Gates FX7 Housing Update

OK, just got back from a 1 week trip in the Caribbean. This was my 1st opportunity to get the housing and camcorder underwater.

I am only a hobbyist. I don't have the knowledge experience or skill of most of you on this board. I won't be making a full detailed report like Drew did with the Endeavor, but will offer to answer any questions.

My previous UW video experience has been with a Sony TRV900 and Gates housing.

The Gates FX7 housing worked great. I didn't get to try out all the controls UW as I was concentrating on diving/filming. Topside all the controls worked fine. UW I used MWB, manual/auto focus, push auto focus, ND filter, flip filter, flip diopter.

MWB worked great and I was surprised to find I could get a lock w/o the filter at depths much deeper and darker than with my TRV900.

Low light was better than my TRV900 as was overall color and of course detail.

The top mounted monitor was perfect. The monitor and top handle allowed me to get all kinds of shots I never could with the rear viewfinder. Speaking of the viewfinder. While I could see through it fine topside, underwater was definitely less than ideal. The top monitor spoiled me and I would advise anyone buying this housing to get the monitor. If you can't afford the HD version, get the SD version. The monitor made framing a breeze.

There was a lot of particulate in the water so, I mainly shot with manual focus, using push auto frequently when I changed position. The flat port worked as aspected. The standard dome port was a nice surprise. I was able to zoom about 50% before losing the picture. With the FX7 than means 10x. I didn't think to try the flip diopter with the dome port. I imagine that would allow even more zoom.

I used the +4 diopter all week. I wanted to get in real tight on the arrow crabs and peterson shrimp.

The housing is positively buoyant. With the top monitor, I tie-wrapped a 2 lb dive weight to the bottom of the stand to get it close to neutral.

Like I offerred above, anyone have any questions I would be happy to answer them.

Wags, can I send you a few raw M2t files ?

Thanks for that Ron.

So you had the monitor, standard wide port and needed a 2lbs weight strapped on to get it close to neutral. Was it still positive or negative? How was the balance and stability on the housing? I know this is the biggest housing you've used but does it feel like it?

I started using a small BCD weight pocket so I could experiment with different weights. 2lbs made it very slightly negative. At the end of the week, I took away the pocket and zip tied 2lbs and it was very slightly positive.

Balance and stability was good. The flat port balanced horizontal. The dome port slightly front up. My lights/arms created a balance problem. Both are negative and I didn't need to add weight to the housing, but depending on where I positioned the lights/arms, the housing balance was thrown off. Next trip I'll use the Ultralight buoyancy arms and put the 2lb weight back on.

For me, getting the housing as close to neutral and balanced as possible really helped keeping things still for macro shots. I plan on stopping at my local fishing store and buying a few 6oz and 8oz weights. I imagine most dive resorts/boats won't have anything smaller than 2lbs.

The housing handled great underwater. Above water it was heavy compared to what I am used to. Heavy enough that I will want a room close to the dive shop.

I just posted a link to sample videos hosted on DivxStag6 in the sharing section of the forum. Should give you guys an idea on how the FX7 and Gates performs.