Amphibico Endeavor with HVR-V1 review and field test

Well it looks like I'm jumping onto this ship. About to order either a FX7 or V1 and I'm going to be using the FXV1 Gates housing in December for a week or so. I'll decide then whether to go for a housing, wait for the EX1, or wait for something else. I'm really excited!

Cheers, Simon

I think Jules(Helioxfilm) was going to get his hands on the Sealux housing for a try out. The housing has some nice features. You might want to take a look and/or reach out to him.

Dear Ron and Simon,

yes, next week I will take part at the SanDiskRedSea shootout in Eilat and I got a Sealux HX7 Pro housing for my V1 to test. After the test I will write a review about it.

I think Simon had a chance to check the housing in Antibes, I hope I can give a detailed field test-review about it soon.

This is the smallest and lightest housing on the market with an external remote controlled monitor...

Jules

Yes I had a good look at the Sealux housing at Antibes. It was a nice housing with plenty of control functions and fairly light (as far as any of these housings are light!) and after talking to people who've used Sealux housings before I doubt that it would be anything other than indestructable!

I'd be really interested in hearing how you get on with it underwater Jules and I'll let you know what I think of the Gates once I've had a play with it, although it's not going to be untill late December that I'll be using it. Ron you're using the Gates aren't you? Any thoughts on it and/or pointers would be really appreciated.

I think I'm actually going to end up with the FX7. I used a V1 for a week in the summer and it was a very nice cam, but I wasn't over impressed with the audio on it (although that could have been the Sony mic in the conditions I was using it in) and I doubt that I'd ever 'need' to use 25P. About the only thing that I would definately use would be the downconvert to DVCAM, but I've got around that until now, so it's not essential. Also the cost is quite a bit lower - especially when Zoe's got her eye on the Nikon D300 and a housing for it!!

Cheers, Simon

Hi Simon.

Yes, I have the Gates housing. I'm very happy with it. I had a Gates housing for my TRV900, so I am used to manual controls. I was open to the possibility of the Amphibico, but I didn't like the fixed rear monitor, plus the a separate flip macro diopter was a feature I wanted.

The viewfinder works, but I recommend getting the external monitor for easy framing and focusing. I also got the top handle option. The handle and external monitor makes a nice combination when you need to record with the cam below you. I liked the flip diopter option because it allowed me to shoot macro and still have the option to flip the filter separately.

The housing is positively buoyant, which I think is a good thing. I find it a lot easier to add weight to a housing than to add buoyancy. They include a detachable 4lb weight to make the rig slightly negative, but I didn't use it. Adding the external monitor and handle, I needed about 2-3 lbs to get the housing close to neutral. I recently bought a few 1 lb and 1/2 lb fishing weights for my next trip. I like the rig totally neutral if possible.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. I'm actually anxious to read Drew's review.

Hi Simon,

Hi Simon,

The specs on the Sealux look very good. I had already ordered my Endeavour when the Sealux was announced otherwise it would have been a serious contender.

I was concerned about the monitor on the Endeavour, but it turned out to be just fine. I would recommend a dark mask if filming in bright shallow water to reduce reflections.

Ron is right about the flip filters. It would be nice to have both. The Endeavour is really set-up for the Phenom 94 degree port and there is not enough room for two filters and keep the optics perfect. The lens is convex on the back. If you have a flat port, it is easy to remove the filter from the holder and fit a dioptre. You can then fit a thin CC filter to the front of the camera. The camera will MWB through the filter in daylight or with u/w lights.

With the 94 degree port and the supplied weights the Endeavour is perfectly neutral, although as the lens is slightly offset to the left (to accomodate the handle of the camera) it does tend to tilt a little to the left. I need to experiment with the weights to see if I can correct this.

I look forward to the Sealux report.

My wife was looking at the D300, but as she already has the D200 she decided the increase in performance doesn't justify the expense. She has changed to Inon strobes instead. We are off to Manado in two weeks for the Asian Shootout so looking forward to some macro stuff

Roger

Ron I'll hold off firing a few pages of questions to you until after I've read Drew's review, which I'm looking forward to seeing.

Roger Zoe hasn't used a SLR underwater before and she's really excited about the liveview feature on the D300. So it's serious upgrade time and unfortunately serious £££££!

Oh well at least she'll be happy (hopefully) !

Cheers, Simon

Looks good Wags. DeanB, if you ordered their remote HD monitor separately it would come out like $175 less than the rear HD monitor upgrade. It should still have with the SD color monitor back too. I rather like the options of an external monitor from my previous housings. Still, the 94 WA setup with external HD viewfinder at around $8820 US (without lights yet) will require braver souls than myself to Beta test..... Hope the electronic WB bears out like MWB (Wags mentioned in previous V1 thread) though I still don't quite follow it not having had a 170. Can't wait to hear actual UW reports. John

John the review was done many moons ago:

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/amphibico-e...hvr-v1u-review/

I've also merged all endeavor threads into one official one for ease of searching.

Drew, interesting when I opened this thread from the V1 to the Amphibico yesterday there were only seven posts visible, mine posted as number 8. When I looked today mine was bumped to #129 and there was your review in its place as #8. Regardless, your review was impressive and answered a lot of my questions. Great work! John