Mike L

I had the opportunity to spend some time down at SPL a couple of weeks ago with Sean (owner). His shop is filled with fun toys. Sean took some time to show me their housing designs, some of their latest housings, etc. I was lucky enough to be in there while they had the new RED camera in a housing ready for delivery. What an awesome piece he did for that camera!

I was recently notified of someone shooting a Sea & Sea housing with Ike strobes and Ike TTL converter and that working great for them. However, I have also seen a few others try it with unsuccessful results. Im always a fan of going for the better know and reliable combos. (i.e. Ike housing w/Ike strobes, S&S Housing w/S&S strobes).

In addition to the option presented by Ryan, you can also have your housing outfitted with an Ikelite bulkhead. Its now an option when ordering all Aquatica housings. Having one Ike bulkhead (and one standard) will allow you to use any Ikelite DS series strobe along with the appropriate Ike TTL converter giving you TTL, and still retain the standard bulkhead for backup. Your Aquatica dealer should be able to swap out the bulkhead or send it in for Aquatica to do as well.

I just want to get that bad boy underwater already with some sharks!

I attended NAB this year and took as best a look at the EX3 as I could, given the Sony booth was more crowded than I had seen it the last 3 years Ive attended. Although the EX3 looks to be a phenomenal camera, it really looks to be too big in size to be desirable for underwater use. Many have complained over the size of housings for the FX1/HVX200, etc...and this one would likely be even larger. Im excited to get the EX1 underwater this summer.

I had the opportunity to check the camera out and talk with a Sony rep while at NAB. It looks to be an amazing camera, however it is priced for the Professional at approximately $8,000...leaving it out of the range for the average consumer. The big question is definitely whether or not a housing will be made for it. And lets just hope...that by NAB next year, Sony brings a tapeless camera out in the price range of the FX7. After spending a lot of time with the HVX200, tapeless is definitely the way to go, and it definitely makes editing less time consuming!

Videodan: Is there anything special you have to do in order to burn these discs? What DVD burner are you using and can you use any standard DVD burner like that on a G5?

In addition to the generic housings as well as Ikelite, I know some of the other manufacturers are seriously tossing the idea around and will probably be announcing their decisions as soon as the camera is released.

Eric Ive been traveling with my Z1 for a while and I must say all the camera bags that fit it are quite big so finding one that fits the Fx1/Z1, an Hc1 and an SLR system is gonna probably be out of the question for carryon, from what Ive seen. I currently travel with the Z1, an HC1, a 20D system (2 lenses) and a D200 system (3 lenses). The first bag I bought for the Z1 (made by Petrol) fit what I needed but didn not fit in all overhead compartments and left me in a few predicaments with grouchy flight attendants. I currently pack the Z1 in a Kata CC-193 which was designed for the Z1 and DVX100 cameras. The HC1 along with the SLR systems (about 5-6 lenses) all fit in my Lowepro Dryzone 200. Ive been able to pack it all (pretty tight but perfect). Hope this helps. Mike

Nick, you will be extremely happy with the SWP44. I have used them and sold them to many customers who are doing production work and all have had nothing but the best to say. Yes, they are a little easier to scratch, but I am sure you do not plan on bumping it too often (although i know how easy it is to do). For what you are doing, the SWP is your best option. The standard port just wont cut it.

I believe Nordic got that info from my post on Rebreather world last night I received the info and sketches from Aquatica yesterday and have been posting them on forums since. WE are full of excitement and cant wait to receive these housings at the end of the month. Looks to be another excellent job by Aquatica.

Gates announced some preliminary details including pricing for their new HVX housing. Shipping is scheduled to begin in the next 4-6 weeks. It was anticipated that the housing price tag would be quite heavy. Although expensive it did come in on the lower end of the rumors that I heard lingering around ($6k-$8k). The initial release (subject to change) is that the housing will retail for $6,860. Some of the standard features will include the newer Gates removable handles like those on the HC1/A1U, a glass color correction filter, and the bottom "foot" making the housing stable. If you are headed to the Sea Rover show stop by the Gates booth to check out the prototype. Here is a pic of the housing. Check out www.gateshousings.com for more info.

Dean what housing did you order up for your A1??

I have been shooting the Z1 for almost a year underwater. The past few weeks Ive been doing some shooting with the HC1 and have been completely amazed by the quality of the footage. I recently shot both cameras in Hawaii and played the footage on a 42" HD...WOW for the HC1. Color was outstanding. Although not a replacement for my Z1....it sure is tempting to just carry around that little set up as opposed to the large Z1.

I CANT WAIT...ALREADY ON THE LIST WITH MY SUPPLIER!! SHOULD GO WELL WITH MY NEW D200!!

Gates definitely has a housing coming out. It is scheduled to begin shipping late March/early April. We have a rental HVX system coming in with a Gates housing and once I get the camera and housing out in the water, I will have more information to post. The problem right now is cameras. Panasonic has them trickling in to their suppliers which is making them very hard to get. A number of the retailers for the HVX have backorders months long. My supplier receives two at a time, and they only come in periodically. They have over 100 on order, all of which are sold!

I am very curious what responses are posted. I myself in preparing a stock HDV library and have been discussing this with my website designer.

Pics look good. Nice to know the pics are going out to the public and yet some of us dealers have yet to receive them... FYI Brian, your housing is shipping from Aquatica tomorrow...you will have it next week!!!!

The Amphibico, L&M and Gates housings for the HC1 and A1U are all excellent options. However for those shooting the HC1 and who are looking to have the utmost control over their camera, the Gates is the only housing to allow access to the Manual White Balance control via the LCD display. Although using the MWB on the HC1 is not the easiet to do (due to Sony's set up which requires 4 steps to get to the MWB setting), it is user friendly and using this control will result in better quality footage. All three housings (L&M, Gates, Amphibico PRO) are in the same price range (approx. $3,000) depending on the options and accessories chosen. We were finally able to get our Gates HC1 demo system in and it will be off to Hawaii this week for some thorough testing (hopefully get some shark abuse on Kona) A full review and some clips will be available when we get back.

Cool you decided to go with the Amphibico. Thats going to be a nice housing. Who did you order it through?

Well I have used the PC350 (predecessor) and sold a number of them as well. I did check out the new PC1000, its a nice unit. I will be buying one this week for my rentals. As for the quality I cannot comment yet. HOwever, my rep has told me the quality is even better than that of the PC350, which I have been really pleased with. As far as the Mako, that is a top notch housing!. Nice and compact, all features are accessbile, same great quality as every other L&M product. I have been quite pleased with all of their housings, and the Mako is my best seller. The compact size (smallest of all the housings for that camera) is excellent, no drag in the water, easy to travel with. Do yourself a favor though and add the monitor back...that is more of a necessity than an option in my opinion. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM. Best of luck on your quest.