johnny boy

I've had both. yes the OLED is much better. viewing angle is the main improvement. i was viewing from quite an oblique angle the other day and i could see perfectly. the advantage this gives comes into play countless times during filming that you get so used to it, if it were taken away you'd miss it. i have the canon bluefin for HFS10 and the manual dial operates exposure/focus/etc....

Hi. Does anyone know of a convertor to adapt the bayonet mount to other mounts - i.e. L&M to Subal etc...? Does anyone know if the L & M mount is the same as any other fitting on the market? Is anyone out there going to make a cheaper port option for L & M?

Hi, i currently use a canon HFS10 in a light and motion bluefin. the quality is great both in the housing and images coming off the camera. i too have started to wonder whether to switch to something like a NEX5 or GF1. i've done quite a bit of research on the subject and Drew's comments are typical of my findings. I also have noted that the video bit rate coming off the NEX5 is 17mbps, whereas off a dedicated video camera [in this case the HFS10] it's up higher at 25mbps. Some sony models though are down at 16mbps, [although the latest sonys are higher now at 25]. can i tell the difference i ask myself? dont know, but at least with the canon i know i'm getting a higher bit rate. when i play back the film on my PS3 the bit rate is shown on screen varying between 22-25, so it's VBR - variable bit rate. one thing to also consider is the editing software you use. i use sony vegas but cannot render out mt2s format at 25mbps, only 16, so sony haven't done a codec yet in that format so i can't get the same quality out what i've put in if you see what i mean unless i render to mpeg 2 which is 25mbps. i would like Drew to comment on whether he can tell a great difference between 17 and 25 mbps video bit rate! what appeals to me about the NEX5 is the ability to take quality stills and relatively good video [although lower bit rate] in one small convenient package. i'm still undecided. regards john

My optical dome for sale on ebay. look here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Athena-OPD170-Glass-...=item20b3b0a830 Thanks for looking regards john

My DX5D housing for the Canon 5D on ebay. Look here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sea-and-Sea-DX5D-Und...=item20b3b08e31 Thanks for looking. John

anyone have any news when this might be available yet?

Ok. Got my hands on the 135 w/a. first impressions are good. nice build quality. little bit of play on the lens bayonet mount when mounted on housing. not as tight as flat port. not overly heavy or large, and nicely sized for housing. shot some indoor footage tonight. no apparent vignetting. curved adge distortion as you'd expect from 135 w/a. zoom range is roughly what they advertise it at - 33 - 40% at a pinch zoom thru. i use the 1.7 tele convertor feature anyway and that works ok with this lens. comes with nice dome port cover protector [neoprene hood thingy]. looking forward to getting wet with it and will report on how it handles underwater soon. over and out. john

Once i have some footage worth posting i will. I am considering posting an in depth review in the near future when i actually get time. I'm probably the first person in the UK to actually own one of these, so i'm a rare species. regarding flexibilty of control - i have access to all the controls i would ever need. i used to own an FX1 in a bluefin which had absolutely every control known to man and i dont notice any real difference now i have the S10. the only thing i dont have acces to is manual aperture control AT THE SAME TIME as manual shutter. but this is easily worked around. i set it in TV shutter priority mode and lock in 50th shutter speed, then engage the custom dial to control exposure which then adjusts exposure up and down. i can use the quick set button to access manal focus using the < > controls on the left hand grip. What i've noticed light and motion improve upon when it comes to manual focus is that the actual usability of electronic focus controls via the < > buttons is a 100% improvement. anyone who's owned any of the older housings [personally trv950 and FX1], will know how the manual focus control was poor. the accuracy was hit n miss at best. thats why the S10 with its manual dial control that could be assigned to manual focus stood out from the crowd for me. This works great, but when i tried manual focus assigned to the < > buttons and the focus control was progressive, sure and steady, [not overly quick or jumpy as previous housings] it was a fantastic suprise and a huge bonus! the housing and camera is perhaps the best small setup with [in my opinion] the best control set. add in a quality wide angle [hence the thread title] or a few fathom lens choices [come on fathom/L & M, get your finger out and get them released and out there] - you have an absolute killer system that should sell a boat load and make paul barnett a rich man. he may then even reply to his emails... I eagerly await reports and reviews from DEMA.

Dean, Yes your right. although the results from this little S10 unit with all the manual controls it has is plenty good enough for us serious amateurs. By the way, i did get to sell my FX1 to Vince Hyland over in ireland. Boy, did he get a bargain. i miss my silver dream machine [que David Essex complete with 70's neckerchief]. What day were you down at de show man? i was there saturday. by 3pm i was 'fatigued' and promptly vanished in a puff of logic. ta ta

Guamrider. I have the bluefin and S10. my underwater adventures with this combination have been somewhat limited due to initial problems, all of which are now sorted. [see my other threads, Paul Barnett was well aware of the issues but has yet to have the decency to reply to my email]. the camera performs great and the access to the menu systems via the controls is fantastic. i have the OLED back and the display of the menus and scrolling them is really polished. basically buy it now! but make sure the dealer sells you an up to date sorted unit, the manual gearing wheel being the most annoying thing i had to endure. I haven't posted anything due to the limited connection speed i have in my part of the world. You tube just doesnt do it justice. editing AVCHD format regardless of whether it's sony or canon is an arse, and requires a super computer of gargantuan power. My tandy TRS80 hasn't got a chance! I'm excited about the new lenses as the basic flat port is of limited use to me. So come on Mooney and get some feedback posted!

anyone seen one of these in the flesh yet? any comments or views? http://www.lightandmotionuk.co.uk/product_...oducts_id/12068

Many thanks Guamrider

Can anyone or a dealer confirm the largest battery that can be fitted to the HFS10 in the bluefin housing. I'm thinking of the BP827 or 819. regards John

You should be ok then with the OLED. Us european PAL scum that aren't as important as you NTSC people will have to wait for the fix! The L & M website is not to be trusted as the info isn't entirely accurate, and as ryan says, most of it relates to Sony. The L & M uk website is more accurate and this is what i base my info upon: http://www.lightandmotionuk.com/ Regards John

Oh, and the OLED monitors don't yet work with HFS10's. they are working on a fix. i'm using a standard back for now. the 90 degree fathom will actually be an 80 degree. correction, the OLED monitors don't work with PAL HFS10's.