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A gamechanger doris smarthousing?

sorgiew
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sorgiew Anemone

sorgiew

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The possibility of using the same housing for different cameras is very interesting and justifies the higher costs

 

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Barmaglot Hammerhead

Barmaglot

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...and just like Easydive, it does not appear to have any knobs besides lens zoom, i.e. shutter speed/aperture/ISO/exposure compensation/etc have to be managed by button presses instead of knob/dial rotation.

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Chris Ross Leviathan

Chris Ross

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I think the devil will be in the details.  The easy dive housing that has been made for a number of years certainly hasn't exploded in popularity.  A number of reasons behind that, one being that the housing has to be quite large to fit all those different models.

 

You will notice that is doesn't have a viewfinder as such just a large window somewhere near  where a camera viewfinder might be.  The housing needs to have an adjustable camera mount so that the lens is centred in the port.  The location of the viewfinder centre line in relation to the lens mount centre line is quite random so precise alignment of the viewfinder to the housing back can't be achieved - so no 45° viewfinders for this housing as it stands, unless they develop an adjustable position for the viewfinder port.

 

Another potential problem is if you don't use the cameras on-off switch (mechanical) you have to turn on the camera before closing the housing and leave it on probably disabling sleep functions so it doesn't shut down between dives.

 

On the price remember it's an Aussie website so price is $AUD, probably about $US 5300 or so.

 

Be interesting to see the finer details of it though.

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Nemrod Blue Tang

Nemrod

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I would rather an integrated product that consisted of an exoskeleton that interfaced mechanically and electronically with the internal photo module. Which could be replaced and upgraded with both firmware and software and with a one inch sensor or M4:3 sensor to keep it compact and travel friendly. A fixed 24-75/90M zoom integrated into a fixed port with macro and designed to use water contact optics for wide angle and fisheye perspective.

Barmaglot Hammerhead

Barmaglot

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I don't see anything that looks like a viewfinder on that Facebook page, but I suppose it's technically possible to build an external HDMI monitor with a small, high-density display and a mask-adapted eyepiece, effectively an external EVF instead of a regular external display. I can see a number of advantages to this approach - you could have arbitrary orientation and tilt, for one, instead of the fixed 45-degree or straight optical adapters that are prevalent in the industry, you get an extra stabilization point for your camera, and at the same time avoid the weight, bulk and drag of a typical 5-7" housed monitor and occlude all the potential sun glare. You could also take a page out of Marelux book and integrate some dive computer functionality into the same display. On the downside, there is no way it can be anything but eye-wateringly expensive, and, depending on camera and electronics used, it could suffer from some display lag.

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Chris Ross Leviathan

Chris Ross

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3 hours ago, Barmaglot said:

I don't see anything that looks like a viewfinder on that Facebook page, but I suppose it's technically possible to build an external HDMI monitor with a small, high-density display and a mask-adapted eyepiece, effectively an external EVF instead of a regular external display. I can see a number of advantages to this approach - you could have arbitrary orientation and tilt, for one, instead of the fixed 45-degree or straight optical adapters that are prevalent in the industry, you get an extra stabilization point for your camera, and at the same time avoid the weight, bulk and drag of a typical 5-7" housed monitor and occlude all the potential sun glare. You could also take a page out of Marelux book and integrate some dive computer functionality into the same display. On the downside, there is no way it can be anything but eye-wateringly expensive, and, depending on camera and electronics used, it could suffer from some display lag.

try this link, hopefully it takes you to the post:

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BHGYrvWKt/

 

It's the bottom left photo on the post with the guy taking a photo with his phone, the Viewfinder is on far right of photo and is as you described.  Have to wait for some field reports to see how it works in practice.

Barmaglot Hammerhead

Barmaglot

Posted
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23 minutes ago, Chris Ross said:

try this link, hopefully it takes you to the post:

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BHGYrvWKt/

 

It's the bottom left photo on the post with the guy taking a photo with his phone, the Viewfinder is on far right of photo and is as you described.  Have to wait for some field reports to see how it works in practice.

Oh yes, now I see it.

 

I suppose, however, that this is something that should, in theory, be possible to use with any housing that has a bulkhead for an HDMI cable, unless it relies on power supplied from inside the housing and uses a custom connection to facilitate that.

Davide DB Leviathan

Davide DB

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

I think the devil will be in the details.

 

Absolutely.

For Easydive, basically the camera tray has an integrated electronic board which connects to the camera (a model via usb and another via Wi-fi) and translates controls to the handle. Main controls are mapped directly but other controls are accessed via menu. IIRC correctly, forget custom buttons and such. 

I had investigated for my Panasonic and the functions I use most often for video. several functions were impossible to have mapped directly.

So, yes, the devil is in the details.

Also, their ports and domes are not great. I know several users who use the old Igloo/Underwave crystal domes. They were very popular in the days of film and both Easydive and Isotta were compatible.

The advantage is that if you change cameras, for a few hundred euros they reprogram the electronic board in the tray and you are ready. They even send you a firmware update by email for the wi-fi version.

On the latest models you can switch off the electronic board from the outside and the camera goes directly into stand-by.

Then I don't really remember what the problem was with the bulkhead for the external monitor.

In short, a world apart. It's a solution you either hate or love. There are no half-measures.

hedonist222 Marlin

hedonist222

Posted
Posted (edited)

A friend of mine with a Sony A7r3 and a Seafrog housing moved to the Easy Dive housing.

 

He's an avid photographer like us - annual trips with no less than 500 photos.

 

He's said there are so many shortcomings with the ED.

 

Many unmapped buttons. Fewer accessories. 

 

And the biggest irk is having to exit out of a menu to review a photo.

 

This entails several "back button pushes" to exit the menu system you are in, then enter another system that lets you review photos. Then exit this system and return to the shooting menu system. Then to add salt to the wound, it takes a few seconds when switching between menus. Everyone knows a few seconds underwater not only feels like an eternity, but costs you shots you could have taken.

So much wasted time.

 

There are a few other things that I cannot remember now. But I determined that this is more of a commercial camera than a personal one. Think Deep Dive Dubai or aquariums - where they can spend X amount on a housing then only need to pay a bit to upgrade software. A lot of cost savings but not something for an avid photographer.

 

He is now vehemently looking to move to a Nauticam or Marelux.

 

I'm just pointing out that non-mechanical housings have limits. 

Edited by hedonist222
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Chris Ross Leviathan

Chris Ross

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, hedonist222 said:

A friend of mine with a Sony A7r3 and a Seafrog housing moved to the Easy Dive housing.

 

He's an avid photographer like us - annual trips with no less than 500 photos.

 

He's said there are so many shortcomings with the ED.

 

Many unmapped buttons. Fewer accessories. 

 

And the biggest irk is having to exit out of a menu to review a photo.

 

This entails several "back button pushes" to exit the menu system you are in, then enter another system that lets you review photos. Then exit this system and return to the shooting menu system. Then to add salt to the wound, it takes a few seconds when switching between menus. Everyone knows a few seconds underwater not only feels like an eternity, but costs you shots you could have taken.

So much wasted time.

 

There are a few other things that I cannot remember now. But I determined that this is more of a commercial camera than a personal one. Think Deep Dive Dubai or aquariums - where they can spend X amount on a housing then only need to pay a bit to upgrade software. A lot of cost savings but not something for an avid photographer.

 

He is now vehemently looking to move to a Nauticam or Marelux.

 

I'm just pointing out that non-mechanical housings have limits. 

This of course is about the Easy dive housing which never seems to have taken off  .  The Doris housing that is the subject of this topic seems to have made changes from that and how well it works will depend of the firmware the housing uses to control the camera.  I think though that it will be hard to beat using a dial to set shutter and aperture and other common adjustments.   We'll have to wait to see the reviews.

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