housing for Sony HC1

[jason21]

g'day Steve. Thanks for the detailed reply, and for the link to the other forum. There's a guy writing there, Peter, who has modified his TopDawg (L&M) housing to provide access to the touchscreen. I'd love to see a photo of what he's done to it...

We've compiled pretty much the same list I think...

- Alditech (Mangrove MVD Pro HC1) www.alditechuw.com - this housing has electronic controls, but not for exposure compensation etc, includes a monitor, lenses can be changed underwater, all for EUR1698.
- gates - I couldn't find a price... and the monitor is extra
- ikelite for HC1 has electronic controls + mechanical 'arms' to allow access to touch screen in the folded back position. Can't find a price though - server seems to be down.
- light and motion - stingrayIII I think the HC1 would fit, minimal control set though. Bluefin HC1 gives access to exposure compensation etc
- ocean images www.oceanimagesinc.com has a model for the hc1 which uses both electronic controls, and mechanical arms to access the touch screen in the 90deg. flipped out position, so the housing is wider than the others.
- the sea and sea model doesn't have an internal colour correction filter but has an excellent control set
- undersea video housings has a very competitive overall package inc. lights and monitor, and a very good control set, but not inc. access to the exposure compensation etc
- amphibico is about the same price as the L&M bluefin housing (monitors are essentially the same price too) but seems much bulkier, esp. the monitor. Excellent control set.

Currently my thoughts are that:
- I mostly do (rocky) shore diving around Sydney and the entries/exits can sometimes require quite a bit of delicate balancing! The smaller, more compact the housing and monitor are the better for them! This makes me really like the USVH model and the stingrayIII with monitor back.
- If I lean towards accessing the tele/macro and exposure settings then I'd be looking at the L&M bluefin or the amphibico
- If I lean even further towards manual white balance I'd need either the Ikelite or the Ocean Images model.

- I really like the L&M travel packages - they're very compact and the whole kit fits into a hand luggage sized case
- USVH also has an excellent package deal including lights, and their lights are also very interesting...

Cheers, Jason.

 

[diversteve]

B&H Photo Video - www.bhphotovideo.com has the Gates for between $3000-5500 depending on what port you want. Less than I thought when I made my last post.

The Ikelite is $1300 US.

Some more detail on fitting the HC1 into the Top Dawg if you decide to go that route:

http://www.videouniversity.com/foru...um_view=forum_view_collapsed;guest=4290352655

On a sub-conscious level, I think I'd like to put my $1600 video camera in a metal housing. There's something about the Amphibico HD EVO that just appeals to me in that regard.

Don't know why exactly as my current housing is Poly and I've had no leaks ever. I do like the USVH with the extended control set also. Monitor included for the price of what most of the others are selling just the housing for.

Another option: http://www.silverfish.info/flash.html - no idea what it costs.

 

[yceltikci]

Another option: http://www.silverfish.info/flash.html - no idea what it costs.

Their list price is ~1700.-EUR...

But I didn't know it supports HC1. Does it?

Rgrds
Yener

 

[jason21]

yes, the silverfish model does support the hc1 - just had an email from Silverfish confirming.

 

[jason21]

hey steve, for what it's worth, I think I've almost decided to go with Ikelite. The housing is mechanical, BUT it allows access to all camera functions including the touch screen, and is small. And it has a 67mm port for wet changeable lenses. And it's inexpensive...

 

[larsdennert]

I've been diving with the Ikelite housing and the HC1. I'm very happy with it.

www.larsdennert.com/hc1

 

[jason21]

Hey Lars, thanks for all the pics on your site... great to see the HC1 and housing set up like that, and especially with the Light Canons, which I have two of and was hoping to be able to use them with the camera.
Can you tell me though - given that the housing will accommodate a different camera battery, do you reckon it would also accommodate a third party lcd monitor in the back, b/w the camera and the controls on the back plate if a smaller battery was being used?
cheers, Jason.

 

[larsdennert]

Wow that would be a really tight squeeze. The power control goes through the back plate limiting width. You could abandon the touch screen wands but what's the point if you lose WB control? You'd have to use the FM50 but I'm still not sure there's space for a screen and the usual AA battery thickness. The Q/F M71 battery is enough for a couple dives.

The mirror works pretty well and the camera housing has reversing circuitry to make the image forward in the mirror. Might be nice if it was a bit bigger but it is very usable. Even the viewfinder is usable since it is magnified. The housing is very form fitting since it is custom. If you have your heart set on a monitor, I'd say get a TopDawg or similar. I tested the camera in one with the monitorback. I don't think some things like Zebra show on the monitorback though.

Got the Light Canon for Xmas and haven't tried it out. Here I am in Orlando too all the way from LA and won't have time to dive ocean though I'll hop in the fish tank at Epcot.

 

[jason21]

Hey Lars. Thanks mate. Yeah, I'm sure you're right. The mirror would probably work for me too, and it does fold back after all for entry and exit. I'll be interested to hear how the Light Canon(s) work as video lights. They're pretty heavy. I have to admit I was surprised to see the pic of it being held vertical out of the water...

Cheers, J.

 

[ScubaBob92651]

I used to have two light canons setup on my gates baja. I like the lights, but found them a bit of pain to position underwater, especially with the arms shown here with the Ikelite. With ultra-light arms support was much better, and the cost of two light canons sure beats some of the other setups (like the niteriders I ultimately bought..)

<edit>
I too was questioning the flexible arms, but figured the light canon was 8 C's shy of being a functional light...