD, makes it somewhat cumbersome to dive with, at least for hand-held u/w work. The increasing compression with increasing depth, will that be fed by an independent cylinder, or does that come from the diver's supply? Some time-limiting logistical problems there.

I can see a very specific use, tripod work, and u/w jib, after the Hydroflex solution, for example.

What I would really like to see, is a professionally graded and color corrected piece, of interesting subject matter, of which Oz has absolutely no shortage whatsoever, shot on Pawel's rig, done by an acknowledged u/w pro, using those Nikonos lenses.

Pawel?
 
Tom,
I'm sure Bob C. will be back with a detailed update/review of Pawel's rig. I'd expect nothing but purely fact finding down to earth get it done mentality from Bob...he likes this he does not like that. Bob is one of those just get it done guys that will lay it out evenly and with no bias. No flash no gimmicks....just give him a a tool that does the job that works all the time. I'm sure i already know point one with Bob is....smaller is better--but that has to do with dive equipment. Then i'd expect a list of here's what needs to be done or what I'd do to make it more functional/affordable etc... Anyway, i'd expect we see a review coming soon from mr. Cranston. and this is only from what i know of B.Cranston. He'll tell it like it is....
 
Tom Hamilton said:
A few issues I might mention, the substantially negative buoyancy of his housing, and his solution, a purpose-designed BCD, makes it somewhat cumbersome to dive with, at least for hand-held u/w work. The increasing compression with increasing depth, will that be fed by an independent cylinder, or does that come from the diver's supply? Some time-limiting logistical problems there.
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Tom, what are you talking about?

The production version of DeepX has been lightened by 1.5kg compared to the prototype. DeepX is POSITIVELY buoyant with the 15mm lens, camera, 160Wh V-lock battery and monitor installed. It is super tiny - the thin scalptured aluminium shell wraps the camera with 0.5mm gap. We needed to add about 2lb to make it neutral. After that Bob and Peter Kragh were throwing it to each other underwater taking turns with the camera :)

Bob, Peter and I shot some footage at Catalina, which I haven't seen. The vizibility was about 10 ft, though. We shot with 15mm Nikonos and with 12mm Sea and Sea lens. I'm not sure when Bob can get it to Band Pro to have a look.

Bob is currently shooting for television with his HDCAM, so this was the first time he took his Epic underwater. While he spoke highly of Gates Deep Epic, he said that DeepX is the housing he prefers and would like to use for his next feature. I hope this answers your concerns.

I've just arrived from LA to Tassie this morning, but the visibility is still poor here.

BTW, I've been using a BCD system with my HDCAM for over a decade and I would not swap it for anything else. It is the best buoyancy system ever made as you can make it negative, perfectly neutral or positive in a few seconds regardless of configuration. I do not have a BCD for DeepX available ....yet.
 
Band Pro updated the report from Bob Cranston about the DeepX

"DeepX in Action with Bob Cranston
World-renowned underwater cinematographer Bob Cranston tried out DeepX this week off the coast of Catalina. The results are evident in the smile on Bob's face. This revolutionary new submersible camera system for Red Epic and Scarlet cameras resolves 5K from edge to edge and yields a clarity of image never before seen. After the dive, here's what Bob had to say:
There is a lot to like about the DeepX housing. Here are some things I liked:
1. It is very small and easy to travel with.
2. It is a simple, reliable type design.
3. It has great Nikon optics.
4. Quality of machining and fit are excellent.
5. You can get the lens close to the subject, and low, near the sea floor. It is even possible to turn the camera 180 degrees to put the lens on the bottom.
6. Nikonos selection of lenses and accessories is great. With lens extension tubes and framers, this system offers the best macro capabilities I have seen so far.
7. We shot the Sea & Sea fisheye lens for Nikonos, and got a beautiful, wide image. The Nikon 15mm lens looked good, but was not wide enough for my liking.
8. Overall, I very much like the removable Nikonos lens system, as it is being applied to DeepX housing. The design is wonderfully simple, it looks reliable.
No stranger to the world of underwater photography, Bob has worked on numerous IMAX features including 'Deep Sea 3D', 'Ocean Oasis', and 'Island of the Sharks' to name a few; as well as the highly lauded 'Blue Planet' series from the BBC; and the list goes on. Needless to say, we can't wait to see what he does next."

Link: http://www.bandpro.com/news-a-events/244-deepx-bob-cranston.html

Brett consulted with Bob to make sure the above report is accurate.

PS. Also, nice article in the latest FDTimes on page 31.
 

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Cranston: "The Nikon 15mm lens looked good, but was not wide enough for my liking."

This has been the opinion of everyone I know that has done a lot of underwater filming - 63-75 degrees FOV (which is what it provides on Scarlet/Epic) is just not enough because you lose color saturation and clarity having to shoot through more water.


And that seems to be the whole point of DeepX - to be able to use the Nikonos 15 to get edge to edge ultimate sharpness on rectilinear wide because dome ports have some issues on the edges (which BTW are reduced with fisheye lenses behind domes so the difference between housed and Nikonos/Sea and Sea fisheye is not as great).

As far as macro, the housed cameras have no optical problem getting edge to edge sharpness since flat ports are not an issue with the longer focal lengths used in macro.


Again, I can see a few instances where the Nikonos lenses would be nice, and Pawel has made a beautiful, sexy housing, but given that the smaller epic sensor can't take full advantage of the 15mm, I just don't see how it makes sense as a general purpose system - and I will be curious to see if Bob actually shells out $15K+ for DeepX after considering everything and maybe checking out some of the other available options.


Resolution isn't everything, and many serious cinematographers on Reduser have pointed out that after a point better dynamic range and colorimetry outweigh increases in resolution. As far as underwater, I believe color saturation and clarity (which isn't the same as resolution) is more important. And it isn't even general resolution we are talking about, it's corner resolution with wide angles and dome ports, and even there it isn't a dead end (as it is with Nikonos lenses since no new ones are being developed) since, if better corner resolution is critical, underwater corrected optics are being developed for the housings that currently use domes.
 
15mm Nikonos lens is not wide enough for great results in poor visibility. Wider is better. In very clear water it would be fine but under poor vis conditions it just doesn't cut it. I would love to see video from this shoot in the poor vis conditions that they had.
 
Frazier Nivens said:
15mm Nikonos lens is not wide enough for great results in poor visibility. Wider is better. In very clear water it would be fine but under poor vis conditions it just doesn't cut it. I would love to see video from this shoot in the poor vis conditions that they had.
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I hate to disagree with my friend Frazier (I guess I'm just disagreeable today ;-) ) but I don't think the 15mm on epic (75degree FOV) "would be fine" in very clear water - it would be just okay. IIRC Frazier, you were saying just the other day that the lens you had on - with a 95 degree FOV shooting 5K - wasn't as wide as you would like since you are used to shooting with camcorders with well over 100 degree FOV.

Here's the bottom line for me - it is often hard to evaluate things like this without seeing direct comparison because at first it is going to look good - you just don't realize it could be even better if you don't have something to directly compare it to. This is the scenario I see happening - you're going to shoot 75 degree FOV with the Nikonos 15 on Epic (or god forbid on Scarlet which will be worse at 4K only 63 degree FOV) and the dive master will be shooting with his Sony camcorder with a super wide lens behind a dome port, and the producer will be watching both on playback and wondering why the sony "looks so much better" - because he got a lot closer and cut down the amount of water between camera and subject and got much better color saturation and clarity. They probably aren't going to notice the extra sharpness in the corners of the Nikonos shots - but they will notice the much nicer overall image. In short, until we get a full frame (24x36mm) sensor to match the film format the Nikonos 15mm was designed for I just don't see the point, which is why we haven't implemented it yet even though we discussed using the Nikonos lenses on RED in this forum years ago.
 
Frazier Nivens said:
15mm Nikonos lens is not wide enough for great results in poor visibility. Wider is better. In very clear water it would be fine but under poor vis conditions it just doesn't cut it. I would love to see video from this shoot in the poor vis conditions that they had.
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Why would you like to see it? You seem to have formulated your opinion without it.

Michael Hastings said:
Cranston: "The Nikon 15mm lens looked good, but was not wide enough for my liking."
This has been the opinion of everyone I know that has done a lot of underwater filming - 63-75 degrees FOV (which is what it provides on Scarlet/Epic) is just not enough because you lose color saturation and clarity having to shoot through more water.
...
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Michael, as you seem to reapeat yourself like a broken record, I'd like to clarify that on balance neither Bob nor I find the 75 degrees (or 82 degrees on the upcoming Dragon sensor) of the Nikonos 15mm limiting considering simply unmatched overall flexibility and quality that the Nikonos system provides. The ability to use extension tubes, the range of lenses and the incredible speed with which you can change them in the field means that DeepX offers a unique ability to capture the action from all the angles and with the highest optical quality possible.

Overall (in case you missed it the forest for the trees) Bob thought that DeepX is one of the most compelling housings for the Epic currently available and, in fact, he would like to use it on his next feature. It is the highest praise I have received and I'm delighted by hearing this from Bob as he essentially validated what I considered the best housing for my own work.

He didn't mention Aquavideo for some reason.

So, maybe you could just serch for problems in your own backyard before you start bagging competitive offerings as it just sounds like sour grapes to me.
 
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