VHS Quality/ Advice Underwater ??

[ermaclob]

Been wanting to get some sort of recording device to get video from when i dive, but ever thing is well out of my budget range. So i decided that some video would be better then no video at all, and got an old 1997 VHS Compact camcorder and plan to make a housing for it.

i was trying to find old videos made on vhs underwater to see if it was actually worth wasting the time. but i cant seem to find any videos online.

can anyone direct me to one or tell me from experience how video quality is under water?

also does any one know if S-VHS-C tapes work in VHS-C camcorders

*know that i reread this, i fell kinda silly talking about VHS in an age on HD video*

 

[MaxBottomtime]

These are a few of my older videos from the 90s that I shot using VHS-C. I would love to go back and re-shoot every one. You can find a used digital or even HD camcorder on Ebay for probably less than what you will spend making your own housing.
S-VHS-C will not work in a VHS-C camera.

 

[ermaclob]

These are a few of my older videos from the 90s that I shot using VHS-C. I would love to go back and re-shoot every one. You can find a used digital or even HD camcorder on Ebay for probably less than what you will spend making your own housing.
S-VHS-C will not work in a VHS-C camera.

WOW, thanks for sharing those. iv been combing for stuff on ebay and haven't found anything that falls in my budget. which is very very low...... almost nothing really.

if that's the quality u can get with vhs-c however, ill be satisfied with my old camcorder for the moment.

?one more thing, how much worse is the SLP or EP mode quality vs the SP mode on the quality underwater? 30 min of record time is really short IMO.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

It's terrible! You won't be shooting video the entire dive, as your battery wouldn't last and it will be an extremely boring video. It's better to set up shots, tape for about thirty seconds longer than you think you will need, then edit your footage later. Five minutes of decent video is much nicer to watch than thirty minutes of shaky earthquake underwater video.

 

[diversteve]

Got $250? http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cl...8-ikelite-underwater-housing-many-extras.html

After spending 100ish building a housing, you'll still need a way to capture the analog video - ie capture card or dazzle-type device.

With this you won't.

The Big Plus is it's HD....and he's got a wide angle lens and other accessories. I don't need it and I almost bought it as a spare.

I have no vested interest in the sale, don't even know the OP.

 

[ermaclob]

the housing i was planing on making would be more of a enclosure that completely isolates the camera from me and the water. cheap and simple where #1 and #2 in the design objectives. more then that would start to complicate and call for more trouble than i want to handle. know any links on making housings i could reference?

 

[ermaclob]

Got $250? http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cl...8-ikelite-underwater-housing-many-extras.html

After spending 100ish on a housing, you'll still need a way to capture the analog video ie capture card or dazzle-type device. With this you won't.

The Big Plus is it's HD....

I have no vested interest in the sale, don't even know the OP.

trust me i know the easy way out of this problem, and would easily take it if i had the 250 bucks. unfortunately i have like 50 and wont be seeing to much more put away for this anytime soon

 

[diversteve]

know any links on making housings i could reference?

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/do-yourself-diy/101940-diy-video-housing-success.html

 

[ermaclob]

great article, alot of the stuff on here are just similar variants to what i was designing. not to many talk in detail about inside controls

 

[diversteve]

Ikelite sells their control rods. Buying several of them will be over your total budget though. Camera Control Parts btw, they never sell their buttons..

Some people search eBay, craigslist etc. for old Ikelite still/video housings they can salvage for controls. Since your camera is VHS-C I'm assuming it's not an old Sony. So w/o a LANC port, electronic controls aren't going to be possible.

Does it have a remote? I've seen a couple of housings where the remote is incorporated inside the box and activated by some sort of control.