Everything posted by eocean-eu
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Custom battery Solutions For Our Housings
If you want to measure what you really need in terms of powerbank, I would buy one of those USB-C charge monitor that inserts between power source and equipment. check the values on the screen of V, Amps, Watt when the camera is on and running. This will tell you the PD mode in place and amounts of watts needed. consider a powerbank that is able to deliver the same amount of watts (W) to its pins. Warning: between modes and phases (camera turning on, record starting), that can change. then consider the capacity of the powerbank (Wh) of the battery you need by deriving the number of mAh needed to cope with the PD mode which will set Amps and Volts to deliver the needed watts. You can also do something else: Consider the power the internal battery deliver : P = Vout x mAh = Wh Add a multiplier factor of P to the capacity (and time) you want to add up in extra to the battery Look for a powerbank of that capacity. The first method is probably more precise. The tricky thing is to think in terms of capacity (Wh) rather than fiddling with V and I as this is the principle of PD. The powerbank is doing the work to output power properly.
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Panasonic L10
I remember on the LX100 I, I used to switch battery on every dive for video but more to make sure I don't run out of battery while diving.
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Custom battery Solutions For Our Housings
You should have a look in the manual for the amount of power required for the USB-PD input of the camera. Most of the time, the manual will tell that the camera usb-c power input is compatible with any PD adaptor of at least xxx Watts. Then the powerbank or whatever USB-PD circuit designed to power the camera should be of that power. It's worth having a look at that wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware#USB_Power_Delivery and that one to understand how USB-C pins are used https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C#USB%E2%80%91C_receptacle_pin_usage_in_different_modes and one of the module I was mentioning to connect a li-po drone battery (some are much smaller as this one is 100W) https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005008518344389.html?dp=CjwKCAjw5s_QBhAdEiwADD_gBl6Sf4CpfA7MDLyOTQeTNwrb3FBRLP2ptaQk2ObaTm2RnVpEbncBzBoCf6EQAvD_BwE%40251641
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Panasonic L10
This housing is very NA-LX100 looking (and there is an error during the product photoshoot with a Canon lens showing up along with some accessories).
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Custom battery Solutions For Our Housings
USB-C PD is some sort of a IC-controlled way to power a device as there are a few handshakes between power source and IC inside the camera to ajust volt and currents. It's super risky to assume you can power a USB-C port without following that protocol. There are circuits that connects on li-ion or li-po batteries or whatever types of power source into USB-C PD compatible outputs. They won't fry the camera and batteries won't burn and they are just a few dollars/euros.
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Panasonic L10
I don't think it's a very relevant comparison to compare the L10 with the Gopro ILS because those are two vastly different products for different use and customers. You can compare it to a RX100 or any compact camera but action cam are not comparable to compact expert cameras. Action cam by default are not photo dedicated and have been since a long time consistently bad at replacing compact and smartphones for photos. And for video there are things that you easily do with an action cam that cannot be easily done with a compact and the opposite is also very true. Different tools for different jobs. That being said, the LX100 mark I was called a baby GH4 at the time because of its good video performance. The L10 might be a baby GH7. I enjoyed a lot my time with the LX100 for several years of video before moving to the GH5s.
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Panasonic L10
It is very similar to the LX100/LX100II. I had 10 yrs ago the LX100 and it was a very good compact camera for underwater use especially for video. I just hope the LX10 does not have the LX100 plague i.e. a non dustproof lens barrel as it was an expensive repair to have the sensor cleaned.
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Nauticam USB-C bulkhead mini review
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.
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Nauticam USB-C bulkhead mini review
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.
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Nauticam USB-C bulkhead mini review
I got mine from Diveinn for 55 euros last month but now both models are about 80-85 euros.
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Nauticam USB-C bulkhead mini review
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.
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Upcoming Insta360 Z one
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/
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GoPro Mission 1 Series
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.
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New Nikon ZR Cinema Camera
It's a pity they poorly encoded the video. There are lots of compression artefacts.
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Nikon F-mount 60 mm+adapter on Z-series Nikon for Nauticam MWL-1?
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.
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Nauticam housing - what is this blue thingy?
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.
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New Nikon ZR Cinema Camera
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.
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Nauticam USB-C bulkhead mini review
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.
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Video rig buoyancy
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.
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Video rig buoyancy
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.
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Kraken 5.5 "ultra bright"u/w monitor
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.
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Nikon Z8 firmware update
Nikon finally addressing the HDMI blackout issue when shooting video in this release is a really welcome update... and I confirm it works :)
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Kraken 5.5 "ultra bright"u/w monitor
Personnally, I've been using DIY FPV HDMI cables. It's cheap, compact, easily replaceable available on Aliexpress, Amazon. You just need to properly insulate the PCB for the HDMI plugs. No soldering required. I've been using that on my GH5s and Z8 for years without issues. Those ribbon cables are also present inside some UW monitors like the Weefine WED-5 and WED-7 and also Gopro housings from Hugyfot.
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Insta360 X5 underwater
"Upscaling" is some sort of fancy extrapolation: it creates additional information from existing information but this is radically different than a sensor that would actually capture the missing information. Some people might not notice that because their attention is focused on something/one in the center of the frame but there might be something unusual if one looks at the fine details in the corners or when action is fast. One thing also is that quality of Youtube streams that makes comparison a bit hard but since most people publish their things online on FB, Instagram or YT, sometimes even without the most appropriate encoding parameters, that makes many video look "acceptable". Rendered files before upload would probably useful to watch. I've seen a review between the Insta X5 and Ace Pro 2. 4K X5 is close to the Ace Pro and it's sometimes hard to tell the difference. When the math are done with the same coverage, the Ace Pro is still winning but the gap is small. About geometry, it's possible that something is wrong or there is a step missing in insta360 studio for the new model. The first generations of Gopro before the 3 had dome housings and the resulting quality underwater was extremely bad untill someone started to make housing with flat port. The OSMO360 is terrible underwater because there is no housing and the 360 lens is simply made for air and not water therefore all the optic is messed up. But there is also one thing. It's inherently different watching a video and watching a photo, those cameras are made for action and the brain will focus where the image is sharp and may not notice the corners. There is a comparison between the pro and non-pro housing underwater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS0EI9In7yw. I was a bit disappointed by the near lack of differences on the sharpness in the corner and front. The big benefits is the loss of flares.
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Insta360 X5 underwater
I think those housings probably have a magnet in the housing that triggers the dive mode like in some other housing. 360° video and resolution has always been a tricky and confusing story in regards to sharpness and video definition. Most people don't do the math of the number of pixels used for each degree of coverage and this value is actually key to understand sharpness. As you did, if you compare the number of pixels by degree of coverage for a 360 camera and a regular action camera, the sharpness of the 360° is always bad at the same 2D resolution. For reframing/tracking a moving subject, those camera are good with usable results in HD. For 4K work, it's starts to be suboptimal and of course, it won't be usuable for any macro work.