Questions for NA-GH4 users

Hi all,

I had the chance to rent and use the NA-GH4 housing for a few dives to test it out. I'm on the fence and torn about the decision of buying one mainly because of the size of the housing. My problem is during custom white balance, and this is how I do it:

1.) Hand on right handle, using my index finger to trigger the WB menu

2.) Thumb press on the RIGHT cursor to select Custom WB, then UP to read WB, then SET to confirm WB.

When accessing the cursor area with my thumb, I can barely hold the right handle because my hand is not that big , and causing me to almost drop the housing a couple times

The question is, does anyone have success to operate the button one handed, by moving the handle bar a lot closer, or adding more float etc.?

I tend to use my left hand with a muck stick to stabilize on a sandy bottom or in between coral, and only operate the camera with my right hand, and I found the GH4 is hard to do so because of its size.

I believe I:

1) Use right thumb to trigger white balance

2) use right thumb on dial to select new balance setting and/or

3) select up arrow on dial to reset MWB and press center button to lock WB

With back button focus, my index finger pretty much stays on the record trigger and my thumb does all the work (except for setting iris)

With that being said, this is the easiest housing I've ever used for video.

Thanks Bob! So you programmed the Fn2/Fn3 button to bring up the WB menu? I have been using Point and Shoot so I'm more use to using one hand to do everything, including zooming. The GH4 require me using left hand for zooming so it's still a big adjustment for me (testing out with the 14-42mm lens).

Hi all,

 

I had the chance to rent and use the NA-GH4 housing for a few dives to test it out. I'm on the fence and torn about the decision of buying one mainly because of the size of the housing. My problem is during custom white balance, and this is how I do it:

 

1.) Hand on right handle, using my index finger to trigger the WB menu

2.) Thumb press on the RIGHT cursor to select Custom WB, then UP to read WB, then SET to confirm WB.

 

When accessing the cursor area with my thumb, I can barely hold the right handle because my hand is not that big , and causing me to almost drop the housing a couple times

 

The question is, does anyone have success to operate the button one handed, by moving the handle bar a lot closer, or adding more float etc.?

 

I tend to use my left hand with a muck stick to stabilize on a sandy bottom or in between coral, and only operate the camera with my right hand, and I found the GH4 is hard to do so because of its size.

I don't have large hands but don't have any problems reaching the buttons while holding the NA-GH4 housing...

I use my thumb to activate the WB lever.

I do use the 4 preset WB settings just to make it faster to get to a setting I need (see other GH4 thread) but don't have an issue with the buttons.

I do use a float collar around the neck of the dome port to help keep it better balanced (see other GH4 thread).

I suggest that you practice with the housing, either on your kitchen table, in the bath or in a pool until the controls become familiar.

Regards

Peter

How small are your hands?

 

I have Asian hand, since I'm Chinese . I'm glad I decided to rent and try out the housing. That's why I'm on the fence right now, thinking if it's something that I will get over after using/practice it for a while, or what if I spend all the money to acquire the housing, and turn out it's just mean to be two handed operation.

Same here - thumb used to activate the WB lever. No re-assign to any of the function buttons. Again, this in on the NA-GH4 housing, not the NA-GH3 where the white balance was in a different location I believe.

Hi Moses,

You can also bring the handles a little closer to the housing... there is some room for adjustment there.

Cheers,

Chris

On the pic here you can see that the WB lever is just behind the record trigger - which makes it easiest for thumb access:

and turn out it's just meant to be two handed operation.

I doubt if you'll find a housing for a prosumer camera that's going to be much smaller than this one. Most are bigger.

The only way to get the controls bunched closer together is to use electronic controls - and they have their own set of issues, like lag, over-run and lack of precision.

Regards

Peter

I tend to use my left hand with a muck stick to stabilize on a sandy bottom or in between coral, and only operate the camera with my right hand, and I found the GH4 is hard to do so because of its size.

I didn't catch this statement, or maybe I was just hoping I didn't really read it. I recommend using both hands with the NA-GH4. This will allow you to access the thumb controls with your right hand by leaving just your fingers on the right grip.

Thanks Chris, I realize the handle can be adjusted closer when I return the housing, so I didn't get to investigate if it will completely solve my problem.

ScubaBob, the WB trigger behind the Shutter level is what I used. I used my index finger to pull the WB level toward me. Are you saying you can use thumb to push the WB level forward?

May be I just haven't found the right work flow yet. When I was trying out the housing during a macro dive, I don't have a tripod. So I jam the muck stick on my left hand into the sandy bottom, my left hand extended in front of me, and I rest the housing on my left forearm, while my right hand do all the button press. So it's a decent "human tripod" set up that I got pretty good result with. So my style do need one hand operation some times.

I guess if the housing is more neutral after adding more float, the right hand switch between the handle and the button area may be manageable. Thanks for all the input everyone, I will give it more thought.