eocean-eu

Just as a remark, previous circuit board using CR2032 were less power hungry than than CR2450. I totally agree with that: NA-GH5 : CR2032. Lasts a week even with the system always on. NA-Z8 : CR2450. 2-3 days despite those cells are twice the capacity of CR2032.

I actually did that mod on the NA-GH5 with a reed switch (magnetic) but there is a big trick behind as you are right: the circuit needs to sense the vacuum forming when one to go from yellow to green. That implies removing the vacuum during "rest time", turning off the circuit then turning it back on and restoring vacuum. The pushbutton Nauticam puts on their housing that allows to rearm the alarm when switching ports is not a "normally open" pushbutton but a "normally close" model. Contact is broken with the pushbutton is pushed which meaning it just turn off momentarily the circuit when you press it. So you need to solder in parallel to that switch a "normally close" reed switch which are hard to find unless you use a reed switch with 3 pins (the common one, a Normally close and a Normally open pin). By locating the reed capsule close to a wall of the housing and placing externally a strong magnet, you can then arm and disarm vacuum. You then don't have to open the housing, just release and redo vacuum before diving. With a usb-c bulkhead, I did a 10 days cruise like that without ever opening the back of the housing. The bulkhead was used to charge battery and download files. Every morning I just had to remove the external magnet so the circuit was ready and then start to pump.

I got mine from Diveinn for 55 euros last month but now both models are about 80-85 euros.

A big advantage of the Kraken bulkhead over the Nauticam one is that the Kraken is compatible with a higher number of Nauticam housings than the Nauticam plug because the cable on the Nauticam is not removable and the one on the Kraken is which makes a huge difference in favor of Kraken. I experienced this on the NA-GH5: the 90° USB-C plug simply won't go through the M16 port while on other housing like NA-Z8, it inserts well into the M16. The difference on the housing is just the thread length on the NA-GH5 that is longer than its equivalent on NA-Z8. I wish Nauticam has made a bulkhead with a removable cable. I've solved this issue on the NA-GH5 by using Kraken bulkheads. With the proper adapter (like I it), you can even fit it on a M14 port.

Only after a few days GOPRO released infos on their new Mission series including the ILS version with MFT lens (without electric contact), a few infos have leaked from Insta360 about a compact camera with MFT mount and this time with electric pins on the MFT mount. The Insta360 model is bigger than the new Gopro and probably not aimed at the same public, it could be a nice compact camera on a segment that has been left behind by Panasonic and Olympus in favor of bigger and more expensive camera bodies like the GH series. https://thenewcamera.com/insta360-mirrorless-camera-first-hands-on-photos-rumored-specs-and-expected-release-date/

Not necessarily DOA for underwater use as there are many non-electronic lenses that can actually be used underwater (e.g. Laowa or TTArtisan) in the macro or wide angle world. But the bigger problem I see is since no manufacturer does focus/zoom/aperture ring for those lenses, using those lenses will require DIY solutions such as 3D printed gears and ultimately that means unfortunately that there is a low probability that as a manufacturer makes a housing for such system as it would requires them to develop also lens gears. There has been a few camera body for studios (e.g Lumix BS1H, BGH1) that could have had their own housing from Nauticam with an MFT established port chart and it never happened for some reasons.

It's a pity they poorly encoded the video. There are lots of compression artefacts.

Normally once you have the FTZ adapter set up, you should refer to the N120 F-mount port chart to use F-mount lens on your Z housing. I do that for my EMWL and F105 and it worked as it should. I assume this is the same for the 60mm lens.

It is only made to rearm the vacuum sensor in surface in the case change the lens by opening only the front port. In that case, you don't need to remove the back of the housing turn on/off the vacuum sensor, you only need to press the blue button on the front and do again the vacuum with the pump until green light. The blue button actually press the switch at the back of the housing.

It has the same handles than on the NA-GH5 so it gives an idea of the size of the housing. The internal mechanics is probably very simple in comparison to other housings which might lower down the price but to this extent it's unusual from Nauticam. The NA-GH5SV is for example more than 5500 euros.

Ikelite maikes also one USB-C bulkhead. It has the advantage of having on both end a female usb-c plug which means you can connect whatever cable USB you like inside the housing and fits any M16 port (including those Nauticam housing that can not accomodate the angled USB-C plug... BUT it's not watertight so if the watertight cap is compromised, it will flood the housing. It is about the same price as the Nauticam bulkhead. I have one installed on my NA-GH5.

I was recently in a similar situation except I saw a TG6 slowly ascending and drifting in the current in front of me. It still took 2 mins for the owner to realize he lost his tg camera. What if I haven't happened to be nearby... The boat was moored and nobody watching the surface. It would have been probably lost for good. From what I read and saw in the field, one common point with many lost camera seems to be the weird habit of people simply clipping their rig to their BC. Many people think it's a safe practice and this is also what some photo/course teach. At some point, for various conscious or inconscous) reasons, a diver may release his/her hands off the camera thinking the camera is safe and at that moment, the underwater magic can happen, (probably the same one that apparently unties knots). While I have the capability to clip things in case of emergency ascent, I never clip my gear so I have to keep my hands on it all the time and I haven't lost anything from small action cams to big equipment.

For action cam itself, no but Some people assumes a floating camera is easier to find when lost at sea or during a dive. It depends on many things but personally I think things lost, sitting on the bottom on a dive site are easier to find than a floating and drifting dot at the surface. If you have big lights, arms, a tray and your action cam, it can weight a lot and be painful on wrists on the long run.

I simply use basic electric tape most of the time (laziness) but you can also use heat shrink tube or insulating spray (best option since this is what people use in the FPV drone world). It's possible that PCBs are already insulated but I haven't checked and there are a few manufacturers with slightly different PCBs.

Nikon finally addressing the HDMI blackout issue when shooting video in this release is a really welcome update... and I confirm it works :)