L&M Stingray G2 issues... or are they?

[drbill]

Received my new L&M Stingray G2 housing for my Sony CX550V camcorder. Very excited to take it down under and test the capabilities of the system.

However, not one of my six sets of NiMH batteries will power the housing and LCD. I've used three different brands/power ratings. All of these sets will power my older monitor back (also L&M) for up to 5 hours, but none of them will power the Stingray G2 for more than a few minutes (if at all).

Has anyone else experienced this with this housing? What solutions did you find? I ordered some PowerEx batteries by Maha but they haven't arrived yet.

Two other issues I've experienced with this system.

(1) The camera tray is apparently not long enough to hold the CX550V and an aftermarket high capacity battery. I need the high capacity batteries to run the system for at least three dives without opening it up in between.

(2) I follow the directions for setting up the one-touch MWB in the housing manual. However, when I push the MWB button, my personal menu screen appears and the camcorder cycles through the six option buttons rather than selecting the MWB which is in the top left as directed.

I'm sure I'm going to be happy with this system once I figure out a solution to these issues.

 

[MSPDiver]

Don't know the answer but those PowerEX batteries are awesome. I have something like 15 or 16 with the charger, never a problem. They charge even higher then their rating.

 

[davidya]

I use a set of energizer rechargables and they will last for a day of diving in my G2+.
I use NP-FV100 battery which will last for a couple of dives.
After I set up one touch manual white balance, it cycles through the menu and sets wb.
I really like the set up.

 

[drbill]

Thanks for the above.

Still waiting for my PowerEx batteries to arrive. We are pretty limited here on the island. Hopefully the squid will still be present tomorrow.

Davidya... I have an aftermarket equivalent to the Sony NP-FV100 battery. Maybe it is a bit longer than the genuine Sony. Is it a tight fit for you? My battery impinges on the A/V cord even with the camera as far forward as it can go and not hit the port.

I guess the cycling through the menu on WB is OK then. Glad to hear that.

 

[drbill]

Light & Motion tech support called yesterday and walked me through a few things the manual doesn't cover. Things work properly now. Very pleased with L&M's product and support (on this and earlier products I've used)

Received my PowerEx batteries yesterday (just in time for the weather to close in and destroy my chance to film what I've been waiting to). Right out of the packaging these batteries worked great, powering the housing for as long as I needed to test it. Put them in the charger and it took several hours to fully charge them, so I'm impressed they worked right away. Will have to find another use for my older NiMH batteries that appear to have lost their oomph!

 

[drbill]

I finally dove with the Stingray G2 and CX550V. Everything worked fine topside when I tested it before submerging. Once at depth I found the squid eggs I was looking for and tried to film them. The housing would not turn on... just a blue screen like I was getting earlier topside. Tried cycling it through the different camera modes (Canon, Sony CX and Sony XR series). Got the control panel to appear on the LCD twice, but the record button wouldn't work.

Message in to L&M tech support to troubleshoot this. They've been great, but this seems pretty strange. Never had such trouble with the other L&M housings I've used over the years.

On the positive side, when the LCD did work with the camcorder (twice during my attempts to cycle it), the image was bright and looked great. I was pleasantly surprised since the vis was not great and I was in the shade of the repair barge in our harbor. Seems the claims of good low light response on the CX550V may indeed be true. Look forward to filming with it once this issue is resolved.

 

[BDSC]

Hey Dr. Bill,

Do you have the lcd screen of the camcorder reversed so it's facing out? When I first got my Stingray + housing which is almost the same as the one you have I had my camcorder in the housing but forgot to flip the screen out. So when I went to turn it on I had something kinda like what you describe.

You also have to make sure your output from the camcorder is set correctly for the screen on the housing to work as it should.

 

[drbill]

BDSC... no, I didn't and that was the problem. My L&M tech figured it out right away. I thought when he told me to do that while we were testing the unit, it was just for the tests. Once I reversed the LCD everything works fine... and I'll bet my "old" NiMHs will drive it, too!

Looking forward to taking it down under... the few times I could see through the LCD, the image looked fantastic compared to my older setup (HC-7 in Top Dawg).

 

[BDSC]

Great! Glad it's working for you. I think it's a great unit and my rechargeable batteries have worked fine. Usually one set will last me three dives.

 

[MSPDiver]

Awesome, hope it works out. Those Powerex batteries are the best. Dr. if you don;t mind can you post some of your work when you film the squid eggs. Thanks