Gates 3DA1 Housing testing

Yesterday we received a prototype of the Gates 3DA1 housing. I spent a couple hours playing with it in the store, putting the camera in it, and checking out the controls. When you first look at it, its obvious that the main shell body is nearly identical to the EX1/EX1r shell, however it is a bit longer. As of right now, I only have the flat port to test out, however Gates is working on a wide angle option. With the flat port, the FOV is approximately 50 degrees, or a tad short of that I believe. Gates has been working hard on a monitor solution for this housing, and they have come up with the solution of using their EM43 Monitor along with a necessary converter to get the proper signal out. One disappointing thing with the camera is that it will not send the Mix signal through the Video out, which makes it much easier to see if the convergence is spot on. However, I hear that a solution might be in the works when utilizing the Nano 3D...but I do not have details on that just yet.

It will be very interesting to shoot 3D underwater, learn convergence and take that into consideration when planning out shots. I have a short list of shots Id like to get tomorrow at Catalina, so wish me luck! We are working closely with Clifton Production Services in Los Angeles. They have loaned us their 3DA1 camera to use for a few days, and they will also be editing our 3D footage in hopes of getting some nice sample clips. I am also working on shooting a few shots of an RC Helicopter in action with this camera. More details to come.

Mike

Pictures would be nice Although I'm sure it'd be against Gate's policy.

There are some pics already out there, however I will have both pics and video of the rig in action from tomorrow's shoot! We also did some detailed product photos on Tuesday, so I will have those up on our websites soon.

According to Panasonic's specs, the mfd is 4ft/1.2m. That's pretty much going to limit what can be shot due to working with a flat port, which due to refraction of water would make less wide. 50° topside will make it about 38° underwater, no?

Every camera/s will have to deal the convergence and interocular distance of the lenses. I do think perhaps that a dual camera system, maybe like the XF105, which supposedly has preprogrammed 3D sync capability (IS and focal length sync) with LANC protocol will be easier to configure for a wide variety of shooting circumstances.

According to Panasonic's specs, the mfd is 4ft/1.2m. That's pretty much going to limit what can be shot due to working with a flat port, which due to refraction of water would make less wide. 50° topside will make it about 38° underwater, no?

 

Agreed. It will be interesting to see what the wide angle solution is. The math dictates that a single dome solution is impracticable, so that leaves individual lens soultions. One can put wide angle converters on the lenses behind the flat port and then hope to remove all the various distortions and abberations with software (far from ideal) or you can grind Rebikoff/Ivanoff type correctors to project throught he port and provide water contact. The latter approach is very expensive, but we are talking about pro rigs, so perhaps the cost is not out of the question? If waiting is an option, the upcoming Sony 3D video camera will reportedly have interchangable lenses and offer wider angle opportunities. The correction of port distortions will still have to be handled.

Every camera/s will have to deal the convergence and interocular distance of the lenses. [/quote]

 

That is generally true for twin camera rigs, but can be avoided if you set the stereo window in the cameras for a particular distance. This is done by off-setting the sensors or film gates from the optical axis of the lenses by the amount necessary to place the subject behind the stereo window when photographed at the desired distance. Such rigs are by nature a bit limited in the range of subject distances they can accomodate, but they avoid any need for convergence, and thus eliminate the nasty keystone distortion arising from convergence.

Mike, let me know a link, where I could see your result by 3DA1 under water's surface, thank you, Lio

There are some pics already out there, however I will have both pics and video of the rig in action from tomorrow's shoot! We also did some detailed product photos on Tuesday, so I will have those up on our websites soon.

Very cool, it will be interesting to see the images and also what it is like in low light.