Sony HDR-HC1/HVR-A1 and housings

hi,

any thoughts about the ikelite housing for this camera?.

what do you guys think, any opinions would be appriciated?

http://www.ikelite.com/web_two/sony_hc1.html

""All camera controls can be accessed with this housing, including both manual and auto focus.

All touch screen menu functions are also provided which allows white balance. ""

thanks

tom

Hi Tom,

Ok, its good to see another housing for this camera. IKELITE really do have some cheap offers - this housing is coming out at $950 which, compared to some of the other prices being thrown around looks very attractive. My initial concern would be the lack of (or even the option) of an external monitor, which the likes of Amphibico and Gates etc etc can offer (but of course at a cost).

Also, I see that they have access to all controls through the cameras touch screen menu options - I have never used manual controls to access camera options through the touch screen - perhaps someone else on here who has, can let us know how awkward it is to use this method?

All in all though you cannot really complain when your talking <$1000 !

Tristan

I have been gathering info about an housing for the Sony HDR HC1.

There appears to be some confusion as to whether auto white balance would suffice. Maybe someone else can enlighten us. I can confirm that the HC1 resets the white balance on power up. However the manual white balance seems to calibrate a little more accurately than the auto manual white balance on power up.

Therefore there still seems to be an advantage to find a housing with manual white balance control. The amphibico Evo HD claims to be able to do it with electronic control. It is not available yet. The miniDV USVH with extended controls has a manual white balance button but JohnnyQuest posted that he was unable to access white balance in a earlier post. I would be interested in hearing from him if he has the extended controls version. If so, what was the explanation from USVH?

The Silverfish unit does not have manual white balance. An email reply from HGVT said they cannot provide that function either. Bummer as the housing is cool looking.

There is little info on the Seacam housing. They emailed me and said I can set white balance by turning the comcorder off and then on again.

Does anyone have a housing that has manual white balance with the push of an electronic button ? I would much prefer that over use of a pointing stick on the touch screen such as the Ocean Image model.

I know Amphibico cracked it for the HC1000 so i would give em time and hopefully they will be the best option. They do make a pretty sweet housing...(i have a definite Canadian bias... )

The Amphibico Evo uses lanc to manual adjust white balance, as per my report.

I do have the extended controls. I can not access manual WB from the extended controls. The "menu" button does not function. I was told this when I had the housing adapted to my HDR-HC1.

I had the mini-USVH for my old TRV30. I bought the HDR-HC1 based on the measurements I found on the net and an "educated" hope that it would fit and function. I also had numerous conversations with Warren (the owner) before I bought the camera.

I preordered the camera. The day I received it, I discovered that it did fit in the housing (absolutely perfectly with no room to spare anywhere), but that the controls did not all work (as Warren told me to suspect.) I shipped the camera and housing to him. He changed out the chip, fabricated a new video out plug, and FedExed it back to me two days after he received it and two days before I left for Tonga.

Since my computer crashed after I returned home, I still haven't had time to edit or even really look at the footage I got. I did view a lot of it on the camera's LCD.

Warren says that WB cannot be accessed via the Lanc for any Sony camera with touch screen WB control. He says he is very leary of anyone who claims otherwise, but he is still investigating. He says he will believe it when he sees it.

As to the auto WB... The camera does do a fine tune WB adjustment upon power up or battery change. However, it does not do a "real" WB. I tried removing the battery for a while, putting the red filter on the port, reinstalling the battery, and powering up while pointing toward a while wall. After doing this (above water obviously), the image had a strong red tint. I then accesed WB via the touch screem and pushed "instant WB" (or whatever Sony calls it). The redness immediately went away and the image was correctly WBed even though the red filter was still in place.

For all you guys who say that Amphibico can WB via the Lanc, have you actually seen this work or are you going by what they have told you? It sure would be great if it can be done. I'm sure Warren will retrofit my controls if it can be done.

Hi Johnny,

I think you will find Amphibico have already done this on another camera, the HC-1000, you can read the review regarding access to manual white balance here:

HC-1000 manual white balance access

Also, as you read in the report this function was not actually available through LANC on this particular camera, but their engineers where able to 'hack' into the actual programming of the camera and hence gain access to the function. As I understand it, the HC1 will have access through the LANC and hence some of the problems associated with the HC-1000 (highlighted in the report) should not occur.

Hope this helps!

Thanks,

Tristan

That's great information. Thanks Tristan.

No problem!

I noticed today that Amphibico have actually begun adding information about the housing, theres only really a link at the momment, but im sure it will be more comprehensive soon!

Hey guys newbie question regarding the new Sony HD camera, I was at the local Best Buy looking at the camera and could not locate the LANC out port? Did I completely miss it or is there another external conrol interface?

Thanks,

Coldwaterdude

Hey guys newbie question regarding the new Sony HD camera, I was at the local Best Buy looking at the camera and could not locate the LANC out port? Did I completely miss it or is there another external conrol interface?

Thanks,

Coldwaterdude

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For the cost savings of a Top Dawg vs an Amphibico etc. housing, I can live with auto W/B. Or cycle the camera off/on occasionally and see if it resets. I don't have manual W/B with my present setup and my footage is acceptable through the red filter. It's just for me and the DLP projector, I'm not shooting for the Discovery Channel...

Thanks thats great news! I was looking at the camera wondering if it would fit in my housing.

I'll definately take a look at the thread.

Coldwaterdude

Could anyone comment on the white balance differences with the Sony HC1 using manual WB versus the built in auto white balance?

I just got my HC1 today, still waiting for my :&M bluefin housing.

Dave

Auto white balance uses a pre-programmed algorithm to shift the color based on the picture. Being underwater shifts the white balance beyond the preprogrammed limits(unless they finally set one for u/w use!), auto wb is usually not very effective in compensating for u/w shooting, even with a red filter.

Do a manual WB will tell the camera to find a white point specifically for the scene, thus it is more accurate.

So with the HC1 using a pair of HID lights, any guess as to how noticable the differences between auto WB and manual WB?

With HID lights, even below 30 feet, is there enough color loss to offset the white balance algorthms?

I just got my Bluefin housing for the HC1 today. Will be diving in 2 weeks in Komodo (Indonesia).

Thanks

Dave

With lights, you'll get the the proper WB on the foreground and have a funky blue/green cast on the back. I never did like mixed lighting shots, but plenty of people love it.

Enjoy Komodo.

The professional version of the camera, the HVR-A1, for about $700 more, has a user-programmable button that can be assigned one of several functions including manual white balance. A simple mechanical control can then actuate this. I spoke with Ike at Ikelite about this and they have added the button to their HC1/A1 housing. So you can buy a much less expensive housing and still have manual white balance, but the flip side is you have to buy the more expensive version of the camera. Incidentally, this is the approach Light and Motion has taken. They were unable to get white balance through LANC and have added a mechanical button for white balance that only works on the A1 version. With the A1 version you get XLR jacks and phantom power, plus a few other nice features.

Nice thing about the Ikelite is the removable external wide angle lens (Inon) with a flat port under it. Combined with the very powerful macro capabilities of this camera, you have anything from extreme macro to wide angle on one dive. It doesn't have the convenience of an internal flip filter though, so you need to carry an external one. I think the Ikelite currently has the most functionality of all the housings for this camera right now, and the price point is terrific. Of course, it's not as "sexy" as amphibico...

Jonathan

In my desperate search for a housing for the Sony HDR HC1 I just bought, I discovered that the Amphibico Dive Evo Buddy for the HC1, both limited edition and non limited edition, will not be able to access manual WB via the LANC as the engineers have not been able to crack it, and Sony are not reprogramming the HC1. So there doesn't seem to be a housing available which can access the manual WB via the touch screen, except the Ikelite. Anyone know how this works and how reliable it is? And will it really provide access to manual WB?

The Ocean Images housing can do it via mechanical controls to the touch screen.

But I thought the Amphibico could in fact do it via LANC? That is at least what is being reported everywhere.

The Ocean Images housing can do it via mechanical controls to the touch screen.

 

But I thought the Amphibico could in fact do it via LANC?  That is at least what is being reported everywhere.

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That was what I was told at DEMA but apparently it's just a hack like the L&M version. Still one button but not instantaneous.