Good time to move up to HD?

[MN Lakeman]

My daughter & I have just sent in our deposit for our dream trip to begin the first week of January...Galapagos Islands. I have been shooting video for over 5 years with a wonderful setup (...& my first): Sony HCR-42 & Ikelite housing. I've been very pleased with the excellent light sensitivity this camera affords, & with the Ikelite red color filter, the landscape is really quite real & colorful:

YouTube - MrCbrown35's Channel

I've been watching very closely, the evolution of Sony's HD camcorders over the last couple years, & it would seem that they have made great strides in getting their well known light sensitively engineered into the lasted editions of their HD units w/ BIG flash memory...& below $1000. The articles I read & of course the sales people @ the camera stores swear its as good as my old rig. I would like to hear from divers out there if they have made an upgrade similary to the one I'm considering before this fabulous week in pelagic heaven. I'm already aware that I will have to upgrade my Pinnicle studio to handle the HVCHD format (already upgraded to a quad processed PC). I guess my main concern is will the footage turn grainy w/ good daytime light above the 50 foot mark UW? Now that I've graduated to the newer HD plasma TV, I'm thinking that it would be worth the $$'s for a new rig IF I get better HD quality from my edited DVD's (& maybe later burned Blueray discs).

 

[ronscuba]

You haven't mentioned the housing. What features do you want and how much can you spend ? How about the lens/port ? For Galapagos, wide angle is preferred.

HD will give you an increase in resolution. Are you also looking to increase the UW color quality over your current system ?

If you are looking for similar performance to your current setup except HD resolution I think you are safe. To increase color quality you should look into a housing with access to manual white balance. A good wide angle lens limits your options too. Don't forget the filter. You'll need it for both standard and wide angle.

 

[MN Lakeman]

I've really been pleased w/ Ikelite. Easy to travel with & I'm always very confident it won't flood, not to mention IMHO, the best service in the industry. I'm not interested in any more controls than what I have been using for 5 years. Today I looked at the Sony HDR CX350V. Impressive features for $900, & with the $800 housing, I think this is pretty affordable. And yes, I want certainly as much color quality as I received from my good ole HC 42, but getting even more - the better! My main concern is that I can still achieve the improvement in resolution even in the lower light conditions faced UW.

Your videos are stunning...mind sharing what camera & housing you are using? A little off the subject...but when did you go to Galapagos?

 

[CanadianTravelAgent]

Just my thoughts as a photographer....if this is your dream trip and you won't be going back for awhile maybe it would be better to stick with what you know rather than bringing a new rig. The last thing you want to do is to be fiddling around with unfamiliar controls on the new housing when all the action is happening!

 

[CanadianTravelAgent]

I may have to withdraw my earlier post. I was just watching some of the video by the OP which had some great colours in it. But then I watched a couple of the videos in HD by ronscuba.

WOW!!!

Maybe you should upgrade before your Galapagos trip! If you do, make sure to practice LOTS in a pool or even on land with camera in housing. My husband had a new video camera and I had some new accessories on my camera before our big honeymoon trip...a month in French Polynesia. Unfortunately, we both had issues with the new stuff and came home with less good footage than expected.

 

[Shasta_man]

SD -> HD is a big leap in quality. Resolution alone makes a much more appealing image.

If you use and are fine with fixed WB and red filter, then you will get similar color quality, though in conjunction with HD and actual sunlight, you will get eye popping results. Optimally you'll want MWB, but you can't get one touch WB on the Ikelites as it is only accessible through touch screen. I believe, not certain, that higher end housings figured out how to access through Lanc.

My personal experience is that light conditions will be just fine. You'll want as high end as you can get so it has the highest low light rating. However, my problem with the Sony cameras are in color. Without sunlight or lights, my video is green, green, green. Even with red filter, the video is green in tropical water. I'm considering going to Panasonic, though unsure if that will fix the prob.

Lastly, I'd heartily agree with the last comment that unless you have a LOT of time to actually dive and work with the new housing prior to going, then I wouldn't change anything before the trip. I'm speaking from experience. You need to actually use it underwater and use all the controls and look at your results to be comfortable. You don't want to miss the good stuff on the dream trip.

 

[ronscuba]

Thanks for the compliments. I was in Galapagos in August. I shoot a big Sony FX7 and Gates housing. Big, heavy, expensive, discontinued, tape based.

If you want better colors than you are getting now, you will want manual white balance for standard and wide angle, lights for macro. Many Ikelite housings can access MWB, but it's a difficult multi step process usually via the touch screen.

I haven't seen any footage from the new Sony CX line, but as Shasta says, many of the newer Sony cams have a green problem.

I'm going to be in the minority here, but IMHO, unless you are doing MWB or messing with lights, I don't see the big deal about a new video rig. Power on, point it, press record, hold still.

 

[BDSC]

However, my problem with the Sony cameras are in color. Without sunlight or lights, my video is green, green, green. Even with red filter, the video is green in tropical water.

I had this same problem when I first got a Sony HC7 with a L&M Stingray + housing. I could only use auto WB and was shooting in Belize. I had a lot of green footage. But then I was able to upgrade my handles to be able to do true "one touch" MWB using the a new Sony CX520 camcorder and WOW! NO more green and the colors are so much better than what I was shooting in the past.

I heard Ron preach and preach about needing to have MWB and after I got it, he made me a believer.

This is a little something I put together using my current system: http://www.vimeo.com/13837516

 

[beautybelow]

+1 on manual white balance...especially for a trip like the Galapagos.

 

[travelersinparadise]

SD -> I'm considering going to Panasonic, though unsure if that will fix the prob.

Shasta Man we are taping our TV show with the Panasonic HVX 200. It premiers on Versus network on the 28th of this month in full 1080 HD I think the 1/3 chips provide excellent brilliant color. But watch the show and tell me what you think.

Episodes are also going up on our website at Travelers In Paradise: Intro and Home Page