Need a REAL Underwater Video Camera - GoPro Hero2 Failed!

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The Sony NEX-5N with the new "cheap" acrylic housings make it a worthwhile contender in a sub-1500$ setup with a light/strobe combo. Plus can shoot @ 60FPS.

However expect no more than an hour's worth of shooting, and pauses every 5-8 mins or so to dump to the SD card, perhaps a 1min delay between pauses.

A "real" HD cam streams direct to it's hard drive and has a bigger battery & integrated zoom, so you can shoot non-stop.

Depends on your needs.
 
thank god the video is good since the music is crap. I'd rather listen to someone run their fingers down a chalkboard all day. I wonder what the video would look like if the videographer actually dove down deeper than 5 ft in low light conditions.
 
thank god the video is good since the music is crap. I'd rather listen to someone run their fingers down a chalkboard all day. I wonder what the video would look like if the videographer actually dove down deeper than 5 ft in low light conditions.

Not exactly sure which video you are talking about, but music can be the best or worst thing about a video. The difficult thing is everyone has different tastes in music. It is impossible to make everyone happy.
 
hey Uavaj,

I have filmed diving trips in Bali and Australia and must say I'm very happy with GoPro. Heres one I recently filmed some videos on our trip to Fiji including Shark Diving using the GOPRO 2 (plus attachments):

Fiji Shark Diving - YouTube

Also everyone feel free to provide feedback and tips on the above video?

Cheers
 
You are looking for UW video footage to look as good as topside ?

Here ya go. One of my favorite UW videographers, Rafa Herrero Massieu. He uses a Panasonic HVX201, Gates Housing, Fathom super wide angle port. Probably around $10k-$15k for his system. You can add $15k worth of lights to the GoPro, video ain't gonna look like this.

[vimeo]17282983[/vimeo]

I'm pretty sure someone spending 15k on lights will spend more then $350 on the camera and housing.

It would be quite funny if someone did that and then complained to the lighting manufacturer saying "I bought your 15k lights but they haven't helped my GoPro or Iphone half as much as I saw on your website demo videos". :rofl3:
 
hey Uavaj,

I have filmed diving trips in Bali and Australia and must say I'm very happy with GoPro. Heres one I recently filmed some videos on our trip to Fiji including Shark Diving using the GOPRO 2 (plus attachments):

Fiji Shark Diving - YouTube

Also everyone feel free to provide feedback and tips on the above video?

Cheers

Happy with everything except shark feeding. You don't feed bears and alligators and for the same reason, they soon associate humans with food.
 
I'm pretty sure someone spending 15k on lights will spend more then $350 on the camera and housing.

It would be quite funny if someone did that and then complained to the lighting manufacturer saying "I bought your 15k lights but they haven't helped my GoPro or Iphone half as much as I saw on your website demo videos". :rofl3:

That would be funny.

The price of UW video lights goes up fast. It can be difficult deciding how much to spend. It is was interesting to see your footage where you used lights with the filter.
 
Copy and paste this in ebay, this might solve some of your plomens but you need to get close to the subject for the light to work with the GoPro.
Scuba Diving 6 Watt LED Wide Angle Video Camera Dive Light Underwater 183ft 55m (55º angle beam)
or
Laluz Optics L800 underwater video & focus light torch for diving scuba housing (80º angle beam)

I use a Nikon CoolPix P7000 that it was on closeout at wallyworld and it has a large cmos sensor that takes great pictures and video up to 60 ft without any lights but if you want quality you need a better camera and spend twice as much on lights. Good luck!
 
I have been getting great results shooting video with my Canon T2i and a Tokina 10-17 lens. I have used it in an Aquatica housing and in a Nauticam housing. I used to shoot with a Sony HDV video camera but have switched to the Canon T2i because it has a much bigger sensor than consumer videocameras, so it does better in low light. I do a manual white balance in the water before shooting, and I get great colors even at depth. Here is a link to manta ray footage shot at about 60 feet. (Bare in mind that this is compressed for YouTube. Also the water was not real clear so the manta is not crisp looking, but you should look at the rocks and people in the foreground to see the clarity for the depth.)

Manta Ray in the Maldives - YouTube

The Canon T2i is relatively inexpensive (especially now that newer models have come out) and it is small for a DSLR. This is why I chose it. I just went to a Best Buy to check out the new Canon T4i. It is advertised as having the ability to autofocus during video recording. I tested it, and the autofocus does not work well at all. It does too much searching. You would never want to leave it in an autofocus mode underwater because it would search all of the time. So I was happy to learn that my T2i is not outdated. With my T2i, using the Tokina 10-17, I focus on my fin and this makes anything from about 2 feet to infinity in focus. I can still change the focus while filming with the T2i. I have it set to the AF Quick Mode, and I have assigned the focus to the Star Button on the back of the camera. If I want to change focus while still filming, I just press the Star Button. It is not always perfectly smooth, but it gets the job done, and everything after that point will be clear.

Here is a link to whale shark footage that I shot using the Canon T2i. Again, remember that this is compressed, so is not full quality.

Whale Sharks 2011 on Vimeo

I am selling a Nauticam Housing and Port for the T2i if you become interested in a T2i system. I have two housings and I explain why I am selling one in the scubaboard ad.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cl...81-nauticam-housing-canon-rebel-550d-t2i.html
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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