What would you advise?

Hey all

I’m new to underwater videography and looking to buy my first set. I don’t have a budget in mind first I want to know what you advice. I already looked for an CANON Legeria HF G10, whit an Light & Motion Bluefin standard housing, 2 Sola 1200 lights and an Light &Motion Fathom 65 wetmate. Is this too big to start with? I want high quality films (I not planning to do this for living just as an hobby) and a set that can be used for a dozen years.

I’m not new to diving I have, I’m diving for about 4 years now and made almost 800 dives (798). All of my dives have been in the Netherlands in the fresh waters and in the seas, dives on depths of 5m to depths of 50m. I want to use the set for these type of dives

What would you advise?

Thnx!

12 years is a long time. I must say that my PD150 and housing is still going after 11 years, albeit with an overhaul at the factory. I'm pretty sure manufacturers stop support of parts for products after 7 years unless it's a pro machine. Consumer models change annually so I doubt parts will be available for more than 5-7 years, which is a more realistic goal.

Electronic housings tend to not have the same longevity as mechanical housings, just because the ICs are exposed to high humidity/salty air etc.

What sort of budget are you looking at?

5 years is also ok. The tings I wrote down above are about €5500 so I guess a max of 6000 euro’s for a complete set that is good for a beginner but also for a more advanced person.

Plus 1 for light & motion. Have a look at the new sola lights though, i think they are bringing out a 2000 lumen version aswell. Maybe have a look at the sola 4000s as the deeper you go, the 1200's may not be enough light.

If you buy bigger lights then they will stay with you once you upgrade.

Cheers Pete.

If you want to use a Bluefin for many years then get yourself a full set of spare electronics. Replacement PCBs for the Bluefin HD (FX1/Z1 version) had allegedly already run out just 2 years after the product was discontinued. Read this too.

maybe the 2000 will be ok, but 4000 are to expensive over here, also I think they would have to bright light for the Dutch waters. But that’s pure based on that my greenforce HID 220 also moste of the time to bright is so I use my HID 75 most of the time.

The topic about the bleufin doesn’t sound nice, especially I have always bad luck with ordering that kind of stuff. Witch housing would you advise?

Since you are still new to the video and editing world, think about getting a good used system. You can get quality and experience with it before moving on to something higher end. No point in getting a top of the line set up when you don't know yet if it will be your thing.

Steve

Joris

If you are in the EU, perhaps you should consider the BS Kinetics, which is in Germany and uses lanc electronics. There's also Mangrove in Spain and Easy Dive in Italy. I've used the BS Kinetic before and reviewed the Mangrove (the old aluminum one and not the new materialed one). Each of them have their good and bad points like any other brand. I only suggest those brands because they are in the EU and will be easier for you to deal with and possibly faster should you need parts etc.

If you are only shooting macro, then you don't need the wetmate. You'll also have to read up on some of the different brands of light in the forum archives.

I thought I already read a lot but I guess there is allot more to read, I will do that before I buy my first set.

Thanks all if still have some advice I’m pleased to hear it.

You should also look at Gates, who make mechanically-controlled housings. If you get one make sure you wash and dry it very well after each dive to prevent galvanic corrosion around the controls.

You should also look at Gates, who make mechanically-controlled housings. If you get one make sure you wash and dry it very well after each dive to prevent galvanic corrosion around the controls.

Allmost all the posts I've read on this forum use the combination of the L&M Bluefin with the Canon XA10 or HF G10. What housing would you choose Nick? The Gates XA10 or the L&M Bluefin? Mechanical versus electronics. And why?

I love the mechanical controls on Gates housings, very smooth and once you have done a few dives it becomes second nature.

They are touch and there is nothing electrical to go wrong. They have some good port options too.

Allmost all the posts I've read on this forum use the combination of the L&M Bluefin with the Canon XA10 or HF G10. What housing would you choose Nick? The Gates XA10 or the L&M Bluefin? Mechanical versus electronics. And why?

I don't know the feature comparison between those 2 housings but if it's like-for-like I would choose Gates because of a) their absolutely phenominally amazing post-sales service, and b) the lack of electronics to go wrong in remote locations on expensive trips.

However, without fully knowing the products, I'm not sure the Gates has a port option as optically good as the Fathom port available on the L&M. More than prepared to be corrected on that though.

However, without fully knowing the products, I'm not sure the Gates has a port option as optically good as the Fathom port available on the L&M. More than prepared to be corrected on that though.

Thanks for the answer.

I found the website of Fathom Imaging and found out that they did make ports for Gates. I don't know if they make them for the Gates XA 10 housing. The housing isn't mentioned on their site. The site seems somewhat outdated (I hope I'm not offending someone). All mentioned Canon camcorders aren't being made anymore.

But what makes the Fathom ports so outstanding?

But what makes the Fathom ports so outstanding?

I've never had one, but, from what I remember, they have multiple elements (6?), some of them aspheric, giving a very wide angle view with minimal distortion but also full zoom-through capabilities. Take my info with a pinch of salt as it is old, but certainly they were the wide angle lens to have a few years ago, if you could afford one. The current Fathom ports used on L&M might not be like that, and the ports on Gates might be just as good. I don't know.

Hey all

 

I’m new to underwater videography and looking to buy my first set. I don’t have a budget in mind first I want to know what you advice. I already looked for an CANON Legeria HF G10, whit an Light & Motion Bluefin standard housing, 2 Sola 1200 lights and an Light &Motion Fathom 65 wetmate. Is this too big to start with? I want high quality films (I not planning to do this for living just as an hobby) and a set that can be used for a dozen years.

 

I’m not new to diving I have, I’m diving for about 4 years now and made almost 800 dives (798). All of my dives have been in the Netherlands in the fresh waters and in the seas, dives on depths of 5m to depths of 50m. I want to use the set for these type of dives

 

What would you advise?

 

Thnx!

Just want to put in a balancing opinion on electronic controls verses mechanical.

In the old days, there were problems with electronic controls and sea air moisture. Quality housing manufacturers learned to solder and seal connections and seal the sensitive parts of electronic units. Controls buttons are now either fully sealed or completely externalised with magnetic through-the-housing switches. I've been using electronic housings since 2004 and never had an electronics failure. I do always keep absorbent silica gel inside the housing to keep the moisture to a minimum, but you should do this with every housing to stop glass fogging.

The big advantage of electronic controls are that all the control functions are at your finger tips.

On the other hand, the two mechanical video housings that I have owned were both a pain in the butt. Finding the right control is often not intuitive and sometimes awkward to reach and align. I had one housing that was a real fiddle to switch the camera on and off. Had to jiggle the control at just the right angle. With mechanical housings you usually have to stop shooting, adjust the control and start again (although I'm sure very experienced shooters may have mastered this skill, a newcomer would be challenged not to jiggle the camera while making mechanical adjustments). With electronic handle controls, you can make adjustments mid-shot.

Another good point for electronic housings is that the good ones only have two or three holes through the housing (main, port) both with user-inspectable and user-serviicable o-rings = less places to leak. Mechanical housings can have up to a dozen holes, one for each control. The user can not see nor service these controls, potentially a source of leak if salt or sand build up around a control rod.

L&M are a good company with good ethics and service. They suffered a bit recently from their success - their sales outstripped their service capability, causing delays. I have recently noticed an improvement. Their Bluefin with a Canon HF G10, a Fathom 90 (if wide-angle is required), and a pair of Sola 1200s would make a good package for someone who wanted to quickly get on with capturing good footage.

Having said that, I also highly recommend the BS Kinetics housings and use one with my Canon XF100. But this set up is quite expensive, much larger and more complex.

Regards

Peter

Thanks Nick and Peter for all the useful information.

I've got some thinking and choosing to do.

Regards, Ben