16 replies to this topic

[thani]

Hi there,

This is an Under Water Housing for Sony NEX FS100 Which was originally made for the Sony HDTV X7 by SeaLux. My Friend modified the housing to fit the the new FS100. The major modification is done to the lens so it can a accommodate the longer new Sony E-mount lens. This a very promising camera for its video quality and small size.

I have shout the footage in the Arabian sea in Oman, Lima Rock/Island last weekend and have edited in Edius 6. I am using a Sony EX1 camera in a sealux housing with a Phathom wide angel lens.

The actual footage shot by my friend using the new FS1000 will be published soon. We think this is the first FS100 that has been taken under water.

Youtube link for the Sony NEX FS100 Housing

Any comments are welcomed.

Regards,
Thani

[Drew]

Shukran Thani.

Nice mod for fit. What is he going to do about other controls like aperture and shutter? I suppose he'll need an external monitor at some point? Pretty resourceful mod and I'm surprised the lanc works.

[thani]

Hi Drew and shukran to you,

What is he going to do about other controls like aperture and shutter? I suppose he'll need an external monitor at some point? Pretty resourceful mod and I'm surprised the lanc works.

Aperture is set on Auto and Shutter speed either preset depending on the video format/speed or Auto again. (My friend and I took up this as an expensive hobby so we do not fiddle alto with controls other than white balance so far).

As for the Monitor, for the time being he made the internal cam LCD viewable from the sealux housing eye view finder. I think he modified EVA to be able to see LCD. It does need improvement and he is working on it.

I am surprised the LANC worked too. All of the basic controls are woriking.

The challenges are:
-WB which he is drilling a hole for... this friend is really crazy and fearless. He destroyed few housings before and one camera.

- Fitting other lenses like Nikon in the same lens dome he modified...

Drew, any good lens mount for Sony FS100 that will still maintain Auto focus,Zoom etc...?

Regards,
Thani

[edmond320]

"The challenges are:
-WB which he is drilling a hole for... this friend is really crazy and fearless. He destroyed few housings before and one camera."

Wow, I like that, you are my hero !!!!!!!

Edmond

[thani]

Hi Guys,

As promised, here is the video which was shot by my friend using the modified housing by Sony NEX-FS100. Please remember that there was no White Balance (WB) during the dive. The video light did not last for long and the only shot I think is at the 1:30 time frame. I believe this is a very promising camera for underwater once the WB issue is fixed. You can see the detail and texture on the squids shot even without the WB - This is why the high hopes. This is video is taken by the stock lens that came with the camera. The flower scene is taken in Dubai, UAE but the rest of the video is taken in Fujairah, UAE Marina yacht club and the diving is in Lima Rock, Oman.

Here is the video: NEX-FS100 underwater video on Youtube

Let us know you think.

Regards,
Thani

[jonny shaw]

What lens were you using. It looks pretty soft on the corners? Was this straight AVCHD capture? It seams to have a reasonable DOF which is good underwater

[thani]

What lens were you using. It looks pretty soft on the corners? Was this straight AVCHD capture? It seams to have a reasonable DOF which is good underwater

Hi Jonny,
Lens is 18-200 which shipped with the Sony NEX-FS100.
Recording was done using the default setting AVCHD.

Can you tell me where you find the soft edges exactly or most obvious part of the video?

Thanks for your feedback,
Thani

[wirypulse]

just got the camera and loving it....trying to find an operator with his own housing in los angeles...

[thani]

Good for you. Let us know if you come a cross a housing.
I believe the possibility of changing lenses for a housed camera will start a new age for underwater video shooting. For example having a high quality wide angle lens, a specialized macro lens, and much more sound really exciting compared to a lens fixed on the outside of the housing.

[Steve Douglas]

What lens were you using. It looks pretty soft on the corners? Was this straight AVCHD capture? It seams to have a reasonable DOF which is good underwater

Actually, most of the video looked pretty soft to me. The clownfish at around 33 sec did not look at all sharply defined. This may be due to the lens that was used or very well due to the compression and encoding of the video for You Tube. I can't judge that.
Steve

[thani]

Actually, most of the video looked pretty soft to me. The clownfish at around 33 sec did not look at all sharply defined. This may be due to the lens that was used or very well due to the compression and encoding of the video for You Tube. I can't judge that.
Steve

Good remarks. Agreed, focus was not good. This footage was the first my friend took and coincidentally he dived with a new mask which fogged all the time. He had a bad setting on his lens as well - the lens was zoomed a bit. Sometimes he was too close to the subjects which is out side the focus range of the lens/camera. We will be posting new footage soon.

[thani]

We will be posting new footage soon.

This is the second video for the same setup:
Sony NEX FS100 in a modified housing

Camera is in full auto NOT white balanced yet. Visbility was poor-medium. Location of the unedited footage is UAE, Abu Dhabi, Yasat island - but last footage of the squids was color corrected and was shot in Oman.

Do you think focus is better than before?

[thani]

Hi there,To continue the modified housing project and to fix the view finder issue, my friend used a mirror to reflect the Camera LCD. He raised the LCD a bit to flip/reverse the image and he installed a mirror as seen in the below pictures: (I preview the post and the pics appear. Plz help me if they do not apper: How to post pics?)

Edited by thani, 22 October 2011 - 06:50 AM.

[thani]

Hi there,To continue the modified housing project and to fix the view finder issue, my friend used a mirror to reflect the Camera LCD. He raised the LCD a bit to flip/reverse the image and he installed a mirror as seen in the below pictures: (I preview the post and the pics appear. Plz help me if they do not apper: How to post pics?)

I used cut & paste on my ipad2 before and now I used the attachment Editor which works fine but not so intuitive.

[Drew]

Very cool, Thani. Just be careful about sunlight if that viewfinder is magnified. It can act like a small laser and fry things.

[wagsy]

Looks like a tight fit in there but well done.

[thani]

Very cool, Thani. Just be careful about sunlight if that viewfinder is magnified. It can act like a small laser and fry things.

Your assumption could be true, especially with our burning sunlight in this part of earth shining 365 days and.

Thanks guys and will keep you posted.