DPV/Scooter Mounted Video

Hi,

I'm hoping people can share some wisdom with respect to video cameras mounted on DPVs. Specifically I'm interested to hear if people have an issues with one mounting solution over another. Two that I'm look at are the Dive-Xtras and Silent Submerge mounting systems.

In addition to a video platform, I'd like to use the DPV as a transport at to make life easy when shooting stills. ie. I'll just mount the camera to the dpv for tec dives and remove it for shooting. As such I consider ease of connect/disconnect to be a key feature.

I also imagine it'll do horrible things to the trim of the scooter, so I assume buoyancy of the housing and light canisters will be key to success.

Any others points would be much appreciated? e.g. lens choice, travel speed when shooting video, etc...

Hi,

 

I'm hoping people can share some wisdom with respect to video cameras mounted on DPVs. Specifically I'm interested to hear if people have an issues with one mounting solution over another. Two that I'm look at are the Dive-Xtras and Silent Submerge mounting systems.

Hi Betty,

with my team we use the SS system and it's really a nice piece of equipment. I do not know the other. We used the SS mainly on Zeuxo and Gavin scooter.

In addition to a video platform, I'd like to use the DPV as a transport at to make life easy when shooting stills. ie. I'll just mount the camera to the dpv for tec dives and remove it for shooting. As such I consider ease of connect/disconnect to be a key feature.

We tried it many times but definetively it's not worth. While, on the SS, the quick disconnect feature is well designed, it's really a pain in the ass doing it at depth for each shot. You take a picture... then you want to move a little forward for a better spot/composition... Likely you find yourself swimming with the camera in one hand, the scooter in the other, two stages etc...

I also imagine it'll do horrible things to the trim of the scooter, so I assume buoyancy of the housing and light canisters will be key to success.

Another problem doing connect/disconnect underwater is that you have to set the buoyancy perfectly for the housing and the scooter (with the mounting). With a scooter like the Gavin this is another pain... Furthermore it's very difficult to set neutrally buoyancy some housings. You could need extra weight or buoyancy devices and the whole thing becomes really too bulky for my taste.

Speaking of camera, it was really a hard task setting the trim and buoyancy on a Seacam housing with arms and flash. About camcorders... It depends on the model. We shot a lot with a Z1 with Phenom housing on a gavin scooter.

Most of this videos are shot with this setup:

http://vimeo.com/user288350/videos

That housing its perfect for these applications because normally it's positive and then with its weight become perfectly neutral.

Gates housings for the same camcorder are a pain in the ass because they start negative and then you have to add bulky buoyant bars...

The best thing wold be a very compact set. A Phenom mounted on a Gavin Scooter its a nightmare for travel and boat trips but it's the best set for tek diving.

If the budget it's not a problem, maybe with the new VidDSLR camera you get the sufficient low light sensitivity for deep diving.

Any others points would be much appreciated? e.g. lens choice, travel speed when shooting video, etc...

Slow speed and if you dive on wrecks then you need the widest lens available like on Amphibico Phenom or Phatom lens on Gates. Usually when you shoot video you stop and you use the added stabillity of the whole thing (scooter and housing).

Keep attention that on some new scooters has a very thin diameter and they are very light so choose the housing accordingly.

Thanks for the info. I probably should have been clearer; I'll be using an N19 scooter and Canon 7D in aquatica housing (these I already own).

I see you point about still photography, though my intention was to scooter in and drop the scooter. Detach camera for all still shooting so it might be 1-2 connects per dive. Mainly we use the scooters on deep dives to fight current on descent, so once down i planned to just swim around mostly for still shooting.

Thanks for the info. I probably should have been clearer; I'll be using an N19 scooter and Canon 7D in aquatica housing (these I already own).

So a powerful scooter and a compact setup already

I see you point about still photography, though my intention was to scooter in and drop the scooter. Detach camera for all still shooting so it might be 1-2 connects per dive. Mainly we use the scooters on deep dives to fight current on descent, so once down i planned to just swim around mostly for still shooting.

1/2 connects for a dive could be ok, more than this I'm not confortable with it. Too much overhead with all that gear at depth. My suggestion on buoyancy are still valid. You should obtain a scooter + camera mounting and the housing as much as possible neutrally buoyant so they won't hassle you when detached.

Bye

My thoughts were to setup the scooter's buoyancy as usual so that I can use it without the camera without having to change weight/trim setup. My housing with the 8" dome, Stix arms and strobes is near neutral so this is good. My biggest concern is the negative weight of the battery packs, as they're quite negative and enough I suspect to throw everything we out.

I'll heed your warning about connect and disconnects being a pain in the rear. I've not done this before so have no measure of difficult (particularly at depth).

Damien, the Dive Xtras Deluxe camera mount http://www.dive-xtras.com/pages/accessorie...deluxemount.asp has worked very well for me with everything from an Ikelite Flip housing to a huge Gates FX-1 system. If you plan to remove the camera from the DPV it's important that the camera/housing/light system is neutrally buoyant. Otherwise you'll need to remove weights and trim the DPV. Backscatter offers this dream setup with a Dive Xtras Cuda! http://www.backscatter.com/HostedStore.Las...=youbetcha&

Damien, the Dive Xtras Deluxe camera mount http://www.dive-xtras.com/pages/accessorie...deluxemount.asp has worked very well for me with everything from an Ikelite Flip housing to a huge Gates FX-1 system. If you plan to remove the camera from the DPV it's important that the camera/housing/light system is neutrally buoyant. Otherwise you'll need to remove weights and trim the DPV. Backscatter offers this dream setup with a Dive Xtras Cuda! http://www.backscatter.com/HostedStore.Las...=youbetcha&

I use the same setup on a Dive-X Cuda 550 & 650 with a Light & motion FX1 + lights.

I dont find the buoyancy shift an issue honestly, I leave the mount attached, and can dive the scooter with or without the camera.

Detaching for each still would definitely be a PITA though.

My housing is a little bit positive, which I want to fix but the L&M weights are kind of coarse-grained for that housing so I need to split one in half.

I dont have any experience on an SS or other kind of scooter.