Bonica Snapper

[wolfpack]

So I posted below mentioning that I have a trv10 sony video camera and I was looking for a housing, and I see the dawg housing is 500 dollars used on ebay or more new. Since I have such and "old camera" why wouldn't I just buy the bonica snapper for 599 at the scuba show, which gives me 720P, or for 1300 dollars get the snapper and the bonica light, wide angle lense and red and green filter as well.

I guess I am asking would the bonica camera do better than my old sony trv10? I am really not going to use this camera that much, and I really do not have the time to do the hard core video editing. Or maybe a used video camera would be a better idea? looking forward to your suggestions.

 

[LouCap]

You can get the Bonica HDDV with light on ebay for only $1099.

 

[diversteve]

this might help you decide:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bonica/

And a couple of recent threads:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-videography/216576-new-bonica-hddv-camcorder.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-videography/227489-bonica-snapper-hddv-poor-video.html
admittedly, I'm not a fan.

I guess I am asking would the bonica camera do better than my old sony trv10?

720P is better than your camera can do. Probably almost double - I'm not sure what sensor was in a TRV10. One of these posts talks about the output format being H.264 (Mov) so make sure any editor you buy supports it.

 

[ScubaMonk]

So what is the word Wolfpack??? What did you end up doing???

 

[yarik83]

Bonica snapper is one of the best systems on the market for amount of money that it costs. It is really difficult to trust someone to help you make a decision especially if that other person is biased against said product. Please watch this video and tell me if this quality (well yeah youtube does not do it justice) but anyways I shot it in belize
YouTube - fishies high quality

There are 3 main concerns about camera that most people have but all 3 are easy to adapt to. #1 being blur during camera pan. No you can not chase a marlin shooting 40 miles per hour left and right under water but at the same time it shoots amazing footage when you slowly pan that camera.
#2 autofocus noise as shown in video. Quicktime soundtrack could be deleted and replaced with music, commentaties etc.
#3 camera shoots with blue or green hue. Purchasing a 30 dollar red filter solves that problem

Bonica is coming out with mach 2 version of their camera that is about twice as good as this one. From what I was told there will be exchange program for existing customers. I am not authorized to discuss details but lets say that #1 and 2 of 3 above mentioned problems will be dealt with as well as some innovative changes being made. I have been in close contact with bonica for a year now and I am like a little kid waiting for his Christmas present

 

[LouCap]

I just bought a Snapper DV from another member here...cheap. It was brand new and works perfectly. I'm diving next week and will shoot some video of friends spear fishing. I'll post it so you can see the results.

On a practical level though, to have ANY video camera that you can take to 180' for under $1000 is amazing. Whatever you have to do to adapt is worth it, especially if this is your first UW video camera.