Underwater 3D Photographers please step in

[3D diver]

Hi,

Returning to diving after a long layoff & looking ahead a bit.

I used to shoot 3D stereo pairs with a pair of Nikonos V's using two different rigs:

A side-by-side rig for big subjects using either the 35mm or 20mm lenses.

A 1:3 macro rig I built using a partially silvered mirror. One camera looks through the mirror the other looks at a reflection. The cameras are offset horizontally a cm or three for the stereo offset.

As I get more bottom time, I'm going to want to start taking pictures again and am debating having the Nikonos' serviced or getting a digital camera setup.

So...my question is what are you using and/or recommend?
GoPro Hero 3d?
Fujifilm 3D W3 Camera & Recsea WHF-3D W3 Underwater Housing?
something else?

Thanks,

Wayne

---------- Post added May 4th, 2012 at 08:00 PM ----------

I just uploaded some examples to my gallery, though I'm not entirely sure how to point you there.

 

[3D diver]

Yikes!!! Just spoke with Backscatter & learned they no longer service Nikonos V's. They also poo-poo'ed the GoPro Hero 3D housing, so the Fuji looks like the only easy, though expensive, way to go.

Still open to suggestions.

Anyone?

 

[3D diver]

Contacted a couple of vendors & learned the focus problems with the GoPro 3D housing cannot be corrected---the BlurFix and similar mods are too large for the side-by-side ports.

Learned that both Nikon USA and Sourthern Nikonos still offer repair and annual maintenance service for Nikonos V's.

Underwater camera repair by Southern Nikonos

Here are a few pictures of my 3D rigs. The cabling and second strobe are not shown.

Side by side rig for days with good vis:

6 inch lense spacing is a bit large but useable:

2 views of my macro rig using a partially silvered mirror. One camera looks through the mirror, the second looks at a reflection. Having each camera control its own strobe leads to unacceptable shadows in the resulting images so I set one camera to B, and connect the second camera to the strobe. I open the shutter of the B camera and let the other control the exposure. This works fine in the dark waters of Monterey but there is too much light in the B image in brighter waters such as Hawaii.

You can see the horizontal offset in the macro rig here:

---------- Post added May 12th, 2012 at 06:23 PM ----------

Found a couple of interesting & cheap video cameras rated to 30m

Metal Mini HD Waterproof Sports Camera (720P, Working Underwater 30Meters) - US$ 108.99


Wide Angel Mini HD Waterproof Sports Camera (5.0 Megapixels, Working Underwater 30M) - US$ 165.99

Could be usefull in a side-by-side rig with proper 2.5" lense-to-lense spacing.

 

[3D diver]

Bought a scanner and uploaded another 7 images to my gallery.

Couple of examples:

---------- Post added May 20th, 2012 at 11:31 AM ----------

So...I notice some folks have been looking at my gallery, thanks. I'll love to hear your comments, by the way. The new scanner (Epson V300) was cropping the images incorrectly, but their tech support resolved it.

If you have trouble free viewing the pairs in 3D, viewers are available. Here are what I found Googling:

Deluxe Stereo Print Viewer - Lorgnette: ViewMaster, 3D Glasses, 3D Stereo Photography

3D Concepts: 3D Print Viewers

Viewers

Loreo Products - LOREO Lite 3D Viewer

I have no affiliation with any of these companies, but realise 3D pairs are no fun if you can't view 'em.

 

[klausi]

Good stuff! I always enjoy hacks like that. I saw the new Sony 3D camera & screen system a while ago, and it was very impressive. I don't think there is a uw housing for that yet. Would be something to talk to manufacturers about.

 

[sean havas]

Yikes!!! Just spoke with Backscatter & learned they no longer service Nikonos V's. They also poo-poo'ed the GoPro Hero 3D housing, so the Fuji looks like the only easy, though expensive, way to go.

Still open to suggestions.

Anyone?

I know that "eye of mine" (eyeofmine.com) makes a modified version of the gopro 3d housing with flat ports so that it focuses underwater. I know that their housings work very well, I just have never tried using the gopro 3d system, or any other 3d system for that matter. So if its just a matter of getting them working well underwater that is your answer. Hope that helps.

 

[3D diver]

Yes, thanks, I'm teetering on the brink of ordering the eye of mine housing.

Still haven't found a place to have the Nikonos' serviced, though one shop said 'check back in two weeks'.

In the long run I think I'm going to do both---Nikonos & GoPro---just a matter of cash flow & priorities.

Meanwhile, I'll try to scan some more of my old slides and add them to the gallery---anyone been looking at 'em?

 

[3D diver]

Couple of sea lion shots:

 

[3D diver]

I should never get bored at work, it's too expensive...

My eye-of-mine 3d housing and GoPro cameras were delivered today.

 

[3D diver]

It's been a few months. My GoPro setup is working & I finally figured out how to pull stills from the video. I just uploaded 5 dives worth of 3D pairs to my gallery...check 'em out.

Here's the latest picture of my setup: