Davide DB

Hi guys, A video from two dives on the wreck of the Henry Desprez, a tanker sank during the WWII in the South of Italy. Normally I would have thrown away some clips, especially at the beginning of the video but this is a dive very difficult to organize and I tried to edit the video giving the viewer the opportunity to understand what I'm shooting and where it is located on the ship. I've still lot to learn on light position. While the lights are capable to cover the fisheye entire field I had to stove and move the light several times to enter inside the wreck. Through the camera small display is difficult to understand if the entire field is lightened. The camera is mounted on a scooter. It's very important that the entire setup is neutrally buoyant but at 50m/164ft. the setup became immediately very heavy and I discovered that the Stix Jumbo float were squeezed like marshmallows so moving the scooter/camera was a pita. [vimeohd]47105423[/vimeohd]

HI, I tried the SOLA 2000 and the FIX side by side only on a wall in my house. At one meter The FIX beam is brighter and larger. I don't know if the specs are fullfilled but the difference it' noticeable. IMHO what I really did not like of the SOLA was the switch and autonomy led indicators. They are on the top of the light but in real use, especially with long arms, you are behind them so you'll likely never see the light's controls. The switch is too small for my taste and I found very difficult to operate it with gloves. Residual battery autonomy it's another flaw: they used coloured leds to indicate the capacity: green - yellow -red. Unfortunately at deep colours are useless. Aquavolt3500 have the controls/indicator on their rear part. The led dispay is small and difficult to read but far easier than SOLA. Bye

I linked too many images so I was forced to split my post... Weighting only 290gr, one light with two Jumbo Stix on two 20cm Nauticam arms and clamps are nearly neutrally buoyant. Here they are with my NA-GH2P. The setup is still quite negative. I’ll calculate the exact weigh asap because I have to throw away the Stix and buying a more serious buoyancy material. I’ll post a clip shot with these lights. The beam is really wide and with a proper positioning they cover my 8mm Fisheye FOV. Actually I’ve still lot to learn on lights position but this is another story From the datasheet their color temp. is rated 6500 -7500 °K hence quite cold. From my test, my GH2 with automatic WB gave pleasant results. I color corrected the clip as usual with some YUV curve and nothing more. I came from a couple of SOLA 2000. While I still think they are great lights, these new FIX are simply another story... IMHO the light and especially the ergonomics are way better. Bye

Hi all, DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Fisheye nor I get these light for free nor I got some discount. It's a new product, I was one of the first to receive these lights and I wanted to share my opinion on them. I hope you will appreciate this mini review of my new lights Few weeks ago I finally received my brand new FIX Aquavolt3500 video lights from Fisheye Japan. They are self-contained led lights and as their name suggests they have a 3500 lumen output. The light beam covers 115° with an even flux without spots and they guarantee one hour of operating time at maximum power. For a complete data sheet just look at the manufacturer web site. http://www.fisheye-j...3500/index.html I’m not an unboxing lover but I think it is worth a photo showing the carefulness of the packaging. The light kit is composed of the light itself, a small charger with a peculiar base for the battery (I will be back on this shortly), a handle, a 3300mA Lithium battery with two caps, a spare o-ring kit and a tin can of silicone grease. My kit arrived with a Sea&Sea joint which I substituted with a ball joint for my Nauticam arms. I think that you can specify the joint type while ordering. The Aquavolt3500 is entirely built in aluminum alloy with a front mineral glass. The light body has a classic screw type opening with double o-ring. I shot a photo near a 1/2L Coca Cola bottle to give you an idea of their dimensions. Weigh in water is only 290gr. The back of the light has an LCD display which gives information on the power setting, residual battery life and its internal temperature: if the light reaches 68°C it shut down automatically. The user manual specifies that it cannot be used out of water. Near the display there is a knob with a central button. A finger pressure of a couple of seconds turns on the light at the maximum power. Following presses change the power at 80-50-30%. You turn off the light pressing the knob for three seconds. Power output can be regulated also rotating the knob with a 2% steps. This feature is aimed to macro photography. You can finely tune the exposure just rotating the knob. On the left of the knob there is an over-pressure valve and on top of the display something like a cap: user manual states that they can be remotely controlled. Maybe Fisheye has some special accessory for this feature. The custom Lithium battery is worth describing. Electrical contacts on both sides are circular shaped: you can insert the battery into the light or into the charger without paying attention at polarity or position. The battery charger has a custom base with 4 led indicating the ongoing charge (max 3 hours). Inserting the battery into the base without power supply you can check the remaining battery charge through the same 4 led. The battery itself has an extra electrical connection identical to the main charger allowing to be charged without using the base. Continue on next post...

I came across this thread looking for Stix depth rating... I can confirm that below 60m (180ft) they becomes like marshmellow Totally useless for tech diving.

Yes, very nice indeed, both episodes. Yes, we sort it out with what available at the moment. We had a couple of poor's man Darkbuster HID 21W Video lights. We taped them together for handheld use. The wet connection used by sartek is very common for cave/tech diving. You have a separate canister/battery pack that can be connected to a primary light, a video light and even to a heater. Given the huge improvements on video lights with led and lithium batteries, IMHO I prefer having a self contained video light. In a overhead environment, managing all those cable is a PITA. In a cave you would have a primary light with a separate canister, so one cable running from your hand to your hip. Then another canister with a E/O cord and a Y connector. All those cords running on your scuba gear requires a lot of attention and they need some time to be accustomed with them. For example this is another nice cave video shot with two Mangrove VLC-46, hence Led and self-contained. A far slick and clean setup. One of the divers/models has a couple of hid lights as the one depitched above. The only downside of the Mangrove is their weight in water: 480gr. It's very difficult to obtain a balance rig with them. The lights strive a bit covering the fisheye FOV but it's the same with my 8mm and FIX lights. [vimeohd]35833967[/vimeohd] Bye

Hi Adam it's still there. Try to close/open your browser or clearing the cookies. It happens only the first time: I open firefox and i go to gmail. I click on a notificatiom link which opens in another tab getting a 404 error. I go back on the mail clicking the link again and it works

The strange thing is that if you click again on the mail link, it works. The same apply for following notification mail. Is like it fail to convert the link starting the session. I get this error on several machines and also on my ipod touch with safari.

Let me know if you decide to sell these lights

Given that this thread has been hijacked... Speaking about monsters, there is also this Sartek led light head rated 10000 lumen, very expensive indeed: http://www.sarind.co...rod=LED10000VW. I've seen a couple of cave videos where the model was using this head: You can skip to minute 2:50 [vimeohd]36657225[/vimeohd]

Macro shooting at 70m depth?

Any photo of this beast?

Ok thank you. I would love having the 7-14mm but at the moment is out of my budget (one of the most expensive m43 lens + new dome port). I'm using the 8mm. I'm striving a lot trying to correctly positioning my lights. The FOV is huge and I usually find myself filming at a certain distance from the subject. At this distance the lights cannot enlight too much... If I shorten the distance I have to move the lights to avoid a black spot in the middle. I had the opportunity to test the SOLA 2000, 4000, the Luna 4V and the new Fix Aquavolt 3500. In the end I've chosen the FIX which can cover the entire field but I'm realizing that this lens work the best with wide panoramic shots without the lights... A friend of mine use the 8mm a lot for photos and with flashes it's a completely different story. I would appreciate your experience with the 8mm for video. Bye PS I hope to write soon a short review of the new FIX Aquavolt 3500 lights

Did you build a custom gear to control the aperture?

No one cares to reply? It's not a polite behavior

Hi George, Does this subal dome accomodate the lumix 8mm fisheye? I see on their site that they produce GF2, GF3 and GX1 housings along with several dome port for 7-14 and 8mm lens. Unfortunately there's no info on these ports. While they have full info on dsrl ports, it seems like evil camera are considered by them a second choice... Thanks

Mother in law apartment would be perfect

I like the camera movements

Ok I removed the dpreview photos. Comparing my post to use my photos and video without permission is a bit stretched. Anyway I removed them

The new G5 has been announced. http://www.dpreview.com/previews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-g5 While I'm sure that we will never see a uw housing for this camera. I'm sure that most of the features will be present in the upcoming GH3. I think that if Panny doesn't make a false step, it will rule 'em all again Rumours on the GH3 says that it will be water sealed as the latest power zoom lens. A new sensor is arriving and finally we have the 1080/50/60 (28Mb on G5) The most interesting is the second small lever near the shutter button that can be programmed for zoom or aperture. On the G5 all rumors pointed towards it having the same G3 sensor, but instead it has an improved one seemingly based on the GH2's technology. So lets count some of the imrpovements: 1) Return of the EVF proximity sensor 2) Larger, more comfortable hand grip at nary a size expense. 3) Higher Res LCD(920k dots vs 460k) 4) Programmable Function Lever, can be used for powerzoom or exposure compensation/aperture changes). Essentially like having a second dial. 5) 1 additional programmable function button, AF/AE button, better button placement 6) More clicky buttons with better build 7) 9 more Art modes, if you're into that type of thing 8) 6fps at full res, vs 4fps. 3.7 fps with continuous AF 9) Can continue to shoot and access menus with a full buffer 10) Control the AF point using the touchscreen as touchpad while using EVF! Seems super useful. 11) 1080p60, at 28mbps! Real slow-mo footage possible. 12) Improved battery life rating(320 vs 270, uses GH2 battery) 13) New, Multi-aspect-ratio sensor(This might not seem significant, but is actually very useful when shooting in aspect ratios other than 4:3, particularly for wide-angle lenses.). 18.3 total megapixels vs 16.8. On-chip processing. 14) Iso 12,800 15) 3 frame HDR mode

Hi Steve, which glass dome are available for my beloved nauticam? I saw domes for the proper DSRL housing but no dome for the M43 system

Nice footage indeed Did you slowed down the clips? Bye

Hi Dean, I was following a discussion on this project since may. Here it is: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/3241/apertus-project-opinions-discussion-etc.

Hi, I wish I was diving in tropical water with bare hands, white sand and a mermaid that scratch my back Unfortunately I'm diving in a natural resurgence forming a small lake. Water is about 9°C/48°F wearing blue dry gloves and manually wb against them gives me horrible results. When I'm at the bottom or in the shallow part I have a nearly white sand which gives me perfect wb but when I'm at mid water I have nothing to wb except the sun. I tried several times with my GH2 to wb against the sun in shallow water but, as I said, I get a "object too bright" error. I should try closing down the aperture and see what happen. Otherwise I'll try to bring with me a piece of grey plastic. Magic filter gives me wonderful results but the wb is critical: a slightly change of depth and colours dramatically change. Thanks [vimeohd]44328990[/vimeohd]

Hi all, I reuse this old thread. What the difference between a gray and a white slate for wb? I'm using a magic filter for ambient light shallow shots and most of the time I haven't neutral color references to manually wb. I tried a white object like the tank of my buddy or the sun but most of the time I get "object too bright" error which is a little bit funny given taht I read that most of the people have the opposite problem aka not enough light. Last week I tried with some gray dutch tape on my fin. Things got better but is a little bit awkward standing vertical to shot the fin. Moreover, after a while the ducth tape flew away. My shot were a little bit greenish. Bye