Ultramax underwater video camera UXDV-3-PREM?

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cindysoo

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Hello again,

My boyfriend has been searching for information on the UXDV-3-PREM underwater video camera plus housing package from Ultramax but have found nothing on this camera other than the company website: ULTRAMAX E N T E R P R I S E S I N C .

There are some threads about their strobe but nothing on their cameras.

Has anyone ever used one or have any opinions on it?

He is looking for an entry level video camera and the local dive shop here in HK has a few of these in stock and recommended it :p

Cheers!

Cindy
 
I have a UXDV-3 video camera and would be happy to give you my opinion on it.

The actual underwater housing case is very well made with double seals and is very compact since its built specifically to fit the Ultramax camera. The good thing about this is that it makes for a very compact package. The bad thing is that you are pretty much tied to the camera that comes with it which can be a pain if it breaks which all electronic items seem to do eventually. (This is what happened to me my Canon A570is and Canon underwater case. The camera breaks and costs more to fix than it was new so I just stock up on these obsolete cameras on Ebay anytime I see one come across). The mirror image of the screen on the fold out viewer takes a bit of getting used to but you really can't see the image in the mirror underwater anyway except in extremely bright light or shallows so you just get used to pointing in the general directly of what you want to shoot and that seems to work fine. After a while, I found I really wasn't using the display at all. The buttons are easy to find and operate underwater, although the main thing you will be doing is turning the record feature on off underwater. I really wish they had made this case to fit a wider variety of cameras but even within a particular model, the manufacturers change the button layouts and size with every model change so its sort of a losing battle all around.

The camera itself is a 720p HD camera that is actually made by Aiptek under their model number V5ZH5 which is now obsolete. Aiptek makes and updated camera but I don't know if it will fit this case or not. On the plus side, this camera uses a standard lithium ion battery so its cheap and easy to keep several charged on hand and the battery life is more than enough for a long dive. In the version of the firmware I have however, you have to turn on the camera before putting it into the case and there is no standby or sleep feature. I've contacted support about getting a firmware upgrade but the company doesn't really seem to have much in they way of support online or otherwise, although you can check out their website for manuals. My biggest gripe with the camera is that is doesn't have image stabilization. The still camera setting (which you will never use) has this feature, but not the video setting, which is very unfortunate since its very hard to hold any camera steady underwater. The zoom feature works great out of the underwater case but its mostly useless in the case since the autofocus doesn't seem to work though the thick plastic, but you probably couldn't use zoom much anyway without image stabilization. The image quality is surprisingly good and I use a 16 GB SD card which can last you a whole week of dives. For the money it costs, I'm happy with the camera and do not regret buying it. I have the lights setup as well but have only use the camera in the daytime so far so I don't have any experience with that setup yet but I'm going to Bonaire in a couple of weeks so I'll try it out there and let you know how it goes. The lights seem well made as well and I like the fact that the battery compartment is sealed from the electronics so even if it floods, it shouldn't ruin the light.

The net of it is that for the money, it would be next to impossible to find as good of a camera and underwater case setup that gives you HD video. The negative things to consider are that you are locked into a relatively cheap camera with limited features, and have questionable support from the manufacturer.
 
hi I've got the above video camera and housing and have found that it works really well though did have a few issues getting the strobe to fire of the flash for still photo's but I do use their video light 1 of which also works really well, lots of light.
 
thans Aderr. let me know how it goes in bonaire.
 
I wanted to bring this back to the top and see if anyone has videos they can post. They had the UXDV-3 package, which at $550, is hard to beat. They also claim 1920X1080 at 30fps.

This is an item I would want to get my wife of xmas. If you dive with your wife, and feel she is bored while you are shooting digital, get her a small video camera. She will love you for it...
 
read it again:

Ultramax UXDV-3 HD Digital Video Camera

Features & Specifications include :

* 1280 x 720 (720P) High Definition Video Resolution up to 30 fps

If you want a sub-$800 (or $400) 1080P setup that's easy to use here are some options.

Canon HF M300 in a Canon WP-V2 housing. Both can be seen here: Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : VIXIA HF M300

Amazon sells the camera for $379.
And the housing is $400
get her a small video camera.
JVC Picsio GC-FM1 in an Ikelite housing $400 for both. $700 includes a video light and bag. Underwater Housing for JVC Camcorder

Ikelite also sells a housing for the Flip Ultra HD, the Kodak Zi8/ZX1/ZX3 or the Panasonic HM-TA1. All sell for $260. The cameras all sell for around $200 or less.
 
Thanks Steve,

I met these people at DEMA Friday, and they said their camera now does 1080P, and had new brochures with that claim.

Thanks for the links to the other cameras, excellent stuff.
 
One thing you might ask - what does this mean?
Unique Image Transfer mirrored LCD View Panel
With Ikelite housings and Sony cameras it meant they had to include electronic reversing circuitry otherwise when you fold back the LCD screen against the camera body it would pan backwards.

fwiw, my buddy has the Canon MF200/WPV1 (discontinued) setup. He shot some really high quality video in Turks/Caicos this past spring his first time using it. And I'm really picky about video quality.
 
And I'm really picky about video quality.

Abxolutely agree. One of the main challenges with the ContourHD and GMS case is the camera shoots through plexi...

I do have a FlipHD, and am considering just getting an Ikelite case for that. Most of the reviews are favorable from an image quality perspective, and the case is reasonable.

There is also a lot of talk about the Kodak Zi8 having the best video quality. I will have to check that out as well.

I shot this with the FlipHD at DEMA on Friday. Pretty good quality..

YouTube - DEMA 2010 Tobago Booth Steel Pan player
 
Hi ConchyJoe I've got one of those UXDV-3-PREM underwater video camera and seems to take reasonable video I guess the one thing that it shown me you need a lot of light to get good colour in your videos. I have one video light (Ultramax) and also have just started using a 44 LED light as well seem to be able to get good colour with it now. Shot some video on the Great Barrier Reef seem to look ok, but have figured out that the night mode is best for underwater.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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