Hi there,
I'm a newbie to this site and to UW digital video...so, please bare with me...help/suggestions would be much appreciated! I'm a biologist who is trying to figure out the best setup for videoing in low light. I am trying to capture swimming speeds of jellyfish in the Chesapeake Bay, and I'm working on a budget (<$1500). The jellies will be taped pretty close up (within about 3ft) because they'll be swimming through a frame setup (so that I can get orientations, etc). I'll also need a camera that you are able to set the focal length on, but I think most do that now (?)
Can anyone help me out on ideas for the best, affordable digital video camera and underwater housing? I've looked at posts, forums, reviews, etc and I'm just overwhelmed, and many setups are out of the budget or do not have good low light capabilities. I just don't even know where to start.
Also, does anyone have any experience using products from oceanbrite.com? I like the idea that the housing will accomodate future camera upgrades.
Thanks so much for any help anyone can offer!
Becs
Hi,
First of all, Oceanbrite is a dealer, not a housing mfr. They sell products from Ocean Images and Equinox. The first 11 housings on their video page are from Ocean Images (www.oceanimagesinc.com) and the last 4 are from Equinox (http://www.underwatervideohousings.com/index.htm)
If you're interested in one of the Ocean Images housings, I'd suggest buying it direct, it's cheaper than Oceanbrite sells them and you can deal with the owner of Ocean Images, who's a great person to ask questions/get assistance from.
Given your budget, look at the Ocean Images Dolphin or the Equinox Pro-Pak 6. Depending on how it's configured, you should be able to get one under $900. Other housings in this price range would be the Top Dawg II available from BackScatter.com or the Ikelite line.
Less expensive options would be from Aquatix (www.aquatix.com) or AtmoSeal (http://www.atmoseal-eng.com/aquavaul.htm) These are more generic "tube" housings i.e. one size fits all. The upgraded models have electronic controls and retail under $600.
The first consideration is probably do you want mechanical or electronic controls? There's no clear answer to this question, both have pros/cons.
If you go with an electronic housing, you're limited to using Sony cameras that have LANC ports as this is how the controls are actuated. Note: Most but not all new Sony models have this port. To a certain extent, an electronic housing can also be used with similar sized models with a few exceptions, so there's some flexibility for the future.
If you go with a mechanical housing, it's built around your camera and is specific to that model or very similar models. So if you change cameras, you usually have to have the housing retro-fit at generally around $200. But you can use any manufacturer's camera that you can find a housing for.
Finding a low-light camera with the remaining $6-900 is going to be a bit of a struggle. It rules out most/all of the 3CCD models and the top end of the Prosumer models which would have better low-light performance. I don't have any recommendations in this area, maybe one of the better Sony HC series, although camcorderinfo.com didn't have good things to say about their low-light performance.
Have you thought about shooting with Lights? or will that interfere with the jellies?
A basic light setup can be found for around $400, if you bought one of the generic housings, this would still leave you around $500 for a camera.
Also, depending on how you're funded, you might check eBay. There's some pretty good deals on used equipment there occasionally. Last week there was a Dolphin Pro housing, used once, that sold for around $500, ($849 retail)
Hope this helps,
Steve
FWIW I shoot with an electronic housing. I like the ease of installiing the camera, and also having all the controls at my fingertips.
