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Mike L

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Posts posted by Mike L

  3. Posted

    We received our first batch of the new Gates HF S21 housings and WOW they are beauties!!! First and foremost, the nearly one inch larger LCD on the camera is VERY noticeable, and will make a huge difference for viewing underwater. Add to that the dual SDHC memory card slot, and this is a power house for the $$$. Personally, I bought the HF S20 model camera (housing supports the HF S200, S20, and S21 versions). With the dual memory slots I don't need the large hard drive, but having some built in memory is nice which is why I chose the 20 over the 200.

     

    Having just received the camera today as well, I am playing with the menu system. The Gates housing for the HF S21 utilized the Canon remote as well to access the full menu and MWB, however the menu system is different from the HF S10/S11.

  4. Posted

    Deb,

     

    I like LED a lot! They are so much smaller, more battery efficient, I like the color temperature with the HD cameras...to me its the way to go. I use the Sunray 2000x for all of our productions. Ive been using them for two years now, well first I had the 2000's and now I have the 2000x set.

  5. Posted

    Hey Jon, I wouldnt go with the Niteriders personally. The Squids are much more robust and reliable, not to mention the housings sit flat on a surface better than the single square Niterider pack. Green Force has LED lights for diving, but Ive yet to see or hear anything about LED Video lights unfortunately.

  6. Posted

    I would take a serious look at the new Gates HF S21 Housing set up. The Gates housing is a compact, bulletproof set up with a depth rating of 450 feet, perfect for tech divers! This new housing (see pictures) has an easy to use 3.5" viewable LCD (no flip out screen), full control access, including utilization of the Canon remote control which allows full menu access and easy Manual White balance. There are three available optics, the GP32 wide angle (a must) with 85 degrees of coverage and 50% zoom through capability, the FP32 flat port (great for macro) and the Sp32 standard port (not nearly as useful as the other ports). Should you decide later you want an external viewing source, you can also add the Gates EM 43 High Resolution Monitor.

     

    Here are a few links to videos we did for the Gates HF S11 housing, which is nearly identical only the HF S21 set up has a larger LCD screen and dual memory card capability.

     

    Here is a video showing how to manually white balance with the HF S11/21 housings

     

    Here is a video showing how to set up the housing and camera (later on also shows how to attach lights).

     

    Please let me know if you have any other questions I can answer.

     

    Happy Diving

     

    Mike

  7. Posted

    The Squid 50 lights are very good. However, there are a lot of instances where he may need/want more light. The 250's are a great way to go, but they are big and heavy for a small camera...its a trade off that is well worth it.

     

    What housing does he have/looking at for the new camera? Pairing a set of GF lights with a Gates housing is a match made in heaven. He may also want to take a seriously look at the Light and Motion Sunray 2000x LED lights.

  15. Posted

    Bent, being that you likely only want to invest in one light set up (since you already have the Niteriders), you definitely need to plan for lighting the SWP44c. That really leaves you with the Sunray 2000x (the new version) or the Squid 250s. We are working with some other potential systems for the future, but the problem is setting up the battery packs. I am strongly against clipping off battery packs to the diver and just attaching lights to the camera...that to me is a recipe for disaster.

     

    Ive been shooting your exact set up for nearly 2 years, and have tested several light sets with them. Ive found both of these sets to cover the 120 FOV of the SWP pretty good and as such have stuck with them.

     

    As for Sunray color temps Steve, Ive seen a few different tests, all with different results...anywhere from 6000-7000k. I generally say they are in the 6500k area as that seems to be the vicinity. The Backscatter test showed the Sray 2000s at 6200 and the Sray 1000s at 6585 last year.

     

    According the the latest update on Light and Motions website, the new 2000x lights are tested at 7,138k! Using these lights is definitely a breeze with the G.A.S. bracket.

  16. Posted

    Bent

     

    Your issue of the wet connectors is something Ive seen with pretty much any manufacturer who uses them...hence the reason Light and Motion recently (after many years) did away with wet connectors on all of the Sunray Lights.

     

    Now, with regards to your options for lighting, both the Green Force and Light and Motion lights are good, but it is important to note, they are VERY different lights. That being said, there are some personal questions you need to answer for your self based on the differences listed below, so you can choose a set to fit your needs. Are you shooting with the SWP44c port?

     

    For the info below, comparing the Sunray 2000x and Squid 250 HID lights would be the equivalent options.

     

    1. LED (Sunray) vs HID (Green Force). The Sunrays have a color temp of approx 6500-6800k where as the Squids are 3800k. Many shooters prefer warmer color temps (GF) lights over the cooler LED color temp.

     

    2. Size. The Sunray lights are significantly smaller than the GF lights, which is a positive for those. However, the GF system is bulletproof, to go along with the bulletproofness of the Gates housing so if you are looking for a system to take a beating, the GFs match up with the Gates standard.

     

    3. Cost, they are basically identical, so not really a factor.

     

    4. Burn time: The Sunray 2000x lights are an hour burn at full power. The Squid 250 lights are approx an hour with the FIIHC batteries, or 100 minutes with the FIII batteries, which is very nice! The FIII batteries are definitely larger and heavier, but Ive worked out some nice solutions which make that issue irrelevant and your system will glide through the water with ease.

     

    With regards to self-contained lighting, there just is not anything that is sufficient for use with the EX1/EX1r caliber systems at this point. For smaller systems, there are some acceptable units, but still nothing great. The need for power makes the self-contained systems too large and heavy for mounting up top.

     

    Some questions I have for you to help better guide you are the following:

     

    1. What is your purpose (broadcast, personal, documentaries, etc)?

     

    2. Do you have any preference in color temperature?

     

    3. What means more to you, size and weight or battery life and durability?

     

    4. Are you shooting with the SWP44c?

     

    Personally, I shoot both sets of lights. Some producers prefer one color temp over the other. If Im really tight on space and weight, I take the Sunrays. If Im going to spend a lot of time in the water and do not want to worry about burn time, I take the Squids.

     

    I look forward to helping you further. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

  17. Posted

    Great idea Eric for the new category. I guess unlike the dive shows, it was a bit more difficult to just bump into each other at NAB. 3d was definitely a big hit and very interesting to see the new products coming out. Panasonic has a nice 3d camera coming out ($20k price range) that is the same body size as an HVX200, only longer with the dual lens set up. Sure hope we can get that bad boy underwater by the end of this year!

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