Gates HC7 Housing (Thought you might be interested)

I have been reading these forums for a while and biding my time waiting for the right housing, still undecided but gates has gone further up my list as of today.

I emailed gates asking about the time frame for the HC7 housing and a control for the white balance.

Here is their reply

"The design team has recently been discussing just that option. The

control will be $97.00 extra - an option only - and bear in mind that

the control you want access to is on the camera's LCD screen. This

means that the knob of that control will block the lower right corner of

the LCD screen.

We are on track in production and it looks like another 4 weeks for the

HC7."

I emailed back asking exactly how much of the screen will be covered... Will let you know what they say.

This is my first post so I'd like to thank everyone for the goldmine of information and opinions you guys have given me.

Happy Diving

Tom

Hi Tom

Welcome to the forum and we look forward to seeing what you end up with.

Good luck.

Hiya Tom

Did Gates ever come back to you with a response on how much of the LCD screen was covered by the MWB control?

Would be interested to know.

Cheers, Simon

They said it would "only block the very lower left hand corner" slightly vague answer, but I'll just wait and see the photos when it comes out.

Tom.

They show a small picture on their website. If you enlarge the picture it gets blurry but you can stll see the control and area affected.

Not bad... So is that like a mechanical wand that touches the touch screen?

The Gates is starting to rise on my list of possible HC7 housings...

My Gates housing for the HC-7 will arrive next week. Right now, I am just a snorkeler, so I didn't order the white balance control. The daylight white balance setting with no blue water filter worked well in Hawaii last year in bright, shallow water (on an HC1 in a Ewa bag). What attracted me to this Gates housing is the shaded view of the LCD for accurate framing at arms length, the small size and weight, the Gates reputation, and the option to use it for diving once I have learned how. I may regret the lack of manual white balance eventually.

I'll be able to provide some feedback on its performance in several weeks.

Pat

I would think the white balance control could maybe retrofitted to that window??

Well keep us posted on your new Gates HC-7!

Hi ozanners,

Hope all goes well with the Gates purchase, I'm using their product for the first time, albeit on a larger scale for the Sony HVR-Z1U. Big beast but the housing is solid. One thing would be to go for the additional control options that may exist i.e WB, Shutter Speed and Iris.

Cheers,

Mark.

Mark or anyone...

What would you recommend in terms of ports for the HC7 Gates housing. Read the other thread in the Gates FX7 housing but some of it was over my head... For someone who is not a pro videographer and can't justify plunking down for that nice Fathoms port w/ zoom thru, would the next best thing to do is to get the flat port for macro (wonder if the "flip" filter can fit a diopter) and then the Gates WA port (GP25A)?

Mark or anyone...

 

What would you recommend in terms of ports for the HC7 Gates housing. Read the other thread in the Gates FX7 housing but some of it was over my head... For someone who is not a pro videographer and can't justify plunking down for that nice Fathoms port w/ zoom thru, would the next best thing to do is to get the flat port for macro (wonder if the "flip" filter can fit a diopter) and then the Gates WA port (GP25A)?

The Fathom WP25 is a nice lens, about $895 and covers a very good range with real good quality

The Fathom WP25 is a nice lens, about $895 and covers a very good range with real good quality

Thanks Drew. It's either the Gates GP25 @$580 or the Fathom's WP25 @890. You wouldn't know how much you can zoom thru with the WP25?

The SWP25 would be reeeal nice but I just can't justify a $2,700 port right now:D

Hi pakman,

I would be careful about planning for a diopter and filter arrangement. I cannot fit a diopter on my camera, not even the single element same width as your regular UV filter one, and then expect to have the ability for the flip filter to work. Gates engineers work very close to many of the distance tolerances with their lenses and ports.

If you want to look at putting a flip filter over a diopter I would suggest going the other way. Buy, bastardize and place the orange filter into the lens barrel of your camera. Place e retaining ring in the thread to keep it in place and then place the lens, diopter of your choice on the camera so long as you are using the correct port selection for that lens or diopter choice. If going for Macro I would strongly suggest a flat port and no filter. Are you using lights? You never mentioned that so I'm wondering if you are planning to shoot ambient light macro on shallow reefs and aim to get a certain amount of color due to the filter usage.

Wide angle should be with the filter, and affordable wide angle lens option and the dome port. Budget is obviously the factor but your post says it all. You are just starting out. Get some nice footage, see if you can eventually sell some to buy future equipment. By that time you will be more knowledgeable and understand better what works and what doesn't and of course what you do and don't need.

Hope all goes well.

Mark.

My Gates HC-7 housing arrived today. I unpacked it, read the instructions, and put the camera in for a few minutes before the battery ran out. It is a beautifully designed and manufactured instrument. It took a short while to get the hang of operating the controls. I ordered the basic FP25 flat port and SP25 standard (dome) port. These are Gates' low end ports, but they should suit my needs for now. I'll be able to report on underwater use in May.

Cheers,

Pat

Hi pakman,

I would be careful about planning for a diopter and filter arrangement. I cannot fit a diopter on my camera, not even the single element same width as your regular UV filter one, and then expect to have the ability for the flip filter to work. Gates engineers work very close to many of the distance tolerances with their lenses and ports.

 

If you want to look at putting a flip filter over a diopter I would suggest going the other way. Buy, bastardize and place the orange filter into the lens barrel of your camera. Place e retaining ring in the thread to keep it in place and then place the lens, diopter of your choice on the camera so long as you are using the correct port selection for that lens or diopter choice. If going for Macro I would strongly suggest a flat port and no filter. Are you using lights? You never mentioned that so I'm wondering if you are planning to shoot ambient light macro on shallow reefs and aim to get a certain amount of color due to the filter usage.

 

Wide angle should be with the filter, and affordable wide angle lens option and the dome port. Budget is obviously the factor but your post says it all. You are just starting out. Get some nice footage, see if you can eventually sell some to buy future equipment. By that time you will be more knowledgeable and understand better what works and what doesn't and of course what you do and don't need.

 

Hope all goes well.

Mark.

Thanks Mark. I reckon the HC7 housing only has room for 1 flip filter, so it would either be a diopter for macro or red filter for wide angle. Actually bear with me as I'm new to video. For wide angle, say if I went with the Fathom's WP25, do I require a screw-on wide angle adapter for the camera itself?

As for lighting, I'm looking into converting a 21W HID dive light I already have into a video light. Possibly 2x21W if I decide to buy a friend's used light as well.

My Gates HC-7 housing arrived today. I unpacked it, read the instructions, and put the camera in for a few minutes before the battery ran out. It is a beautifully designed and manufactured instrument. It took a short while to get the hang of operating the controls. I ordered the basic FP25 flat port and SP25 standard (dome) port. These are Gates' low end ports, but they should suit my needs for now. I'll be able to report on underwater use in May.

 

Cheers,

 

Pat

wow, that was fast... Do you mind me asking who you ordered your housing from? Well look fwd to hearing your feedback on your new toy:D

Pak, i have the GP25 on my 950 housing, i get about 75% zoom on it for the macro stuff. I thought it did a pretty good job of macro but a diopter sure would have helped. And for me the ability to change out the dome was pretty important and i have this tendency to scratch things..

No, you don't need a WA screw on for the camera, there is an actual WA lens inside the port

Pak, i have the GP25 on my 950 housing, i get about 75% zoom on it for the macro stuff. I thought it did a pretty good job of macro but a diopter sure would have helped. And for me the ability to change out the dome was pretty important and i have this tendency to scratch things..

 

No, you don't need a WA screw on for the camera, there is an actual WA lens inside the port

Interesting Mike. So without a diopter and say I was able to get a 75% zoom behind the GP25, what are we talking about in terms of subject matter. a good size nudi? or a moray eel head?

I forget which port and diopter our DM was using in Palau but I was amazed at how he was able to nearly fill a frame with a crinoid squat lobster I was struggling to fill with a DSLR (1.6x crop)+100m + Nexus Diopter.

If the Gates FX7 housing didn't have a flip diopter and flip filter, I was going to experiment with grinding down the front of the diopter retaining ring. You might be able to grind it down enough that the flip filter could still be used.

That would let you use the diopter & zoom with lights for macro and then flip the filter in for standard angle no zoom, no lights shots.

Diopters are cheap, like $15-20. Cheap enough that if I grinded one down and it didn't work, so what.

wow, that was fast... Do you mind me asking who you ordered your housing from? Well look fwd to hearing your feedback on your new toy:D

I ordered it from Joe at Marine Visions in Texas. He had about 10 in his initial shipment, most of them may have been claimed already, but you might check. He's very helpful and a good person to do business with.

Pat