D-SLR for Shooting Video?

[arkstorm]

I am in the midst of researching u/w video systems so I am wondering what are the advantages or disadvantages to shooting u/w video with a dSLR rather than a camcorder? And should I be considering this route at all?

The cost of a dSLR system vs. a camcorder system is pretty close when you consider that a good camcorder costs north of $1000 but a Canon T1i goes for around $700. On the flip-side, the housings for dSLR's seem to cost a few $hundred more. So in the end you pay about the same.

Also, a high quality wide-angle lens for a video housing costs about as much as a high quality wide-angle zoom lens for a dSLR. Again, the costs seem to almost wash.

The fact that can't be ignored is that most dSLR's have far superior optics to most camcorders. And when comparing stills there is no contest, the dSLR wins.

Am I missing an important point here? Or should I really be putting together an u/w dSLR system rather than a camcorder for the best results plus bang for the buck?

 

[arkstorm]

After a little further research I determined that the cost for an u/w dSLR system is actually much greater than for a camcorder system.

Consider the following:

Ikelite housing for most dSLR cameras: $1,600.00 (including port)
Ikelite housing for most camcorders: $800.00 (no port necessary)

Middle of the road strobe and lighting system for stills and video: $1,000.00
Middle of the road lighting system for video: $500.00

dSLR camera with 1080p video: $800.00
Middle of the road camcorder with 1080p video: $600.00

Wide-angle lens for dSLR system: $600.00 (something like a 10-24mm)
Wide-angle lens for camcroder: $350.00 (housing mounted lens)

dSLR system total cost: $4,000.00
camcorder system total cost: $2,250.00

The dSLR system is nearly twice as expensive as the camcorder so my prior observation that the costs would be close was way off.

It is certain that the dSLR system will probably yield superior results under most u/w shooting conditions but we all know that the sky is the limit when pursuing the "best" system. However, looking at it from the perspective of entry-level cost it would appear that the camcorder might yet be the way to go.

 

[ronscuba]

....

It is certain that the dSLR system will probably yield superior results under most u/w shooting conditions but we all know that the sky is the limit when pursuing the "best" system.

Photos yes, video, not really. DSLR can yield superior UW video compared to a consumer cam if you get the settings right. That's a lot easier said than done.

Focus, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance. Get all that set perfectly, if the subject is still there, get the subject framed, press record. Yeah, the results can look superior.

Take the 2 rigs in the water on a typical dive. In my opinion, at the end of the day you will walk away with a lot more decent video footage from the camcorder than the DSLR.

 

[arkstorm]

Photos yes, video, not really. DSLR can yield superior UW video compared to a consumer cam if you get the settings right. That's a lot easier said than done.

Focus, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance. Get all that set perfectly, if the subject is still there, get the subject framed, press record. Yeah, the results can look superior.

Take the 2 rigs in the water on a typical dive. In my opinion, at the end of the day you will walk away with a lot more decent video footage from the camcorder than the DSLR.

I followed the link to your videos and they are amazing. Would you mind sharing what your video system is comprised of?

 

[ronscuba]

I shoot with a Sony FX7 and Gates housing.

 

[arkstorm]

Take the 2 rigs in the water on a typical dive. In my opinion, at the end of the day you will walk away with a lot more decent video footage from the camcorder than the DSLR.

After further research I agree 100%. The most important issue I was able to discover with shooting video with dSLR is that most dSLRs can't auto focus in video mode and with most of the mechanical style housings that I looked at you can either control the focus function or the zoom function but not both. Even if you primarily shoot with the lens as wide as possible that is not a very good compromise to have to make.

I concluded that the camcorder system is preferable for what I want to accomplish and put the following rig together:

JVC HD camcorder; Ikelite video housing; externally mounted Ikelite wide angle lens; and two Ikelite led video lights. I can't wait to try it out on my upcoming Cozumel trip.

 

[arkstorm]

I should also add that one of the reasons I was looking beyond the camcorder that I already own is that I was never satisfied with the results from that camera but upon switching over to a Mac I realize that my problem wasn't with the camera at all but with the PC based software I was using.

 

[ronscuba]

I should also add that one of the reasons I was looking beyond the camcorder that I already own is that I was never satisfied with the results from that camera but upon switching over to a Mac I realize that my problem wasn't with the camera at all but with the PC based software I was using.

What PC S/W were you using ?

 

[sharksdelight]

Arkstorm,
Don't cheap out on yourself when you are buying a housing. I help an awful lot of shooters get their cams and housings for less than where they can buy most any place and, as a result, I have learned a thing or two along the way. Without mentioning brand names, the Acrylic housing you might be considering has, for a great number of years, been the subject of complaint after complaint regarding fogging after bringing a cam from the warm topside to the cooler temps underwater, thus preventing you from shooting video or stills. A good housing will not do this and is well worth the extra money spent to avoid the frustration and buyer's remorse of having spent a lot of money anyway and not being able to use the system until the condensation/fog disappears.
Steve

 

[arkstorm]

What PC S/W were you using ?

I was using JVC's proprietary software for upload and I was playing around with Power Director for edit. The problem was more my computer than the software though -- a Pentium M laptop with 500mb RAM and lackluster video card. Videos took forever to render and looked choppy on playback. But that's all a thing of the past -- enter Quad Core i5 with 4gb RAM.