Getting started

[del_mo]

I would love suggestions on a decent basic set up. I'm not out to compete with National Geographic. I just want to record memories. SMALL, inexpensive (ha ha!) and reliable. Any suggestions?

And, are there any controls that are "must have" items that without I would really regret?

Thanks

 

[CAPT HOOK]

Cheap = Yellow Jacket or similar housing ($300-$400) and any old Sony video camera.
No controls to deal with; turn camera on, put in housing, dive. Hi-8 tape lasts an hour.
Next dive change tape.
Results are more than satisfactory.

 

[spankey]

have a look at the canon A620, A520 and S80 with their canon housings. You could get a complete NEW setup for about $350 with mem card etc...

 

[f3nikon]

I agree on both comments, the key to U/W video is the lighting, as for myself I have spent more time and money on the video lighting, Two 50watt halogen lamps plus battery and case. Or shoot in clear shallow waters.

 

[HowardE]

I would love suggestions on a decent basic set up. I'm not out to compete with National Geographic. I just want to record memories. SMALL, inexpensive (ha ha!) and reliable. Any suggestions?

And, are there any controls that are "must have" items that without I would really regret?

Thanks

Small decent basic setup? I have a Sony HC-30 - it's about $250 for the camera. the Ikelite housing (NEW) is only $700 - and it comes with a UR color correction filter. The filter works great in blue water. The video quality I have achieved is pretty good also, without external lighting.

Video I've shot is http://howardandmichelle.com/dive/videos/ It may take a minute or two to buffer a video - When I do use a light, it's usually in VERY low light situations, and I use a Sony 20W halogen light. It seems to do the job on Night dives, or inside wrecks.

If I had a "must have control" on the housing, it would be manual white balance. You probably won't find that in less expensive housings, but it would be the best.

In addition to Ikelite for Sony, Sony makes a remote control called LAN-C which many other housing mfg companies make lan-c controls for the camera, which include on/off, auto focus on/off, white balance, zoom controlls with a switch.

So - you can get away with a basic setup for <$1000 and get good quality. Just make sure you get a filter. Remember - most video cameras (unlike still cameras) have very low light requirements. Many can shoot in near darkness, and adjust for that.

DON'T use a Point and Shoot digital camera to shoot video. Record your video on Mini DV Tapes. Not an internal DVD.

 

[JamesD]

Howard,

Can you expound a little on your comment of

"DON'T use a Point and Shoot digital camera to shoot video. Record your video on Mini DV Tapes. Not an internal DVD."

Most of the point and shoots I can see, but I'm not sure about what the issue is with the DVD recorders, perhaps the amount of compression they use to store video?

 

[HowardE]

Howard,

Can you expound a little on your comment of

"DON'T use a Point and Shoot digital camera to shoot video. Record your video on Mini DV Tapes. Not an internal DVD."

Most of the point and shoots I can see, but I'm not sure about what the issue is with the DVD recorders, perhaps the amount of compression they use to store video?

I think that pretty much says it.

From what I've heard about the DVD recorders is - they have poor quality compared to Mini DV tapes, and the medium is also more expensive.

Mini-DVD vs. MiniDV or Digital8

One Mini-DVD disc can store 1.4Gb of information, which lets you record 20 minutes in HQ (best quality) mode, 30 minutes in SP (standard quality) or 60 minutes in LP mode. The video is recorded in the same format as commercially-produced DVDs - using MPEG-2 encoding with sound being 2-channel Dolby Digital.

MiniDV or Digital8 tapes can fit 60-80 minutes of video in SP mode or 50% more in LP mode (with virtually no loss of quality). Video is recorded using DV encoding (significantly less compression and thus better quality than MPEG-2).

Both formats have pros and cons. The tapes fit more and at better recording quality, they cost less. The main PRO for - Mini-DVD is that they can be played back on a regular DVD player, needs no rewinding and lets you jump to the segment you want without waiting.

- IMHO - the most limiting factor is the amount of record time you can get on a DVD vs. a Mini DV tape. 20 minutes - just isn't enough time to capture. I typically record 15-20 minutes of video per dive, which would mean I'd have to change DVD's between dives (on a 2 tank or 3 tank boat dive). That's a major drawback, and the easiest way to ruin your camera all together.

 

[JamesD]

Thanks for the response, interesting to read, I'm sort of on the fence, right now I like the quality from MiniDV, but I LOVE the ability to copy straight off the SD cards that my camera uses (yes, it is a point and shoot, but quite frankly for the very limited audience that ever sees my photos/videos, that's fine).

I can't wait for a couple of years time when the better flash memory (larger and cheaper) comes out and you can store 8/16/24GB of data on a flash card for a camera, then we can see some far more interesting changes (given that current compression to DV seems to require about 12GB for a full hour of video when I copy it off, now of course HD is another question entirely).

 

[HowardE]

Thanks for the response, interesting to read, I'm sort of on the fence, right now I like the quality from MiniDV, but I LOVE the ability to copy straight off the SD cards that my camera uses (yes, it is a point and shoot, but quite frankly for the very limited audience that ever sees my photos/videos, that's fine).

I can't wait for a couple of years time when the better flash memory (larger and cheaper) comes out and you can store 8/16/24GB of data on a flash card for a camera, then we can see some far more interesting changes (given that current compression to DV seems to require about 12GB for a full hour of video when I copy it off, now of course HD is another question entirely).

HD cameras record on MiniDV

 

[crum]

Check out Equinox.
I just recently purchased there Pro Pack 6 housing with a sony camera from them at a decent price, 1k. I have not used it yet so I can't comment there. The housing is very sturdy and the extras you get are great, wide angle lens, color filter and spare parts. I think they still have a special going on where you get a cannon camera when you purchase the Pro Pack 6.