1 Bonica 720p Snapper HD Camcorder
1 Bonica 1080p Action HD Camcorder
1 Belt Pouch to carry the camcorder topside
1 Topside Lanyard
1 Silicone Protective Skin (rated to 12 feet)
1 Underwater Housing (rated to 180 feet) [Nov. 2010]
1 Underwater Lanyard
3 Replacement Clips for Underwater Housing
1 Wet Wide-Angle Lens (X 0.5)
1 Wet Red Filter
2 Remote Controls
4 Batteries (>1 hr each)
1 Camera Battery Charger
1 SDHC 8GB Memory Card (> 4 hr HD video)
1 SDHC 2GB Memory Card
1 USB Cable (for transfer and/or camcorder charge)
1 Video/Audio out Cable
1 Water Resistant Storm Case with Foam Insert
1 Camera Tray with 2 Handles and ULCS balls (can attach lights to it with adapters)(*)
Link to the vendor's website: www.bonicadive.com
Value New > $1,250
Price asked: $500
(*) The Tray arms are slightly bent (I tried to attach 4 AquaSun eLED lights to it, but that was too much!!!) so I throw this in for free (>$100 value with ULCS balls)
I started UW video with this affordable system and found it to be absolutely great for a beginner. I have now moved on to a >5x more expensive system, but I definitely benefited from starting with a simple, inexpensive system. I highly recommend this system to anybody considering getting into UW video but not willing to spends several grands in a new (or used) system. You have to remember that video involves editing, which takes time, consume lots of HD space, etc. Therefore it is not an activity that everybody has time for and enjoys on the long run. I personally like it even more than shooting, but you can't really figure this out until you get started. Plus it is difficult to figure out what system features are good for you or which one you don't care about until you have actually tinkered with one.
I started with the Snapper (the only one existing at the time), but rapidly got tired of the autofocus system, which behaves poorly underwater. I bought the Action when it was released (I'll post a photo later, sorry about the omission) and it fixes that problem very well with its focus lock capability. It turns out that the Snapper is great for topside shoots. I ended up not using the 1080p mode of the Action, because it is not a full 1080p mode (it is a 1440x1080 anamorphic format) and because it reduces the field-of-view of the camera! That defeats the whole purpose of shooting wide-angle, therefore I ended up only using the 720p format (for both UW and topside shoots).
Battery life is good for two or three dives of ~30-40' each.
Example of (my beginner's) videos can be found at www.vimeo.com/uwxplorer
Photos of the system:
Shown is the Snapper, which goes into the skin (to the left) and into the housing. The Action is gray (instead of black) but otherwise identical... I'll post a picture later, as I don't have time to do it right now.
The wide angle lens is also shown. It can be mounted underwater, as well as the red filter (not shown, but shown in the case below). I usually kept it mounted at all time. Never really used the red filter here in SoCal...
This shows the system ready to go UW. The tray is not attached yet. You can see the ULCS ball which I used to mount 2 UK AquaSuns eLED. You can also see that although I mention that the tray is slightly "bent", it is not at all a major issue, and the system works perfectly fine (in fact even if you don't attach any light to the tray, it helps holding the camera steady - plus remember, this part is free anyway!)
The case is great and fits everything you need (except for the tray).
Another view, with the video cable.
