Hawkfish

Hi; Two kids and not enough travel time make it such that my underwater video setup is just not getting used. The setup comes with everything you need, including a bunch of blank tapes. I have Raynox .7 and 1.5 lenses for use with the camcorder when it is not in the housing. The Gates Diego housing was serviced by Gates about 8 mos. ago and has not been used since. The TRV900 is working fine, I had the heads replaced about 24 mos. ago. All chargers etc. included, also a Doskocil case. $800. PM me or call 631 987 4457. Thanks for looking! Hawkfish

I'm happy to hear there is a housing option! I didn't know anyone was making them for Sanyo cameras. For me the new Sanyo combines small size, large optical zoom range and a housing option that doesn't break the bank. I wonder how it'll be in low light/underwater. I almost went for the Canon hv20, I'll be curious to see how the video from the Sanyo stacks up against it.

Sanyo has two new uw camcorders. They only go 1.5 meters and 3 meters. Good for snorkeling, but not tank dives. Still, a cost effective way to get some underwater video. FWIW there is also an annoucement of a new Sanyo that is native 1080p (60fps). http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sanyo...C-CA9-36122.htm

I read that the 5 minute video limit is because of heat buildup in the sensor. It makes me wonder just how long it would need to cool before you can shoot another 5 minute clip, or even a still for that matter. The mic is mono, and I do not believe there is a jack for an external. Even so, high def video, interchangeable lenses and 12 mp stills in one smallish body has a lot going for it. Nikon upped the ante on Canon with this one. A friend recently returned from a trip and had put together a film from a little P and S that included sound and stills and it was impressive.

I've been having fun with my dslr lately, so the announcement by Nikon that their D90 dslr would be capable of 5 minute clips of 720p video at 24fps caught my attention. Interesting to think about being able to have an interchangeable lens (at least above water) dslr/video combo. Limits are the 5 minute clips and the need to manual focus in the video mode.

I have a TRV 900 that I bought from a member here and I've had a lot of fun using it underwater (and above). It came with a Gates Diego housing. In a sense you have the opportunity to have a nice underwater setup for $650, and that is a very good price. JMHO.

Just a correction on the stills, I think they were originally reported at 10mp but are actually closer to 5mp. That being said people who have used it have posted that they are very happy with the quality of the stills.

Scuba Libre; Look for posts by Aqua Luminous, he has been using the single cmos Canon HV20 in an ike housing. The SR12 looks like an interesting camera and I'm curious to see what the reviews say. So far I like the the HV20 and HV30 because they have good low light performance. Ikelite is making housings for both, and the combination is both lightweight (good for travel) and available at very reasonable cost for this type of gear. It'll be interesting to see who, if anyone, makes a housing for the Sony SR12, and how it does with low light.

There are also some units coming out that record to flash memory, which I think may be better than a hard drive in terms of reliability. I'm watching the Canon HF10 to see if its picture quality and low light abilities will match their HV20 and HV30 cameras. The HF10 uses AVCHD, and the sensor is smaller, so it may not be as good as the tape units. There should be some tests out in the next two weeks and supposedly the HF10 will be available in April.

Thanks for the footage! Would someone who is using the HV20/Ikelite combo care to start a thread that reviews the housing? I'm curious because I have a Gates Diego Housing with a Sony TRV 900. I've been thinking of going with HV20 and Ikelite if I upgrade to HD, but have never used an Ike housing.

You can get a Canon HV20 and an Ikelite housing for about $2000 - that would leave you money for airfare to a nice dive site.

Greg; thanks for the link, I'm one who has been interested to see some underwater footage from the HV20.

Yes, I'm eager to see tests too. There is little info yet on the manual controls for the cameras, and of course nothing on housings. I like the extra 2x of zoom the vixia line has over the hv20, but lowlight performance, manual controls, and of course picture quality will be the deciding factors for me.

I'm sure you've done your reading and know that you'll need a software program for processing the footage you capture and a computer with adequate capability to run that software. Adequate capability will be different (meaning more speed, ram, storage etc.) for HD than you would need for SD. If you are limited on your budget, but can pick your dive days, you might find it better to put some of that grant money towards hardware and software and not buy lights. You can do a fair amount without lights, and if there is a place nearby that will rent lights to you thats an option for occasional use.

Thanks for the info, you've convinced me to hang on with my TRV900. I'm looking forward to the Galapagos and getting some footage!