Verde Island (Puerto Galera) Philippines with SJ4000

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DesertEagle

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I just returned from a week in Puerto Galera, diving with Asia Divers. They were a great operation. Arranging a boat to Verde Island on short notice was no problem. It's a fantastic area with great fish life. I actually did most of my dives at a site called the Canyons. Unfortunately I didn't have a video light and even a strong red filter can't replace the colors that are lost at 25 meters.

[video=vimeo;111268444]https://vimeo.com/111268444[/video]
Mostly I shoot stills but I wanted a second camera for video and as a backup to my S95/FIX housing/UWL2852 lens/YS-60 strobe.

http://vimeo.com/111268444

The SJ4000 was under $100, shoots 1080p/30 and has a built-in monitor. It also comes with just about every type of mount imaginable. I had intended to use an Auto Magic gel filter inside the housing but the lens is convex shaped and the inside of the housing is a small circle. It proved to be too difficult to cut and force the gel inside. I gave up and ordered a Flip DIVE filter from Backscatter for $20.

The SJ4000 has the over-sharpened look common to most cams. Sharpening is user-selectable so I should have shot that on low. I did turn on HDR and I left the white balance on auto. Overall its' a great camera for a low cost but it does struggle with white balance in constantly changing light. The yellow channels are easily overblown. The video here was edited on an iPad with no control over white balance or exposure. Even the music was done clumsily.

I hope this video helps anyone considering an SJ4000 and I'll take any advice on how to make my videos better.
 
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https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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