Sea & Sea VX-FX1 housing

Ok, so I received my HDR-FX1 today from Mike Luzansky at http://www.h2ophotopros.com/, and am waiting for the Amphibico Phenom, external monitor and 35-50 HID lights from him (he gave me a great deal).

But out of curiosity, why is there little discussion about the Sea & Sea VX-FX1 housing? Not that i am going to jump ship, but was just wondering what everyone's thought were.

Dave, there was a little bit of discussion here:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12275

Are you thinking of a last-minute change or what?

Nick

The only last minute change I should have done is use the damn search feature! lol....

I will guess there is little discussion as that housing seems to be a cross between manual and electronic, yet with the price of the Phenom.

Dave I think the Phenom and L&M stand out as they have the LCD screen, you will really use it allot, in fact you may even find yourself taking off the external screen.

It's great to do things like rewind the tape and watch what you got while still underwater.

The Phenom is one solid perfectly balanced housing while the L&M is a work of art along with no vignetting.

There are people who have had problems with the Phenom but have not heard any for the L&M as yet but I suppose you get that with any housing.

Just pop a +2 dipoter in a flip arm and get that MWB mod going, zoom in abit and you should be laughing.

And congrats on your new setup.

Why do you not consider a Gates housing Dave?

Anders

Global, it wasn't trick enough! lol....The Gates doesn't have the top viewing port, and there are more controls available on the Phenom right on the handles.....I guess it is a Ford v Chevy argument though......or an Inspiration v a Megolodon rebreather.....

...or maybe Open Circuit Vs. ECCR... :-)

I am trying to decide on a housing for my Z1 myself, but I am currently leaning toward the Gates anyway, even without the top window. LMI is tempting, but something makes me a bit weary about electronic housings, and good customer service is crucial for investments of this magnitude. I know first hand that Gates has excellent CS and they are situated locally for me as well.

I just spoke to Amphibico, and apparently they have scrapped the attempt to make a super wide angle lens for the Phenom housing. I guess that means that the vinjetting problem will remain. Too bad since it is such a magnificent housing otherwise.

Anders

Amphibico says that the vignetting only occurs on some computer screens while editing, not when you are playing the DVD, and they said definately not when playing it on a widescreen plasma....

Some have said the top view port for the Phenom is harder to seee than an external monitor, but then I have heard external monitors suck when it comes time to focus.

EVERY time I have called Amphibico, they never seemed like they didn't want to spend time explaining everything....I have always been treated quite well on the phone by them.....if their customers services is anything like their telephone help, I will be in good hands.

Mike at h2ophotopros has a Gates and external monitor for his Z-1 and he is really happy with it.

The gates is a very nice housings as well, but the LCD is very good to use giving one a very sharp clear picture, only Amphibico and L&M have it. If Gates had the LCD I would add it to the list. I would use the LCD about 80% of the time on a dive. Today I shoved the housing under a low ledge and looked through the LCD sideways to frame the shot etc, no way with a monitor ontop or view finder.

I have a Navigator 900 as well and love the flip screen on it.

The sun/protector shade I made for my Phenom really works great, tilting it to stop the sun reflections and good transport guard.

The vignetting will be seen on any DVD you make that is played on a computer.

Playing the same DVD, it will not be seen on a normal screen designed to display TV unless the overscan it turned off on the screen/TV.

I just now Zoom in abit so it's not really a 94 degree but more like 84 degree lens, abit more still than the standard lens on L&M. With the flip macro diopter in you have still 100% zoom through and not only have macro but it allows one to zoom in tighter than normal with it in. Great for getting in close from 1-2-3 meters away.

With the MWB mod you will be able to have more colour control. I will post a HD clip I shot today in clear blue water to show abit later on.

The vary zoom control is very good but the vary focus needs to be more mechanical and I mainly use push to focus to lock onto a subject. Its good to use to spin the focus to infinity though after a tight shot.

Auto exposure works well but there are many times you have to go to manual and fine tune.

If you have to replace a handle later on down the track it's very easy and Amphibico should have stacks for years as it looks like all their housings now use the same handles.

Im also thinking that if Sony bring out a new FX/Z1 replacement, because the housing is so big it might possible to fit re use the housing for later models.

Im also thinking that if Sony bring out a new FX/Z1 replacement, because the housing is so big it might possible to fit re use the housing for later models. rolleyes.gif

Oooo wouldn't that be nice!

Gates new aluminum boyancy system for the SWP44 sits on the top in the "rails", and would block that window. In a way, I think the need for extra boyancy systems is a basic flaw in the design, since it should be possible to make the housing perfectly neutral with the heaviest glass port on withouot any add-ons. Especially since HD shooters often choose that option. LMI has been able to do that with the Bluefin HD (that is at least what they claim). But then some people I have talked to do not seem very happy with the LMI customer service. In my opinion, an electronic housing needs excellent support from the customer service department.

It seems to be very difficult to create the "perfect" housing...

Anders

Ineed Anders, as I see it each of the FX1/Z1 housings has drawbacks.

The trouble with aiming for neutral buoyancy is that you not only have the variable of port weight, but you also have the variable of the weight of any lamps. According to Gates their FX1 housing is 2lbs positive in the basic configuration, which I reckon is probably about right as most users will add something negatively buoyant to it (e.g. bigger port, external monitor, lamp batteries).

This excuse that vignetting will not be seen on TVs is wearing a bit thin. So much material is viewed these days on a computer screen and those black corners stand out like a sore thumb. Personally the vignetting is enough for me to pretty much rule out the Amphibico.

However the top window does seem to be a distinct advantage to the Amphibico and LMI in most people's eyes. If I go for the Gates I'm thinking of creating a parallelogram style bracket that spans the whole housing and will allow the monitor to be swung from above the housing right down behind it to allow the housing to be squeezed into tighter holes. Haven't really thought it through though and I guess top-mounted buoyancy tubes might get in the way. Perhaps I could create 2 different mounting positions that can be changed underwater, one above and one behind the housing. Any thoughts?

Nick

Not sure what they mean about L & M customer service - call in business hours from worldwide and have access to someone who has a solution - Sound like pretty good service to me. .

Call from the otherside of the world with an issue and parts / replacements turn up 3-4 days later - sounds pretty good to me.

Call from the middle of the 3rd world via an agent to get a part for 2nd hand 3rd party piece and that get it in 2 days - sounds pretty good

With out a doubt the L & M Bluefin housing rocks come on 110 degrees

Yeh Yeh We know we should of got a L&M... but hey mine is bigger than yours....

Hey peter, do you think the L&M wide angle could go on a Phenom if an adapter was made?

"Not sure what they mean about L & M customer service"

I really hope that that is the case, because if it is then LMI Bluefin HD is a very strong contender in my book... Some stories I have heard from people owning LMI states quite the opposite, but a customer can easially feel neglected if they do not get help right away. :-)

I am sure LMI do their best to give good CS since it must be in any companys best interest to do so. Bad news travels fast, especially in the smaller market of the dive community.

If I finally, after some more research, find the CS at LMI to be satisfactory enough for my demands, there are no problems with the control arms, and it truly is neutral with the 110 degree port, the LMI may turn out to be my choice afterall. Otherwise I will go with the Gates.

Anders

Well it's not just the quality of the CS but the fact you have to use it so much.

But perhaps things have improved.

"Well it's not just the quality of the CS but the fact you have to use it so much."

:-)

I talked to them about this since I in Sweden personally witnessed two brand new TRV-900 housings not function due to control arms that did not work straight out of the box. That can be quite annoying for both a divestore manager and customer alike...

When I talked to LMI recently about issues like this, they said that the buttons on these new housings has been redesigned and these problems do not exist anymore.

They claim to have used the bluefin HD housing for 6 months frequently down to 250 feet with no issues at all.

Hopefully this reconstruction has corrected this issue since they now have buit an awsome housing in most other respects. It is however also more pricey compared to the Gates setup, and a Gates with 120 degree SWP44 will be a couple of thousand dollars cheaper compared to a LMI with the 110 degree port...

Anders

My experience with L&M customer service has been quite good. Turnaround has been quick and they don't nickel and dime.

Living in the US makes it even easier b/c they are a few states away.