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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 :)

Underwater Bubble Blowin' Users Group

Ken,
You told me once to shout out amongst the rafters about that which I could offer the world. I understood that and shouted, I was heard. Hope you got that mail too.......if not no worries. Last time I need to write if that is the issue. The world offers more than commiserations on a chat board.

Best,
Mark.
 
Congratulations Mark - it'll be 4K next year!
 
RED U/W DEMA Show this week plus 3D underwater

RED U/W DEMA Show this week plus 3D underwater

DEMA (Dive Equipment & Marketing Association) show is this week in Orlando Oct. 31. Nov 3 (Wednesday to Saturday)

We were supposed to have a shoot this week, so didn't reserve a booth but RED delays changed that so I will be sharing some space at Booth 1083.

Ken (sharkguy) is supposed to be sending me the proto Red U/W housing that he has been using in the past month so you can see it there (or in the new products showcase if we can get a space.

I'll be at the Ocean Realm Society & Journal: Booth 1083
or roaming the isles. (going to try to finalize who's glass dome we want to use) You can also contact me on my cell at 954 937 6600.

Also, another of my customers is doing some cool 3D underwater stuff they did with two Canon HV-20s and they have a booth where they will be showing it.

Jacoby Group 594

There are some really interesting things happen with 3D - Texas Instruments is using their DLP and LCD technology to create really stunning polarized type 3d on the new big screen TVs from Samsung and Mitsubishi. They have made it very simple/plug and play - and very cost effective.

Gates will be there too so I'm sure you can quiz them about their red system too.
Gates Underwater Products, Inc. booth 1367

I know they are the competition but reduser is all about the info.
 
Hi all!
I have been a "lurker" on this forum for about six months, but I am approaching the final decision whereas to buy the red and house it, and I have a few questions to the info already posted. For me the most important thing in a housing is the optics (quality and versaility). Besides that durability, ergonomics and price of the system.
As far as I can see (correct me if I´m wrong) there seems to be two serious housing manufacturers here on the forum, Aquavideo and Gates.
To summarize my impressions of these two (and I know it´s DEMA today and there will surely be updates in the days to come):
Optics:
Aquavideo have stated that they will use Aquatica still ports for their red housing. The Aquatica optics should transmit high enough resolution for red and allows for a number of different setups.
Gates have their own optics but these have to my knowledge only been used at resolutions up to HD.
Durability:
Aquavideo has two materials to choose from. The alu version will probably be sufficient for hard work over a long time period.
Gates are well known for their "bulletproof design".
Ergonomics:
Don´t know the specs from Aquavideo here, other than they will use an interface based on the Birger mount for lens operation.
Gates have teamed up with Howard Hall, perhaps the most well known UW cameraman out there, so the ergonomics should be excellent.
Price:
Aquavideo (alu) housing with everything (excluding ports) is around US$10 000.
Gates have yet to publish any pricing info.

So with the current information available, Aquavideo seems to be the better option.
I would like to get more info from Aquavideo re ergonomics
I would also like to get more info from Gates re optics, ergonomisc, price.

Another thing I´m also wondering is if ther is a possibility to get different port systems adapted to these housings? There are a number of high quality optics for stills out there (eg Nexus, Subal, Seacam etc) and it would be nice to be able to any one of these lineups (and stick with it). I must say I´d like the Nexus lineup myself.

Thanks for any feedback!
Btw, congrats on the great result Mark!!

Gisle K. Sverdrup, Norway
 
Tokina : another wide u/w zoom lens option ?

Tokina : another wide u/w zoom lens option ?

Hello all,

A fast 11-16 mm / 2.8 lens option (Nikkor or Canon mount) announced :

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0711/07111601tokina116.asp

Close focus ability is not ideal (30cm); might need to shim it out to compensate with domes ?
Clearly, no indication of quality, but will be brighter to use than the Canon 10-20.

Time will tell ... :biggrin:

Cheers
 
Tokina

Tokina

h2opixels said:
Hello all,

A fast 11-16 mm / 2.8 lens option (Nikkor or Canon mount) announced :

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0711/07111601tokina116.asp

Close focus ability is not ideal (30cm); might need to shim it out to compensate with domes ?
Clearly, no indication of quality, but will be brighter to use than the Canon 10-20.

Time will tell ... :biggrin:

Cheers
Click to expand...

It would be nice to have that 2.8 aperture. We will have to see how it holds up with sharpness and CA.

Shimming only works with one focal length - i.e. you would have to set it for the wide side but couldn't use the zoom. A good achromatic diopter would let you use the zoom as well.

I wish Canon would make a really good 10 mm or wider prime (like a scaled down version of the 14mm for aps-c)
 
AquaVideoRed206 said:
I wish Canon would make a really good 10 mm or wider prime (like a scaled down version of the 14mm for aps-c)
Click to expand...

Hi Mike,

Sure ... maybe one day ... a prime 10mm / 2.8 would be nice eh ! (without the Zeiss silly prices)

Any news or tests results you folk have done using the Birger mount ? Gibby ?

Perhaps a silly question BUT ... have you folk tried a x0.6 wide angle adapter on the 18-50 RED lens ? The lens has such close focus capability, I was wondering if by the time it's behind a dome, one would really notice the effects of a x0.6 (or similar factor to get us close to 90 degrees FOV) ?
At the 50mm end, what is the reproduction ratio of the RED 18-50 / could it be used for close-up material ? What's the front filter size ?
Essentially, wondering if the 18-50 with a 'flip in 0.6' (registered properly) would cut it ... then one would have a single lens for w/a and c/u in the one package ? thoughts ?

In terms of catering for optics ... what are you shipping with your housing at the moment ?

We are rapidly approaching the Xmas period, and by Jan 2008 I have commit to some sort of 90 degree capable optics ... with the continued silence from Birger I'm forced to have a re-think (Hmmm - very disappointing)
 
Arri 8R selected as lens of choice

Arri 8R selected as lens of choice

Hi Guys,

Been way busy sorry for the delay in updating my UW testing and solutions. Over the past 6+ months we all have had a great debate on the lens selection for underwater applications with the RED ONE camera. The input has been tremendous.

After recently shooting with the Arri Ultra 8R underwater I have been converted. I have taken the plunge and decided to purchase the Arri 8R ($29K) to be used as my first lens of choice for underwater work. CFWA is what the majority of my UW shooting entails. I have a shooting assignment next year in extremely challenging conditions - big fast animal/minimal viz/cold water/strong currents etc. This lens is absolutely phenomenal for this application as well as everything else from blue whales to polecam to caves IMHO.

I am also thinking that in 4K I have the option to magnify, pan and scan to obtain HDTV images of acceptable quality if the lens is to wide on some shots. Yes I know, the amount of water is increased between the lens and subject if not shot CFWA but who wants to get that cloe to an Architeuthis anyway?

Mike Hastings of Aquavideo is designing my RED pro housing around this lens utilizing his quick change multiple optical port solution. This still enables me to use Canon glass once the option becomes available for compact wide zooms and macro. I gotta' say though, the RED 18-50 is still a great option for a zoom UW for medium focal range. Worked great on the first UW 4K footage Gibby and I shot in September.

And yes, my 8R lens will be available to rent for fellow RED UW shooters. Industry standard rates and commission.

Sharky

http://www.arri.com/prod/cam/ultra_prime_r8/ultra_prime_r8.htm
 
8R

8R

Here's something fun we did with the 8R. The format is 60 FPS 4K 2:1 (just kidding about the 60 FPS). The mask is used to visualize the unique aspect ratio the footage will be projected in after post.

And please do not EVEN comment on resolution or ask to see the footage. This is just a frame grab from the .5K QT movie from the original .r3d 4K file.
 
RED 18-50 details ...

RED 18-50 details ...

sharkguy said:
I gotta' say though, the RED 18-50 is still a great option for a zoom UW for medium focal range. Worked great on the first UW 4K footage Gibby and I shot in September.
Click to expand...

Gents,

Could somebody post a few details for this lens ... PLEASE ???
  • Is the hood integrated (built in or screw on) ?
  • Thread at the front ? and where (on the lens or on the hood) ?
  • What is the close focus distance at 18mm ?
  • What is the close focus distance at 50mm ?

Cheers ...
 
h2opixels said:
Gents,

Could somebody post a few details for this lens ... PLEASE ???
  • Is the hood integrated (built in or screw on) ?
  • Thread at the front ? and where (on the lens or on the hood) ?
  • What is the close focus distance at 18mm ?
  • What is the close focus distance at 50mm ?

Cheers ...
Click to expand...

Hood is removeable.

Thread is on the lens for ND's - Gibby has an entire set he uses. Don't recall if it is 85mm or ?

The math on a 6" dome is to preset the lens to 13.75" so I set it at a hair under 14" to obtain hyperfocal focus from the front of dome to infinity underwater (see the test footage I posted on reduser where the kelp touched the dome and is apparently in focus in 1K).

Exact min focus for the lens out of water is a technical question for Gibby or other lens owners don't have that info.

Disclaimer: This math is from memory and may be slightly or technically imperfect but the focus setting worked brilliantly at 18mm underwater.

Sharky
 
Update (sort of) on Birger Canon EOS mount

Update (sort of) on Birger Canon EOS mount

h2opixels said:
Hi Mike,

Sure ... maybe one day ... a prime 10mm / 2.8 would be nice eh ! (without the Zeiss silly prices)

Any news or tests results you folk have done using the Birger mount ? Gibby ?

We are rapidly approaching the Xmas period, and by Jan 2008 I have commit to some sort of 90 degree capable optics ... with the continued silence from Birger I'm forced to have a re-think (Hmmm - very disappointing)
Click to expand...

I have been a close follower of the Birger mount option for many months because it is a huge deal for us in the underwater world to have the low cost, high quality lens options as well as the electronic control it offers for focus and iris. I speak to Erik regularly but infrequently as I try not to bug them too much. I know a lot of people are wondering what happened to Erik as he hadn't posted in a while.

I suspected that the changes to the RED mount and shipping delays were either causing changes/delays on the Birger mount or at least causing Birger to hold off finalizing their product until things were solidified at RED and RED was closer to delivering cameras again. (Remember us third party accessory manufacturers don't really get to sell our stuff until the cameras are sold. During these production holds we still have to make a living so have to keep working with our existing customer base.)

I spoke to Erik on Friday, and he confirmed that they had to make a few changes to the mechanical parts, but he thought they were essentially on track to be able to ship the first production units about the time RED ONE shipments resume or shortly thereafter. He felt pretty confident that he would have a prepro unit available for the LART tests (December 2)

I know some of my underwater customers have been getting nervous and wondering if it was ever going to happen and should they look at other options. I don't have a lot of hard facts, but I have been doing short run and custom manufacturing for 25 years and have developed a pretty good feel for these things, and I have talked to Erik enough to feel pretty strongly that he is on top of the situation, knows what he is doing and will be getting people these mounts very quickly after RED comes out of the production hold. So my recommendation is: "hold tight and soon we are going to see some pretty amazing and cost effective capability"

PS hey we've hit 500 posts-not bad for a bunch of bubble blowers. I nominate mark (since he started it) to go through all of them and distill it into a coherent, organized knowledge base. :) :)
 
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