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Underwater Bubble Blowin' Users Group

Monteiro,

Couple of questions for you. I assume you're in the Bahamas or Belize? Can you please send me some contact info for rentals of your housing? What kind of dome are you using on your housing, glass or acrylic, and what's the size, 6 or 8 inches? I see you're using the UR Pro filter, which is great, but have you tried adjusting the white balance in post as well? I've done some fairly aggressive white balancing with the Sony EX-1 on 60 ft deep footage in very dirty water, where I couldn't use a filter, but the minute I adjusted the WB, I got a very nice color rendition with minimal image noise. I would be interested to see how the RED handles the changes in WB before rendering the images noisy or soft.

Regards,
 
RED footage

RED footage

Monteiro said:
I edited in a few more shots today and output a 600x300 H264 MOV file on the Medium quality setting. It yielded about a 50 meg file which is fairly clean. Unfortunately the water was not that clear in the dolphin segment and as the subjects move away from the camera it loses contrast. I compensated with Final Cuts 3 way color corrector but I am not totally happy with it.

www.sea-cam.com/Video/Trailer.mov

The shark hypnotism segment was in 40 feet of water much clearer but since this was only the second time I used my dome port my hyperfocal distance was slightly off, making distant subjects slightly soft where the close up of the shark's eye was right on the money.

www.sea-cam.com/Video/sharkhypnotism.mov
Click to expand...

Hi Monteiro,

THanks for posting that RED footage in higher res. It looks great and what perfect conditions to shoot in. I would love to also know some tech stuff, such as which lens were you using, and did you use a UR pro type filter?

My RED housing will now not be ready untilI would love to see it in even higher quality and a bigger size.

Were you using a UR Pro filter? Must have been a big one and they cost a fortune.
 
George! Nice work man, wow you really make me want to head south...this NYC weather is making me have cabin fever, thanks for a glimpse from where ever you are. I cant wait until I get my under water housing...you guys are having too much fun.
 
Re UR Pro

Re UR Pro

Yes I was using a UR Pro and it did come in very handy on the deep stuff but was really unnecessary in the shallow area. A 3 stop ND filter would have been fine. A polarizer might have been even better as the water was a little cloudy. I have never used one underwater because I never had a camera this sensitive. The lens was the 18-50 Red and I just screwed on a 72mm UR Pro that I have had for about 15 years. I don't know what they sell for now but I used to use a CC 30R with almost identical results. There is no real magic in the UR Pro red filter counteracts the blue and allows the white balance control greater range. It is the white balance control that does the fine tuning.
 
The colour balance on the shark shots was quite good, I think.
 
I am using a 6" acrylic dome in a modified Oceanic port that I used to use on my Betacam housing. I tried to find a still camera port with a big enough opening to fit the 18-50 Red lens which has a 4.5" front diameter but couldn't find one so I just ordered some new acrylic domes from my favorite compass manufacturer and went with something I knew would work. I am still open to suggestions on ports. I haven't ever tried glass. Right after I did the shark hypnosis segment we got all the other divers out of the water and speared a fish in an effort to start a feeding frenzy. One of the sharks hit the dome so hard that I thought he broke it. I'll post that footage if you are interested. As far as rental is concerned, for now I will be renting it as a package with me as the operator or assistant. There are so many things that can go wrong in the underwater arena that I would hate to be responsible for someone losing a camera or worse. You can contact me directly for rates.

george@msolutions.tv
 
Monteiro said:
I am using a 6" acrylic dome in a modified Oceanic port that I used to use on my Betacam housing. I tried to find a still camera port with a big enough opening to fit the 18-50 Red lens which has a 4.5" front diameter but couldn't find one so I just ordered some new acrylic domes from my favorite compass manufacturer and went with something I knew would work. I am still open to suggestions on ports. I haven't ever tried glass. Right after I did the shark hypnosis segment we got all the other divers out of the water and speared a fish in an effort to start a feeding frenzy. One of the sharks hit the dome so hard that I thought he broke it. I'll post that footage if you are interested. As far as rental is concerned, for now I will be renting it as a package with me as the operator or assistant. There are so many things that can go wrong in the underwater arena that I would hate to be responsible for someone losing a camera or worse. You can contact me directly for rates.

george@msolutions.tv
Click to expand...

Hi George,

Again great footage. Aquatica make an excellent 8" acrylic dome with the aqualens bayonet system (you can buy them from B&H in NYC for about $280USD). The opening/hole is 142mm which is big enough for many 12 & 14mm PL type lenses. The only thing is you've got to deal with their particular bayonet thread system, which is tricky unless you have someone who really knows how to machine this sort of thread at the front of your housing. I was surprised just how wide your shots looked for an 18mm lens. I would have thought the footage was shot with something wider. So maybe there is some use for the 18-50 RED lens U/W. I figured it was going to be a bit like the Nikonos 35mm lens, not much good for anything really.

Kind regards

George
www.coralseatv.com
 
CoralSeaTV said:
Hi George,

Again great footage. Aquatica make an excellent 8" acrylic dome with the aqualens bayonet system (you can buy them from B&H in NYC for about $280USD). The opening/hole is 142mm which is big enough for many 12 & 14mm PL type lenses. The only thing is you've got to deal with their particular bayonet thread system, which is tricky unless you have someone who really knows how to machine this sort of thread at the front of your housing. I was surprised just how wide your shots looked for an 18mm lens. I would have thought the footage was shot with something wider. So maybe there is some use for the 18-50 RED lens U/W. I figured it was going to be a bit like the Nikonos 35mm lens, not much good for anything really.

Kind regards

George
www.coralseatv.com
Click to expand...



The older large threaded dome you describe is the dome setup we are using as our standard port system - we have the threads machined into the aluminum frontplate and we bought up all of the remaining domes, macro ports, etc. of that style from Helix who bought them out when Nikon (who was distributing Aquatica at the time) got out of the underwater biz. These domes predated the current owners of Aquatica so they don't really make them standard anymore, but we have a lot of spares and can either have them make more with a significant order or make them ourselves.

George, I have this thread in some large generic plates- as well as an 8" glass dome - that could probably be adapted to your housing if you like.
 
Photo for you, YOU AND SEACAM HOUSING

Photo for you, YOU AND SEACAM HOUSING

Monteiro said:
I am using a 6" acrylic dome in a modified Oceanic port that I used to use on my Betacam housing. I tried to find a still camera port with a big enough opening to fit the 18-50 Red lens which has a 4.5" front diameter but couldn't find one so I just ordered some new acrylic domes from my favorite compass manufacturer and went with something I knew would work. I am still open to suggestions on ports. I haven't ever tried glass. Right after I did the shark hypnosis segment we got all the other divers out of the water and speared a fish in an effort to start a feeding frenzy. One of the sharks hit the dome so hard that I thought he broke it. I'll post that footage if you are interested. As far as rental is concerned, for now I will be renting it as a package with me as the operator or assistant. There are so many things that can go wrong in the underwater arena that I would hate to be responsible for someone losing a camera or worse. You can contact me directly for rates.

george@msolutions.tv
Click to expand...

George,

Thought you'd like to see this photo I shot of you back in Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau Scuba Centre, Tunnel Wall, year 2000 I think it was.

Best,
Frazier
 
Wow thanks Frazier! I really appreciate it. I have sow few pictures of myself underwater and I wasn't tangled in the power cable or anything. As for the date that was a housing I built in the 80s for a JVC KY-2700 so it has to be at least 15-18 years old. I would love to have a printable file of it. You can reach me at george@msolutions.tv. Thanks again.

George
 
CoralSeaTV said:
Hi George,

Again great footage. Aquatica make an excellent 8" acrylic dome with the aqualens bayonet system (you can buy them from B&H in NYC for about $280USD). The opening/hole is 142mm which is big enough for many 12 & 14mm PL type lenses. The only thing is you've got to deal with their particular bayonet thread system, which is tricky unless you have someone who really knows how to machine this sort of thread at the front of your housing. I was surprised just how wide your shots looked for an 18mm lens. I would have thought the footage was shot with something wider. So maybe there is some use for the 18-50 RED lens U/W. I figured it was going to be a bit like the Nikonos 35mm lens, not much good for anything really.

Kind regards

George
www.coralseatv.com
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info on the Aquatica port. I will check it out. With regards to the 18-50 lens I wasn't even going to try it in the housing. I had a great deal on a 10mm lens but I compared the Red lens to the lens I have used for years on my Betacam housing a Fujinon 6.5-23mm and it was almost as wide so I gave it a try. I am glad I did. What I really love about this lens is that you can focus almost to the front surface of the glass. Yesterday in the pool I was literally able fill the screen with my big toe! So my next test is going to be doing some macro stuff. I don't know about you but every time I set up to do macro stuff a whale shark swims by and I want to kick myself. It is great to have the flexibility to do both macro and wide angle with the same lens.

George

PS I output a larger file on the Dolphin footage ( www.sea-cam.com/Video/Trailer/mov ) from 600-300 to 1,200x600 and it only increased file size by about 25% even though the screen size quadrupled. H-264 is strange.
 
want to go red underwater...what lenses red/nikon/canon

want to go red underwater...what lenses red/nikon/canon

Hi there.I am Jim kozmik, with Undersea Explorer TV and Blue realm tv...we would like to get into red/scarlett whatever this year.looked at gates and Aquavideo..on Aquavideo anyone out there using Nikon/Canon lenses yet..if so how do they compare to the red one 18-50 underwater..also any thoughts on the Aquavideo aluim deepwater housing..I see in pictures no Large lense hood to protect the dome port....and does a surface feed cable come out of the Aquavideo housing....thanks
 
Welcome to the Board Jim

Welcome to the Board Jim

jim kozmik said:
Hi there.I am Jim kozmik, with Undersea Explorer TV and Blue realm tv...we would like to get into red/scarlett whatever this year.looked at gates and Aquavideo..on Aquavideo anyone out there using Nikon/Canon lenses yet..if so how do they compare to the red one 18-50 underwater..also any thoughts on the Aquavideo aluim deepwater housing..I see in pictures no Large lense hood to protect the dome port....and does a surface feed cable come out of the Aquavideo housing....thanks
Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

Welcome to the board, I'm sure Mike/Aquavideo will answer pretty soon all your questions.

Next time you're in town let me know in advance and we'll get together again and shoot some with my camera.

Frazier
 
Dan is doing fine we just completed our 100th underwater TV show and planning out 2009 shoot season..but were are both puzzled about the underwater camera and housing selection....we thought Sony EX1 in a Gates....the EX3 is coming out from Amphibico in the spring...looked at RED one and Gates and Aquavideo...big diference in price and availability right now,,,,,we are concerned about downloading in the field on some South Pacific Island...any suggestions wold be greatly appreciated..kozzzzz
 
jim kozmik said:
Hi there.I am Jim kozmik, with Undersea Explorer TV and Blue realm tv...we would like to get into red/scarlett whatever this year.looked at gates and Aquavideo..on Aquavideo anyone out there using Nikon/Canon lenses yet..if so how do they compare to the red one 18-50 underwater..also any thoughts on the Aquavideo aluim deepwater housing..I see in pictures no Large lense hood to protect the dome port....and does a surface feed cable come out of the Aquavideo housing....thanks
Click to expand...

Jim:

Welcome to the board.

I'm not sure what pictures you are seeing without the shade, although sometimes we leave them off in pictures so that it is easier to see it is a dome and maybe looks a little sexier with the reflections. By way of explanation - in general, dome shades are a major pain in the ---, especially when you make housings for a lot of different cameras instead of sort of force feeding the market with housings for only a few Sonys. With the really wide angles we use today it is hard to make a shade that actually does anything that you can easily and securely attach.

The standard port system on our RED housings is the older Aquatica threaded setup (allows bigger lenses like Arri 12mm, Arri 8r, as well as normal SLR size lenses). So you have the choice of the Aquatica wide angle or fisheye shades on the 6" and the wide angle shade on the 8". We are working on a good solution for the 8" glass dome version. The thread for the ports is machined right into our front plate. The picture of the housings below show the standard wide angle shade - the fisheye shade is more cut away.

Yes, we have a surface feed option. (In fact we had both surface feed HD-SDI and surface lens control of the Canon SLR lenses on a housing last summer.)

I'm always sort of surprised at the surface feed question as it is pretty easy to add video out to almost any camera/housing - basically drill and tap a hole and insert either a compression seal or underwater connector. I've never seen a housing (either ours or other manufacturer's) that we couldn't install the video cable out. The only question is whether you want U/W mateable connectors (adds a couple hundred in cost) and whether you use a fairly off-the-shelf coax or a more robust heavy wall cable (again just more money). For pool/shallow water we use a pretty standard cable and a compression seal through a second backplate - so you just pop off one backplate and clamp the other on. For deeper and more regular use with typically use a heavy wall neoprene coated cable with either a compression seal or underwater mateables.

BTW I have been a little out of touch - recently got married and with a fair amount of ongoing work plus the holidays and integrating 2 households I have been a little lax in email/pm response. But I am still here and happy to answer questions - try phoning me at 954 937 6600 to get my attention.
 
Hay Mike thanks for the reply,we are still in the decideing stage about,what system and needs for our TV show ,and certainly are interested in your housing..
So right now you can build the deepwater aluim housing for how much.18-50 mm lense
How about for the Canon 10-22 lense......Will this housing be able to adapt at all with the new Epic in the future with a new inside camera plate and added controls...

This Scarlett unit will probably be the best way to go,but who no,s when it will be out.I will call you next week...Jim Kozmik..
 
Aquavideo Housings

Aquavideo Housings

jim kozmik said:
Hay Mike thanks for the reply,we are still in the decideing stage about,what system and needs for our TV show ,and certainly are interested in your housing..
So right now you can build the deepwater aluim housing for how much.18-50 mm lense
How about for the Canon 10-22 lense......Will this housing be able to adapt at all with the new Epic in the future with a new inside camera plate and added controls...

This Scarlett unit will probably be the best way to go,but who no,s when it will be out.I will call you next week...Jim Kozmik..
Click to expand...

Jim,

Do you have Canon lenses?? The Birger mount has now been ok'd for installation on the RED and you can use the Canon still glass if you want. But I don't know a time frame for getting the mount as they're just starting to ramp up the shipment of the mounts.

Canon 10-22. Great lens.

Mike's housings are built well. next time you're down to KL let me know in advance and we'll drive up to Mikes for a visit.

Scarlet will be a great camera but it will be a while before you see one of those...

So if you need something now, go RED and Canon glass with Mike's housing.

Are you planning to come back down soon? We could go out and shoot some UW. Maybe we can get Michael down for some dives and you can try the camera housing combination and see how you like it.

Best,
Frazier Nivens, Ocean Imaging
 
After a discussion with the folks over at Gates Underwater Products, I wanted to make sure that everyone understands the lens possibilities with the Deep Red Video Housing.

The fact is this: ANY lense that can be used on the Red One Camera can also be used with the Deep Red Video Housing. Gates has done the original design with the Red 18-50, simply because that is the most common lens.

If you have a lens that you would like supported, you will simply work directly with the folks at Gates to design a proper length extension. It is simply too cost prohibitive for Gates to purchase every lens on the market, just to design an extension for it.
 
Here's a short sample of three clips of a thornback ray, atlantic halibut and northern wolffish in Norway. Shot at 4K with a Sigma 15 - 30 zoom and an Aquatica flat port. The lens (when in focus, I had no focus control that day!) is quite sharp, but the lack of coating on the flat port is quite evident in the shot of the halibut passing.

Will post some more shots soon.

Amund

link:
http://public.me.com/amundlie

link:
http://public.me.com/amundlie
 
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