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Underwater Bubble Blowers User Group Thread NEW

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All good Mark, congrats on your upcoming sprog, might want to say a fond goodbye to continuous sleep for at least the next three years. Going to work was always my solution to peaceful rest and slumber. But well worth it anyways, takes a real man to change diapers. :-)

As far as Juan Viernes is concerned, hard to circulate around the Baja without rubbing up against his 'hood'. :001_cool:
 
Haha, I've heard the first daipers are green! Not sure I'm up to that...

Yeah, I heard John's 'influence' is spread far and wide down there haha. All good.

Break a leg mate and hope you get some great imagery.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Hey gang-

I was just doing some research on color correction filters for under water and came across Johnny's post about omitting color correction when shooting under water with the Epics.

We are currently shooting an underwater project and an initial test had shown slightly better results when using a CC50R Lee Camera Gel/Filter behind the lens (Optimo).

We have shot for a few days with that filter setup and and I am now questioning this judgment as we are getting a good bit of RED noise in the blacks/shadows.

We are shooting with Epic Build 3.2.16 and using Red Color 3 and Red Gamma 3 and generally still pushing the White Balance to the 14000K(10M Depth) - 25000K (20-25M Depth) range to get appropriate whites.

We are of course still monitoring RAW for overall exposure purposes.

I am about to do a Fresh Black Cal to see if it helps.

Will keep you posted.

I would appreciate any input and advise,

Thanks
Mick Pacifici
 
Mick,
i think if in "controlled" conditions you can use a filter (that is how i would see it)....but i think this question will reveal (as previously) vary different methods. I think if you explain what your conditions are....in a pool; sea; lake, what type of water conditions....then this may help for answers. It will be hard to ever get a "proper" white balance underwater....but you can also play with WB setting and tint, then individual RGB channels to get better and then work on Red & Blue channels separately to reduce noise....i think Paul may have more to say on this...BUT, this is all individual technique as well as each colorist also has some tricks they may or may not wish to reveal.

But personally i just don't see any practical use of a filter when we have all the useful post tools at our finger-tips and we need to effect the image in post anyway.

.....that said, this is merely my opinion and experience shooting and working in post. As i have weighed the advantages to disadvantages of both and feel (for me) that adding a filter does not gain me as much as w/out a filter for noise/stop reduction and channel noise vs. adding a filter in post.
 
I would like to second Johnny's train of thought.
I have years of stills work with Whale Sharks and other big animals in uncontrolled conditions.
One minute I am on the surface while the next shot will be looking straight down at a beast...
the next image may be a syllo- all this presents challenges that are not worth the risk when using filters...

Going filterless is the best option in my opinion... once you figure out the formula in post you will get all colors that actually
existed in the scene back.

I am now working with Scarlet and will approach my filming in the same way as I have with stills raw.

Attached : Three examples that would make my life really difficult should I have had a filter attached.
These three scenarios are all doable, possible during one single immersion.

MH
 

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Well,

I won't add to the debate about filters, except to say that I do swear by them, and that RAW is RAW, but only in as much as the spectrum of the light BEFORE it enters the sensor, and obviously, a filter changes that. But, I will agree that the best thing about a filter is the ability to use at will, which is why the new optics system I'm looking into designing would have filter wheels in front of the lens that can be flipped in and out at will. Two wheels to be precise, color filters on one side, and NDs on the other, or even a pola for shallow work. Lastly, current URPro and the like filters, are a very old design that definitely adds oranges in the mid range but also a lot of noise in the shadows, because their formulation is too dark. The filters that I've been using are much lighter, with a bias towards a golden yellow instead of dark orange. This formulation does add a lot of nice color without introducing noise in the bottom end of the red channel.
 
First pics from Amphibico of their new Rouge Epic/Scarlet housing, very nice looking.

Lots of interesting features, still reading through the press release.
 

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Says here, Amphibico has full electronic control of the camera through the pistol grips, I assume RS232 protocols, something everyone has been after for the longest time. Those boys have been busy, it seems.

Game changer, congrats to Amphibico. Redmote no longer necessary.
 
Tom- you got ahead of me!

Here is the official press release from Amphibico.
There will be many questions regarding this new housing. One thing is for sure, it will definitely
expand the the current lineup and allow us to use many more features at our finger tips.
The RedMote will no be used to control features in the housing so this opens up the read window for monitor, etc.

For the past 6 months I have been giving my input to the design team over at Amphibico to help design a very user friendly system
with new innovations not seen in other housings...

I want to clarify that I am a Technical Field Advisor to Aquatica the parent company of Amphibico - I am also a long time dealer for both
Aquatica and Amphibico.

I welcome any and all questions and comments regarding this new kid on the block and of course will be happy to take orders in due course.

I am eagerly anticipating the first unit for testing.

Below is the written portion of press release below:

PRESS RELEASE JULY 13, 2012
This ground breaking project has been the most ambitious project that Amphibico has undertaken in the past 10
years. We are proud to announce and present the new Rouge underwater housing for the RED Scarlet X and Epic cinema
cameras.
Amphibico’s development team has excelled to a new level, by using dual electronic Amphibi-grips® and menu
control panel. This will allow the user access to all the important key controls of the camera keeping in mind total ergonomics
and underwater balance. Most of those who are familiar with Amphibico’s products will know that the housing construction
quality and reliability is still the highest you could find in the industry. That is why Amphibico once again, is leading the way of
technology and performance with underwater imaging.

Housing Key Features:

 Designed for professional underwater use

 Practically no tools required to mount camera in housing makes for a quick topside ready camera in minutes.

 Full electronic control of the camera, with a state of the art control system, 14 Electronic push button controls on dual
Amphibi-grips® and a menu panel provides; -Direct access to operational camera functions such as Record, White
Balance, Shutter Speed, ISO & Aperture at finger tip access.

 Easy access to camera navigation functions such as Menu, Up, Down, Right, Left & Select to change camera's
parameters.

 Access to various user define functions, to execute a number of the camera's user keys & function keys.

 "REDMOTE NOT REQUIRED" All controls are on the grips

 Servo driven proportional Manual Focus wheel

 Servo driven proportional Manual Zoom wheel

 Servo driven Manual Iris wheel

 Power On/Off

 Rear view & top view window to use with the RED TOUCH 5.0" LCD display

 Sensitive Hydrophone

 Water sensor alarm

 Stream lined positioned Tally light provided to inform your talent diver when camera is recording

 Bayonet Mounted Port System

 4 auxiliary ports, supporting bulkhead connectors such as HDMI & HD-SDI outputs

 Optional External monitor ready

 Accessory mounting holes of various standard sizes underneath housing.

 Housing will accept the most popular lenses from Nikon, Canon as well as cinema PL mount lenses

 Perfectly balanced

 Most compact available in the industry

Price TBA but expect a very competitive pricing scheme.
 
If any of you saw last night's episode of "Louie" (Louis C.K.'s show of FX) the in water scenes were shot with the PVC version of the AquaVideo Epic housing. There were several scenes of Louie being rescued and then later playing in the surf on Miami Beach, and the lightweight PVC made for easier handling in the surf zone.
 
Good to hear about more choices for u/w film makers.

What is the empty and total weight of the new Amphibico housing?
Any word about optical performance?
 
Great to see the name revived and putting out housings. Never been a fan of electronic controls though, just hoping they have evolved from the problem smitten housings a la FX1, Z1, Amphibicam etc. Great concept but a tad 'fizzy'.
 
Gotta watch the weight.

Guys, I seem to have swapped blowing bubbles for a surf imaging path. There's something about getting bounced across reefs and three hour swims that kinda flips my switch.

To that end I have a couple of reg sets available. Comprising of the best out there, in my opinion, super lightweight the Atomic T2 Titanium regulator and first stage along with the Ti2 Octopus and ScubaPro dual air/depth gauge is one of the lightest reg sets out there. I have two complete sets available with a retail value of $1700ea. One is unused and one used. The used one requires a new front cover for the Octopus.


182545_377107929021176_1074342858_n.jpg


I'm open to offers so if anyone is interested please contact me via DM or mark at liquidmocean dot com

I also have a SUUNTO D9 Titanium with Transmitter, 2 yrs old, flawless and open to offers.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
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