dunga - 24 January 2008 01:19 PM
hi, i’m a new user in this forum.
Welcome to Digideep
dunga - 24 January 2008 01:19 PM
soon i1m going to made some shoots in a documentary about bodyboard, i have a sony Z1, and i’m lookig to a good and cheap housing to made the videos.
If you look here http://www.digideep.com/english/digital/video/camcorder/Sony/HVR-Z1U/34/1925 you can see a list of housings. Unfortunately good and cheap is sometimes difficult to find. The Gates looks like it may be the least expensive of the bunch in the list and the Gates was one of the ones I was mention regardless of the price, Gates are built extremely well and solid as a rock. (You will also need a port for it BTW) As an aside I wrote some thoughts on the Gates housing I have for the Sony HC3 here. Gates Housing Sony HC3
dunga - 24 January 2008 01:19 PM
So, one of my question is, about using a housing like ewa marine, for me, it seems a litle poor… does anyone already use anything like this?
Not sure what conditions you will be shooting in but it will be a bit rough I would assume. Many people use the Ewa Marines and like them (I think more for stills than video, just my impression) though I would be hesitant to stick an expensive Z1 in one of those (just my personal fear more than anything else.) The other housings probaby are better options to get things like split shots with a proper port.
Overall it sounds like you may be better off renting a housing (not sure how much you are looking to spend) or even perhaps purchase one of the housings then sell it off. You can probably sell it quickly if you take “production costs” that you have budgeted. In other words if you were thinking of spending $1,000 for the proper set-up, sell the housing for $1,000 off and you will probably find some takers.
dunga - 24 January 2008 01:19 PM
I also would like to know, what is the basic equipment that i need to do some shoot, i just go shoot underwater about 1 meter,
1 meter in clear water and you may not need that much. You can probably just WB against the sun that far down and pretty much start shooting. You probably couldd even just set the WB to Outdoors and do the tweaks in post production. If you take a look here SmallThings there is an image (and a few seconds of video also) of a jellyfish I shot at about 5 -7 meters I think, maybe even a bit deeper. It has been awhile so do not recall the exact depth and think I had the red filter on. (But it has been awhile) Anyway that shows what can be done in shallower depths with not much hassle with a camera that is not as good as yours (3 CCD etc.)
Not sure if you are going to need lights of some sort or not, for example if you are shotting up and need to bring out details somehow (something akin to when photographers shoot sunball shots and need strobes to bring out the foreground if that is what they are looking for.)
dunga - 24 January 2008 01:19 PM
the final thing is, i can i get some stability in the shoots? i never use a camera in water before, because that i dont know the kind of movments that i can do.
tahnks
Dunga
The heavier housings will move less than smalller/lighter housings and will be more stable in that respect from the get go. You can also get UW Tripods and add weight to the housing to keep it stable as needed. Are you doing this on scuba and just holding positions or also swimming around? For the former you can get very stable the later may require a bit more practice but if you breath evenly and with a heavier housing you can get shots that are very stable.
Some things in general:
Not sure if you made a shot list or not for this, but if you have some ideas of some of the shots you would like ahead of time, it may be easier to plan how to get a shot and figure out what you need a bit more to be ready (Of course underwater there are always things that change, but having an idea ahead of time will help.)
Try to get into a pool to start trying the camera/housing then also try to get into the real water before you go out and shoot what you want to shoot. A bit of practice of how whatever you wind up handles and how you adjust and tweak things (seeing how various shutter speeds etc. look to your eye) will go a long way. Drop the footage into your NLE to see what you got then go and shoot the real things. Of course if it is something where you can just keep going back and shooting it is not as crticial because you can go back and try again, but if it is something where it is a one-off (such as a competition) or your are traveling a long way with a limited opportunity to shoot what you need, you do not want to be figuring things out at that time.
Hope this helps a bit.
