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Mike L

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Posts posted by Mike L

  1. Posted

    I agree with you Shawn, its definitely great to have their stamp of approval. From my experience the past year and a half since the gates housing came out, they have been the only one not using it as a standard format. We have worked with several discovery and nat geo productions that rented or purchased the EX1 systems exclusively since the arrival of the Gates Summer 2008.

     

    However, I would very much like to hear your feedback on the Nano. Likes, dislikes, pros and cons would be appreciated. I sold off one of my Ex1 systems and have an EX1R coming upon release and am considering adding the Nano.

  2. Posted

    Dean:

     

    Ive heard otherwise in the past. I know for fact Discovery, Nat Geo and History already accept the EX1 when shot on the SxS Cards. I have heard that BBC and some stock houses will not accept EX1 footage, however they now will.

     

    The NanoFlash WILL fit into the regular EX1 housing with the optional bracket.

     

    Buying an Ex1/EX1R system will not guarantee work of course, but it SURE helps get there!

  3. Posted

    Tim, we received our first shipment of Nauticam housings last week and all I can say is WOW!!! We have a D90 in here now I have been playing with. Best housing for the dollar hands down. Compact, machined aluminum. VERY ergonomic controls. Their viewfinder is amazing (and adaptable to all housings). The D90 is $2300. The D300s is now available as well, for $2800. I am personally switching to Nauticam (when the 7ds come in in a couple weeks). I like being able to use all my Sea and Sea ports!

     

    I think both the D90 and D300s are awesome cameras. If you are looking to save some money, you certainly cannot go wrong with the D90 in a Nauticam housing.

  4. Posted

    After playing with the HF S10/S11 quite a bit the past few months, it takes a big step up to make it worth it. Going from the HF cameras to the EX1 is definitely noticeable and worth the upgrade. Im waiting to see how these cams actually perform.

     

    On the Panasonic front, Ive yet to check the specs, my question is how will it perform in low light. The HVX 200 was a great camera above water, but its low light performance underwater didnt cut it. After shooting with an EX1 for a year and a half underwater, bar has been raised quite a bit for these prosumer and pro level cameras I feel. The difference in $1000-$2000 for the camera when you are investing 12-20k for the total underwater system, is minimal.

  5. Posted

    Thank you for the answers. Personally if it were me Id be going with an HD system, be happy and set for years to come. You can get into a very nice HD system for $4k (Canon HF S10, Sony Xr 500, either with a Gates or L&M set up and nice optic)

     

    The set up you are looking at really is nice. Its a shame the port will not work with newer housings than it would be a real steal! That port alone was close to $4k originally.

     

    Indo, Thailand and Philippines have amazing, rich colors. You are playing your footage on a flat screen HDTV...I think the moment you shoot video on the SD camera and play it, you will be very excited, yet immediately envious and disappointed it was not HD.

  6. Posted

    That is a very nice system and a great deal considering what those systems were new five years ago. The only thing is of course it is SD. Depending on your needs and desires, SD may be perfectly fine. If you have a nice big flat screen HDTV at home, you will miss not having the HD though. HD is definitely a big difference in image quality...and with that of course does come the need for power as Pete says above.

     

    However on that note, most of today's computers are able to relatively handle small video editing on basic editing platforms (Final Cut Express, Pinnacle, and Sony's basic editing software). I think you need to ask yourself a few questions before deciding, as none of us on here can really make the decision for you.

     

    1. Do you want your system and your investment to last you a while?

     

    2. What are you doing with your video and how will you be displaying it?

     

    3. What kind of diving do you do? 40-50 dives a year is a good amount so your system and investment will get good use out of it.

     

    A nice HD system like the HF S10/HF S11 will easily get you 3-4 years as just a casual user, where as going with SD, you are VERY likely to fall in love with shoot UW video and be disappointed you did not go HD.

  10. Posted

    One light set I would take a seriously look at is the Big Blue (Bossk USA) 2 x 30 LED Video lights. Here is a link to a video I shot with them and the Canon HF S11. At $1499 for the lights, batteries and a charger, its a GREAT buy 1,000 lumens each light head.

     

    I think one thing you are going to find is pretty much the majority of all the lighting systems have their own proprietary battery packs. The ones that do not are more likely to be smaller, flashlight style lights and have less power. Fisheye, Big Blue, Light & Motion, Green Force, Niterider..all have proprietary packs.

  14. Posted

    Simon,

     

    Ive spent time underwater with the 5d2, and have played quite a bit with my 7d above water. I agree quite a bit with what you are saying. As a dedicated video camera, this is not quite the way to go. As a still camera to shoot video on occasion, it works great.

     

    Ive worked on a few productions recently where they are using the 5d2 and 7d as cameras for interviews, and they work great, For action cameras, they are much more difficult to shoot with When I initially tested the 5d2 in Mexico chasing whale sharks, it was VERY difficult to get a nice steady image bouncing around on the surface. Shooting the HF S10, 5d2, EX1 and Red on that trip, I really had the opportunity to compare them side by side for ease of use, etc.

     

    Berkely White shot a great 5d2 video that is across the net, but it was shot on a scooter which is a MUCH more stable platform over a diver bobbing around and hand holding the rig. I think ergonomics are the biggest problem that need to be overcome.

     

    I absolutely love my 7D and cannot wait to get my Nauticam housing...but I doubt its going to be the camera I pick up to shoot for productions.

  17. Posted

    The S90 has some great reviews the past couple of months while being used in the Ike and Canon housings. We did receive our first shipment of Fix housings today and WOW is all I have to say. The camera has very similar underwater performance to the G11 as far as image quality goes. We will be out playing with it in the next week and have sample images with the Fix housing and Inon S2000 and S&S YS110a strobes.

  23. Posted

    Im not sure on the HV40, but yes you can on the HF S10 via the HDMI output.

     

    I am an editing on a 2.4ghz mac pro with 6gb of ram. I have not done a lot of effects...but rendering is a typical need when adding several effects, or so I have always experienced when editing from my Z1u, HC7, HF S10, EX1 and HF S10.

     

    I have been a firm believer in Solid state since the beginning. Tape is definitely dead in my eyes. Of course there are some drawbacks, like storage, but the benefits far outweigh the cons. All the productions I work on for Discovery, History, Nat Geo, etc. are all perfectly acceptable of solid state from the EX1, and many are even using the 5d2 and 7d for productions now.

     

    Hope that helps.

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