Paralenz Dive Camera: What is the verdict so far ? [autumn 2018]

[Roger Hobden]

So I believe the Paralenz Dive Camera came out over a year ago: What is the verdict so far ?

What are the pros and cons of this piece of equipment ?

For what type of diver, or what type of diving, would this camera be a good "fit" ?

 

[nadwidny]

I got one this summer. Haven't used it a lot but I like it.

Pro's I can think of off hand- Supposedly good to 800'. Doesn't require a housing. Has white balance. Easily fits in a pocket.

Cons-no viewfinder. Comes with a mask mount.

 

[CuzzA]

So I believe the Paralenz Dive Camera came out over a year ago: What is the verdict so far ?

What are the pros and cons of this piece of equipment ?

For what type of diver, or what type of diving, would this camera be a good "fit" ?

The camera is for any diver who is not expecting to get NatGeo quality video. No action camera can produce that quality. If you want pro video, you need to invest in pro equipment. That said, here's my take.

Pros:

• Automatic Depth Color Correction. No filters needed.
• Depth and Temperature On Screen Overlay.
• Bullet Tube Form.
• Simple One Handed Operation. No springs and multiple buttons.
• No Bulky Housing That Will Eventually Leak.
• Simple Clip System. Easily remove the camera without having to unscrew a thumbscrew.

Cons:

• No View Finder (This is only a con for some. Not a con if you mount to a mask or equipment like a speargun. It's an action camera, not a DSLR)
• Rechargeable Battery is Only Good for 4 Hours of Dive Time. (Qi Battery charging would be a huge upgrade for this camera)
• I've heard one person complain that it doesn't shoot 4k at 60 fps.

I suppose newer version will improve on the FPS, but even though it can shoot 4k at 30 fps I choose to shoot 2.7k at 60 fps as at 4k the files become huge. 4K at 30 fps for 10 minutes of video is 5 gigs. If you're shooting at those high resolutions and frame rates, make sure you have a computer that can process it in a reasonable amount of time. Otherwise that defeats the purpose of the camera, which is to basically eliminate time wasted in post editing. Basically with this camera you are able to record your dive, cut the clips you want, maybe add some music and titles and share. No color correcting each clip.

 

[kablooey]

I've only made about ten dives with my Paralenz so far, but I'm happy with camera and the footage.

Pros:

• Hands off operation. Fire and forget.
  • (This is big for me. It's the reason I bought the camera. I'd suffer all sorts of minor issues just for this. I go into zen mode while diving, so not having to think about making a video is great. I can just enjoy the dive, and look at the video later).

• Compact streamlined design. I forget it's there.
• Great customer service.
  • (Personal responses to questions. Nice email newsletter and updates).

Cons:

• We wear hoods here, and I like to wear my mask strap under the hood. The camera's mask strap mount makes that a little difficult.
  • (I've modified a hood with a big cut-out to accommodate the camera and mount.)

• For me, there is an on-going learning curve to understand all the settings and controls.
  • (My fault really. It just takes me a while to adjust to new electronics)

.

 

[CT-Rich]

Any videos that were shot on it? I am curios to see what a head mounted video from a camera like this would look like. The quality of the footage is going to vary depending on the amount of head movement.

 

[CuzzA]

I've only made about ten dives with my Paralenz so far, but I'm happy with camera and the footage.

Pros:

• Hands off operation. Fire and forget.
  • (This is big for me. It's the reason I bought the camera. I'd suffer all sorts of minor issues just for this. I go into zen mode while diving, so not having to think about making a video is great. I can just enjoy the dive, and look at the video later).

• Compact streamlined design. I forget it's there.
• Great customer service.
  • (Personal responses to questions. Nice email newsletter and updates).

Cons:

• We wear hoods here, and I like to wear my mask strap under the hood. The camera's mask strap mount makes that a little difficult.
  • (I've modified a hood with a big cut-out to accommodate the camera and mount.)

• For me, there is an on-going learning curve to understand all the settings and controls.
  • (My fault really. It just takes me a while to adjust to new electronics)

.

I was not a fan of the supplied mask strap mount, but didn't list it as a con because it works fine for many others. I already had a GoMask and that's where I wanted the camera. The GoMask has stainless steel posts for the mount, but due to the bullet shape of the camera I had to add an extension arm. This actually ends up working fantastic because it pretty much eliminates bubbles getting into the shot.

I will add too, one of my biggest complaints about a mask mounted GoPro with a Backscatter Flip Filter was bubbles getting trapped between the filter and camera lens housing. Countless minutes of footage ruined because of a trapped bubble from an exhale. No more with DCC on the Paralenz.

 

[CuzzA]

Any videos that were shot on it? I am curios to see what a head mounted video from a camera like this would look like. The quality of the footage is going to vary depending on the amount of head movement.

Spearfishing 35 Miles off Hernando Beach, Florida | Paralenz Dive Camera

 

[Roger Hobden]

So after a bit more research, I went to a dive shop, bought a Paralenz+, and tested it in the lake today.

It works exactly as advertised, except for the iPhone App, which is pretty useless as far as transferring the videos are concerned. Luckily, these can be transferred to a laptop with the supplied USB cable, but still ...

Apart from that, It. Just. Works. This piece of equipment reminds me of the quality we have come to expect from Apple, where things just work flawlessly as soon as they come out of the box.

I am very happy with the quality of those movies. As someone has previously mentioned, the camera can see things under low lighting even better then your own eyes. Trying occasionally to use my 700 lumen dive light, I actually managed to make the images worse !

As far as I am concerned, the proof of concept has been demonstrated convincingly, and I believe it most likely that this company will deliver more awesome products for divers in the upcoming years.

 

[CT-Rich]

Spearfishing 35 Miles off Hernando Beach, Florida | Paralenz Dive Camera

Video looks pretty good. We’ll see if This dog has legs.

 

[Dnaber]

It works exactly as advertised, except for the iPhone App, which is pretty useless as far as transferring the videos are concerned. Luckily, these can be transferred to a laptop with the supplied USB cable, but still ...

I just got mine so now I just have to find some water.... If you're looking for a camera with all kinds of dials and settings this is not for you. It is pure point and shoot video camera.