Amphibico Endeavor with HVR-V1 review and field test

I was going to suggest that... in a nice way of course.

Mark you can also record an ilink signal without control from the camera. But it's record on/off only and the drive can take only 270mins of HDV. Not much of a time lapse.

With the V1, which the DR60 was really designed to work with, it's easy to get even days of timelapse with d/c power. And you save your tape head with the V1 as it can shoot direct to the DR60 without using a tape.

Is there place for the unit inside the housing?

Not in the Endeavor no. It may possibly work with a F550 battery and a bigger housing. The only problem is that the DR60 requires a tape to shoot with the video housing controls. If you want tapeless, you have to operator from the DR60 controls, which is impossible inside a housing.

Here are 2 screen grabs, processed in PS CS3 for text and Pixel Aspect Ratio correction.

The first one is the unwhite balanced image and the 2nd is the electronic white balanced image. As you can see, it works very well.

Update:

The photos are now all 1920x1080 full res.

Here is before EWB. Please look a few posts down for after EWB.

Nice Sun Fish

Hey are you sure you got the pixel aspect ratio correct?

Looks more 4.3 on my screen.

Oh that's because I didn't do it.

Edit:

Here is the mola mola after EWB

If I were you, I'd adjust the near so I can get my face as close to the monitor as possible. That and the new hood that Amphibico is working on should alleviate the shallow water issue.

Thanks for your comments Drew, I take your point about the near vision. Presumably the new hood will be a tube, so that we can look down a black hole. It would make the use of the buttons on the monitor difficult, but once the monitor is set up I don't see that it would be necessary to change things during a dive. The expanded focus option is redundant on the monitor as it is available elsewhere on the housing.

As regards the labelling of the buttons. The Iris controls, the three on the back plate, and the handle buttons are labelled, the others are not, but I cannot see that it really matters as we will be feeling for them rather than looking.

Cheers

Roger

I'm not sure what kind of hood it'll be. I was just told that they are redesigning the hood and will factor in the shallow water reflection issue.

You have more labels than I had. But since I was reviewing the housing, I 'sussed it out. And some people are lookers rather than feelers.

uhhhhh, so there's zero to gain by using this for time lapse photography with a Z1 then? What happens when you have to swap out the tape? Do you have to suspend writing to the unit?

Cheers,

Mark.

Mark I forgot to add that for what you are looking for, the Focus Enhancement FS4Pro HD may be a better option. Since HDV is interframe, the FS4 can only do timelapse recording in intraframe DV. The FS4 Pro HD also handles different formats. Something to think about.

Actually I had 4 in place and it was just barely negative with the F970 battery.

That is interesting. It must be a new thing as my older Amphibico housings had labels. I'll clarify with Amphibico on this. I thought it was just a prototype issue.

Interesting. Try using a brick wall to look for barrel distortion. I saw a very small distortion in my tests. Negligible but it's there.

If I were you, I'd adjust the near so I can get my face as close to the monitor as possible. That and the new hood that Amphibico is working on should alleviate the shallow water issue.

Thanks mate but that'll have to wait until I get back home. Tapes are there plus my internet connection is too slow for the few clips I have with me.

Question about macro, Drew: how would describe what you were able to shoot with the 94 degree port by way of macro" 1:1? 2:1? 3:1? I have purchased pretty much exactly the production version of the prototype you worked with. Have been too busy at work to even hit the pool with it yet. My prior rigs were LMI Bluefins for the TRV900 and then the PDX10, and I used the Macromate wet diopter to get some pretty nice macro. O believe the claim was that the Macromate on the standard LMI port would allow you to get 3:1. I certainly have shot frame-filling shots of pygmy seahorses. I'd be pretty happy if the new setup will do 2:1 without adding

diopters inside the housing, flip-out or otherwise. What's your judgement of what it will do?

--Richard

Richard

The same port on the Phenom/FX1 with a macro +2 on the internal flip arm can do this.

Hope this give you some idea how well the 94 degree port works with a macro diopter on the flip arm.

First of all....zoomed right in with no Macro +2.

Then with Macro On...........................

Feather star arm touching port.

Full wide from this...

To this (same camera position) full zoom in with maro +2 on, you can zoom in more with it.

Full zoom in with macro

Wide

Full zoom with macro

Richard

I really didn't have many macro subjects to shoot in South Africa. I will say that with the 20x full zoom of the V1 and focus macro on, I could fill about 3" full frame horizontally. I suspect with 30x digital zoom it'd be closer (albeit with the requisite rresolution drop).

Also I only had the dome port and the 94° OPWA. There's a flat port that is available too.

If you want to fill the frame with H.Denise, I suggest a +3.5 diopter. Of course, achromatic diopters give a better picture overall.

Richard

I really didn't have many macro subjects to shoot in South Africa. I will say that with the 20x full zoom of the V1 and focus macro on, I could fill about 3" full frame horizontally. I suspect with 30x digital zoom it'd be closer (albeit with the requisite rresolution drop).

Also I only had the dome port and the 94° OPWA. There's a flat port that is available too.

If you want to fill the frame with H.Denise, I suggest a +3.5 diopter. Of course, achromatic diopters give a better picture overall.

Thanks, Drew, and thanks for the shots, Wagsy. I am guessing that I will get a bit more length (and therefore, magnification) out of the V1 than Wagsy did out of the FX1, due to the difference in zoom--20x vs 12x. I'm really hoping to avoid buying another port of the beast, and plan to just leave the 94 OPWA on. From your review, Drew, it sounds like I will be able to get by without red filter to pretty good depths, so putting a +3 diopter on the swing arm is probably where I'm headed. Is there *anything* special about these diopters? I know Amphibico sells a +1 and +2, but I am pretty sure these are just single-element 67mm thread-mount closeup diopters. Century Optics (now Schneider) sells a +2, +3 and on up to +5 for $68. Would these just work?

--Richard

Pixelpeepers like myself tend to like dual element achromatic diopters for the lower abberation and full zoom through.

I believe the diopter century optics suggests for the FX7/V1 is the 72mm diopters with a stepup ring. I would get the dimensions with the ring then check with Amphibico.

Actually in my review, I said the range of the WB on the V1 wasn't spectacular. You are probably getting about 7-8 stops max. Regardless, if you are shooting macro, use lights... simple as that. If your subject doesn't like light, and is deeper than 12m, then you'll have to preset the WB to swing as red as possible and use the WB preset. Without a filter, you'll find very little headroom to work with. You'll have to do the coloring in post. But that's why you bought that shiny new computer for anyhow.

Drews right, macro you use lights so no need for CC filter.

Here are the ones I got, you take the glass out of the ring and it will go into the flip arm.

That's if it uses the same flip arm as the Phenom.

And here it is on the flip arm.

Flip it out of the way if something big swims by

I have yet to get some achromatic diopters, they should work well with the Macro Dome Port as you have lots of room in there..

The flip arm looks the same.

Can you tell me how you get the fliter out of the arm, I cannot see how it is done, and it does all look a little fragile!

Roger

Roger if it's the same arm, the URPRO filter should be held in there by 3 little lugs. Just hold the whole thing in your hand and push the filter out from one edge. Take the flip arm out to do it if you want.

To get the macro glass out, it's held in the ring by tiny a circlip, I used some tiny watch making screw drivers to pri out the circlip.

Thanks Wagsy

Good God it must be late at night in Oz.

Cheers

Roger

Pixelpeepers like myself tend to like dual element achromatic diopters for the lower abberation and full zoom through.

I believe the diopter century optics suggests for the FX7/V1 is the 72mm diopters with a stepup ring. I would get the dimensions with the ring then check with Amphibico.

Actually in my review, I said the range of the WB on the V1 wasn't spectacular. You are probably getting about 7-8 stops max. Regardless, if you are shooting macro, use lights... simple as that. If your subject doesn't like light, and is deeper than 12m, then you'll have to preset the WB to swing as red as possible and use the WB preset. Without a filter, you'll find very little headroom to work with. You'll have to do the coloring in post. But that's why you bought that shiny new computer for anyhow.

I asked the same thing from Gates (72 mm vs. 68 mm), they told me that I can use a step ring. Century lists the 72 mm diopters in the V1 product list, they do not produce 68 mm diopters.

Gyula

The V1 is a 62mm filter size