New to video...where to start?

[Dee]

Oh crap.....Dr. Bill it seems I deleted your post by mistake! :11: I need less caffeine!

 

[diversteve]

Speaking of batteries....should I stick with Sony brand or are the off-brand equilivants OK? The Sony QM71's I'm finding are $99 but the off-brands are $30-45. One extra battery is enough...right?

I only have off-brand batteries. I buy them on eBay from someone in Utah, I didn't keep his info but he's a powerseller. Good quality products and fast shipping.

I usually have 4 batteries, One in the camera, one in the bag and one in the charger all the time - and a spare. I also have a universal voltage charger. I generally switch batteries after the 2nd dive.

 

[bob1dp]

The very newest Sony Cameras will only take Sony batteries. The *******s!
I think two batteries are not enough. I want one charging, One Shooting, and one back up.

 

[bob1dp]

Cool my post was automatically censured! I feel like Chris Rock. You ******** can ***** my ***

 

[triggertravel]

... Flat port so wide angle shooting is not really possible....

Dr. Bill

Does this mean I will need a dome port if I want to use my Sony's wide angle lense? Should I invest in a dome port or a housing that has the wide angle lense?

 

[ChrisA]

Flat port so wide angle shooting is not really possible.
Dr. Bill

How wide can you go before the Top Dawg's flat port becomes an issue? Does the full wide setting on the TRV's zoom lens work? How about a .6 or .5 lens?

Reason I ask is because I noticed a used L&M "Stingray" for sale. It uses wet optics, wondering under what conditions it will outperform the Top Dawg housing. Except for the port the two housing are much the same.

My Canon A80 housing has a flat port and I notice softness and color fringing in the corners of wide shots but only If I blow up the images larger than screen resolution. By definition video is always displayed at screen resolution

 

[triggertravel]

Agree on the Top Dawg housings. I have two of them and they work wth any of my three different Sony camcorders without changing settings, etc. They're made by Light & Motion (I do my repair work directly through them). Flat port so wide angle shooting is not really possible.

I use the TRV17 as my primary UW camcorder. It's a single chip, but produces results that have been very well-received by my audiences. You can get these cameras used or refurbed on E-Bay for $200-300. And you can always move up to a Sony 3-chip like the TRV950 later without buying a new housing. The housing itself appears there occasionally as well.

Dr. Bill

Can I use a wide angle lense on my camera w/ a flat port? Does a dome port work better?

 

[ChrisA]

Can I use a wide angle lense on my camera w/ a flat port? Does a dome port work better?

I asked that question to the people who make the housing. They said that results with a
0.6x wide lens would be acceptable but not to try a 0.5x lens. Also they remined me that a flat port adds 25% magnification which will "undo" some of what the wide angle lens does. The dome port does not magnify so you get a true widder angle due to ability to use a 0.5 lens and the lack of the "25% effect".

But I live in So Cal. The vis. can be good at the offsshore islands. I've seen 100ft there but most of my diving is closer to home off mainland beaches and we call 20ft "good vis". I didn't think ultra wide angle would work in the local waters and the flat port works well for close up shots.
I think if I was shooting corel reefs in crystal cear waters I'd want more ability to pull back and shoot wide.

Other things to concider are the total lenght of the camera. The wide lens make it longer so how will it fit in the housing. Will it still fit in the "mini"? can you still see the viewfinder? I drew a few diagrams on graph paper to see if it would all work.

 

[triggertravel]

I asked that question to the people who make the housing. They said that results with a
0.6x wide lens would be acceptable but not to try a 0.5x lens. Also they remined me that a flat port adds 25% magnification which will "undo" some of what the wide angle lens does. The dome port does not magnify so you get a true widder angle due to ability to use a 0.5 lens and the lack of the "25% effect".

But I live in So Cal. The vis. can be good at the offsshore islands. I've seen 100ft there but most of my diving is closer to home off mainland beaches and we call 20ft "good vis". I didn't think ultra wide angle would work in the local waters and the flat port works well for close up shots.
I think if I was shooting corel reefs in crystal cear waters I'd want more ability to pull back and shoot wide.

Other things to concider are the total lenght of the camera. The wide lens make it longer so how will it fit in the housing. Will it still fit in the "mini"? can you still see the viewfinder? I drew a few diagrams on graph paper to see if it would all work.

Thanks Chris. I have a .42?X AF for my Olympus Digital. Can I use this for video. And dumb question.....Is .42 wider than 0.5?