Gates FX7/V1 Housing Review

I think it has been mentioned that they've stopped selling the FX7 in the US Steve. It still appears to be available throughout the rest of the world though and I'm sure we'll see the V1 on sale for a few years to come.

Cheers, Simon

I gave him an old 52mm Sony WA lense & and a step up ring to get started with. The results are nothing short of spectactular. He fits the UrPro filter in between the camera & lense and is interestingly totally vignette free.

You mean 72mm, Mr Mooney? 52 will definitely vignette.

Although the housing is fairly large and bulky, I think Gates did that intentionally to allow more trapped air and therefore make the housing positively buoyant. It's nice being able to add lights, monitors, internal lenses, tripods and still have a neutral rig.

Possibly. It can be also that the housing uses the same mold that is used for other cameras (XH series) and thus a cost saving measure . The rear bulkhead changes to accomodate the different cameras but the width and height stay the same.

Well designed light heads are usually nearly or even neutral. Batterypacks will definitely make the housing negative anyhow. And the purpose of a tripod is to be stable and thus a negative buoyancy is better for that.

With the V1/FX7 design, the VF isn't magnified, so the monitor is almost essential to the package. If anything I think it's the other way round, that they need the weight to balance the bulk of the housing. Mechanical housings will always be bigger than electronic housings by virtue of the control arms needed to operate the camera.

I'm sure we'll see the V1 on sale for a few years to come.

That's a pretty rosy outlook on things.

Well it's always nice to look through a rose tinted mask

I think in the past, Sony has kept the pro version of their cams out there longer than the consumer version.

If I remember the models correctly, the PDX10 lasted a few years past the TRV900, along with the A1 being available after the HC1 was discontinued.

You mean 72mm, Mr Mooney? 52 will definitely vignette.

No - thats the crazy thing. I was being absolutely condascending ( can you imagine that ? ) when I offered the temporary use of this old WA lens as a solution.

Sony VCL-0752 is the model number - used with a adaptor ring - no vignetting - unbelievable.

Try it out for yourself.

Peter

I've tried 58mm lenses with no problems. Am very surprised with the 52mm. I guess we'll have to test the resolution to see if it stays above 800 lpi.

The Raynox lens I have is the .7x model 7062. I deleted the test pics I took, but Raynox has several sample pics and video files on their website. It has 62mm threads so a step ring is not needed.

There are also discussions and samples on the dvinfo.net discussion board. Compared to the more expensive Century option, the Raynox has been getting good reviews especially given it's $200 price tag.

Ron, the Raynox 7062 I tried is really a 64mm with a stepdown ring. You can remove the ring accidently.

Drew,

Thanks for the review on the FX7/V1 Gates. I have recently purchased this housing and a V1 camera. Very informative- excellent.

Because I'll be traveling with the housing in SE Asia where carry-on luggage is limited to 15lbs. and it costs around $28 a kilo for excess checked luggage(ouch!), I want to carry on the housing in a back-pack to "sneak it on" as carry-on. I realize the housing and camera would be overweight for carry-on, but I've used this method before for camera gear and have gotten away with it.

Here's the question- in your opinion, if I was carefull handling the housing in a backpack as carry-on do you think it would be safe to carry the camera within the housing? or....do you think the camera controls could do damage to the camera if it was jostled around?

I'm trying to figure out how to get the camera and housing on the plane with me without checking either item as the excess fees in Asia are extorniate!

I would have to guess that there's SOME danger with carrying the camera in the housing like I suggest- but do you think it's possible with careful handling?

thanks in advance for your answer.

shep

Hi Shep

I've spent a lot of sleepless hours wondering this myself! I'm sure you could get it into a backpack somehow - I know a few of the guys were getting their Bluefin FX1 housings into rucksacks, so it must be possible. So far I've only used a Peli case in the hold, but that's not ideal either as I'm forever worried about damage or getting it nicked. I'm sure it's more likely to be damaged in the hold than in a carry on backpack.

When you're flying a route that only allows 1x23kg checked luggage then it's almost impossible to put your housing into the hold and take even a pair of trunks, let alone dive gear or heaven forbid more than two T-shirts. I'm sure I'll have to attempt to take it as hand luggage at some point, although we're only allowed 7kgs leaving from UK airports, so that's a laugh unto itself.

Hope my aimless rambling has helped in some way!

Cheers, Simon

Simon,

I have a photo that shows the housing can fit very nicely in a smallish backpack- the question I have is if mounting the camera in the housing will cause damage to the camera because of the controls hitting the cameras function buttons.

thanks.

shep

Shep depending on how you pack the housing, there may be constant pressure on the camera due to the actuation of the controls on the housing. So my recommendation is NOT to have the camera is the housing. The tray screw is the only thing supporting the camera. I've heard of them snapping, in which case your camera will be bouncing around inside the housing.

If you MUST carry the camera in the housing, some things for you to consider:

Since the arms will be removed, there's nothing to cover the buttons. Covering them with thick cloth (tshirts etc) will probably distribute the weight enough but remember the dial controls have the little pins. Those pins are more vulnerable if the controls are not aligned and pressure is applied. taping them to secure position would be wise.

I would also invest in a cheap UV filter to cover the front element. Put some cloth on the top of the camera inside the housing to lower the force from any jarring movement and stressing that tray screw. I wouldn't stuff it in but a little tight would help.

Good luck.

Another concern is what will you do if they say your pack is too big or too heavy ? I guess you could take the camcorder out and hand carry it on the plane.

I have my housing in a legal sized wheeled carryon. The housing, ports and lights/lamps are fairly well protected. My camcorder and monitor are in a small backpack. If forced, I would gate check the wheeled carryon. The most fragile items, stay with me.

I haven't flown through SE Asia yet, so I don't know if I will have a problem.

Ron,

you wrote....

"I haven't flown through SE Asia yet, so I don't know if I will have a problem"

Therein lies the problem! To fly Singapore/ Qantas/ Garuda from Sydney to Bali, and even through Singapore (it gains you nothing)- they have the carry-on 115cm rule- that's no big deal, but then they "nail" it with a 7 kilo carry-on limit!

This means that you're restricted to 15lbs, ONE BAG carry-on!

So, the trick is- to make your backpack "look as light and small as possible" for carry-on. As for checked luggage down here- how about a limit of 44lbs (20 kilos), ONE BAG, and excess for other luggage priced at $25-$28 a kilo!!!

I did the math on the FX1 when I was thinking about buying the L&M housing/ camera- it would cost, if they charged the full amount $1,500 for the round trip from Sydney to Bali for the excess! OUCH!!!

What's more- it's coming to a airline near you soon (read- USA). We've been watching this luggage "game" going on now for the last 4 years- and as far as I can tell, it's British Airways that started the whole mess. It's now spread to Asia- with Japan, and the US being the hold- outs.

I do see though that in the US, for International travel, the old 70lb bag limit is now down to 50lbs. Just wait- it'll happen within the next few years- and the US will be playing the same game with our luggage that they are down here below the equator- it sucks.

Our last trip to Bali cost us $400 to haul Allison's D70/ housing/ camera/ strobe package RT! It sure takes the fun out of travel. We are thinking about wearing our dive gear on board the plane. The carriers refuse to call dive gear- sporting equipment- they give special concessions to the snow ski/ surfer crowds but not the scuba divers.

I don't mean to "side track this thread"- so I'll leave it at that- but thanks, Drew and others for your suggestions. I'm going to give the carry-on housing thing a try this next month to Indonesia and see where I get with it.

cheers,

shep

One bag 15 lbs ? Those are some crazy weight restrictions. I think I am going to buy one of those photographer's vests. Maybe the FX7/V1 will fit into the large pocket.

Ron.....you wrote....

"One bag 15 lbs ? Those are some crazy weight restrictions. I think I am going to buy one of those photographer's vests. Maybe the FX7/V1 will fit into the large pocket."

I wanna be there when you walk thru the metal detector- I'll bring my ear plugs!

I've just got back from a trip where I took this housing to around 40m a couple of times. I found that a number of the controls at that depth become very sticky or wouldn't work at all. In particular the controls on the back of the housing for shutter speed, gain and mwb where affected and although all controls appeared to be somewhat prone to this the gain control was by far the worst affected. Basically I'd try to use it and nothing would happen. It looked like the levers were hitting the camcorder buttons inside the housing, but just nothing. It was almost as if you couldn't get enough pressure on the button to activate it.

Has anyone else had an experience like this and if so any solutions? I've had something similar with other manual housings, but these were not in the same league as Gates and I hadn't anticipated a problem with this particular housing.

Cheers, Simon

[edited by Moderator]

Hello Simon,

First, it's normal for the controls to be a little harder to actuate at depth as they are naturally under pressure. Properly lubricated control shafts are important any time, but the lack thereof becomes more apparent at increasing depth. I suggest checking they are well lubricated and operate very freely before a dive to such depths. Depending on conditions you may need to do so frequently -- as much as every other dive.

One other item of note: Sony cameras can 'lock out' all controls if another control is actuated. By way of example, if the Assign button control is depressed (as if being selected), nearly every other control will not function until the it is released. So while you see the gain/mwb buttons being touched, they may not actuate if another control is actuating something on the camera.

This is the reason every push control has a lockout feature. That is, you can pull it out slightly, rotate and move it to a position where it will not actuate inadvertently under pressure. This feature is necessary for really deep dives (well beyond 40 m).

Lastly, it is possible (but unlikely) that your controls require minor adjustment, which we can address at more length.

You can reach me directly by PM or email for further assistance Simon.

Cheers,

John

(Before someone gives me a rollocking I couldn't find the review thread for this housing or I would have posted this there, but please feel free to merge it or whatever needs to be done.)

 

I've just got back from a trip where I took this housing to around 40m a couple of times. I found that a number of the controls at that depth become very sticky or wouldn't work at all. In particular the controls on the back of the housing for shutter speed, gain and mwb where affected and although all controls appeared to be somewhat prone to this the gain control was by far the worst affected. Basically I'd try to use it and nothing would happen. It looked like the levers were hitting the camcorder buttons inside the housing, but just nothing. It was almost as if you couldn't get enough pressure on the button to activate it.

 

Has anyone else had an experience like this and if so any solutions? I've had something similar with other manual housings, but these were not in the same league as Gates and I hadn't anticipated a problem with this particular housing.

 

Cheers, Simon

Thanks John I appreciate the feedback.

From your response I think it was probably a combination of lack of lubrication and perhaps another control being active due to the pressure. I hadn't thought about the need to rotate some of the controls out of the way as I hadn't realised there was a possibility of them being engaged at that depth without me physically attempting to use them.

Thanks for the help and it's certainly given me a heads up for next time!

Cheers, Simon

Thanks John I appreciate the feedback.

 

From your response I think it was probably a combination of lack of lubrication and perhaps another control being active due to the pressure. I hadn't thought about the need to rotate some of the controls out of the way as I hadn't realised there was a possibility of them being engaged at that depth without me physically attempting to use them.

 

Thanks for the help and it's certainly given me a heads up for next time!

 

Cheers, Simon

I have been using the FX7 in the gates for some 5 months now finding this problem too, the solution has to do with the rolling select button on the back of the camera being depressed and "locking out all others like gain and MWB, it just needs to be pulled out to release the activation of this sensative button and the other butons al start to work normally again.

Also as a user of the Fathom SMP44B I can only say how awesome a peice of glass it is and the fact that the camera has 20X zoom means you have an incredible zoom range from crystal clear super wide to crystal clear max zoom macro.

Since buying the FX7 and looking at Getty for their HDV requisites they need 1080p not 1080i so even when I shoot HD with the FX7 I would need to convert it to progressive.

How do you do that?