So what did you think of the 108s?
Nice James.
So, what are your plans for the 72's? Let me know when you will be diving again, and I'll see if I can make it down. I really need to get more bottom time on my dry suit. I still don't feel comfortable with my buoyancy control as I think I need to be to take the Tech Courses.
James,
Nice vid in nice viz! I'd really like to start shooting some videos. Even with a point and shoot still camera. Can you give me some good ideas on something fairly inexpensive? Do you have a picture of your camera setup?
The video quality is fantastic!
Thanks everybody!
Jason, I LOVE the 108's. They trim out very well in the water and I felt very comfortable with them right off the bat. However, heaving those things up off the ground to put them in the back of my truck is a pain in the arse! I've figured out that if I don't have my backplate attached then it's easier to squat down, bear hug them and lift them up while holding them close to my chest. If the backplate is attached, then I've been squatting down, putting my arms through the webbing, pulling the tanks into my chest, and picking them up using the straps over my biceps as leverage. They are HEAVY. We weighed them at the shop. Empty they weigh 101lbs. Full they weigh 118lbs.
Kent, I'll try to get some pictures of my setup this weekend. It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 camera (small, but high end point and shoot) with a Panasonic housing (since they are the only company that appears to be making a housing for the camera). With the camera and housing you are looking at around $600 or so. If I were to do it again, I think I would go with an Cannon S90 and Ikelite housing. You are going to get about the same quality photos/video with the Cannon camera and Ikelite makes some nice housings. That said, the Panasonic housing is comparable in quality to the Ikelite housings in the same class of cameras.
For pure video, I'm looking at a ContourHD Helmet Camera.
HD Helmet Cam - ContourHD and ContourHD 1080p by VholdR
George had one at Rock Lake last month and it was small, rugged, and took some decent video. You can also buy the camera for about $250. It's only downside to it right now is that the underwater housing that you can buy for it is only rated to 10 meters, or roughly 30 feet. I'm thinking of making a housing for it... I have the materials and access to the tools. .. I just need a camera. I'll keep you updated on that progress if I look into that further.
