Housing and Camera Upgrade

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loftusdanielf

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I have been shooting underwater video for about 3 years now on a Canon MV800 and well its time to upgrade to HD. My original thoughts were to buy a housing for my Sony Z1U, but I need the flexibility of 2 cameras, so I am considering buying a smaller and lighter Sony and housing to fill the underwater criteria. Equinox have a good package selection of cameras/housings(that most importantly fit my budget), but I haven't a clue which small sony to go for(SR10, HC9, SR11, CX12????). Has anyone any experience of these cameras? Which is the best quality that I could integrate with footage from my Z1?

Many Thanks
Daniel
 
The one-chip cameras mentioned are not in the same ballpark as the Z1U. Neither is the housing you've mentioned (IMO). I have used Sony cameras 3 chips in Gates and Amphibico housings. I like these two housing a lot. The reason I like them is build quality, optics and customer service.

To date, I am using a tape cameras vs. AVCHD cameras. The reason being the ability to create a archive for those truly important shots, and not having a huge amount of trust (yet) with tape-less units which really require a computer on site to dump footage. This can be problematic if you have a job where it's rather harsh. I know. I killed a Mac doing this.

Cheers

p.s. if you visit Wetpixel.com :: Underwater Photography and Videography you might get more information from the pros. which frequent the video section.
 
Mr.X:
The one-chip cameras mentioned are not in the same ballpark as the Z1U. Neither is the housing you've mentioned (IMO). I have used Sony cameras 3 chips in Gates and Amphibico housings. I like these two housing a lot. The reason I like them is build quality, optics and customer service.
Click to expand...

Sadly very few camera's by any manufacturer has come close to the Z1U in terms of picture quality/sound, portability. (For under 7/8/9 thousand euros) I just can't justify the cost in getting a housing for it. I have looked into the Gates and Amphibico options for smaller camcorders and again in a perfect world I'd get one, but at the end of the day cost versus the time I will actually spend using them wins out

Regarding the tapeless, up to about a month ago tape was king but after using Sony's EX3, I'm converted. Incredible amounts of time saved in the editing process.
 
I certainly relate to the cost vs. benefit choices one has to make. Additionally, it's so hard to keep up with the innovations (tapeless). Right now I am in a holding pattern regarding upgrading the HD, to something higher end...like Red Scarlet?

That being said, the Sony HC and Gates one chip combo. we're using is pretty nice. We just finished shooting a television program with it and the footage is very decent, although to the trained eye you can see where three chips are better than one with regards to saturation, low light etc. We opted for a better housing as the lower-end housings do not do the footage justice. In short, the HD wide angle footage from the lower end housing looks noticeably dodgier compared to the Gates & Sony video. Vignettes, clarity being the issues. However, it may not matter so much unless the footage you're shooting is for a pro. application.

Cheers and best with your search for a decent combo.

X
 
Have you looked at the new Canon's? The HF11 and HG21. Both use the 24MBPS AVCHD bitrate, one's solid-state recording, the other has 120GB drive. Priced competitively with the better Sony's. Since you indicated you're looking at a mechanical housing, they're options.

Does anybody know who has the better optics - Equinox or Ikelite?

Of the 4 Sony's you mentioned, the SR11 or the CX12 have the best chip. So all other things being equal (AVCHD recording etc.) that's my choice. Although I'd pay $200 more for the SR12 for the bigger drive. B&H has it bundled with the Equinox HD6 for $1799. Equinox | HD6 Underwater Video Housing with Sony HDR-SR12 | B&H

Another consideration is the price of the Memory Stick Pro Duo cards for the CX12, last time I checked they were considerably higher priced than equivalently sized SDHC cards.
 
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That is a great deal from B and H. Only within the last few hours have I looked up the Canon line, I was watching some UW footage from a Canon HV30 and was seriously impressed, fantastic colours. I may now have to look into that too.
Re: Optics, I have been using an Ikelite housing for a few years and like them alot but I am unsure of which has the better optics.
 
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