Light & Motion Bluefin HD Field Results

Nick,

Re the record/pause button, i have not had any issues so can't help out. I probably have about 150 dives...so less than you.

Re the double push zoom, i have always found this to be inconsistent. Frankly i don't like the mechanism....would much prefer something more variable and adjustable. However, since i don't zoom much, it hasn't been a big issue.

I suggest you contact L&M on the issue. I may be at ADEX and could probably carry a board over for you if i did.

-shawn

Thanks Shawn. Have just emailed L&M about it.

I will probably be at ADEX so if you come it would be great to meet up. If a new board is forthcoming then it would be great if you could bring it. Alternatively I may be able to pick one up from L&M Singapore distributor Scubacam in May. Cheers

Nick, have you replaced the batteries in the handgrips? The controls start to get sluggish and inconsistant well before the batteries are dead. I replace mine at the first sign of trouble, and before a big trip.

Dan

No Dan, not yet. I'll try that. The double-press problem has always been there.

after about 250 dives i am getting just the same problems, i changed the batteries but it stays the same

After a couple of hundred dives the operation of the record/pause button on my right hand grip has become inconsistent. Sometimes it doesn't work. It has to be pressed really hard and deliberately to be sure it works, as if the contacts inside are wearing out or contaminated. This cost me a couple of special clips on my last trip. Sure there's the same button on the left side but I'm totally used to using the one on the right grip. Anyone else had any trouble like this?

Nick:

Funny you should mention the record button on the right side. I've got about 100 hours on my unit and a few weeks ago when i was in the Bahamas the same thing started happening with me. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. In any case, I have to really press hard on that thing to get it to engage at all. These days I'm just adjusting to the left hand button because I don't have enough down time to send it off to Light & Motion. My Lights button on the left side has never worked. I guess I looked at it kinda glass half-full, because the results I'm getting with this unit have far outweighed the little inconsistent-sees.

I thought it might be a battery that needed replacing, because I've been using that thing pretty hard since October. Maybe it's something else, though.

Greetings from Provo...

Looks like a pattern emerging here. I'm guessing it's wear or contamination/corrosion on the contacts in the button. I've emailed L&M and will let you guys know what they say.

Also sent word to L&M that this is a pervasive issue. Expect to hear back shortly.

Shawn,

It's Easter weekend - it may be a few days before there is any one at the L&M office.

Thanks Russ. Great to see L&M represented again directly here on the forum!

My single weight on the right side is still in the same place as it was before the problem started so I don't think that alone is the problem. But I haven't tried new batteries yet. Will do.

Russ, what depth might start to cause trouble with the older weaker springs? Mine was fine at 46m. I don't want to get stiffer springs if I don't have to since I got extremely achy thumbs using my mate's Amphibico VX2000 housing for a liveaboard trip. That had stiff springs behind the buttons. Also because the stiffer the spring, the more likelyhood of a wobble at the end of each clip.

Ah, Ok, the change was Jan '06 not '07. Thanks.

Another possibility may be salt crystals making the buttons stick. After every dive while submersing the housing in fresh water, I press all the buttons in/out about 5-6 times, take it out of the dunk tank and press all of the buttons in/out another 5-6 times, and then repeat the entire process all over again. My buttons all work great, and I have the pre-Jan.06 springs installed. I just now learned of the heavier springs.

Dan

A change of batteries in the right hand-grip fixed the record button issue for me, so it must have been a weak IR signal as the batteries started to flatten. Brumpy, maybe your replacement batteries were already a bit flat?

Hi Russ, thanks but those batteries are easy to get and pretty cheap here in Phuket. I've CC'd you on an email to Paul Barnett about this. cheers

You know, I still haven't fully grasped the behaviour of the double-press of the zoom buttons to get a fast zoom. The cadence seems absolutely critical, and it seems that the first press after a delay doesn't seem to be recognised as the first of the 2 presses. But sometimes it is When I'm in a hurry to re-frame before some marine life disappears this can delay me.

With reference to future L&M housings of this type, I was thinking that I would happily sacrifice the momentary auto-focus button on the left hand-grip (there is also one on the right grip) so that this could be used to control the zoom speed. You would hold down the button at the same as the zoom buttons on the right grip in order to get a fast zoom. If I remember rightly Amphibico did something similar on their VX2000 housing.

Some sort of vari-zoom or (my personal preference) access to the mechanical zoom rocker would be even better, but I think what I'm suggesting would be preferable to the hit-or-miss double press.

How do other users feel about this?

Yep I agree. My Bluefin 950 was the same and so is my FX1. I'd rather go for some sort of manual control. I'd also prefer what Gates do on their housings for manual focus, just a simple dial connecting with the lens barrel via cogs! The manual adjust on the bluefins is hit 'n' miss.

You can get the best price & service from Backscatter. www.backscatter.com

Kent

Here's something to look out for...

I recently did a month of shooting in Indonesia. At the end of one muck dive in the Lembeh Strait I noticed a drop of water on the inside edge of the Bluefin's top window

Basically a lot of that fine Lembeh muck had settled down in the groove around the window and finally interfered with the o-ring enough to cause it to leak

I wasn't certain if I could dismantle the window and clean the o-ring in the field without damaging something and blowing the whole trip, so I did a second dive to confirm, with the top of the camera wearing a nappy constructed of sanitary towels (pics below ) and again I got a single drop of water

After a very helpful call with Paul at L&M I was able to remove the window by covering it in a folded tea towel and tapping it with a hammer from the inside. I then cleaned everything, regreased the o-ring, and it's been watertight since

However I have noticed that there is muck in that groove again so I do think it's something that could be improved in future designs of this type. Perhaps a secondary seal to keep out the muck, or just really tightening the tolderance between the window and the body.

Other than that the housing's still serving me pretty well