Nikolausz

I heard that it has been improved with the X3, on the other hand, X4 is a bit wider. I hope they can manage to further improve the stitching.

I know that it's intended as a joke but it's a valid question. Further away from the middle of the lens view (can be defined as "corner") the quality really deteriorates. Especially the stich line (stiching of the two lens' 180 degree views) is blurry in my X2 videos. I hope it improves a bit with the X4 but I don't expect wonders.

Insta360 just released the new X4 camera 8K 360 degree camera with underwater housing. I use an X2 version and it's a very useful member of my toolkit. Maybe it's time to upgrade. There is even an underwater review by Brent Durand out:

Yes, this could be a major issue

There are few exceptions, but in my opinion, it could be a standard. The extra space requires some new designs but it would be not that much extra cost (you may correct me, I have no experience in UW housing production) and the extra power banks are also not that expensive (and can be used also above water). I like Tino's DIY solution, but it's too complicated for most, and a correct housing design would make it unnecessary.

I use a Sony A6400 mainly for videography. It has a relatively small battery, so practically I have to change battery after each dive. Above water it's not a big deal to swap batteries, but on a small boat between dives it's PITA. Most of modern cameras can use USB power with an attached external battery with larger capacity. Unfortunately I have no space in my underwater housing to squeeze any external power bank. I was just wondering why is this not the standard in underwater housing design. It would be huge advantage for underwater videographers but it would be welcomed by photographers as well. What do you think?

I like it a lot. Garden eels are beautiful creatures. Where was it filmed?

I have only vignetting when I use superwide or full sensor readout.

yes, the good old wi-fi hack I will try

Thanks. For a long while I haven't done any serious photo editing. It's from the jpeg but I also have the raw file, so the picture could be further improved.

I have been using my action cameras almost exclusively for videos but few weeks ago I was experimenting with remote controlling my GoPro 12 and decided to give a try to photography. I placed my GP12+AOI on a tripod and stayed on the bank of the river waiting for the fish. I used burst mode (10 photos) and so far, I'm happy with the results. What do you think?

There are adapters for smart phones as I remember

I use an A6400 mainly for videos and I'm absolutely happy with it. It can deliver high quality results and A6700 has some considerable improvements. The 3 most important specs of the A6700 for video are i) 10-bit video, ii) sensor-based image stabilisation, iii) larger battery. I also agree that 120 fps is overrated ( I tested few times with my GoPro12), it is useful for slowing down some fast action (predation) but for stabilising standard footage it is overkill. 60 fps is enough most of the time (I miss this in my A6400, it can only shoot 4K 30 fps)

The close-ups are fantastic but the corners of the wide angle sequences are not good.

I use seafrogs vacuum system. Maybe it's not perfect but better than nothing. I just assemble the camera into the housing, close it. On the top there is a screw with o-rings where I install the vacuum system. After pumping out of the air a sensor led turns into green. If it stays 10 mins like that, then the system holds the vacuum, so the sealing is fine. After that I release the vacuum, unscrew it, then scew the closing cap back, and the system is ready to dive. It doesn't stay under vacuum. It's recommended not to dive with the vacuum system is on the housing, but it's possible. However, I wouldn't do that.

Löbejün, Germany, but the diving is not allowed any more and even the sturgeons were transported to another lake. Sad story, it was a great place.

Yes, sturgeons. They were very friendly.

For a while I used a DIY tetrapod based on Loc-line parts. I'm about to disassemble it for a new project and I thought I share it here. It didn't work that well. It was noisy and adjusting position was not easy. Don't try this direction. I hope you can learn from a failed project. You can see it "in action" (also a good example of wrong lighting set up) in this video:

It's not for us.

I had a project last year to film a catfish hunting during the night. I only have a sony A6400 aps-c camera and a 10-18 mm f/4 zoom, which is a fine set-up during the day. I had 2 video lamps and the I managed to film some nice footage (3 night dives), but still I felt that a full-frame sensor would be proper for this job. I'm planning to try it again this year, but after calculation of the cost to switch to full-frame and considering my budget, I decided that instead of complete switching I just purchased a bright aperture affordable prime lens (sony 11mm f/1.8). I hope, this will be a significant improvement (2 f stops) with a minimal investement. I hope it will be good example for the use of prime lenses underwater

Today I also observed some problems with the AOI lens. Probably some sediment particles were trapped between the GoPro and the AOI lens (or in front of the lens), which caused visible errors. This might be a problem in low visibility situations.

I also posted a real comparison including clips taken with "naked" GoPro without the AOI lens. You have to check the corners and the fish swim close to the lens. For me, this lens was my best investment in this year (so far)

Thanks. I think, it would be not that difficult to produce specific bayonets for popular action cameras, such as Insta360 Ace Pro or DJI Osmo Action 4 (and later). GoPro is still the most popular one, and the underwater housing is the same for many generations (10-12), so it makes sense to support this brand first. I can imagine even that a 3rd party brand will specifically support these alternative action cameras. Finally Backscatter has its own adapter with filter slot. By the way AOI is also designed for smartphones.

I left my tool I use to position the cameras, so some footage are slant, but I included those, so you can check the corner sharpness. I'm absolutely happy. Even the chub very close to the lens is perfectly sharp.