Filmbeloh20

I've dropped the price on this package and have it listed on eBay if anyone is interested. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...3#ht_500wt_1156

Bump. Willing to hear offers if anyone is interested.

Hey, Bubbles. If you get no response from them, I'm selling a Gates HC9 kit including the camera. http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...mp;#entry276115

I have a Gates HC9 housing with WP25 Dome Port and WB option. Also have NiteRider HID 10s plus the Sony HDR-HC9 camera and all of it's accessories. I bought the system new from Joe at MarineVisions about 3 years ago. It's only been in salt water about 10 times, and in pools a few times beyond that. I'm upgrading my small set up to a Canon 7D, and that's the only reason I'm getting rid of it. It's a fun system for the hobbyist or newcomer. I'm open to offers as I have no idea how much a used housing and camera should go for, but I'm thinking about $3500 for the works. Pics and any other info available if you need it....

Couple of things to keep in mind - keying in anything less than DVCPro50 is a bitch. If you're shooting DV 25, and even some forms of HDV, it's really impossible to pull a good key. Second thing is that if you're planning a daylight shoot, even the slightest bit of movement on the surface is going to cause a ripple, and we all know how that works out with rays of sunlight underwater. I'd go for an indoor pool and use the biggest lights you can on the surface to light the background. Any change in color on any frame of the background is going to wreck your key. Also, Primatte RT is probably the best key plug in out there, but I've had really, really good luck with DV Matte Blast from DV Garage. http://www.dvgarage.com/

Sure. Final Cut Pro. I didn't do anything spectacular to it. I didn't even color correct or anything. I threw that together on the plane home, just so I'd be able to show family/friends, and get some pointers here from you folks. Next trip is to Florida in a month. So hopefully there will be something tropical for me to post next!

Actually, the easy to watch fella was me:) My buddy Ron had the camera at the time (Ron Moore - since you do a lot at Catalina, you might know him - he owns Dive Catalina, and is my production partner). The chick with me is my wife. She's a very, very beginner diver - these were dives 12-22 for her that week - first dives in over a year. In most of those shots, she was very over-weighted, and had a lot of issues. The shots that she was in were early on in the trip, and well before Ron had a chance to work with her, and get her gear problems fixed. We're getting her set up with her won gear soon instead of rentals, and we're going with a weight integrated BC, and for sure some different fins. Those are some of the original Apollo Bio Fins that they used during the Sea Lab testing on the island when they were first invented. Ron had them laying around and gave them to her maybe 10 years ago? Anyway - we'll for sure try something more bouyant - thanks for the tip! Best, Bob

That Sheepshead was in about 60 feet of water, and I was not using lights. For all of these dives, I used AWB. I also tried Auto Iris, and left the shutter on auto - the only manual setting was focus. I basically set the focus to .9 meters, and left it. I messed with it a little shooting some macro stuff, but none of that was in that clip. As far as the overexposure - After I saw the first days clips, I went to a shutter speed of 1/250th, and it was still overblown, so I went to 1/500th. That really seemed to help when I'd hit a super bright subject. There is one shot where I had the lights on - when the fish are eating from the kelp stem. You can see the colors on the Sheepshead pretty well in that shot. Again - new rig, first dives with it, I was really just playing around with it.

Please, hint and tip away. This was my first time having this housing in the water, and if you've got tips for that particular model, please let me know in the forum. Lots of folks have that same set up, and maybe the info will help them as well. Don't worry - I'm pretty thick skinned

I've had my rig in the pool before testing, but never in the ocean. Spent a week at Catalina, and this was what I came up with. Lots more footage from the trip, but I threw this together to show family and friends. It's a little over-exposed in some areas, and a little shaky in some areas, but overall I'm pretty happy with it. Let me know what you think! http://www.vimeo.com/1571043

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. It's actually two very obviously different color temps, and it happens no matter how long I let the lamps warm up. I think that Probie is right - I've experienced this sort of thing with other lamps that I use in topside work - this is my first experience with HID.

I recently picked up a Gates HC9 with the NiteRider HID 20s. This is a hobby for me, so it's not that big of a deal - but.... The manual for my lights reads that I should go through about 5 charge cycles to get the battery at it's full available power, so I've been charging them, and burning them either in the pool or in the bathtub. I noticed yesterday when they were in the tub that one lamp head is a very obviously different color than the other - way more blue in it. I sent an e-mail to NR customer service, but I thought one of you guys might have an explanation as well. Is it normal for two of the same type of heads to be different? Thanks in advance!

Thanks! I got the direct link in the PM you sent. That's awesome footage, BTW... I may have access to a boat the week we are there - but no promises on that yet. We're sucking it up and staying at Hamilton since it's our 10th Anniversary. We normally crash on someone's floor or stay at one of the cheap hotels, but we're splurging this time... Anyway, I'm going to also see if I can get permission from the HM to dive that little reef off of Hamilton Cove's beach. You have to be a guest to do it - so I might as well.... Let me know if you can make it over!

First of all - I should let you know that my moniker on a hunting site I visit is SCUBABob as well Second - for whatever reason, all I can see are stills on your site. Am I just missing finding the video? BTW - where do you set your focus at? I had pretty good luck at .9 meters in the pool I had the housing in. It was pretty dark in there - just test footage, but I might chop some of it and post a link to it... Lastly - if you're going to be anywhere near Avalon Aug 8-14th, let me know. My wife and I are flying in on the 8th and plan on spending each day underwater. One of my good friends owns a dive shop on the island - so I get free air

Just out of curiosity, what is your set up? I have the HC9 and Gates housing w/NR HID 20s. Did you use the Manual WB? Or did you just set the camera on auto. Lights? What focal length do you set the focus to, or do you roll as you go? I've only had mine in a pool - but I'm going to Catalina with it in 3 weeks. Great footage BTW.

I think the main reason people use the P2 format - myself included - is the fact that it's DVCPro 100. Sure, HDV to a tape is nice, but in the end it's still compressed MPG2. I just posted in another thread about having to lug a laptop, and having workflow issues. I can tell you in the 2 years that I've had my camera, I've never had a problem with it at all. Whether it's shooting straight to the P2 cards, or using an FS100. And I recently got bus powered, 7200RPM FireWire 800 drives that work like a champ, and they're tiny little things. If I did underwater stuff professionally, I would have gotten a housing for my HVX - no question.

The idea of dumping my footage to a device, and not being able to check it prior to formatting my P2 cards scares the ever living bejeepers out of me. I realize that a laptop is a pain in the rear, but what happens if it's a bad transfer or something? I have a 17" MBP, and I just got a couple of 200GB Glyph 7200 RPM FW800 bus powered drives. It takes just a few minutes to log and transfer, double check that the footage is on the drives, and then reformat my cards - and I can do it all without having to plug in to a wall. Sure it's a little cumbersome, but in the end I know my footage is transferred and safe.

I own the HVX200 as well. One of the problems with the EX1 is that it's still dodgy as to whether or not some networks will accept it as 'broadcast quality'. Personally, I think it's a load of crap. I've shot stuff used on several network shows on a DVX100 in 24p mode. I like the Pani because it's uncompressed, and not HDV. If I could have afforded the housing and everything else I wanted for it, I would have done that. Underwater stuff at this point is a hobby for me - so don't judge my rig. It's only for use in getting footage of my personal dives. Getting back to the camera.... I own two 32GB P2 cards, and being able to get an hour of uncompressed 1080i is amazing - especially without having to drop $100 on a tape. I've never - ever - had a card go bad on me, or have dropped frames, missed shots, etc. Anyway, that's my $.02. I've used them both and really like the Panasonic for that money.

I'll second or third that. Joe set me up with an awesom housing about a month ago. Great guy to work with...

I've got the HC9 and the Gates housing - essentially the same thing. I've only had it in the water twice in the short month I've had it, and I'm totally in love with it. For sure get the white balance option. Call Joe Holley at Marine Visions. When he sold me mine, he pulled the foam on a Pelican case and packed it so it fit perfectly with the light kit in a carry on size case. I've honestly never had better customer service. marinevisions.com

Thanks, Ferg. That thread helped a lot. I'm taking it into the pool this weekend, and I've grabbed a bunch of my kid's toys and stuff to see how well it can do macro. I'll try your 'fin' tip as well.

So I've done some searching here, and can't find any answers.... If anybody has the same rig as me, I'd love to get some advice on it. I have the HC9 and Gates housing GP25A Wide Angle port, and NR HID20's. I've used a VX1000 in a Gates housing for years, and decided to go with the HC9 to dabble into HD underwater. On the VX1000 rig, I can pretty much set my focus at 1 meter, and get macro subjects, out to about 10 meters in focus. I always used AWB, and AI, and then set my shutter to 1/160th. I'm trying to find a similar setting for the HC9, and I'm having no luck. Does anybody have experience with some basic set up for this camera so that until I'm more comfy underwater with it I can just set it and go? I do have the WB control, and I know I can set the roller to focus, but while I'm playing with it and getting used to it, I'd like to be able to set it and forget it, and go diving. Or am I just out of luck with that thought? Thanks!

Thanks, Dan. About three hours ago I ordered NiteRider HID 20's.... Gates highly recommended them for what I'm going to be shooting. Eventually this will turn into more than a hobby for me, but for now, the NiteRiders will suffice. Thanks again!

Hey, all - New guy here... I did a search and couldn't come up with anything, so apologies right away if this is a repost and these lights have already been discussed. A little backstory - I've been shooting forever on a VX1000 in a Gates housing, and had an old light kit with it that bit the dust. Also, I let someone borrow my housing and they put a nice little scratch on the port - so.... I'm a professional producer topside, and I use HVX-200s and HPX 500s for my topside work. I thought about getting a housing for the HVX, but I really don't want to invest that much into it, as it's more of a hobby for me. So I decided on getting an HDR-HC9 and the Gates housing for it. I need a light kit, but budget and the fact that this is purely recreational, are stopping me from spending a ton of money on them now. I was looking into LED lights, and ran across a company called Nocturnal Systems. I don't know if linking is kosher around here, so if you Google "Nocturnal Lights Underwater" you'll find them. The first thing that caught my eye is that they are cheap. So cheap that they give me quite a bit of pause in even looking at them any more. Anybody have any experience with them that you could share with me? Anyway - glad I found this board. Just lurking has been giving me a lot of ideas and knowledge that I'd not had before. Good to be here.