Canon Hf-100

[jaybombs25]

Hi I'm just looking into getting started in underwater videography.... I've been looking at the canon Hf-100 with the equinox housing. Any comments about the camera or housing? Also does anyone have any sample clips of this camera in action?

thanks

 

[Nocuous]

Here is some video I took with my Canon HF-10 with my custom acrylic housing. This video was taken as a test of the housing without any additional lighting in about 25 fsw at South Crescent in Laguna Beach CA.

From what I remember when shopping for cameras the HF-10 and HF-100 had identical imaging sensors with the difference being internal and external memory vs external only memory.

The original source videos look much better imo than this vimeo link does justice but is unreasonable to upload. But looks very crisp on my 1080p 120hz DLP tv.

My favorite is the Octopus video.

I cannot post links yet so you may have to remove spaces from the following to get to the site
www . vimeo. com / user583925 / videos

 

[C8X]

I have an HF100 that was purposely bought for U/W video. It took me a while to finally choose the Ikelite over the Equinox. At the time there seemed to be some build quality issues (one of the issues was a long, painful, drawn out discussion online here or at wetpixel.com, I forget which).

I've only dived once with it so far, but I'm very excited to put it to more use. I can really recommend this camera, but you will want to get the Raynox 5050 HD wide angle adapter and the flat expansion port if you go with Ikelite. I can show you the parts and give you the part numbers if you are interested, I bought the various parts from both BHphoto and Adorama, shipping to Australia was prompt, well packed, and not too expensive in both cases. I'm very satisfied with it at this point.

Ikelite housing for HF100 - seems very well made, reliable, very positive closure. Fiddly controls however, don't expect to be using the joystick toggle button much at all. You can see the lcd screen just enough when it is held half-open to frame shots, I had no probs with that.
Raynox 5050 HD - Necessary for U/W since it means you can get close to subjects and reduce the haze, get clearer picture and better colours. On surface tests, it causes a very soft picture at full zoom, but it's cheap don't expect canon pro quality glass.
Ikelite flat expansion port for Raynox 5050 - Well made again, fits firmly and positively in place of the regular flat port. Unlike the dome port, you sacrifice a little bit of wide angle ability due to refraction (?) but the flat port allows the camera to macro focus and get great shots of tiny bitty things which is important where I dive.

I do get a tiny bit of vingette as you'll see in this video, if the embed works (edit: it doesn't, please follow external link)
http://www.baconbomb.com/photos/bigrocky/share.html
This dive site is nothing special, in fact it was just recon to see if this shore dive very close to where I live was any good, there were a few things to see but it was more just about getting wet and testing the camera. I hope to get some quality time at our really great dive sites in the next weeks.

If you have any questions, just ask! I had a terrible time getting information about the combo I wanted to use but feel I finally did all the necessary research so I'm happy to share.

 

[Mr.X]

Ikelite housing for HF100 - seems very well made, reliable, very positive closure. Fiddly controls however, don't expect to be using the joystick toggle button much at all. You can see the lcd screen just enough when it is held half-open to frame shots, I had no probs with that.
Raynox 5050 HD - Necessary for U/W since it means you can get close to subjects and reduce the haze, get clearer picture and better colours. On surface tests, it causes a very soft picture at full zoom, but it's cheap don't expect canon pro quality glass.
Ikelite flat expansion port for Raynox 5050 - Well made again, fits firmly and positively in place of the regular flat port. Unlike the dome port, you sacrifice a little bit of wide angle ability due to refraction (?) but the flat port allows the camera to macro focus and get great shots of tiny bitty things which is important where I dive.

I do get a tiny bit of vingette as you'll see in this video, if the embed works (edit: it doesn't, please follow external link)
big rocky
This dive site is nothing special, in fact it was just recon to see if this shore dive very close to where I live was any good, there were a few things to see but it was more just about getting wet and testing the camera. I hope to get some quality time at our really great dive sites in the next weeks.

If you have any questions, just ask! I had a terrible time getting information about the combo I wanted to use but feel I finally did all the necessary research so I'm happy to share.

Thanks for posting the info. & footage. I think getting information on the combo. is difficult since the housing/camera are relatively new and information from the housing manf's. is pretty thin. From what I see in Wetpixel the Raynox and Canon combo. produces a small amount of vignetting, minor color loss as compared to other housing with dedicated wide angle domes. There's nothing quite like seeing it on a large HD screen to discern the differences. That being said, I don't think anyone using the Canon/Ike/Equinox setup is gunning for pro-quality footage.

BTW- I think your "local" dive spot is just terrific! Wish I had something like vs. the cold and dark that I typically dive in.

X

 

[C8X]

It's a nice location, but this area is exposed -- all that's out there is the Pacific so the shore takes a beating, lots of just sand and rock, and we didn't get to much depth. It's popular with spear fishermen but I don't think divers go here often if at all, was just something to do on a Sunday. There are three exceptional shore dive locations nearby in the the protected waters at Port Stephens, just the vis is often reduced in there. Nice place to live, great area to dive.

 

[robint]

I agree...... that dive site looks great! I wish we had something like that nearby. I would dive it every weekend!

robin