Equipment
Stepping up to HD
So finally I took the step up to HD video equipment with the Sony PMW EX1, Gates EX1 housing with 2 x 250W Green Force Squid HID lighting rig. Oh yeah, and I just had to go for the Fathom SWP44C Super Wide Port to top it off.
Having spent two years picking up some basic skills with the Panasonic AG-DVX100 and Equinox housing, it wasn’t until I got in the water with the new EX1 rig that I realised just how little about underwater videography I really knew… but also just what can be achieved when you step up the scale with your equipment.
The entire setup set me back around $23,000 which is well-below market value as I managed to get a great deal on some mint-condition used equipment from a great guy called Joe Holley (@ Marine Visions). For me that’s a great deal of cash but then again, now I have the type of rig that documentary professionals use when their main equipment fails…
Key Advantages
- Larger format with greater detail (obviously!) – larger market for selling online clips
- Better all-round vision with external HD monitor – beats squinting one-eyed through the housing
- Fantastic manual control positioning and operation – those Gates engineers are incredible
- Up to 60 frames-per-second for slower playback speed (only available with 720 HD format) – for that NatGeo look, well almost
- Record directly to SxS solid-state memory cards – no tape capturing needed!
- Far better low-light sensitivity reducing video noise and giving sharper footage
- Zoom through capability from 120 degree wide angle to full zoom with Fathom SWP44C port
- A LOT! of light with the Green Force 250 HIDs
And that’s just a small sample of the main benefits I’ve found so far – given the EX1’s capability for firmware and software upgrades, the menu feature options just keep expanding with every update.
The down-sides
- Damn its heavy! about 35lbs (16Kg) in total – try freediving with that and not get the jitters before you jump in
- Extra baggage costs – one-way long-haul extra is generally around $400 extra – almost worth flying business class for the extra baggage allowance, almost…
- Limited recording time on expensive SxS cards – about 2hr of footage on $1000 32GB card
- No focus depth bar indicator on external housing monitor – or at least I’m still trying to work it out (let me know if you have!)
- Customs… I’m now starting to attract the attention of customs officers at destination airports…
Footage samples
So far I’ve only an opportunity to get the equipment wet once during a trip to Turks & Caicos. You can see some low-res sample clips here:
www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=11856910
www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=11874918
www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=11886834
www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=11905586
www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=11908754
www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=11957744
Actually to be truthful, I did get the gear in the water during a trip to South Africa for the Sardine run (you can read more about that disaster here: The Truth about the Sardine Run) but only manage to get some semi-decent dry-land nature shoots:
www.istockphoto.com/file_search.php?action=file&lightboxID=6760126
www.istockphoto.com/file_search.php?action=file&lightboxID=6760107
