Video Set up

[ronprowse]

ok, I already a still package that im happy with but now i want to branch into Video, trouble is there are LOADS! of video cameras out there and i dont know where to start.

Things i feel are important are:-

low light shooting
ease of transfer to my PC for burning
i dont end up spending 2k


But as i say i dont know where to start, so i hoping that some of the members could point me in the right direction and give me your advice.

Regards
Ron

[Mark]

A decent broadcast quality rig will cost £6k+

For stuff that is good enough for home use, almost any DV camera will be suitable.

I started with a 2nd hand Amphibico housing from ebay for £255, very little in the way of controls, but it works. Bought a Sony camera that fitted (most housings require a lanc, remote wired connector). Then strapped my torch to the top and got some half decent results.

Next I bought another housing, but this time with a rear screen so I could see what I was filming and loads of controls to play with. Strapped my Greenforce to the top and it was even better, most of the time. Sony camera again.

What am I still missing? No matter how good a camera's auto white balance is, it's still crap. You need to have a manual white balance, especially for shallow stuff.

Dome port adaptor, to get good wreck footage you need to use the ambient light, using lights is fine but you won't get enough light for wide angle stuff unless you have a serious lighting rig, we're talking Kilo Watts not watts. A big dome port will let in a lot more light.

So it all depends on what you want to do.

Low light, most video cams work in very low light, wide angle lenses that screw into the front of the video cam work well enough, make sure the lens will fit inside the housing though.

Transferring to a PC you will ideally need Firewire, you can get a card for a PC, it will download the digital signal directly from the camera (providing it has digital out). Using the USB will be slow and tedious.

I've decided I want to go the next step, it'll cost. What I have is great for home DVD's and streaming on the net, recording my dives and trips abroad.

HTH

[ronprowse]

Well the new video setup arrived last week, ive not had a chance to get the housing wet yet but im in the pool next week so it gets wet then.

I brought the Cannon mv960 + ikelite housing and a WA lens now i need a red filter for the Wa lens!

Someone said that you can use the Magic filters so i was wondering if i got a Magic filter would it be ok to place it between the WA lens and the video housing?

Ron

[Ben]

Howdy,

What video editing / post production software are people using??

Im right keen on using Sony Vegas 7.0 at the moment. Love it to bits and can pretty much get it to do anything. Whats everyone else using??

Take care

Ben

[Andy Berk]

Originally Posted by Ben

Howdy,

What video editing / post production software are people using??

Im right keen on using Sony Vegas 7.0 at the moment. Love it to bits and can pretty much get it to do anything. Whats everyone else using??

'Casablanca' Avio II and also the original DV unit. They said it wouldn't ever be a serious editing tool - how wrong can you be - its a brilliant piece of kit.

Berko