Davide DB

First of all: All underwater scooters are subject to torque effect. According to the law of action and reaction, as the propeller spins in a certain direction, an equal and opposite force is generated that causes the vehicle body to rotate on its axis in the opposite direction. In technical models like Suex, this rotation is compensated for by positioning internal weights asymmetrically or by using directional fins to straighten the water flow. This allows the scooter to remain stable during use, preventing strain on the diver's arms. When the motor is running the strategically placed internal weights counteract the torque and naturally stabilize the scooter with the control handle at the 12 o'clock position. So, if you mount your neutrally buoyant camera aligned with the handle the DPV will automatically rotate to keep the camera at the top as soon as you engage the motor. While stationary the camera mass might cause it to roll to the bottom but during motion the torque compensation does the balancing work for you and requires zero effort to keep the setup upright. TL;DR Just make the camera rig neutrally buoyant and put it aligned with the scooter handle. You will see that even when stationary the effort to keep it at 12 o'clock is basically zero. Ciao

I used open gate 4:3 several times with my GH5 and WWL. It works and it gives you some extra features in post, i.e. In macro static shot you can add a fake panning or just reframe. If available, I suggest to add the 16:9 reference frame on the display.

Hi Jiibby, Welcome aboard. We hope you like the forum Ciao

You could almost film a frog fish eating, almost.

I agree with you that in this era of hardcore DIY, there will be someone printing gears and extensions for ports already on the market. I can already hear the sound of @Dave_Hicks printer 😃 Maybe there will even be some Chinese manufacturer already working on something industrial. But is it worth it? And at what cost? We are entering luxury Weefine/AOI housing territory. Honestly, it seems like overkill to me. You end up with the price of a real Mirrorless kit but with only disadvantages: fixed focus, everything automatic. Look at the photos @bvanant takes with his OM and AOI housing 😉 Besides, I don't see all these lenses being suitable underwater. The GPM1 ILS has a crop factor between 2.7 and 3. Even the Pana fisheye would probably have a narrower AOW than the Canon 8-15 and 2x teleconverter that everyone is talking about here. Other lenses are even worse. A Pana 12mm becomes at least a 30mm. Good luck! Maybe close focus and macro... MF of course. Then again, I would be curious to see some interesting crazy project, but what I meant is that we are moving away from the target point-and-shoot customer. And if I have to deal with a pricey rig as big as a mirrorless with no economic or usability advantages, I don't see the point. Happy to be proven wrong. On the other hand, for underwater use, the iterations of the classic GoPro are very interesting. This ILS might make sense for fun use in land shots and for use as a crash cam in cinema. Ciao

Just a plain old cam band

Terrific post Dave! Pinned.

Thanks to everyone for the offer of help. Chris was the fastest and the result is perfect. It's not like they were some amazing photos. Just simple illustrative frames. Let's hope it was worth the effort. Thanks again

Yes, probably. Moreover nowadays nobody print anything. All marketing and published material is on the web.

For video work, a 60mm (120mm of FF) is really usable only in tripod.

Not bad for a first attempt. I notice that in many clips there are parts where the focus is not perfect or the camera reacquires focus. Therefore, I would suggest you take more care with the editing, using only the stable and in-focus parts. The 30mm is a very versatile lens. The most common criticism is that it reaches maximum magnification only when in contact with the port. But that is a non-issue: we do not necessarily always need the maximum magnification! It depends on the subjects, and also consider that the M43 system has the best macro selection overall with 60-90-120mm (FF equivalents).

I don't know what they didn't like. It's a film festival and I had with them only formal exchanges. I shared a folder with 5 good 4k frames and they replied to me that for promotional material they need 300 dpi images. I tried with my vintage Photoshop and results were meh

Thank you indeed. I will PM you soon

Yes it's 3840x1920 but they didn't like it and while I have a collection of NLE software and even a video upscaler, I have a vintage Photoshop 3.

I have been asked for a high-resolution photo (300 dpi) for a poster for one of my videos. I only have a photo extracted from a frame at 72 dpi. I tried with an old version of Photoshop but the result is not great. Is there any kind soul who has AI upscaling software and can convert a jpg for me? Thank you in advance

As I wrote I have that one and I've been using it for years: nice indeed but forget to attach/detach it underwater

Hi Ben, Welcome aboard!

I have the same monitor and I use the cold shoe on top of my housing with a long clamp. On my previous jousing I had a 10Bar crossbar but I had to change the 1" ball mounts on the housing.

Hi Rustico, Welcome aboard!

M43 user here. I used the 7-14 mm and 6" dome or 14-42 mm and WWL-1. Regardless of the lens/dome combination used the most important thing is a neutral buoyancy camera setup. Of course, a large dome will create more drag. It depends on the scooter too... 😉

Most of the footage was shot near Mount Conero, therefore central Adriatic, in what they call "the Italian Lembeh". The water is on average very cold. It is a shallow sea with strong temperature fluctuations that partly protect it from these tropical species. But for example near Venice there has been an invasion of blue crabs for years now which have destroyed all the clam farms. The blue crab has no temperature issues. For example the fireworm has unfortunately become quite common in the Gulf of Naples and specimens have also been sighted in Tuscany where I usually dive. For a project on alien species I tried to find them with no luck. Ciao

ILS model with the mighty Pana 8mm fisheye. You need a housing and of course electronic contacts. I don't see any formal M43 mount Alliance membership so IMHO for the moment DOA for underwater use.

IIRC still no sighting of it here in central Italy but I read several catches in the South. It is a Lessepsian species. The Suez Canal, the Aswan Dam and now climate change have done the rest... Regarding the baby pinna, I am sure that one is a Pinna rudis. They are the only ones left and after the death of the nobilis they are occupying their spaces. Notice that the ribs are more pronounced, the nobilis does not have them. Furthermore the top edge is almost straight while in the nobilis it is very rounded. There is a major artificial reproduction project for the nobilis in Italy. It takes a long time. Where I am it was full of them and they all died. Specimens one meter tall. Now only pinne rudis. Months ago we found a small nobilis and we are keeping a close eye on it 🤞🏽

Will Sea Frogs save us from breaking the bank account? 😂 Looking forward to read you feedback. Which port did you buy? Which lens will you use?

Hi Lutfu, I'm still on the GH5 😇 We were always in pairs. One GH5 and one GH5S and to try to have the best coverage, one would go down with the 24-70 (Pana 12-35mm F.28) and the other in macro. Typically the Panaleica 45mm and CMC-2 on the flip or with the flat port and the 14-42mm and the CMC-2 on the flip. For certain problematic animals such as shells we used gopros and the AOI UCL-03 macro lens in time lapse mode or just plain video mode left unattended.