What is the right focal length for video?

I typically hang on to my cameras for too long. I have had the GH5 for 1 and half year and I think I will be looking at changing it in 2021

Plenty still to optimise out of what I have and no I don't need dynamic range or more colours than what I already have right now I just need to shoot better and more so rather spend money on trips

ahhh well you see that is a major difference. Where I dive is outside my back door. The only money I spend to go diving is the air compressor and fuel for the outboard.

I am with you on hanging onto camera gear. Once I get whatever video shooter I get I also wont be upgrading to get 2% better quality out of the chip. There is a point where enough is enough.

But I do think the P6K underwater is the revelation we have been waiting for. S35 sensor. 12 Bit RAW. 6K. beyond that I cant see how it can be improved a whole lot more in the next 3-5 years. I think it will be all optical improvements from here on out. WACP is proof of that. I think more companies will get on this bandwagon. And there are supercomputers to crunch the numbers in simulations. I think thats the next big leap forward.

oh and lights. Let's not forget lights. Advances in LEDs are incredible.

I want a bright light with a wide beam angle with a CRI of 99 and it should be able to run for 3 hours on a not yet invented battery tech. That battery should be small, recharge fast and have 3000 recharge cycles. Electric cars are pushing battery tech forward at a hard and fast pace. So much money to be made to whoever gets there first.

John you don't need a wide beam angle I can cover the field of view of the WWL-1 with two 95 degrees lights actually you could cover it with 90

There is a lot of marketing hype out there for features people do not need. This distracts from learning how to actually use what you have and shoot properly

are the chinese lights any good or should we stick with Keldans/Gates etc ?

I have found Weefine/kraken to be pretty decent. Build quality as well as quality of light is pretty decent in my eyes. Most likely are Keldans are better, but double the price better? I doubt it. At least for the low/mid range lights. No idea about the top end.

We are digressing from the key topic here which was the right focal length for video

Now if for most you are ok with 24 mm in 35 equivalent which is 84 diagonal you don't need excessively wide lights

In terms of what lights you need this depends on your field of view so if you shoot a fisheye you will not be able to cover the whole field of view but you will need very wide lights

120 degrees like the keldan is a very wide beam I have found that at same lumens I prefer a narrower beam. 95 degrees covers perfectly my WWL-1 so I do not need wider.

In terms of chinese light they differ what is important is the LED array in terms of quality then you need to look at ergonomics.

My ideal light is a 95 degrees keldan but it does not exist I think gates does 95 degrees lights but they are very bulky

1 hour ago, John Doe II said:

are the chinese lights any good or should we stick with Keldans/Gates etc ?

They are good enough (for most).

Interceptor, agree we are digressing here but it is all interrelated. Best lens in the world is not much use without all the right parts to go with it.In fact its generally a waste to take a high end PL mount lens down below.

Lens, Dome and particularly new cutting edge water contact optics combo's are the thing that is going to change our underwater world, closely followed by lights.

Lens design is not changing to any significant degree going forward. What focal length behind which optic (dome/ WW-1 or WACP or Nikonos) is going to be where all the changes happen. In my humble opinion of course.

John

I have been advocating water contact optics since years

I tested the nauticam wwl-1 prototype and gave them the feedback that brought very soon the float collar and bayonet system to the market

Water contact optics are not new both wet and dry however one needs to be factual of what is that you actually get

To say that a non rectilinear water optics has a magnification of 0.36x is misleading

I have all sort of tools but dry mounts like the WACP have never convinced me

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I just bought a 20-35mm Nikonos Seacam conversion lens. I am believer in water contact optics. This lens is for stills.

I am interested in the WACP for the P6K. What other choices are out there? 

Pawel does some interesting work. I am sure you know of him. He is also convinced of water contact optics.

In the days that lens retailed at $3960
So it was more expensive than WACP
I think today WACP is the new Nikonos though much more bulk


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One day, IF Nikon ever get into the video race in a REAL way, I could use that Nikonos for video. But I would not waste my time with Nion video as it is today.

What other options are there for the P6K with water contact optics ? Seems the WACP is the only game in town so far. It would seem strange if the other manufacturers dont jump onto this boat and bring out there own versions.....or are they just going to let naughty cam run away with it ?

I have never used the P6K so far, I have never used a WACP at all with anything much less a P6K. So I am going by reports from those who are using the WACP. Sounds to be a wonderful optic.

I wonder which lenses can be used behind the WACP? I know of the official lenses ratified as good to go with it, but it would surely be interesting to try other lenses in it - one never knows when they will dig up a diamond. It's rare but every now and then a huge rare diamond is found. Which lens will that be (behind the WACP)?

John
I have been an early adopter of 4K and I can tell you that just now this starts to be enjoyable as almost all new TV sets have 4K
I also have been embracing HDR that by the way is much more exciting but again not much use underwater where we lack light
There is a fundamental visual acuity issue so whats the point of 6K if you cant actually see it? I have a 65” tv watching at the recommended SMPTE distance I can see the HDR benefits more than I see the extra pixels but I do feel more detail
There are no 6K TV and I have a 5K not 6k monitor so right now I would need to downscale
I would check carefully some test files at 4 and 6 K to see if it is really worth it
And then yes I can crop in post blah blah just commercial marketing hype worth nothing
Manufacturers need to come up with new toys they dont want you to hang on for 3 years to a device but as far as I am concerned I consider the whole ecosystem around a camera not just the camera and housing
One thing I like about the new BM is that it is super 35 and not full frame
Full frame has no place for underwater video and right now MFT is the best form factor for 4K so you dont need a WACP because you dont need a full frame.


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