Underwater Housing for Sony HDR XR520

[CBK]

Hi there,

Recently I was given a Sony HDR XR520 as a gift. I have been diving for almost 7 years and I currently work as a DM, soon to become an Instructor, at a local dive shop in Panama city, Panama in Central America.

I love diving and have a passion I inherited from my grandfather for filming, and I would love to combine these two activities I enjoy so much. Unfortunately, I am young, sitting at 21 years of age, and do not posses enough cash to go all out on a underwater housing and camera. However, as I have been gifted this awesome camera I wish to invest some cash in a good housing, and for this reason I come to you to see how may you all help me.

I have been looking around and seen underwater housings may range from $800-$2000 or more, and I would like something good that I could start up with and slowly by time invest in accessories (such as strobes/lights, filters, etc..). I may buy anything from companies at the US since the DS I work for has a freight forwarder that brings diving equipment from Miami for the store, and they offered it to me to use it to bring the housing. I would like to know what options do I have, and what you guys recommend.

Personally, if you asked me I would tell you I liked the HD6 from Equinox as it has a good price, comes with good accessories and seems like I could use it in the future if I were to upgrade my camera (Am I assuming this correctly)

Feel free to ask me any questions if needed about what I prefer, budget, etc... Personally if this was a wonderful world I could get the Equinox HD6 for $850 from Amazon and it would be done deal, but I want to be sure I am getting the right piece of hardware.

Thanks a lot for the help.

P.S.: Sorry for the rough english.

 

[diversteve]

I have been looking around and seen underwater housings may range from $800-$2000 or more, and I would like something good that I could start up with and slowly by time invest in accessories (such as strobes/lights, filters, etc..).

Lights aren't necessary initially, you'll be presently suprised by the quality and color correctness when shooting in daylight thru a red filter. Filters Internal/External - Equinox Underwater Video Housings Equinox may include one as part of their package - IDK...

Personally, if you asked me I would tell you I liked the HD6 from Equinox as it has a good price, comes with good accessories and seems like I could use it in the future if I were to upgrade my camera (Am I assuming this correctly)

Not exactly. Since the Equinox has mechanical controls each one is custom engineered to fit specific cameras. If a future camera had all the controls in exactly the same location it would work, however Sony likes to move things around every couple of years.

Equinox has a retro-fit program to support future upgrades. Retrofit Program

An electronically controlled housing has future upgradeability designed in but even they have limits. Typically recent models can be accommodated by the same basic housing design - sometimes a small electronics upgrade or mount change is required. I have an Amphibico EVO housing purchased in 2004. Their current model (EVO II Elite) is physically identical except the electronics were upgraded when Sony switched from LANC to Multi-AV control - your camera has a Multi-AV port. If I wanted to use your camera in my housing I would have to invest in a $50 converter cable.

Direct competition for Equinox is Ikelite. Their housing for your camera is about $500 more though. Digital Video Housing for Sony Video Cameras Notice that on their housing compatibility page only your camera and the XR-500 share the same housing. And Ikelite does not retrofit afaik. One advantage the Ikelite has is the ability to Manual White Balance at depth. MWB is done to tell the camera what White is - done correctly it makes for less color correcting later during editing. I'm pretty sure that due to their design Equinox can't provide this - you need a control to touch the LCD screen (and see what you're doing) to do this.

Do a search here for Equinox and you will find both favorable and unfavorable reviews of their products over the last several years. We also have a dedicated Equinox forum. It's kind of buried so most questions get asked here.

 

[CBK]

Hi Steve,

Thanks a lot for all the comments, a lot of things to keep in mind.

I see Equinox has a huge advantage that favors them (at least on my book) and it is the Retrofit Program. I get along with editing software and I am only starting to film underwater so I do not think the MWB might be a problem I may not solve by editing contrast levels or applying a filter on an editing program.

Viewing all three pages I definitely loved the EVO Lite Housing you own, but it is twice and maybe a little more (considering shipment costs for someone living outside of the US) as my budget. Have you ever handled an Equinox housing yourself? What experience may you share about them?

Also, I'd guess you would recommend I buy it directly through their website. I would assume buying through amazon would void the warranty, wouldn't it? You'd recommend I contact them through email in order to do my purchase?

Sorry for all the questions and hopefully you or someone else may help me answer them or give me some insight about this.

As always I am enormously grateful for your answer.

Thanks.

 

[diversteve]

I see Equinox has a huge advantage that favors them (at least on my book) and it is the Retrofit Program.

It is but realistically you have a fairly new camera so by the time you've outgrown it, we'll all probably be shooting housed DSLR's, a mini-HD cam like the GoPro Hero or the next generation of video cameras. Maybe your next housing will be for an iPhone X...

I get along with editing software and I am only starting to film underwater so I do not think the MWB might be a problem I may not solve by editing contrast levels or applying a filter on an editing program.

That's certainly a viable option. I would get the red filter though - it will help anytime you're shooting in bright conditions. I've never had particularly good luck with color correction in post with longer clips in changing light conditions.

Have you ever handled an Equinox housing yourself? What experience may you share about them?

Once briefly at a show. Not enough to form an opinion either way. It did seem a little heavy for a poly housing but it's most likely negligible in water. Might be an issue if you travel - I carry-on my camera/housing. (not that mine is particularly light either)

Also, I'd guess you would recommend I buy it directly through their website. I would assume buying through amazon would void the warranty, wouldn't it? You'd recommend I contact them through email in order to do my purchase?

I would have no idea and suggest you contact Equinox.

One other option you might consider is Amphibico's Turtle housing. It's a cost reduced version of the EVO - it has a fixed flat port and some standard EVO features are optional on it. But it's the same housing, has the same electronic controls just no hydrophone or flip filter - which are optional. It's also $1195.

A little backstory - last year Amphibico went out of business suddenly. The company was purchased last fall by Aquatica. Their website (which was down for a while) now seems to be functional again under the Aquatica banner. So I'm assuming production has/will soon resume.

If you're interested Mozaik seems to have one available for your camera: Amphibico TURTLE Video Housing for Sony HDR-XR520 I'd add the flip filter also, it's very convenient to have it internal instead of external.

 

[flyingfishvideo]

Just stumbled onto this post. Did you buy a housing yet? I am a previous equinox owner... just upgraded to Amphibco EVO II. I'll give you some advice if you are still shopping for a housing...

 

[CBK]

Hi there! I am still thinking of buying a housing but I don't have the money at the moment. I spent it becoming a PADI OWSI so I don't think I will be buying a housing at least until December.

If you have any advice I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[MN Lakeman]

Wow! I am stunned to learn that Amphibico went out of business. I am so glad to hear though, that another company seems to have picked them up. I've owned the Amphibico Dive Buddy EVO HD elite 2 housing made for a similar model Sony mentioned above, but just a few years older (CX-550V). I thoroughly researched the market & upon getting great advice on this forum, purchased the housing & have used it for over 50 dives now. I am so impressed with how well made this equipment is. My main criteria was having 1 button electronic access to manual white balance, along with having a quality flip style color filter.

 

[flyingfishvideo]

MN Lakeman is correct. Amphibico is the BOMB for semi-pro underwater filming. I've been working as a videographer on and off for the last 6 years with a Equinox Pro Pack 6 & Sony HDR SR1. Macbook Pro & iMovie (soon to be upgrading to Final Cut X) for editing. I chose Equinox because I was on a limited budget and also had to purchase dive gear. In hindsight, I wish I had spent more $$$ upfront and got a better housing. At the time, housings for the new Sony HDR hidef camcorders were not available through they typical providers i.e. Ikelite, Amphibico etc... so I went with a custom made housing from Equinox. It was good value for sure but I had no idea what features were most important to access underwater. Lakeman has it right, you will want to have a manual white balance button. This will determine the quality of your video more than any other factor except camera lens & light processing chip (CCD). Having everything at you finger tips is also important. The handle buttons on an Amphibico housing are much easier to use than the external control knobs that come with an Equinox housing. Zooming, focus & white balance are right on the handle which makes for much easier use when filming. As well, the Amphibico comes with a rear 3.5 inch viewing monitor. I had to spend extra to get a 2.5 inch monitor mounted on the rear faceplate of the Equinox housing as it was not standard with the housing. The flip filter for color correction is also very desirable. On the Equinox the filter is external and can be lost easier than you'd think. I surfaced from a dive in moderate waves and had the filter "washed" right out of it's holder and off the camera never to be seen again. I was out of work for a week or so until the replacement arrived :-(

Double up on spare parts because if you have an issue, you may have to wait a few days or weeks until a replacement part can be found and shipped to your location, especially if you are not in N America. This means lost income if your are relying on video to make your rent.

Hope this helps, feel free to message me if you have any more questions. Oh yeah, by the way, I have a Equinox Housing and a Sony HDR-SR1 kit for sale real cheap if you are interested LOL

 

[CBK]

I am sorry for bringing an Old thread back alive (though I made the OT and still need some assistance on the matter ) but I am now really close to order my Housing. After seeing a Aquatica housing and some saving I've decided to give it a go with an Amphico Case. I am going to be getting the Turtle with the color filter and the other grip.

Steve, I was wondering what other differences beside the flat port can you find between the Evo buddy and the turtle housing? Do you believe this differences to be critical or would i be fine with the Turtle case?

 

[diversteve]

Can you still buy a Turtle? I thought they were discontinued. I've not followed u/w video much in the last year.

Adding the handle and the flip filter, the only other difference besides the flat port is the hydrophone. Which you can also add.
I've been glad I had one twice, both times around dolphins. Usually all it picks up is my breathing...