Digital video camera

[Mick]

Jim.

I have never heard of any problems with the Sony PC's.
Although, here in Australia the have only released the laptop's. I know that all of our reps use them and none of them have had a problem using any software or hardware.
Keep in mind that alot of the hardware may be Sony badged and actually made by a third party anyway (Shhhhh, dont tell anyone)

Good luck

Mick

 

[bdombrowski]

Maggie:

I would look at a Sony TRV-320 Digital-8 camera and an Ikelite housing. The great thing about the Ikelite housing is that it's optical dome port will allow you to manual or auto-focus down to 1cm from the front of the port! This is great for macro. I've been able to get great shots of shrimp and jaw fish exploiting this feature.

Brian

 

[lkp1969]

Brian, I am thankful for your reccomendation to Maggie. I have pulled my hair out debating between L&M,Topdawg, and Ikelite. What limitations are there in the Ikelite housing is there a trade off compared to other housings? Also what lighting system would you reccommend for the ikelight housing. Isnt the Pro-video Light II one head and will that cause backscatter? What is a modeling light? Would you reccommend getting the whole deal at once or getting practiced first. I am very eager and excited to get started. Bottom line is I dont want to suffer with something cheap but I am not a pro either. Looking for the middle of the road. Thanks Laura

 

[bdombrowski]

I have the Pro Video II light. The head has both a modeling light and a 5500K color temperature 50W video flood integrated. The modeling light helps you to aim your head correctly before you flip on the flood. Also, having the modeling light integrated is handy during night dives. You can use it as a primary light so you don't need to carry a flashlight in one hand and the camera rig in the other. This is great. (Note you don't leave the flood on all the time... only when your shooting film.)

The single head won't cause backscatter if you aim the head correctly. However, it can cause shadows. I only find them noticable when night diving, but can usually compensate by adjusting the angle of the head. Eliminating shadows would be easier with two heads. The Pro Video light battery pack will support two light heads. It also supports battery pack stacking. Although I may add a second light head someday (one with a 50W flood and one with a 100W flood) it's not a priority at the moment. I shoot mostly close-ups and get good results with the single 50W head.

One other thing... leaving the flood on underwater at night will often attract lots of tiny critters (i.e. schools of tiny bait fish and worms) that can be a distraction from your primary subject. This will be a problem with any flood. To reduce this, I keep the flood of until I'm ready to film the shot.

If you wanted to spend big buck you could look into a High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting system. I haven't researched them in depth because I'm happy with what I've got. If you go this route, just make sure the heads are floods and not spots, and that the light is the correct color temperature so your colors come out true.

Brian

 

[lkp1969]

Any complaints or drawbacks to the Ikelite housing to consider? Thanks Laura

 

[Maggie]

Thank you for all your advice. I decided on a Gates housing, Kowalski xenon lights and a Sony PC110. The camera I have already bought and have been trying it out on dry land. Having made the decision on a Gates housing I now see that Sea & Sea have brought out a new housing for the PC110! Has anyone got an opinion on it in comparison to the Gates?

 

[barracuda]

have been using ikelite housings for the last 8 years.

the still camera housing i bought proved to be a disaster ! focusing was a real problem as the "shims" (basically 2 crude holders for the lenses to help them focus) didnt really work below 8 metres depth as a result of which i could not focus on the object and obviously this led to a lot of frustation.

the last straw occured when i was being handed the housing with the camera (Minolta 7ex) while i was in the water and the dome port accidently touched the side of the boat and the whole port came loose. i was just lowering the camera into the water not having noticed this and of course you can imagine the result. niagara falls unleashed !! that was the end of the camera.

anyway, when i was in USA, i got in touch with Ikelite and after a long protracted e-mail discussion they were very kind in offering me a video housing worth USD750.00 for free provided i bore the shipping cost to hong Kong where I then lived. i then paid them an additioanl USD750.00 and bought a strobe. must admit i ahve been really pleased with the results with this housing which i use with my Sony TRV30 video 8 camera (i know, I know i am living in the dark ages but this was bought almost 8 years ago !!) ahvent used the strobe as much though as we dont do much night diving here unfortunately and its just too heavy to carry with me when i travel abroad. a pity !!

venkat