114 replies to this topic

[wagsy]

Yeh yeh.....I'm guna make me own

[TomStack]

hey Martyn,

I was there when Peter took took that photo and I cry "shame on you!" Steve was most gracious and I used the same finger to trigger the shutter on my old Aquatica F4s film housings! The new finder is awesome!
Just like using the old DA-20 sportfinder- finally!!

Regards,

Tom Stack

http://www.tomstackphoto.com

[wolf]

I want one too! Looks like I'd better place my order in now...

Edited by wolf, 12 November 2006 - 01:37 AM.

[DrFiscus]

I want one too! Looks like I'd better place my order in now...

How much is the obvious question.
Andy

[Rattus]

hey Martyn,

I was there when Peter took took that photo and I cry "shame on you!" Steve was most gracious and I used the same finger to trigger the shutter on my old Aquatica F4s film housings! The new finder is awesome!
Just like using the old DA-20 sportfinder- finally!!

Regards,

Tom Stack

http://www.tomstackphoto.com

LOL, I didn't mean Steve any harm. I thinkPeter took the shot just as Steve was looking round, giving it a kind of comical look.

I am so glad to see these new finders coming through. I just can't wait to get my corners back.

Martyn

[echeng]

The Aquatica viewfinder is finally here.

The unit on display at DEMA is an actual production version and has recieved many favourable responses from imaging types that by all accounts would know one end of a viewfinder from the other.

Here are few shots of the viewfinder being inspected today....

Peter - I was under the impression that the viewfinder was NOT a shipping version due to the yellow cast of the image. Can you clarify?

[Viz'art]

The body, and glass dimensions are final production spec's, the only thing was that glass element & prism where not properly coated, we didn't have the time frame to have them coated for the DEMA show,

Many where impressed with it as is, I can only imagine the impact the final coated optic version will have .

Regards

P.S. here are some photos of the viewfinder mounted on a housing, Eric has not finished his coverage of all the DEMA new photo product yet, so i'll post them now anyway.

[TomStack]

Andy,

MSRP is $1,149.00 U.S.

Best,

Tom Stack

http://www.tomstackphoto.com

[edited by Moderator for commercialism]

[Poliwog]

Jean - Any more details on the viewfinder regarding installation or retrofitting to an existing housing?

Price and delivery info would also be appreciated.

Thanks

[Viz'art]

All our current housing will accept the viewfinder, the earliest batch of D2X housing had a smaller non removable finder, we are working on a retrofit program for theses, just don't have all the specifics, PM us and we will keep you in the loop the moment the info is final.

For our current line up, instalation is easy and will require about 2 minutes of your time, no rocket science involved, no easy to loose tool involved either.

Price of finder as Tom mentioned is 1149.00 USD retail.

[echeng]

Guys -- I realize that this thread is just about the aquatica viewfinder, but dealers -- please keep all commercial correspondence to PM only.

[Rattus]

Jean,

Could I be a pest and ask what diameter and depth of the viewfinder port bore is on your housings? I'm trying to collect info on all possible viewfinders with a view to upgrading my Sea&Sea finder. I'd love to be ina position to swap housing systems but reality tethers me to S&S for now.

Thanks,

Martyn

[handlerphoto]

Hi Eric- it was nice to see you come by the booth.
I look forward to seeing Aquticas products and your neutral commments on the products in the forums DEMA front page.
To all the others that did not go to the show I just wanted to let you know that
I have tested the Aqua View Finder in the pool at DEMA to confirm underwater look, feel and overall impression. To this I must say that I was really impressed with the 100% image coverage of the Dslrs finder. I tested it in the Aquatica D200 and D2x housing. The lenses used were the 14mm for wide-angle as well as the 105. As a professional image maker I would be extatic to have this piece of glass on my housings.
I will of course wait for the unbiased opinion of whoever tests all the finders. This person should not have any self interest in any one of the lines discussed and should defenitely not be one of the moderators of this forum.

The Aquatica finder is a very high end product. The "yellow tint issue" that is being mentioned was brought to the the attention of Eric by myself at DEMA in a professional conversation about the product. I made it very clear Aquatica was releasing a final product that would be even brighter and clearer without the subtle tinting he was seeing at the show. I still do not know then why this was mentioned at all in this forum.

Anyway
The finder was given rave reviews not only by competitor housing/ finder manufacturers but primarily by the people who really count in this industry- the readers of this forum and many professional image makers that came by including Ernie Brooks (The Ansel Adams of Underwater Photography), David Doubilet (my mentor and really, the best underwater photographer in the business with images spaning the past almost 40 years), by Paul Nicklin- See last issue of National Geographicc Magazine- story on Leopard Seals (he uses Subal by the way) but raved about the finder, by Scott Johnson, Frankin Viola and countless others that spent time at the booth. Some are not even Aquatica users but does it really matter? I am the first to say that Seacams Finder is a supperb piece of glass- their product though is out of my and many others financial reach. The Aquatica finder is as good and affordable. I do not think though that the finder in Aquatica, Light and Motion or others will ultimately decide whether a shooter will swing one way or the other- many other factors will influence this decision. The finder, price, availability of the product and customer service should all play a part.
Lets be thankful that now, most all housing manufactures have a finder of one quality or another.
This will not only level the playing field but will ultimately help many in making better images and many others that were avoiding underwater photography alltogether because of the piss poor finder sizes available in DSlrs get into the business. We are all winers here.

For those interested in the Aquatica finder- get in touch with your dealer wherever you are. There are limited numbers in this first run.

I for one will be underwater doing what I love most- with a nice big finder off course. I will leave the bickering to the rest of you.

Mauricio Handler
Professional Image maker/ Instructor
and industry professional.

[echeng]

Mauricio - thanks for your thoughts on the viewfinder. I brought up the yellow tint because Peter mentioned that the one shown at DEMA was the production model, and that several had already shipped.

The reason I brought up the DEMA model yellow case was to seek clarification and to point out that the production viewfinder is going to be better than the one being shown. I was not criticising the fact that a pre-production model didn't have coated optics!

We strive to make moderators unbiased, but we as individuals of course make mistakes sometimes even when trying to be completely objective. Our readers should consider reviews by mods to be unbiased. Some may of course disagree, but everyone is of course free to do the tests themselves if they disagree.

Eric

[pmooney]

Sorry for the delay in responding I have finally landed back in the land of Oz after some 48 hours of solid travel time. Just another 4 hours to go and I will be home.

Eric , thanks for helping clarify the issue, I did make a blunder in my description of the viewfinder as an actual production version.

What I should have said is the viewfinder is a working example what will be the production version, and that I only had 2 viewfinders left unallocated from my initial order. This has now changed as all of my initial order is now committed.

As Mauricio & Jean have already said the yellow cast is a coating issue and it will be fixed before any units are shipped. ( I'm not sure that the lighting of the convention hall wasn't a partial contributor to the cast )

With regard to the photos of the various industry folk testing / checking out the viewfinder.
These snaps were taken in a very light hearted casual manner and all persons were asked to hold the unit and pose for the camera. This is clearly evident from the smiles that these people have on their faces.

Any person who I snapped who would like me to delete the image please PM and I will do so for you.

[giftie]

Just emailed Blake to see if he had one...can it be removed for transport?

[handlerphoto]

HEllo Jorge

The finder can indeed be removed for transport. It does not take 2 minutes of your time as suggested- it is rather a mere 30 sec operation!


Mauricio Handler

[parablennius]

I bought my Aquatica a70 in January 2006 waited two month for it, now if I want to use the viewfinder I have to change the back. Pay for the back and the viewfinder. :glare: :glare: Don’t you say that the last models can use the viewfinder?

[TomStack]

Hi para,

To determine if the new Aquatica Aqua View will retrofit to your A70 housing, please post (or email me)
a photo of the inside portion and exterior of your backplate!

Best,

Tom Stack

http://www.tomstackphoto.com

[Kory Nakatsu]

I received an email informing me that Aquatica had introduced a new view finder.



After looking at the release, I am still unsure exactly what benefit this provides. I have the D200 housing and haven't had any difficulty with the default eye piece.

Any light you might be able to shed on what this really accomplishes is appreciated.