I Got A New Flip Video HD Cam & Ikelite Housing

[diversteve]

On the subject of video quality - Ikelite has one on their website shot in the Bahamas using their Flip package.

link to the page:
IKELITE Underwater Systems

Also gives some idea of what to expect on a Blackbeard's cruise.

 

[Jon Shaw]

Optical Image Stabilising... generally if your shooting handheld have it on if your shooting from a solid base turn it off.
Underwater people are pretty split whether to leave it on or turn it off. Best bet is to try both and check out the results

Adding stabilization in post can be done however you can end up with some pretty funky looking video!

Edit: Apologies only read the first page then posted.

 

[Gombessa]

Adding stabilization in post can be done however you can end up with some pretty funky looking video!

What's funky is if you have OIS/VR/IS on in-camera, and then apply post-processing anti-shake. Selective jitter galore

 

[Nocturnal Lights]

So what would you recommend, assuming I wanted to start out with one light for this camera (and also assuming I want to use it when I get a more advanced camera) and eventually probably add a second light.

How, specifically, would you set it up if you were me and you decided to use your lighting products?

You can always start off with one and get two lights. Having two lights is always better than one and for most full size video setups people tend to go with the dual light setup. If budget is a concern you can always start with one and then add another arm/light later. Our lights are universal and we have adapters for all types of hourings so if you ever grow out of the flip you can still use it on another housing.

With this in mind you should probably get a 10 or 12" tray and use the flex arm to hold the light. Mounting a vertical tray seems fine for one light but when you want to upgrade it it might seem awkward.

Nocturnal Lights - Manufacturer Dive Lights, Underwater Focus Lights, and Underwater Video Lights for regular and technical divers, underwater photographers, and underwater film makers

Nocturnal Lights - Manufacturer Dive Lights, Underwater Focus Lights, and Underwater Video Lights for regular and technical divers, underwater photographers, and underwater film makers

Either one of these will work as long as we get the "L" bracket shown in the blog earlier. I am sure we can get that for you should you decide to get either one of the tray setups.

 

[Gombessa]

Ikelite says this thing is neutrally buoyant in salt water.... well, since it floats BIG TIME in fresh water, I think they are smoking dope. I am going to have to weight it.

That might be with the wide angle lens and/or video light connected to it. The WA-20 is nearly 1.5lb dry I think, and I imagine nearly all of that transfers to negative buoyancy in the water.

 

[Gombessa]

OK, first time out with the new rig, consisting of:

Flip Ultra HD
Ikelite housing + 67mm port adapter
Inon UWL-100 type 2 wide angle wet lens
All footage shot at about 20-30fsw, available light.

I wasn't the cameraman this round, so I can't really say anything yet about how the housing/camera performed, but the instructor, who was shooting the camera, mentioned that it did feel slightly negative in the water with the WA lens attached (the lens itself is about 1lb negative in the water).

Overall impressions are positive, and the only big ding on the system so far is that the Flip's lens is so telephoto that you practically *need* a ~$300 wide angle lens in order to get slightly better what you would get out of a digicam with a 28mm native lens. In my informal tests, the Flip + wide lens nets you about 24mm coverage.

[youtubehq]oQ9KnAmIpGY[/youtubehq]
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[phillybob]

Judging only by the surface footage, I like the GoPro HeroHD better, although the only footage of that camera was from their own website. A kind of biased source. The u/w footage was O.K. but I think my p/s Nikon shoots just as good in video mode. The bunnies were cool, though. I'm still going to wait till after XMas. By then everyone should have their various toys and I'll be able to compare.

 

[Gombessa]

Judging only by the surface footage, I like the GoPro HeroHD better, although the only footage of that camera was from their own website. A kind of biased source.

I'm not too worried about any per se bias, but GoPro streams its own video and we don't know the bitrate or post-processing. Also, I assume they shoot at 1080p and downsample to web size, which is probably better quality than shooting native 720p like the Flip (which is more like an additional strength of the HD Hero actually).

The u/w footage was O.K. but I think my p/s Nikon shoots just as good in video mode.

Yep, that's my assessment as well: image quality is comparable to 720p mode on a standard poocket digicam. The f/2.0 lens on the Flip hopefully helps out a bit though. Thus far, I think the Achilles' Heel of the Flip UltraHD really is that narrow FOV which makes having an expensive accessory wide lens all the more important. All of a sudden, that small $250 housing outlay becomes >$550, or $720 with camera, just to compete with a $200 P&S plus housing.

If one of the Flip competitors (Kodak Z/JVC FM-1/Sony Webbie) has a native ~24-28mm wide lens, that'd really be a killer product.

I'm excited to see how the HD Hero performs, and whether shooting sans LCD (or if the accessory LCD isn't as well integrated as in a standard digicam) is going to be a problem.

I'm finally gonna get to shoot the Flip for myself tomorrow. Will update with impressions.

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

Optical Image Stabilization. Its a technology where the camera reduces shake internally.