On 8/4/2026 at 1:38 PM, monikatheplant said:

Sorry this is so long after the fact, but just starting to do some research now at purchasing a used AX700 and Gates housing. This video is great! Did you experience any overheating when filming in 4k? Any other notable nuances?

@monikatheplant

I don't get here as often as I used to...

And yes, I still have the AX700 Gates housing if you're interested. It has absolutely no problem with overheating.

Probably have to get it out and take some pictures to post in the marketplace.

Tom

Edited August 14Aug 14 by wydeangle

On 8/12/2026 at 6:38 PM, Grantmac said:

Paul,

Do you use any specific focus tools such as peaking? Housing or port gear? Any suggestions for a newbie learning to pull focus?

Hey there

Apologies for the late reply.

Yes I always use Peaking, it's a huge help, in darker waters I use find edges. Having a bright monitor is a must as well.

23 hours ago, Paul said:

Hey there

Apologies for the late reply.

Yes I always use Peaking, it's a huge help, in darker waters I use find edges. Having a bright monitor is a must as well.

Hi Paul,

What lenses do you use on your Red? PL cinema lenses? Classic Canon EF lenses?

The big problem for those of us using classic housings is the lenses, and basically the control rings that operate the focus and also the zoom.

In standard housings the control rings are designed to have an almost direct gear ratio, made for quick adjustments before taking a photo. In video, a direct ratio often leads to jerky movements and introduces micro vibrations. Cinema control rings use a geared down system instead, which requires a wider rotation to produce a small movement on the lens, providing smooth and steady transitions. The larger knobs offer better mechanical leverage and targeted inertia. This allows you to operate the control by resting your palm or using several fingers steadily, reducing the shakes typical of the two finger grip required by standard control rings. In addition, Nauticam cinema series control rings are designed to work with lenses that have standard 0.8 MOD gear teeth, with almost zero tolerance.

Also, cinema lenses have hard stops at minimum focus and infinity. Normal photographic modern lenses have focus by wire, and unfortunately, speaking of my popular M43 lenses, the movement or focus speed is also variable, meaning the focus travel also depends on how fast you turn the focus ring. It is impossible to make transitions. Only on the most modern ones can you set them to linear and even set the range of movement, for example, 90, 120, or 180 degrees.

That is why, in situations where you have to change the focus point manually, for example in macro, with normal housings and lenses people use the old trick of moving the housing back and forth just a little bit.

It is a hard world for us 😁

On 8/19/2026 at 12:20 PM, Davide DB said:

Hi Paul,

What lenses do you use on your Red? PL cinema lenses? Classic Canon EF lenses?

The big problem for those of us using classic housings is the lenses, and basically the control rings that operate the focus and also the zoom.

In standard housings the control rings are designed to have an almost direct gear ratio, made for quick adjustments before taking a photo. In video, a direct ratio often leads to jerky movements and introduces micro vibrations. Cinema control rings use a geared down system instead, which requires a wider rotation to produce a small movement on the lens, providing smooth and steady transitions. The larger knobs offer better mechanical leverage and targeted inertia. This allows you to operate the control by resting your palm or using several fingers steadily, reducing the shakes typical of the two finger grip required by standard control rings. In addition, Nauticam cinema series control rings are designed to work with lenses that have standard 0.8 MOD gear teeth, with almost zero tolerance.

Also, cinema lenses have hard stops at minimum focus and infinity. Normal photographic modern lenses have focus by wire, and unfortunately, speaking of my popular M43 lenses, the movement or focus speed is also variable, meaning the focus travel also depends on how fast you turn the focus ring. It is impossible to make transitions. Only on the most modern ones can you set them to linear and even set the range of movement, for example, 90, 120, or 180 degrees.

That is why, in situations where you have to change the focus point manually, for example in macro, with normal housings and lenses people use the old trick of moving the housing back and forth just a little bit.

It is a hard world for us 😁

Hey David,

Apologies for the late reply — I just got back from a shoot.

I primarily use Canon EF lenses, but depending on the project, clients will sometimes request specific lenses to achieve a particular look or shooting style. Because of that, my setup is geared to accommodate PL, Nikon, Leica, and Canon glass.

Obviously, changing lenses also affects the front end of the Gates housing and the port configuration. I have multiple extension collars that can be stacked as needed, along with both dome and flat ports depending on the lens and setup I’m using.

It gives me quite a bit of flexibility to configure the housing around the requirements of each production.