L&M Bluefin -v- Amphibico Evo

Well Robert I almost could of had a great deal for you for a sony 550 and amphibico dive buddy 2! I found the exact rig brand new at about 70 feet today in Cozumel hahaha. Unfortunately it was the dive operators son's rig that they had been searching for the last 4 days, I suppose some free diving is better than nothing but I would have much rather kept it!

 

Have you made a decision yet?

 

After seeing it up close and personal it is fairly similar to a L&M housing but it is a bit bigger and did feel a few pounds heavier. I dont know if you do a lot of travel with your equipment but size and weight is also something to consider.

 

Happy shopping

 

Ciao

 

Kelly

 

Kelly, thank you for the "potential" offer of a complete video rig! Although it would have been nice to benefit from your find, I'm much happier knowing that you were able to help the owner recover their loss. These things are too expensive to just lose to the deep waters.

 

I haven't made any decisions yet. I have been out in Southern California diving this past week and haven't had much time to think about the housings. I wish I had everything together for my diving this past week though.

 

I have thought about the size and weight issues too. Since I do plan on traveling with the video rig it will be important to cut down on the size and weight as much as possible. Just taking the dive gear alone can be a bit much sometimes with the these baggage fees airlines are pushing these days.

I have seen the debate on mechanical -v- electronic, however, having decided on either of these two housings (both have electronic controls) how reliable are these electronics? Has anyone had any experiences with the electronics on these housings that they might like to share? Ease/difficulty for a novice of navigating the options, serviceability for any issues, or cost or repair/replacement if required?

 

At this point I don't see much of a need for all the functions that are available, but that might change with more experience and use.

I have seen the debate on mechanical -v- electronic

 

For what it's worth, here is my decision process: I went to the Long Beach dive show after having read a lot online and handled the Aquatica, Gates and Equinox housings. I had some reservation on all three after that, although I appreciated that practice probably would make me an expert of any of them. I asked a lot of questions to Aquatica by email, as that was the one I had liked most. They were very helpful but I still had nagging doubts... Then a friend lent me his L&M Bluefin (an old version with an HC3 in it) and despite the fact that the external display color was awful (*), I so loved the way you control the camera without changing anything to your holding position, that all my questions disappeared: L&M it would be. I sent a lot of questions to L&M as well and got very patient and thorough answers. My Gates dealer turned out to now be an outcast from Orange County (no names will be cited), but handling the housing some more in the store convinced me that my first impression at the show was confirmed.

And you're right, I almost never use the left handle functions. But so far, I have never regretted my decision and am having a blast. And the electronic controls are doing good so far. It's obviously important to take care of our equipment to prevent corrosion (rinse profusely with fresh water, check and maintain O-rings, etc).

Good luck with the decision!

 

(*) having watched some of my friend's first videos, I now know that that was due to incorrect WB by the camera, not the display per se.

I have thought about the size and weight issues too. Since I do plan on traveling with the video rig it will be important to cut down on the size and weight as much as possible. Just taking the dive gear alone can be a bit much sometimes with the these baggage fees airlines are pushing these days.

I have a TravelPro roller bag that I believe is the largest allowed as U.S. checked luggage - 9 x 15 x 22 IIRC. My EVO fits crossways with about an inch on each side - I usually pad the port with socks/shirts etc. I also put the camera in a soft lens bag and store it inside the housing for travel. I don't think the TSA scanner can see through it as I've only not been stopped once in 6 years of traveling with it.

 

Has anyone had any experiences with the electronics on these housings that they might like to share? Ease/difficulty for a novice of navigating the options, serviceability for any issues, or cost or repair/replacement if required?

 

At this point I don't see much of a need for all the functions that are available, but that might change with more experience and use.

I've had an EVO since early 2005 - one of the first production run. Since then it's been bulletproof. All I've ever done is change the o-rings. I don't even dunk it in the rinse tank particularly long anymore - often just the time it takes me to clean up between dives.