Sony PC330? Gates vs Light & Motion?

[ronrosa]

If you're looking to save money initially and still leave upgrade options open, you don't necessarily need lights right away. The filter (at least in the Carribean) seems to work fine down to about 70 or so feet, below that level everything becomes blue.

Jeff

Totally agree on holding off on the lights.

When you are ready for lights, I'll add that not all video lights are outrageously expensive. You can get a 50 or 100 watt halogen setup for under $600. They're a bit bigger an heavier than HID, but are a lot less expensive.

I'm pretty happy with the results from my "cheap" halogen lights.

 

[sirensmyst]

I think I am coming to that result also....as a whole it is a bit overwhelming. I am going to give it a week to think this through...visit with PnL and perhaps try it out....and start going to retail stores to see what these things look and feel like. I won't have that option with the housings...but...camera first. I will be back. Thank you all for your help.

 

[sirensmyst]

mjh....
Mike from OI called me and suggested a forum on the PC330...if you haven't already found it....
digitaldiver.net
go to forum
some real good info there.....helped me a lot. I am considering the PC330 again.

 

[jimmyd99]

Just thought you might want an alternative. Try the Ikelite housing. I just purchased the PC330 and I'm going to purchase their housing for this camera. I already have one of their housings for my digital still camera, an Olympus 2040 zoom. It will let you take it down to 200 feet and only one O ring. I've had one situation on Harbor Island, Bahamas where someone said they couldn't go to the cave at 120 feet because they new their housing wasn't rated to that depth, I took my Olympus right in with no trouble! Go to www.ikelite.com.

 

[cdbreeze]

PnL: what do you think of using the OI case with it's flip screen open inside the case--is that working for you? One of their competitors claims you can't see it too well.
thanks

 

[PnL]

PnL: what do you think of using the OI case with it's flip screen open inside the case--is that working for you? One of their competitors claims you can't see it too well.
thanks

cdbreeze - I'm assuming you're talking about USVH as they often used that argument with me when I was considering a housing for the PC120. Just so you know, Warren was awesome in sharing information with me and he has some points in this regard. Because the LCD screen is a few inches inside the housing you can not see it unless you are behind it. With the external monitor mounted to the back, and especially if the angle can be adjusted, you can get footage in tight areas and still see the monitor. So he has a point. But it has been a non-issue for me and several others that use this system. I have always had unobstructed views of the LCD. There were times when I took footage where I couldn't see the LCD in confined quarters and it was easy enough to place the housing down to get the shot. I'm not an experienced videographer, but the more experience you get the easier it is to 'know' what is in the frame of the lens and what is not regardless of whether you have a monitor or not. The vast majority of the time this is not a concern, even when doing macro. But I have to agree it might be a nice option. Additionally, because the LCD is inside the housing there are no reflections on the monitor and it is also easily viewable in bright locations due to the 'shade' the housing provides on the LCD screen.

As far as my decision to go with the OI housing, another influencing factor, other than not needing an external monitor and battery, was that the filter was housed inside the housing and was activated by a simple flip of a switch - this seemed more convenient than carrying an external filter and adding to the lens underwater. The plus to USVH's housing is that it is more compact and there is one less failure point (the filter switch). Otherwise it seemed both these housings are similar in function and performance.

Please remember that my decision to purchase the OI housing was based on my budget. And adding an external monitor and battery increased the cost and also added two additional things that could go wrong, and two additional things to maintain. I wanted to simplify the system as it was my first UW video system. I don't think you could go wrong with either of these companies as long as you are aware of the trade-offs in each design.

Sorry to make this email so long! The short answer is that I have had no problems with the LCD screen of the camcorder at all. You should ask on DigitalDiver.Net as there are several folks that have the same housing. Perhaps others have found limitations to this design when getting certain kinds of shots. I've mostly done wide angle shots and a few macro and haven't had problems viewing the LCD.

 

[cdbreeze]

Thanks for the detailed response! I get your point, the shade factor might outweigh monitor-to-the-back. Also, I like the internal red filter idea.
The other question I have, what are you doing for white balance? I note that the 330 claims to have 'auto' white balance, is this what you're using; or did you upgrade the OI housing to get access to the white balance controls?
thanks

 

[PnL]

Most of the miniDV's have auto white balance (if not all) as well as auto-exposure to make things easier for the consumer. I have only used the auto white balance on my PC120 but I plan on experimenting with manual white balance at each depth. My guess, based upon my limited experience, would be that manual WB would result in more stable color capture at that depth. I base this on my experience with the auto-WB which would adjust when a bright orange girabaldi enters the frame, and then adjust again when I move the shot into the open water (which is darker with little contrast). Anything that is bright, or darker that what you are filming will cause the auto-WB to adjust. At least with the PC120.

I didn't get the full controls (on both handles), just the basic controls on the right handle that allows full menu access (and therefore WB/exposure control) - I think its a worthwhile addition, and I recommend it since you can't open up the housing underwater to change the settings! I think it was called the Pro-Alt controls .... but my memory isn't serving me well right now .

As a caveat, I should mention that the characteristics of the auto-WB I describe above may not be general as I had the wrong filter on my housing. I got the CY filter with the housing - the waters out here in Southern California are considered "green water" and a GR filter is better suited. Based on experiences of other underwater videographers, the filter can play a significant role in the function of the auto-WB/exposure - so it may be that the auto-WB/exposure will function better with the correct filter. This was well illustrated by a fellow UW videographer who used the wrong filter and had terribly overexposed footages, especially on yellow tanks/fins. Once he obtained the correct filter the problems of overexposure were significantly diminished - to the point where he continued to use auto-exposure with great results. I will be trying the 'correct' filter next weekend so I can let you know then. I plan to play with the manual controls as well and see which results in the best footage. I'll post a report on DigitalDiver.Net once I get all the footages worked out (I kinda promised to do this a while ago but haven't had the opportunity to dive for a while).