Which port?!

Hi,

Having now decided (with thanks to people on here) on the Gates housing for my HC7 (with w/b control) - what port should i get? First two trips are with big stuff if that helps.

Thanks,

Chrissie

Hmm... well I can only speak for the Fathoms WP25. It's pricey but not that much more than the Gates wide port. the SWP25 is in a league of its own especially with its price tag... Nice thing about the WP25+HC7 setup is that it does allow full zoom thru. So I am holding off on getting a dedicated macro port for the time being.

Would be curious to hear from others on the Gates wide port. I recall Mike Veitch mentioned that he was happy with his on an old Sony DV gates setup. But I think you only get partial zoom thru.

I love my SWP25 on my Gates HC7. Full zoom through and great optics. The super wide angle came in very handy at Cocos a few weeks ago. The lens comes with a buoyancy tube to compensate for the additional weight. It came with a bungee to hold it in place but I knew the tube would move in current, so I made a small bracket to hold it steady. That worked perfect and I was amazed at how balanced the overall housing was, slightly negative and perfectly horizontal.

Big stuff needs the big ports as the small stuff needs the flat port. Dictated by your subject matter as you correctly pointed out. I have the SWP44 monster wide lens from Fathom, 120 Degrees (117 actually) and its just too wide for everyday use. I normally use that for Wrecks, Unique Environments, such as Jellyfish Lake seeing as I live in Palau, and for when I go to Manta Ray dive locations. Whilst the lens also offers 100 zoom through I prefer to stay wide at every opportunity, moving closer to the subject matter if I am looking for closer detailed shots etc. For the rest of the time I have opted to use a regular glass dome with a Sony x.8 wide lens on the camera. Because I then have to dismantle the internal flip filter on my Gates Z1 housing to accommodate the lens I have placed a CC filter inside the lens barrel of the camera and hold that in place sandwiched between two rings taken from filters that I no longer needed. For the white balance I have an Expodisc bastardized and retrofitted into the hard acrylic / plastic dome protector from Gates.

All works fine.

For Macro I use flat ports and a combination of Achromatic Diopters from Century Optics (now Schneider). I use either a +3.5 or a +2 and at times I stack these with the largest factor lens closest to the camera (the +3.5 screwed into the camera and the +2 on top of that). However these lenses are quite substantial in their sheer size and seeing that a lot of housings don't have too much available space between the camera and the inside surfaces of ports etc it is a toss up as to whether you can use these products for your macro applications, happy to say that my Gates allows me to stack the lenses, just!

If you can't use the achromatic diopters due to space constraints in your housing then you can use single element diopters. These are the same thickness as your regular polarizing filter or UV filter etc. The only draw back using these single element diopters is the fact that they will give rise to chromatic aberration of your imagery, manifested by a vignetting at the image periphery. This will also be a fact when using stacked achromatic diopters but to a much much lesser apparent degree. You can also stack these single element diopters but be warned, the more you stack the more severe the periphery deterioration of your images.

Here's a small montage of image stills taken from single and stacked diopter shoots during a recent trip to Lembeh Straits.

Cheers,

Mark.

Here is an example of what the SWP25 can do. This is what I see through the back of the housing. Both pictures were taken 10" from the subject. The first at full wide and the second at full zoom. The eyes you see are 1 3/4" wide.

Fab shots

Rick

Here's a small montage of image stills taken from single and stacked diopter shoots during a recent trip to Lembeh Straits.

 

Cheers,

Mark.

Thanks Okidiver,

Had a blast taking them, now editing.

Cheers,

Mark.

Hey Mark,

Great shots...for the pigmy seahorse, which diopters were you using? The seahorse is in perfect focus while the polyps are not, yet the length difference between them cannot be significant. Very interesting.

Steve B)

Hey Steve,

Good to have you back. Hope Bali was good to your CCD's!!

For all the tiny macro subjects I was using a combination of achromatic diopters, a +3.5 and a +2. Through positioning I could line up the shots so that the limit of the Depth of Field, DOF, would create a 'filmic' look. Next time you watch a movie, any movie, you'll see that many of the shots are taken using a very shallow DOF. That is that say, the actors head is in focus but the background is blurred, the DoF is set to have that effect.

When using a combination of diopters, at least the above mentioned combination, I had at my disposal a DoF that measured about 6mm (a quarter of an inch)! So I had a lot of issues where things were moving around in and out of that depth of field so much so that they would sometimes move to a distance that would render them out of focus! NUTS! I have head shots of Nudibranchs for example where the Rhinophores (horns) are in focus but the lungs in the background are not. I like that feel to images. Mind you it makes for challenging dives.

It can be frustrating at times but thats what it's all about. Getting good imagery.

Cheers, and I'm hoping to be able to share these and more moving images with you soon.

Mark.

Can't wait to see your stuff Mark.

Slightly OT... When you are shooting with stacked diopters, and doing super macro, are you using a tripod?

Check the new post - Shooting Macro and Extreme Macro - sorry forgot to link.

Mark.

Despite me wishing i had endless buckets of money - i haven't, so what's the best cheap option for an all rounder with a view to buying something good to add to it after a few months??

FP25

SP25

GP25A

WP25

Chrispie

Hi Chrispie,

When I was selecting my system I went for what I could just about afford, at the top end of the scale. I'd suggest you do the same without breaking the bank. Get the best optics you can currently afford for the impending trip, something best suited to the type of filming you're gonna be doing in the next 6 to 9 months. No point spending out $450 for an achromatic diopter if you're not gonna use it until next year, right? Likewise there's no point buying a good wide lens if you're going to a Macro destination.

I'm sorry I don't know what the Lenses are that you mention. Knowing the Gates line I'd hazard a guess that the FP is a Flat Port, SP is a Standard Port, GP is a General Port and WP is a Wide Port? May be an idea to list them and actually referring to what they are and their prices individually to get better feedback.

Hope this helps.

Mark.

hello, i am new in this forum and maybe i will buy a gates housing and the WP25 for my sony hc9.

@pakman, you wrote:

"Nice thing about the WP25+HC7 setup is that it does allow full zoom thru."

are you able to zoom fully ? or did you mean the SWP25 Port?

Hoping with my setup HC9+WP25 i will have also full zoom.

many thanks - your answer would help a lot to decide the port.

Wilfried

Wilfred, that is correct, the HC7 does full zoom thru with the WP25.

many many thanks, thats great news .

Seems i will order this gear.

cheeers Wilfried