Additional accessories for GoPro HD

[underwaterhero]

Hi everybody,

Please let me make some notes on the MAKO fix:

Mako does produce a cheap copy of the original lens which was invented in Germany thats the reason why the can sell for that price. All stores in US selling as lens looking like that are buying this lens from the inventor in germany. Mako did buy such a lens as well and copied it. The jump on the already done invention and marketing. So for them it it very easy to sell it much cheaper. Here are some reasons:

- no development cost
- no testing cost
- cheaper material
- no marketing cost
- no reseller market

Just a simple and cheap copy!!!!

So everyone who is buying a lens from Mako is destroying the work of companies inventing products. It cost time, money and a lot of experience to develop things and get them ready to sell worldwide.
So all companies who are inventing new products are getting a hard life if people buy cheap copies.
Beside the fact that this is copyright violation, but that is a task for the lawyers.

You don´t trust me that Mako sells a copy? They told that to the people in other forums already:

http://spearboard.com/showpost.php?p=1367979&postcount=11

Not only that they copied the lens, they are also lying as they say that other companies did copy that lens as well. This is definitely not true.

How do I know all that? Very easy, I am the german inventor who spend a lot of time and money in the development of that focus fix solution. Take a look on my webpage or send me an email, I can tell you everything about that lens. Even more as the Mako people in this forum, as some of the things they say are also not true.

Home - www.GoForFocus.com "The focus fix for the Hero HD"

On that page you can also find links to stores worldwide selling the original lens.

I hope that people will not just buy thing caused by low prices and that they realize that development and inventions do have their price. And that cheap copies are destroying that market.

thanks and best regards

Patrick

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Hi everybody,

Please let me make some notes on the MAKO fix:

Mako does produce a cheap copy of the original lens which was invented in Germany thats the reason why the can sell for that price. All stores in US selling as lens looking like that are buying this lens from the inventor in germany. Mako did buy such a lens as well and copied it. The jump on the already done invention and marketing. So for them it it very easy to sell it much cheaper. Here are some reasons:

- no development cost
- no testing cost
- cheaper material
- no marketing cost
- no reseller market

Just a simple and cheap copy!!!!

So everyone who is buying a lens from Mako is destroying the work of companies inventing products. It cost time, money and a lot of experience to develop things and get them ready to sell worldwide.
So all companies who are inventing new products are getting a hard life if people buy cheap copies.
Beside the fact that this is copyright violation, but that is a task for the lawyers.

You don´t trust me that Mako sells a copy? They told that to the people in other forums already:

Spearboard Spearfishing Community - View Single Post - MAKO Flat Lens for Go Pro Housing

Not only that they copied the lens, they are also lying as they say that other companies did copy that lens as well. This is definitely not true.

How do I know all that? Very easy, I am the german inventor who spend a lot of time and money in the development of that focus fix solution. Take a look on my webpage or send me an email, I can tell you everything about that lens. Even more as the Mako people in this forum, as some of the things they say are also not true.

Home - www.GoForFocus.com "The focus fix for the Hero HD"

On that page you can also find links to stores worldwide selling the original lens.

I hope that people will not just buy thing caused by low prices and that they realize that development and inventions do have their price. And that cheap copies are destroying that market.

thanks and best regards

Patrick

Dear Divers,

I don’t know who this guy is or who he thinks he is, but if it is O.K. with you, I would like to clue him in on a few things.

First of all, I do not make the lenses. I buy the lenses from a fellow spearo who has a home based plastics fabrication business in Tucson. If you are from Germany you’re probably unaware of this, but Tucson is in Arizona. That’s the USA baby! Now if you are unclear as to exactly where the USA is located, it is strategically located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. If that does not help, I am sure someone on this board can jump in and provide you with some coordinates.

Secondly, in my attempt to prevent you from further looking like the east side of a west bound horse, let me tell you what you already know. There are no patent infringements. I do my homework, pal. And you are not the only one making these lenses. I could have made these things myself and made more money, but I didn’t. Instead, I chose to support a guy here in the USA who had his hours cut back at work.

So, let’s assume for the benefit of this debate that you are a smart guy. And, let’s look at my options:

a) Buy them from an overseas supplier at an inflated price.
b) Buy them from a USA supplier who needs the money.

Do the math, pal.

I think we will both agree that I am not making much money in selling these lenses at $16.95 each. The fact is, it is not my intent to make money from selling these lenses. To better explain myself, please allow me to introduce you to a little game we play here in the United States of America, called baseball, which is a great American past time. I am not looking to hit a home run on every product that comes across the plate. At the end of the day, it’s the singles, doubles and an occasional stand up triple that puts points on the board. And equally important, if I can help a guy out in the process, it’s game on. In fact, after selling off the first batch, I calculated how much labor it cost me to process a lens order (invoicing, shipping labels, post office stuff, etc.) and I determined that I was making too much in comparison to what my supplier was making. So, I called him up and told him that I wanted to pay him more money for each lens. Now sit down for a moment because I don’t want you falling over after I tell you what I am about to tell you…..Before I received my 2nd batch, I realized that the majority of my lens orders also included other items as well. That meant that I could afford to pay my supplier even more per lens. So I again called him back a second time and told him that I could pay him even more per lens.

So, the bottom line is this.
a) Buy them from an overseas supplier at an inflated price.
b) Buy them from a USA supplier who needs the money.

Do the math, pal.

And by the way, I suggest you rethink your approach. If this continues, I will personally contact every reseller you have and send to them a reseller price list with a batch of lenses. And each lens will be marked “Made in the USA”. The ball is in your dugout.


dano

 

[Dehydrated_Atom]

$$$ Talks.

Frankly the bleeding heart approach never worked with me when it comes to business. Companies will lay employees off without concern of whether they are the sole provider in their household. They'd rather lay of a 30k a year employee than take a 30k cut in there six or seven figure salaries.

Not that I think that's the case here, the bottom line remains. Business is business. It's not personal, it's cut throat. As a consumer I can say that I know you want my money, but guess what, I want my money more and will not spend more than I have to.

More specifically, I can't actually believe development costs can't be covered on this Lens with a much more reasonable price. I mean come on. The resolution was pointed out months ago on many forums. Just make a flat lens. So the development team is out what? The cost of 10 minutes of internet access and the cost to make a plastic mold for a flat lens?

 

[underwaterhero]

@Dehydrated_Atom

I agree that today it is a 10 min internet research to find out what you need to do. One reason is that you might find my webpage with an explanation about the issue.
But if you go back 8 month the internet was not very helpful as there had been just a few information. And thats when I came up with my idea. So I needed to do more research and testing as in this time there has been no solution like mine. The Idea was to offer a simple to replace lens which allows you to use your housing instead of buying a new one. And in the beginning I needed to proof if my lens works well and if it holds the pressure. Today there is a lot of information in the www posted by users of solutions. So now there is no need for proofing the lens and you can start selling a copy without pressure testing, test dives or long term pressure testing as people do believe that this design is working well.

Actually it would take to long to post the whole development proceedure here, but it was not as easy as it seems.

So please feel free to believe it or not, but I know pretty well what I'm talking about.

Kind regards

Patrick

 

[Dehydrated_Atom]

If it makes you feel better I bought my lens from pursuit spearfishing because they also have a red filter. Not sure if that's your doing, but as far as I have found, pursuit is the only place with a red filter for the lens. I wanted to spend less money. But the red filter was the deal maker.

Now if only someone would make a red filter that can be applied on the fly. I don't want to buy another housing just so I can easily switch between red and clear lenses but that's what it's looking like I may have to do.

 

[underwaterhero]

Yes, that red filter is also coming from me and I'm too know that you did decide to buy from Pursuit.

To be honest, my wish was to have a filter which could be mounted from the outside on the fly. I had a few prototype versions but I dropped all ideas as each of the caused very bad vignetting even in r5 mode or other problems. I'm working on some other concepts for that but without a real solution.
But I still hope to find a good solution soon. Pursuit will be update from me as soon as there is something new.

Best wishes

Patrick

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

We've got our second shipment of flat lenses in. They've been selling better than we expected. At $16.95 we hope it is a "no brainer" to choose the MAKO lens.

MAKO Spearguns - Store

Also, if you buy a camera from us, the flat lens up grade is free!

 

[Dunx]

Back to the original post...

I used an iTorch Video Pro led light, and an ORANGE filter on my GoPro...and i still got pretty blue results. (one problem for sure was that i was diving without the LCD so half the time my light wasn't pointed in the right direction) here's a video of it - you can see some nice reds towards the end of the vid: YouTube - Reefs, Wrecks and Sharks - Dubstep Diving

here's MY question: can someone with filter experience chime in as to what filter I should be using for a) caribbean and b) california dives? My understanding is that in green water you need to add pink.

Also here a tip: go to any film lighting/rental shop and ask for a Roscoe gel sample booklet. Find the right color (which i'm hoping someone can help with) and cut out a small circle the size of a dime and slap it between your lens and the housing.

 

[spyder]

I'm in the same boat regarding filters. I found a rubber Fernco coupler at the hardware store that fits over the barrel of a Sartek housing perfectly which would allow me to install/remove on the fly underwater. Now trying to figure out what color filter to buy to mount on it. Various manufacturers make both plastic and glass filters. I bought one redish colored one that was plastic but ended up shattering it trying to cut a circle out of it (very fragile/not good). At $20a filter this could be an expensive project. Also haven't decided exactly how to attach it to the rubber coupler. Hearing Wratten(sp?) filters are a little more forgiving but need to order/nothing local. Any ideas on what the real color is needed for carribean diving?

 

[kmaass]

Has anybody found a good lighting solution to use with the GoPro that is relatively inexpensive?