Crazy - 1080p cam + 180' housing for $270?

[Gombessa]

it's the distance between the camera lens and the first element in the w/a lens that matters. A c-hair off and you're screwed.

It does matter, but I don't know if you're screwed. I think it means you lose a little bit of wide conversion or you get a bit of vignetting around the corners...a lot of time the vignetting is only visible above the water because of the magnification effect underwater.

 

[phillybob]

...or you get a bit of vignetting around the corners...a lot of time the vignetting is only visible above the water because of the magnification effect underwater.

That's not too bad. A small tap on the zoom should clear the vignetting up. And losing a few degrees isn't a big deal. We'll see what Ike says. I sent them an e-mail on Friday. I'd rather not have to buy another lens, but a guys gotta do ...

 

[phillybob]

I just went into the Manufacturers Index and started a thread in the Ikelite forum asking my 'lens compatibility question'. I also sent the 'Ikelite Staff' dude a P.M. That may be a good, faster way of looking into this clip quality issue.

 

[supersand]

Erik,

Very nice, thanks for getting some video up! Interesting, some of the clips do look a bit blurry, almost like there's condensation on the lens, but the above-the-water shops are quite crisp.

Looks to me like it could be any of:

1. Condensation?
2. Maybe something with the curved angle of the housing dome?
3. Reduced quality from the low light feature?

It looks like conditions this weekend were phenomenal! Wish I was out there.

Kenn, it could be condensation but I have some other footage in the water at the surface and then right out of the water, blurry in the water and seconds later in air really sharp. I'll try the 1080P resolution next time (not as wide) maybe staying towards the middle of the lens will help with the sharpness. The edges are where the image quality really drops. I wrote gopro today and asked them about it. We'll see what they have to say.

I'm still sorting out the best way to edit these mp4 files to preserve the quality. The native files are pretty large and intermediate formats are even larger.

Conditions out at the rock formations were fantastic, maybe 35-45ft of vis out there. Not too many fishies though.

Erik,

Thanks for sharing the video.

We all need to dive together and get similar videos for comparison purposes.

You - GoPro
Gombessa - Flip Ultra HD
Me - Canon SD980

Anyone else want to contribute to Gombessa's (not my) idea?

Sounds like fun Don.

Planning a dive with three camera's is sure to jinx the visibility though.

-Erik

 

[Matt S.]

I asked GoPro tech support about the sharpness issue.

Hi Matt,


Due to the curved lens of the waterproof housing for the HD HERO camera and standard def Wide HERO cameras, you do get a slight loss of sharpness/focus to underwater images. In video mode with the standard def camera this hasn't been very noticeable due to the lower resolution. With the HD HERO camera this becomes more evident at the higher resolution. Our developers are looking into whether we can possibly offer a different housing or housing lens in the future to correct this issue.


Please let us know if you have any further questions.



Many thanks,

GoPro Support
GoPro Official Store: Wearable Digital Cameras for Sports

Man, that is a bummer. I'll probably not cancel my order because the camera looks like a lot of fun anyway, but the main thing I wanted it for was scuba.

I'm going to reply to tech support and lobby for an underwater solution.

 

[Gombessa]

Man, that is a bummer.

Awe, bummer indeed. Sounds like the "HydroOptix" issue. Maybe you could glue one of their myopia-inducing contact lenses to the front of the GoPro's lens

IMO, unless and until they fix the issue, that pretty much eliminates the GoPro has a truly viable option for underwater video. I guess there's the possibility of replacing the removable dome cover with a flat port - that would likely crop the wide angle quite a bit, but at least it would be sharp...

If there's anything I've learned over the past few months, it's that caveats abound in even the most promising configurations. The GoPro's fuzzy underwater despite a 180' housing rating, the Flip requires $300 in accessories and lenses to get anywhere near wide...that's what we get for trying to do video on the cheap, right?

 

[Matt S.]

The dome looks easily removable... DIYing a flat port should be manageable. After I have had my fun putting this thing on my car and bike I will look in to that if someone else hasn't figured it out.

 

[Gombessa]

The dome looks easily removable... DIYing a flat port should be manageable. After I have had my fun putting this thing on my car and bike I will look in to that if someone else hasn't figured it out.

The dome is removable by taking out the screws and gasket - they have replacement dome faces for purchase (makes sense, since the dome is the part that sticks out the most and would thus easily get scratched).

From the pictures though, it doesn't look like you can just slap a flat port on top, since the camera itself has a domed lens that fitted closely to the dome port. You'd need to extend the barrel with shims or something in order to allow the camera lens to fit, make that waterproof, and once you do all that, you'd probably have severe vignetting because the lens would no longer have 170 degree coverage because you lose the dome.

Of course, I could be totally wrong, but I'm thinking it would take some serious modification to do this right.

 

[Matt S.]

Guess you're right, I didn't take close look. Well, fingers crossed for a proper solution from them.

 

[phillybob]

... I'm still waiting for a reply from Ike to see if my Inon UWL 105 AD is compatible with that housing and camera.

Just got an e-mail saying the 9306.80 lens adapter isn't compatible with the Picsio housing. They didn't say anything about the lens, just the adapter. Plan 'B' !!