rramaley

Hi if you are still looking I have full setup (minus light / strobe) for Canon 5dmkIII

Really beautiful work, Lee!

Since this is where I was pointed to express condolences, I will express to all family and friends of John that my prayers and thoughts are with them. (As a side note I would encourage the moderator to keep condolences and wishes separate from people seeking to comment on the circumstances of the event and the press's handling of the events) - not a good mix.....

Thanks guys - my understanding is that the video production company that the museum uses for many of its movie stories pulled together the video - if I ever meet the people that did the video, I'll pass on your feedback.

For every videographer and photographer out there.... you might have footage of an unexpected new species!!! I almost didn't ask about this one but it made the day of Mark McGrouther at the Australian Museum...... They didn't know it existed until the early 2000's and it took them another 10 years to figure out what colour it was live! http://australianmuseum.net.au/blogpost/Science/Scorpionfish-Fish-Tale

For every videographer and photographer out there.... you might have footage of an unexpected new species!!! I almost didn't ask about this one but it made the day of Mark McGrouther at the Australian Museum...... They didn't know it existed until the early 2000's and it took them another 10 years to figure out what colour it was live! http://australianmuseum.net.au/blogpost/Science/Scorpionfish-Fish-Tale

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Here's a little compilation of footage shot on a recent trip to Belize. Shot with a 5dmk3 in a Nauticam housing. Canon 16-35 lens. All natural light - though it would have been nice to have had lights for the whale shark - but they were not permitted . Being relatively new with this camera and DSLRs in general, I am quite happy with the results. The premiere pro editing software was great as well as the After Effects add on I used to stabilise the shots - one or two shots have a bit of waviness as the motion was too much for the software to handle - like when I bonked a coral with my dome - oops (objects in the viewfinder are closer than they appear). I did see the softness in the edges with the 16-35mm lens but generally good sharp shots with good depth of field. I bought this camera for low light performance and I have not been disappointed... The white balance capability was also quite impressive (particularly after struggling at times with my Sony 550 HDR video cam....) Footage is from dive sites at Glovers Reef, Lighthouse Reef and of course Gladden Spit for the whale sharks. We dove and stayed with Hamanasi - a very good operation.

As I thought, the wide angle sticky button has been solved through a long soak. Everything is still for sale. US$3000K OBO....

Hi Muriel, I spoke with L&M, they say they are able to provide all spare parts for this model and expect to be able to continue to do so "for a while longer" (~2-3 years?) L&M will do a servicing of handles for US$75 each and the full camera for $500. It has to be done in the US (no service centre in Australia) so if you want that, we can negotiate it within the sales price and I could mail the camera to you via the US for a servicing. It is up to you. After looking at things, the buttons on the handle are a bit difficult to access - L&M says you could it yourself if you wanted to but it is a bit tricky. I'm soaking the handle now so I think it really won't be necessary to do (was only the "W" button). The batteries (there are 2 in each handle) are quite easy to replace in the handles - you just unscrew the cover with the allen key and the batteries are right inside. And no, I do not have a faulty circuit board.

Hi MH, 1. There is a tool that comes with the camera to loosen the handle threads and remove the handles from the housing. The handle cover itself can then be disassembled with an allen key. The buttons are found behind the circuit board but you have to be careful as the board is held in place not only by 3 screws but also two pins that then have to rethread through the circuit board when you reassemble. You can then remove the rings holding the buttons in place to clean them. I've just opened the handle to have a look and the button set up is slightly different from my other L&M housing I had previously so I'm asking my dealer about how to properly remove and clean these buttons. 2. The footage is downloaded via USB cable (I'm providing the cable with the camera) 3. My understanding is that I can contact my (or any L&M) dealer to provide spare parts. I would imagine that after a number of years, they might stop carrying certain parts, but this camera is not that old and likely shares common parts with housings that are currently in production - so the important parts like orings and handle batteries shouldn't be an issue. To be sure, I have contacted my dealer to see what he says so I will get back to you on this. Regards Rebecca

Yes still on sale. I have replaced and cleaned the handle, lens and back plate o-rings myself, the camera hasn't reached a point where I felt a full service was necessary.

Sorry correction it is an HDR 550 XR For sale: US$3000 or best offer. Gear located in Sydney, Australia. Happy to ship worldwide but freight will be added to final agreed price. Light and Motion Bluefin Pro housing: includes 3.2 OLED monitor, external manual control knob (can be programmed for focus, aperture, exposure, etc), one touch white balance, internal flip colour correction filter, flat port Sony HDR550 XR camera (Australian plug) with original box and accessories (with 240GB hard drive) Spare extended life battery for camera (NP-FV100) Fathom 90 lens Flip macro diopter Light and motion housing float Housing tripod mount (tripod itself not included) Monitor shade 2x Sola 1200 video lights (US charge plug) Hand strap for sola light (if you want to make it a dive light) 2x Locline arms 2x large foam floats for arms Spare parts: orings for housing, replacement handle threads Various tools needed for camera (allen keys, tool for removing / tightening handle threads) Purchased approximately 3 years ago, the camera housing from Scubapix in Australia, the lights from Backscatter in the US. Total purchase price of all gear was US $10,000. I haven't used the camera for about 6 months as I have been using my new 5dmkIII but have confirmed all is in working order. Condition of kit: normal wear and tear, continues to take excellent video. Anything that is in less than very good condition is as follows: buttons on the handles are slightly sticky (e.g. zoom buttons) but that is easily remedied by a good soak or if you want you can disassemble the handles and do a proper clean. the wet / dry microphone does not work but I presume it could be repaired at a L&M service centre if it is important to you (I never needed it...). acrylic on back monitor is slightly scratched in a few places but it doesn't impact ability to see what you are filming and it is barely noticeable underwater. Fathom 90 lens has a minuscule ding which can probably be rubbed out by toothpaste if you give it enough elbow grease, but since it didn't impact my footage at all, I have not spent a lot of time trying to do that. The plastic bodies of the charging plugs for the solas have cracked (really thin plastic!) and have been glued or taped - they still work fine but if you want pristine plugs or Australian instead of US version, I'm sure you can get from a Light and Motion Sola dealer. Attached photos should give an indication of scratches, dings, wear and tear... Below are links to a number of videos I created using this camera. It is a very good camera for both wide angle and macro, great colours and crisp focus. At significant depth the white balance gets a bit finicky and the low light performance is not stellar but that's where the video lights come in... https://vimeo.com/61169972 https://vimeo.com/50522064 https://vimeo.com/46614651

Just bumping this question here in the hopes someone has some experience to share. Has anyone done the Whale Shark (or other diving) with a DSLR or more advanced camera in Belize? If so, did you have to get a film permit? Any recommendations here?

Hi guys, Was researching diving in Belize and came across mention that if a person has a SLR or larger camera they have to apply for a film permit to photograph / film the whale sharks? Has anyone had any experience with this? Seems a bit OTT?