UW video camcorder/housing life cycle ?

[ronscuba]

UW video is an expensive hobby. We all struggle on the buying decisions to get the best for our $$. It's a struggle because of the price and the quickly evolving technology.

Just wondering what duration everyone expects when they invest in a UW video rig ? Is it based on years or # of dives ? If it's based on # dives do we blame ourselves for not diving enough ?

I'm on my 2nd UW video system. My first lasted about 5 years, 150 dives, sold it for a decent price shortly after HD camcorders came out. I felt I got my money's worth out of it when I include the $$ from selling.

My current system is about 2 years old, 150 quality dives. Current technology does NOT have me itching to upgrade. I feel like I need at least another 150 quality dives to feel comfortable I got my $$ worth. My videos with this system are much better than my 1st rig and that factors in too.

What does everyone else think ?

 

[jhayes75]

I went ahead and just made my own out of schedule 80 PVC. 1/2 inch tempered glass. I have about 200.00 invested in this. I would expect this rig to outlast me.

 

[lemon]

Interesting question. What amuses me is when people try to sell their old rig, which may be only 3 years or so old - but by now old technology - for like 80% of the original price. Never understood why anyone would pay that much for used gear.

 

[ronscuba]

Hello Lemon. How long have you had your current system ? How many dives or how many years of use would you consider you got your $$ worth out of if ?

The used market is confusing. 80% of original value is too much, but there are many good used systems with "old" technology out there.

For example, my Sony FX7. Sony discontinued it, then brought it back at a lower price. It records to tape and many call it old technology. I have not seen UW footage from any of the new "current" technology camcorders in the under $3k range that is substantially better and makes me want to upgrade.

Camcorder technology seems to make major leeps every 5 yrs or so and many tiny improvements in between. SD to HDV was a big leep. I don't think the next big thing has arrived yet. If I had to guess though, I can see interchangleble lenses for video coming. It's already creating a big buzz with the DSLR cameras being used for video topside.

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

This is a very very good topic Ron. I have these discussions on an almost daily basis with customers. My thoughts for most end users is that unless you are doing this professionally, or are the type of person that likes to have the latest and greatest, there is no reason any system cannot give you a solid three years! That being said, we sell a lot of used gear for customers, and one of the most difficult things I have to do is explain why their 3 or 4 year old Non HD system is worth at best 30 or 40% of its original value. 3 years in today's technological world is like a decade.

Although I think Quality has not made a huge leap the past few years in HD, I believe that Tape to Solid State is a significant leap and in my eyes was worth the upgrade alone.

 

[KiiY]

Interesting, but tough question.

Personally, I get to go on a diving trip once, maybe twice a year... and owning my own basic diving equipment is not cost effective so I always rent through the dive shop. But I care a lot about good video quality whether it be topside or underwater, so I will likely want to upgrade every few years as technology progresses -- regardless of how many times I've used my housing.

Being that it's purely a hobby, if I can get by for about $20 per dive I think I would feel I got my money's worth. I don't really factor in the cost of the video camera since I tend to buy the housing to fit a camera I already have.

I did pretty well with my previous housing. I picked up a $300 used Gates housing for a Sony TRV-900 (which I already had). I used it for about 4 years on about 10 dives, then sold it for about $260. That works out to about $4 per dive and I feel I got my money's worth out of that housing.

Time will tell how I do with my second (and current) housing -- an Ikelite for a Sony HC-1 that I bought secondhand in 2008 and only used for the first time last week.

 

[robint]

I pretty much aim myself at 3-5yrs for my rigs.
My first one lasted almost 3 yrs, spent $1500 for it, $700 lights added later. I got about 150 dives with it.
My new HD rig I have had for just a couple of months.... Spent $2200. (not counting the $700 lights from old rig.) But the big difference is that I am planning to use the camcorder topside more for non-diving events/activities. I only have 4 dives with it so far, but have used it the camcorder more topside than I ever did the old one. I think I will get more of my $$$ worth with this one.

If I had a $5-15k rig, like you, this would be very frustrating for me since I don't get in more than 50-60 dives per year on average, with about half those ocean dives. But for me, I think in 3-5 years I will get my money's worth. Heck, I already like the camcorder so much that I feel like I have already gotten my $$ worth.

 

[ronscuba]

There is no one right answer. We each have our own justifications and values. I don't care so much about tape vs. solid state. It's what my eyes see that matters most to me. But I am curious to hear what others think.

A big factor is the quality of the dive and video. Diving high quality areas like Indonesia and Galapagos has produced high quality video. 30 dives in the Galapagos is worth more than 30 dives in the Caribbean to me and part of my justification for buying an expensive wide angle lens. At least that's what I tell myself.

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

Absolutely Ron, hit the nose right on it. I think many fail to see just how much of a difference the quality lenses make. Even on the EX1, the image quality from the standard port to the Superwide, it looks as though one shot with a completely different camera.

 

[robint]

There is no one right answer. We each have our own justifications and values. I don't care so much about tape vs. solid state. It's what my eyes see that matters most to me. But I am curious to hear what others think.

A big factor is the quality of the dive and video. Diving high quality areas like Indonesia and Galapagos has produced high quality video. 30 dives in the Galapagos is worth more than 30 dives in the Caribbean to me and part of my justification for buying an expensive wide angle lens. At least that's what I tell myself.

I guess you can justify your $$$$ gear since you do get to dive places like Galapagos and Indonesia. I probably won't ever get to those unless I win the lottery. My hubby just invested $$$ into a Dslr camera, lenses, housing, etc. so I have to do my diving on a budget for two. There is no way I could justify buying your video rig, I have a daughter in college on top of that!

And Yeah, we may only get to dive Calif, NC, and Roatan next year but that doesn't mean my diving experiences are less video worthy, either. My rig works perfect for me and gives me what I am looking for for a price I can live with.

robin