Won a camcorder on eBay...plus, question on mics in housings

[Moogyboy]

hey all

Update to my last thread. Panasonic PV-DV100D MiniDV camcorder, visually a little rough and without the battery charger (heck, probably without the battery!, but apparently works fine, for about $90. I know that Panasonic isn't one of the favored brands among uw video enthusiasts and housing manufacturers (mostly Sony and Canon from the looks of it), but I am happy that there are some options. I guess some of the lower-tech housings (ie Aquatix, Yellow Jacket) will fit most any camera, at the expense of some controls, and one maker I think even has a housing specifically for this camera.

One other plus about this camera is that it has an external mic input--I'm really a nut for that having kind of capability (among other things I'd like to eventually use it for amateur video-filmmaking). So now I am wondering if any of these housings has a provision for some kind of external mic. One housing I've used has one that opens to the outside and does a good job picking up ambient underwater sound (love the sound of real bubbles!) and I'd love to have that capability, although on my budget I'm sure I'm just pipe-dreamin'.

Anyhow, just wanted to let you know about this latest development...cross your fingers for me that the dang thing actually fires up.

cheers

Billy S.

 

[Bob3]

You'll find that simply having a mike inside the housing will pick up a LOT of the noise, thanks to water being the good conductor that it is.
At most, an external mike taped to the inside of the housing should be all you'd need.
The old Sony Marine Packs had external mikes though.

 

[Groundhog246]

I think almost all camcorders have jacks for external mikes, my Samsung does. The built in mike picks up 'bubble noise' quite well. It's ok to listen to for a while, but I've started adding music tracks to my videos.

The internal mike also did a really great job of picking of the sound of silica gel packets sliding along the bottom when the housing tilted fore and aft. I now fasten them to the side of the battery with an elastic band.

 

[diversteve]

...One other plus about this camera is that it has an external mic input--I'm really a nut for that having kind of capability (among other things I'd like to eventually use it for amateur video-filmmaking). So now I am wondering if any of these housings has a provision for some kind of external mic. One housing I've used has one that opens to the outside and does a good job picking up ambient underwater sound (love the sound of real bubbles!) and I'd love to have that capability, although on my budget I'm sure I'm just pipe-dreamin'.

My internal mike does a really good job of picking up camera motor noise and the occasional clanking sound when the metal hook on the safety strap bangs into it. When I'm looking through the viewfinder, I also hear my regulator. I've also got propellor whir on one of my tapes, but I never saw the boat. Sometimes there's also some hollow water sloshing noise, not really bubbles, it sounds more like water hitting the housing - I actually kind of like it. Maybe it is my bubbles hitting the bottom of the housing. I leave the noise and also add music to my videos, it's more realistic.

B&H sells an Equinox external mike that probably works with any housing.($150)

I looked at housing a PVDV53 once, I looked at inexpensive tube housings for it since there's no LANC control, none of the electronic housings would have been compatible. Also with a full plex front, there were no issues about lens alignment. If you get a tube housing(I'd stay away from the EWA bag) a trick I read about is to seal the camcorder in the housing where it's dry and take the remote with you on the boat so you can operate the camera pre/post dive through the front port w/o having to open the housing.

Steve

 

[Groundhog246]

If you get a tube housing(I'd stay away from the EWA bag) a trick I read about is to seal the camcorder in the housing where it's dry and take the remote with you on the boat so you can operate the camera pre/post dive through the front port w/o having to open the housing.

Steve

I do leave the bubble noise, etc when I add the music track and often lower the volume a bit on the music. Whether you can hear them, in other than quiter passages, depends on the music though.

Never thought of the remote idea. Will the remote 'wake' the camera back up if it's gone to sleep? Was discussing housings with a friend last week who has a JVC. Will have to mention the remote idea to him.

 

[diversteve]

Never thought of the remote idea. Will the remote 'wake' the camera back up if it's gone to sleep? Was discussing housings with a friend last week who has a JVC. Will have to mention the remote idea to him.

I don't know as I wound up buying a Sony camcorder/electronic housing. It goes to sleep sometimes, but I just toggle the standby/record and it wakes up. I just looked at my remote and it has a s/r button, so I assume it would work similarly as I think that's what my housing does with it's LANC controller.

 

[Groundhog246]

Hmm. Easy enough to find out. Just let it sit on a desk till it goes to sleep, then try. I recall a web site someplace where someone had built a housing and controls using a 2nd remote (did not want to destry the original). He dis-assembled the remote, aligned it in the housing to 'see' the camera's sensor. Then wired in magnetic reed switches to the desired functions, and attached the switches to the interior of the housing. He activated them with a small button magnet glued to the finger of his glove.

 

[diversteve]

Hmm. Easy enough to find out. Just let it sit on a desk till it goes to sleep, then try. I recall a web site someplace where someone had built a housing and controls using a 2nd remote (did not want to destry the original). He dis-assembled the remote, aligned it in the housing to 'see' the camera's sensor. Then wired in magnetic reed switches to the desired functions, and attached the switches to the interior of the housing. He activated them with a small button magnet glued to the finger of his glove.

I saw a homebuilt housing on ebay where the maker extended the leads on the remote led and mounted it near the front, then mounted the remote vertically to the back of the camera mounting plate and used old Ikelite controls to push the buttons through the rear cover. I emailed him about it and one interesting thing mentioned was that he'd scrounged the controls buying junk Ikelite housings cheaply off eBay. There was a thread here about the fact that Ikelite won't sell their pushbuttons - although they do sell their control levers - so it could be a good source of buttons for those building housings.

I almost bought an older housing locally made by a company in FL (no longer in business) I don't remember the specifics, but there was a Sony remote permanently mounted in the top of the housing that activated an old Sony TR4 camcorder. It was all hardwired in somehow, I can't remember the specifics of it or how the remote was activated, but it might have been switches in the handle - I don't remember any mechanical controls .

The original Quest housings used to use reed switches in a similar fashion. They even sold you a 1 finger glove with the magnet sewn into it.

Steve

 

[meekal]

i agree w/SJSPECK.... bubble sounds and large clanks are all you get underwater. i've got a Goliath Grouper doing the "BOOM" gimik a few times from less than 10' away and was very disappointed to find it didn't pick up any of the "BOOM". i could feel it, but the MIC didn't pick it up.

as a side note, how would you even 'attach' the external MIC? wouldn't it involve drilling through the housing and other nasties like that?

 

[meekal]

just my $0.02 on the 'sleeping' camera syndrome. tape is cheap, that once in a lifetime shot is not (i know there's a Master Card commericial saying in here somewhere) but since most dives are under 60 minutes, start filming as soon as you hit the water and don't stop until your back on the boat. do your editting at home and just cut the 50 minutes of the camera pointing at the sand!