How important is zoom?

[DaFireMedic]

I have finished modifying my housing to hold my HV20, and have adapted the controls for power on/off, start/stop recording, and access to the menu for manual white balance. However, at this point zoom would require drilling another hole into the housing and adding a control gland, which I do not want to do unless I have to.

On land, I use the zoom for manual white balance to zoom in on my white material to fill the field of view. Underwater, being that I would probably be using a smallish piece of material, such as a dive slate, does the zoom become a mandatory feature to perform this or are any of you manually setting the white balance without zoom? Can I set the white balance without zoom?

 

[crpntr133]

I very rarely use zoom when doing U/W video.

 

[ronscuba]

You can white balance as long as you fill the frame 70% or more.

Many people will tell you to never zoom. It does take more skill to hold things still, especially if you zoom all the way in. You also will get a clearer picture if the camera is closer to the subject with no zoom, compared to farher away using zoom.

I still think zoom is a very useful feature and I frequently use it.

If visibility is good, a zoomed in shot is often just as clear as an unzoomed shot.

Some fish/creatures will not let you get close. You either get nothing or use zoom.

Same as the above if the reef is lush and the creature is down in the reef.

Closeups and macro also require zoom. Can't fill the frame with a Peterson shrimp w/o zoom.

 

[Annie Crawley]

Avoid the ZOOM at all costs. Don't get lazy and zoom. I use zoom to check focus. Have great neutral buoyancy and move your body in and out, close to the subject.

 

[eric_in_az]

I hardly ever use the zoom while videotaping under water. Zooming in tends to exaggerate any movement of the camera, so I prefer to use a pretty wide angle and try to get close to my subjects.

 

[ronscuba]

Avoid zoom, prefer not to zoom, rarely zoom. Yeah, yeah, I hear ya and agree.
Key words....avoid, prefer and rarely.


Macro video can be very interesting to watch. It's really tough to shoot, really tough to stay still, a tripod would help, but you can't get the shot unless you zoom.

Arrowcrab zoomed in, I never knew they had antennae in between their eyes and claws above their mouth.
http://www.ronrosa.com/arrowvid1.wmv

Peterson shrimp zoomed in, never knew they carry eggs on the belly.
http://www.ronrosa.com/shrimp1.wmv


Shy subjects are another challenge. Seahorse in delicate coral. They will also turn away from the camera if you get too close. Using zoom, I was able to get the shot of him on the move without damaging coral.

http://www.ronrosa.com/seahorsevid1.wmv


Definitely not perfect shots, but good enough for me and I'd rather have these shots in my video than not. What's that Mazda commercial ? Zoom zoom zoom.

 

[DaFireMedic]

Avoid the ZOOM at all costs. Don't get lazy and zoom. I use zoom to check focus. Have great neutral buoyancy and move your body in and out, close to the subject.

Thanks for all the responses.

I really wasn't planning on using zoom for actual shooting of video. My main concern was if it was necessary to have zoom capability in order to manually set the white balance. I really hope that I will not have to move a control to enable access to zoom just for white balancing.

Do you folks find that you have to use the zoom in order to fill the field of view enough to manually white balance or can you do it without zooming?

Also, I hear of people using dive slates to set white balance. Is this the standard, or are there other materials that people are using for this purpose?

 

[drbill]

Rarely use zoom. When I do, it is generally because I can't get close enough to the subject to compose and fill the frame the way I want the segment to come out. With some subjects you need to keep your distance to avoid scaring them, with others they may be deep within holes in boulder reefs where light is sufficient but you can't get any closer to them than the opening.

 

[Hoosier]

BC Zoom is picking up all noise stuff on the picture. So, it isn't recommended... Am I right?

 

[ronscuba]

Yes, that and it makes the footage shakier. But to me, some shots can still be worth it. I'm a hobbyist making vacation videos, so what I find acceptable is very different than those producing at a higher level.