New Gear 2010
September 2, 2010
This is an update to an earlier 2008 post about my previous SD equipment setup.
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
Future gear thoughts
I’m pretty sure that what I’ve got now is going to keep me busy and satisfied for the next few years but if I was to be keeping an eye on developments for the future for my next kit upgrade, I’d be watching these two:
Red Epic: if Gates decide to do a housing for it that is
Canon EOS 5D Mk11: with Full HD video capabilities I think that digital still cameras are going to start getting interesting for underwater video work. It opens an interesting possibility of being able to do video and still with the same kit – if they can work out how to integrate flash strobe and video lighting in one unit. Certainly the lower weight and size looks attractive compared to schlepping my existing gear round the planet…
Baby blue whale video
April 13, 2009
A baby blue whale filmed off Costa Rica may be the first to have been photographed underwater and adds to evidence that a blue whale hot spot in the Pacific Ocean is a birthing ground for the endangered species.
During a January 2008 expedition to the “Dome” (a warm-water region that draws blue whales from hundreds of miles away) the researchers had begun to lose hope of finding a calf. Then two telltale spouts began erupting at the sea surface.
“Oh, tell me that one of them is a small blow, please,” Bruce Mate, of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University, says in the documentary.
One of the spouts did turn out to be that of a calf, which approached the research boat and surprising the scientists, given blue whale mothers’ protective reputations.
A photographer and videographer dived in and soon had the visual evidence needed to identify the whale as a baby blue.
From National Geographic. Full article and video HERE
Video: The Goblin Shark bite, its just plain strange…
August 19, 2008
The goblin shark is a deep-sea shark with a most unorthodox shaped head. It has a long, trowel-shaped, beak-like snout, much longer than other sharks. Some other distinguishing characteristics of the shark are the color of its body, which is mostly pink, and its long, protrusible jaws, which basically means it look like an Alien…
Goblin sharks are found in the deep ocean, far below where the sun’s light can reach at depths greater than 200 m. They can be found throughout the world, from Australia in the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico in the Atlantic Ocean.They are best known from the waters around Japan, where the species was first discovered.
Goblin sharks feed on a variety of organisms that live in deep waters. Among some of their known meals are deep-sea squid, crabs and deep-sea fishes and occassionally they’ll have a go at diver’s arm, mmmhh!
Cheers for the tip Limbic
Video: underwater volcano eruption
July 4, 2008
More than 1,800 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean, the eruptions of an undersea volcano have revealed themselves on film, including the ejection of glowing red lava and the sounds of exploding gases.
“It’s the first place where we’ve been able to observe an active volcanic eruption underwater,” said Bill Chadwick of the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, who led the group that observed the volcano with a remotely operated vehicle.
“Most of the geology that we probably eventually see, a large part of that has happened underwater,” said Michael Perfit, a marine geologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “We have to look backwards and try to figure out how it happened. By looking at this, you get a sense of how these very important processes take place.”
The team will return with the remotely operated vehicle next spring to make more visual observations. But the last expedition could be hard to top.
From Discovery Channel: Watch amazing video here
Red Scarlet: 2x higher quality video than HiDef for under $3,000?
June 9, 2008
There is a digital video revolution underway and RED are leading the way.
We’ve been keeping our eye on these guys from RED for some time since they launched a 4,000 pixel wide format digital video camera (that’s 9 mega-pixel video!!) for under $20,000. Although by the time you add lenses, tripods, digital storage and other accessories you can expect to get closer to $100,000 all-in.
Now RED have announced a smaller 3,000 pixel wide version (a mere 5 mega-pixel!!), called RED Scarlet which should retail at about $3,000. Taking into account lense costs, light accessories, storage and Gates housing (when they get round to producing it), this should price a complete underwater filming rig at around $20,000.
Oh, did I mention it can film at 180 frames per second?
Yeah – bring it on!!
Visit RED’s site
