Davide DB

I've just seen this little guy popping out from some FB posts...

Fro your question basically just browse and read previous messages on this thread. Everything is described in great detail already...

TV and film have always demanded products with characters and stories with certain characteristics. While this used to apply only to fiction, it now (unfortunately) also applies to documentary. This has led to bringing to the screen an increasingly overt dramatization of nature and its characters, breaking in part the contract between representation and audience typical of documentary. The use of famous people as hosts in nature documentaries is the latest in this escalation. Will Smith, Obama or characters like Steve Backshall completely turn the perspective upside down, becoming themselves the focus around which everything happens. Nature becomes the stage for their egos. Conversely, David Attemborough, with his British understatement, although he was always the main host in all his documentaries, was never cumbersome with his presence. Rather, he was always a kind gentleman who would almost take you by the hand on journeys into the natural world. The intention behind these editorial choices is clear and perhaps even not bad in itself: to attract a wider audience to a genre considered (wrongly) niche. I, personally, do not like it but everyone has his own taste. I find that in this way the public is treated as a mass of fools incapable of getting excited about natural events. And maybe there is a kernel of truth to it: in an age when we are constantly exposed to thousands of contents, everything falls flat and it's a shouting match. Or maybe I'm just too pessimistic.

Thanks, we have a lot of question on that action camera 🙂

Hi Wags, Welcome aboard! I'm sure you will find here a lot of familiar names. Ciaooo

This always applies 🤣

Of course, such filming is done only with a rebreather. What struck me about the footage in the documentary is also yours is the amount of fish and their confidence with people. Here in Italy we have destroyed everything. I also found some kind of 360-degree BTS video from Serge Dumont.

With an optional CMC-x flip holder...

More than just sea. I know someone will appreciate 😉 Yesterday I happened to come across a beautiful documentary about the largest freshwater reservoir in Europe, in the Upper Rhine River Valley. Simply stunning and another shot scored by a French documentary filmmaker 😉 The Invisible River - Under Water between the Black Forest and the Vosges (2019) Director: Serge Dumont Writers: Serge Dumont, Frank Nischk Narrator: Paul Bendelow Genre: Documentary Language: English Synopsis: Between the Black Forest and the Vosges it’s not only the Rhine that flows slowly northwards but also another waterway, hidden from view. The largest groundwater reservoir in Europe forms an underground river in the Upper Rhine Valley, which gives rise to wetlands of unique beauty – home to rare animals and plants. Underwater cameraman Serge Dumont, whose work has won numerous awards, has captured this unknown world in breathtaking sequences. He gets closer to the inhabitants of this biotope than any other documentary maker before him. Pike and great crested grebe pursue their prey right in front of his lens. This wildlife filmmaker, who is a professor of biology at Strasbourg University, has managed to record behaviour patterns of fish and birds never seen before. The film also reveals the fascinating world of insects, amphibians and microorganisms in these biotopes. For the first time, Serge Dumont was able to film dragonflies laying their eggs in plant stems up to two metres below the surface of the water. It’s their way of ensuring that the eggs don’t dry out when the water level drops. The film transports us into an alien world filled with bizarre creatures we would never suspect lived right on our doorstep. The wetlands in the Upper Rhine Valley owe their existence to the constant flow of clean, unpolluted groundwater. This is increasingly affected, though, by the excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture, which poses a real threat to the small paradise habitats. “The Invisible River” shows uniquely the great biodiversity dependent on pure groundwater – and just how important it is to protect it.

Good News. I'll look forward to see some simple clips

Yes of course you can. I've been using this combo for 5 years without any problems. But since I was coming from another 5 years of the classic dome solution, I had noticed that the stability of my shooting had deteriorated. My friends used to tease me that I was getting old and my hand was shaking. Then I had the counter proof by reusing the 12-35mm and the dome. It depends on the focal length used. The defect is much less noticeable at maximum wide but zooming in is more pronounced. With the 12-35mm I can be stable at 35mm (70 equiv.) In free water. With the 14-42mm zoomed to maximum behind WWL absolutely not. So it also depends on what kind of shooting you do. For narration you use narrower focal lengths usually. I'm splitting hairs of course 😉

This was the thread I opened while ago. It's strange I was the only one to notice it but we are few guys to shoot video with wet lens.

While the used market is full of camera bodies, housings are like unicorns 🦄

How does it work tracking AF for video on your A6400? Did you make any test on moving UW critters?

Well let's say vertical video is only good for social networks, for reels or stories or shorts. If you decide this in advance then you have to pay special attention to framing with the final crop in mind. The full 8:7 sensor format of the latest Gopro generations helps a lot in this but I think the AOI lens vignettes in this mode. Maybe even if it vignettes you have more room to reframe the image. I don't know, I've never played with it. Again, I don't know if you have, starting at 5.3K you have the option to reframe the shot slightly. the clown fish are too high. You should remove some of the stones. You can also help by slightly enlarging the image. Resolve works wonders.

It is a pity that marelux does not have a housing for Panasonic GH6/7. it happens once in blue moon that two models have the same bodies. I see that they supposedly have a housing for OM1 but it looks like just a rendering and there is no port chart for M43 either. As I have already written in another thread, the GH7 does not seem to follow the glory of the GH5 despite being impressive in the video features it has. On the other hand, Nauticam's policy of pricing the housing like that of a flagship FF does not help, and the GH6 housing while being absolutely out of the market for its price, does not even have a joystick like Nauticam's flagship housings. What a shame.

15cm Nauticam HDMI cables are outrageously priced

Out of curiosity, What's wrong of this native lens? No stabilization, huge MFD? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1277527-REG/sony_sel50m28_fe_50mm_f_2_8_macro.html

Yes Surrender, you're surrounded!!!

Yes the typical footage is like the last clip. 3/4 from behind. I usually lose my patience right away. This one was particularly quiet. It happens once in a blue moon.

Wow, tough decision!

Good to know! Were you using an original Nauticam cable? No problem on my GH5 housing but I couldn't find a third part cable compatible because the space is really tight! BTW I was referring about the external bulkhead position. The combination of its position and straight monitor connector gives me just one option to mount it and not the best one. I had to completely change my arms configuration and i'm not satisfied.

Even if I encounter them for the thousandth time, I still find these fish fascinating. They move almost magically, like ghosts, with an unexpected swiftness. In the depths of this dive spot, there’s a resident colony of about ten individuals. Speaking of rebreathers, thanks to the fact that we were diving in closed circuit, some individuals allowed us to get very close—a rare occurrence here. In the end, we were the ones who left, not them 👋🏼 Technical note: With the WWL-1B, I can't get this quality while zooming (perhaps also due to the flimsy 14-42mm kit lens), and the footage always has a slight wobble. I believe the camera’s OIS is thrown off by the focal length change caused by the wet lens. This dive confirmed my impressions. I was using the Panasonic 12-35mm F2.8 with the 6" acrylic dome. It had been a long time since I used it, and this dive brought me back in sync with my camera. The footage is finally rock steady, with stabilization working perfectly, and the lens is incredibly tack sharp, especially when zoomed in. All the shots are at F4-5.6. Put on your headphones and turn up the volume!!! 🔊🔊🔊

Is it very heavy? How about cable routing? My Nauticam GH5 has the worst hdmi input position.

I was also considering upgrading to a 7” but I saw one in person and it is really huge. I don't know. IIRC the Weefine 7” has a brightness of about 500 NIT. Classic value of the older generation of monitors. I would look for a last generation 5" monitor with at least 1000 NIT brightness. Especially for you, diving in tropical waters. Lately I bought a new 1000 NITS monitor to use for land shooting and I am delighted. It is priceless to shoot in bright light and not need the sunshade.