Anyone Actually use a Sony HC7 Underwater Yet?

[paulpost]

The Ikelite electronic housing I'm looking at getting states that you can access the manual white balance. Not that I'd know what to do with it at this point
But I'm hopeful that the HC-7 will suit my needs since I'm not looking for pro footage and I don't really get into macro shots all that much. I am still looking for the Sony blue tapes over on B&Hs site. I'm assuming they are the ones in the blue packaging that cost about $6.

Thanks drbill
Especially for sharing your experiences with this camera to the degree that you have.

Actually the body of the tape is black and the wrapping is blue, if you have a casco membership you can buy them there for less.
Paul

 

[diversteve]

Thanks for the info. HD tapes are a lot more expensive. I thought they were required to shoot in HD.

I've been shooting HD for over a year now using Sony DVC 60 "Premium" DV tapes. (the blue package) The higher grade HDV (white package) $Sony tapes are for those who think they need them. Whatever tape you buy, stick with tapes from the same mfr as different tape lubrication methods used by various mfr's. can cause problems. My personal opinion is Sony tapes for Sony camcorders. You can also buy the DVC tapes really cheap on eBay in case lots(10). I recently paid well under $30 for 10 including shipping.

No, Ikelite makes electronic housings as well and they just came out with the one for the HC5

AFAIK Ikelite only makes mechanical control housings. Possibly it's confusing because they offer electronic reversing circuitry on their mechanical housing model# 6039.05 for the HC5. But all of the controls are purely mechanically (touch or control rod) activated.

The Ikelite electronic housing I'm looking at getting states that you can access the manual white balance. Not that I'd know what to do with it at this point

The Ikelite accesses the LCD screen with a control rod. If you scroll through the menus you can access White Balance. With the HC cameras you can re-assign the MWB functions onto the main menu screen to make this easier. For now shoot in auto as the camera will do a good job of white balancing but later you may find that MWB will yield truer colors at depth. But it's more work to continually re-balance the camera while shooting.

A pure electronic housing will have all the camera functions activated via electronic pushbutton/slide controls. Like the Amphibico EVO or L&M Bluefin. Or the TopDawg.

btw, I know someone who shoots an HC1 in an Ikelite housing with excellent results.

 

[scubamickey]

I've been shooting HD for over a year now using Sony DVC 60 "Premium" DV tapes. The higher grade HDV (white package) $Sony tapes are for those who think they need them. Whatever tape you buy, stick with tapes from the same mfr as different tape lubrication methods used by various mfr's. can cause problems. My personal opinion is Sony tapes for Sony camcorders. You can also buy the DVC tapes really cheap on eBay in case lots(10). I recently paid well under $30 for 10 including shipping.
AFAIK Ikelite only makes mechanical control housings. Possibly it's confusing because they offer electronic reversing circuitry on their mechanical housing model# 6039.05 for the HC5. But all of the controls are purely mechanically (touch or control rod) activated.
The Ikelite accesses the LCD screen with a control rod. If you scroll through the menus you can access White Balance. With the HC cameras you can re-assign the MWB functions onto the main menu screen to make this easier. For now shoot in auto as the camera will do a good job of white balancing but later you may find that MWB will yield truer colors at depth. But it's more work to continually re-balance the camera while shooting.

A pure electronic housing will have all the camera functions activated via electronic pushbutton/slide controls. Like the Amphibico EVO or L&M Bluefin. Or the TopDawg.

btw, I know someone who shoots an HC1 in an Ikelite housing with excellent results.

I know the difference, I actually got the housing names mixed up as I was looking at both. The electronic one I am looking at is Undersea Video I tend to start mixing things up when I spend too much time searching on the internet

 

[diversteve]

I know the difference, I actually got the housing names mixed up as I was looking at both. The electronic one I am looking at is Undersea Video I tend to start mixing things up when I spend too much time searching on the internet

Does the USVH now provide MWB control for the HC5? I know it's listed on their website but that front page has been up for a couple of years now so I don't know how current the info is.

The reason I ask is that Warren (USVH's owner) posted on Digital Diver a while back that in his opinion it would be impossible on the HC series due to Sony's design.

Every electronic mfr. who is providing WB control - L&M and Ocean Images - are doing it via mechanical means by touching the LCD screen with a control rod.

If you're considering the USVH, another option is the Ocean Images HC5 housing. Same basic idea but more affordable...

 

[scubamickey]

Does the USVH now provide MWB control for the HC5? I know it's listed on their website but that front page has been up for a couple of years now.

The reason I ask is that Warren (USVH's owner) posted on Digital Diver a while back that in his opinion it would be impossible on the HC series due to Sony's design.

Every electronic mfr. who is providing WB control - L&M and Ocean Images - are doing it via mechanical means by touching the LCD screen with a control rod.

If you're considering the USVH, another option is the Ocean Images HC5 housing. Same basic idea but more affordable...

From what I'm able to gather, the WB is mechanical.

I am defintely looking at the OI for the HC7 now that I realize that USVH requires an 8 week lead time to make the housing. I dropped the ball big time on that one. But heck, the OI looks just as good and like you said, a lot more affordable. i might even throw in lights

I hope I don't regret my purchase. I'm not a professional like drbill so I'm hoping that I won't even notice the cons.

 

[diversteve]

What I like about the O/I over the USVH is that the flip filter is internal. Although you'll most likely leave it down all the time, it's nice to not have to deal with it. With USVH's hood, you have a fairly big piece of rubber/filter to store somewhere. I never thought that would be a big issue until my last trip where I shot footage within 6' of the surface twice and needed to flip the filter up in a hurry. (whew..dolphins are fast)

Also using the camera's internal LCD instead of USVH's optional internal one seems like a good idea. Since the USVH gets power from the camera's battery anyway. However O/I's implementation does make for a wider box to move through the water. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, it helps to create a little more drag for steadier pans.

fwiw, if I hadn't bought an EVO, I'd have bought the O/I.

When you see the HDV footage on an HDTV you'll have no regrets.

Check out these HDV clips - and they're web-compressed: http://www.uwimaging.com/gallery/gallery.htm

And now back to Dr. Bill's original question... (at least this is related...)

 

[diversteve]

JeffG- I think the finer resolution of the CCD in the HC-7 makes it more prone to focus on the small particulates that my mini-DV camcorder wouldn't even resolve.

That's been my experience also. Especially in cloudier water like San Carlos. My A/F was booming so much I turned it off.

One thing that is really nice is that it keeps up with the seals as they zoom by. (almost) I know that my previous HI-8 camera would still be hunting long after they'd gone.

Glad to see you finally made the switch. Played any of your footage on an HDTV yet? Once you do, you'll be selling that TRV...

 

[limeyx]

Actually the body of the tape is black and the wrapping is blue, if you have a casco membership you can buy them there for less.
Paul

I get them from www.StreamlineAudioVideo.com for about $2.65 a tape for the sony premium 60 tapes.

ALso free shipping on 100 tapes

 

[pakman]

Well, I've finally placed an order for the Gates HC7 housing w/ the MWB control from Joe at www.marinevisions.com . Plan on using it with a single 21W HID for the time being. Joe was even nice enough to order a 3rd party light holder on my behalf to fit my existing HID and the flex arm. Can't wait to get in a week or so. Not sure when I'll have a chance to take it out in clear tropical waters. Will try it on some of the murky low viz local dives here...

 

[drbill]

I think I've come up with the solution for my HC-7 problems. I'm going to rent out my house and move to the tropics for a few years where I can film in clear, warm waters. Enough of these dark, turbid waters in the kelp forests!

Seriously (moi?), I plan on getting my HID light setup this week if all goes well. If that doesn't solve most of the problem, then the option above may become reality. Let's see... move over Matt Lauer, where in the world is Dr. Bill?