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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

That would be a fantastic ideal but imagine being on a boat with 6 RED's all vying for that great shot. I bet we'll end up eating each others fin tips!! I do have a shark related idea for the future to relatively unchartered and pristine waters where, so far as I know, only a few photographers have been, upwards of eight differing types of sharks to be found on one expedition trip. Planning is a bitch due to the isolated location but very doable. Will mean searching for a budget but that is one of the files pending in my projects can at the moment.

Much as I'd love to get to meet all the other RED divers I think that will only happen as and when projects overlap. I'm sure it'll be a blast when we do get meet up though nonetheless.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
I agree with Mark, if RED U/W users will try to do any useful work at the same time, it may look like RED shark feeding frenzy.
Don’t you guys take vacations ever?
I know whole your lives are one big vacations, isn’t it?
Expedition that is less opportunistic instead and more socially interesting will do quite well I think?
Andrew
 
RED standard configuration

RED standard configuration

I haven't had a chance to dig through all the threads, does anybody know which version of red photos would be the base red?
redone_11.jpg
redone_13.jpg

I am trying to figure out what the best mounting would be and need to know what the base unit will have.

Also looking at redon_20.jpg does anyone know if the sensor is farther back than the plate with the 8 screws (just in front of the red button or know there) or is it forward of that. I am trying to figure out if the different mounts - Nikon, Canon, etc. will just be he round portion that sticks out or that whole plate.
 
AquaVideo,
I suggest you contact Jarred or Jim to see if you can get approval to be a RED authorized third party retail / merchandise product provider. Maybe that way you will get privvy information regarding weights measures etc regarding RED. Do lots of specualting now to possibly have it all wasted later on is a risky move.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
AquaVideoRed206 said:
It seems to me that with what they have done already and if RED will give us the information on the front plate of the camera and flange distances to the sensor it wouldn't be that hard to do the physical part either. It seems like the RED team should be seriously considering the utility of the EF setup as it seems like the Iris is easier to do on the canon EF than the Nikon system. Also, it seems like the EF-S 10-22 would be a possibility since the sensor size is almost identical and it would provide the phenomenal wide angle zoom that I think a lot of us are looking for - but particular us underwater guys. We have a CNC machining center, so if RED is overloaded, with a little help we could do it here.
Click to expand...

We will have a mechanical adapter and cable combination as a standard product for RED. We are just waiting for drawings from RED for the front plate of the camera, and the electrical spec of the port that we are going to suck power from. Supposed to be here shortly. We will provide a cable to get power from the camera and a mechanical adapter to the camera. Data for our unit will have to come (at least initially) from a source other than the camera. The scenario that you describe will be quite straightforward.

The lens you want to use works with our unit already. The compatibility list on our website is limited to those lenses that we have had in our hands here at our office. We currently have no known incompatibilities with the newest library. Problem with the known compatible list is that we just haven't had a need to test many lenses. Not on the list right now means it either hasn't been used, or it has never had any issues with customers, so we don't have a need to test it. I suppose we should simply add lenses that are reported as compatible by customers, and footnote that limitation. We just need to get our customers to email when we haven't done something wrong. Where would the fun be in that?
 
Erik, can you make a small box with two knobs on it for adjusting exposure and focus, so we don’t have to connect laptop to your adapter?
I am afraid that RED will be busy for some time and Canon EF mount is not on the top of the list.
 
For sure not the one with EVF. EVF is an option.
As far as I understand there will be LCD included.

Also the thing that has big letters RED on it, is high speed adapter that is an option.
 
Yoo Hooo, diving today and happened on a bait ball of big eyes scad. These poor fish were getting hounded by an invading force of predators. Always makes for good video.

Here's a shot as a grey reef shark launches his attack. The shark is the vertical object in the middle of the exploding fish school.

Gotta love it.
(This is a cropped image)

Ulong-Baitball too.jpg
 
NICE!

Mark, can't wait to see money shots like that in HD shot with your RED UW system at NAB '08 RED booth?
 
Show me da Money!!!

Show me da Money!!!

Yep,
This bait ball is predictable for about 9 months of the year, day in day out. You should see the size of it when it starts out around April, HUGE. The action is better at this time of year though as the fish are bigger, and a lot fewer, so they stay very compacted as they try to avoid predation. This time of year I start just going to this channel everyday and hanging with the baitball just to enlarge the archives of this kinda behavior.

Strange that there is an unquenchable thirst for stock of shark behavior outside of the generic "Here's a shark poodling along the reef drop off........." shots. Not that I'm complaining of course.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Mark, did you see shark going actually horizontal on the fish school?
I guess bottom and bit back direction is a blind spot for most fishes and most divers as well.
Second best, from the top back will create shadow.
But why not to come completely from behind?
 
Attack strategies

Attack strategies

Hey Andrew,
The school of fish were between me and the shark so I couldn't see his angle of approach. I am pretty sure that he did actually come directly from behind and then angled upward with his maw open to feed. The only reason I can see for this approach is the fact that the physical geography of the channel doesn't allow for the classic attack flightpath, from below.

When fish are schooling like this though and if the predator has enough speed then they can hit from whichever angle suits them and still feed. I think the typical attack path of sharks from below is only really applied when the shark has to rely on 100% stealth in their hunt.

I'm sure you've seen the shark documentaries which outline the reason for shark coloration being the way it is? That is to allow the shark to be almost invisible to prey items as it passes underneath (darker skins on the upper side) and able to blend into the surface when viewed from below (lighter bellies) although that won't stop them becoming silhouettes to beings such as humans with 20/20 vision, most fish have poor eyesight. Tiger sharks have stripes to blend in with their favored hunting grounds, shallow turtle grass lagoons as they hunt for stingrays and turtles etc.

Biology lesson over.

All I know is that being in this environment as sharks are feeding gives me a HUGE BUZZ !!

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Mark, thanks for explanation. I watch all I can about sharks, very intriguing.

On another subject, do you have any idea how we will control focus and exposure in the underwater enclosure?
Does it have any servo motors or we have to get it, orl enclosure will just provide the power for servos?
I am really concern how to control the zoom as well. Yes zoom, this will be my dream come true.
You have some experience with in cave filming, do you think the zoom lenses (18-100) will be very useful instead of prime?
 
Hey Jarred

Hey Jarred

Hi Andrew,
I think Ken (Sharkguy) has more cave experience than I so it may be prudent to ask him with regards to the cave scenarios. For zooming etc I would expect that the design of the housing, in the lens vicinity, will have dials on which will then have a cog marrying up to a focus, or exposure ring that fits over the lens to allow that manipulation. Pretty much the same as I have on my existing housing that allows for manual focus of the Z1. If I could upload an image without that option continually failing then I would post an image to clarify my point.

Jarred, everytime I try to post an Internet ready .jpg image 15kb in size I get asked to log in again, go through the upload procedure, the upload fails and I get asked to log in again then get a "No image was selected" message. Something not right, needs some ........ :construction:

Cheers,
Mark.
P.S Almost got the thread to 100 posts, way to go guys.
 
K.i.s.s...

K.i.s.s...

Zoom Lens - I am not the expert on this by far, I am a continual student. As of today, IMHO, there is no zoom wide enough for underwater 4K S35mm coverage. The Red 18-85mm will be a sweet piece of glass but the FOV at the wide end is the equivalent of a 28mm lens. In a cave that is a fairly narrow field of view. That said-

There are some nice super 16mm PL mount lens that will work well for windowed 2K but they are pricey, e.g., the older Canon 8-64 or the super sweet 10x6.6mm (which incidently costs as much as the camera and is physically larger too).

http://www.zgcint.com/zgc.nsf/c7a68...17b2d3161688decf85256ffc006305dd?OpenDocument


I would say rent or buy The Cave on DVD underwater shot by the master Wes Skiles...very fun film for us frogdudes.

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/thecave/index.html

No zoom used in this feature underwater - all ultra-wide primes I would presume due to the low light levels utilized by Wes (I could be wrong?).

Lens Control is simple mechanical gearing like in these photos depicting a S16 9.5-57 zoom lens with three seperate mechanical rings for zoom/iris/focus...OLD SCHOOL!

There might be some fancy electronic controls offered down the road for underwater housings and Canon/Nikon EF lenses but I'd avoid these solutions personally. It's a real pisser to solder circuit boards in 5 meter seas...BTDT!
 
The ultrawide money shot...

The ultrawide money shot...

The shot I want to see is when Cameron uses a pair of Redone cameras 4K with the new Arri 8R lenses in 3-D underwater in a cave then projected in 3-D IMAX...it will envelope the audience.

Check out the sample footage clips:

http://www.arri.de/prod/cam/ultra_prime_r8/ultra_prime_r8.htm

I'm sure this lens costs more than a new hybrid car from Toyota:-)
 
Thanks for posting that Ken,
Damn I gotta get the SWP44 compliant with the housing, that would be awesome to say the least. 117 degrees AOV and almost zero abberation, some tinsy bit in the corners but invisible to the layman.

I second your regards to the manual "Old School" approach. I've also been isolated before with crapped out electrics but no soldering iron! USCWAP (something about a creek without a paddle!!).

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Re: 3d

Re: 3d

I hadn't even thought of 3d, but the compact size and uncluttered front end of the base RED would lend itself very well to 3d. We made a simple housing for 3d for a guy in England a few years ago. If you just dedicated it to using a particular lens - and the 8R looks awesome - it would be a pretty easy housing to make.

By the way, I have located a new supplier for some glass domes - I have seen samples of one about a 6" and another similar to the Aquatica 9" but in some ways a little nicer.

sharkguy said:
The shot I want to see is when Cameron uses a pair of Redone cameras 4K with the new Arri 8R lenses in 3-D underwater in a cave then projected in 3-D IMAX...it will envelope the audience.

Check out the sample footage clips:

http://www.arri.de/prod/cam/ultra_prime_r8/ultra_prime_r8.htm

I'm sure this lens costs more than a new hybrid car from Toyota:-)
Click to expand...
 
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