...Underwater?

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Yeah, I shoot a lot underwater too. I'm not sure if I'm going to be brave enough to take my RED along with me anytime soon after I get it. But will there be workable underwater solutions for the RED One? Any news on this or is there any submersable enclosures out there now that may work?

[CVB]

Applied, talk to camdiver. He was talking about enclosures awhile back over at the dvx forum. Look about 9 postings down. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=76265

[Mark Thorpe]

Applied,
The sole reason I will be getting RED is to take it underwater. I've been snapping wet for the past 15 years or so and this I feel will be the last camera I will ever really need to look at getting. I'm sure accessories etc will continue to be a never ending list of requirements but the camera at least will be finalized.

So far as underwater casings are concerned I am only aware of one company, thus far, looking to make a dedicated underwater housing and that is Gates out of San Diego. I've been in discussions with John Ellerbrook (CEO) and they are looking at all possibilities to house RED. Talks thus far have basically indicated that the main area of concern is that seeing as the shooter has the option to select formats the biggest obstacle regards the lenses and which ones to develop a housing around. At this point it is my belief that the housing will be made for the camera with the user then having to commission Gates to produce the required extension tubes, with manual controls, for their specific lenses / needs.

I cannot see the amount of potentially required lens extension tubes warranting the involvement of a third party manufacturer so most people electing to dunk RED into the wet stuff will have to go through Gates.

Hope this helps.
Mark.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

So far as underwater casings are concerned I am only aware of one company, thus far, looking to make a dedicated underwater housing and that is Gates out of San Diego.

This is great info. So as I get more into RED I'll probably start looking more into underwater housings. I'm not familiar with Gates housings, but I know of them having come across them when searching for housings for the DVX100 and HVX200. For the DVX and HVX, I went with the Equinox instead, mostly due to price. The Equinox keeps the wet out so I'm pleased there, but the rest of their design is just ho-hum.

[Stuart English]

Gates for sure intends to create a product, I'm sure others will too as long as they understand that the demand is there. I had just such a converation down in Bonaire over Christmas. (Great place to test underwater equipment if anyone is interested!)

[Michael Hastings]

This is Mike from AquaVideo. I reserved Red #206 at NAB and will definitely be making a housing for my RED, and for anyone else that wants to pay for one. The RED One looks like it will be very easy to mount, so (as someone here said) the main thing will be what lenses to use as that will determine the configuration, size, cost, and complexity, If you design it mainly just for a good extreme wide angle lens (like the vast majority of film-based underwater motion picture cameras have been) you can make a good housing capable of excellent imagery for less than what many people have been paying for the housings for their Sony FX1/Z1s. This would be a conventional housing with RED camera and the lens completely enclosed inside the housing like any other video or film camera - but what really intrigues me is that we may have a very unique possibility here in that the RED has been designed from the outset to be easily configured for different lens mounts.

I need to get with the RED team to get some hard information on the sensor position relative to the removable front of the RED camera, but it seems to me from what I have seen of the drawings and pictures that the regular front (with the pl mount) could be removed and the camera could be directly mounted to the inside of the front plate of the housing - and the housing front plate could have a nikonos mount machined into it to allow use of the Nikonos 15mm underwater lens directly. The Aquatica Aqualens could be used to allow use of other regular Nikkor lenses.

If someone from the RED team (or anyone else on the forum) could expound a little bit more on the optical issues involved, and let us know if RED is open to giving us exact dimensions for the front mount hole pattern, sensor distance from the front of the camera with the mount removed, etc. we could investigate it further.

[Jarred Land]

Thanks Aqua.

I will be assembling a 3rd party support/product section on here as soon as we start to get closer, to allow people that take the initiative to innovate for Red a place to be seen.

[Mark Thorpe]

Applied,
Here is one of the housing options from Gates. This is housing my Z1. Gates are completely manual, my preference, and leave nothing to chance with regards to electronics crapping out on you in the field. They also have regular flat and dome port options but illustrated here is the Fathoms 120 degree external wide lens, a $4.5k piece of glass hence the Fort Knox style restrainst and safety lines. I compose with a 4" external monitor and check expanded focus through the viewfinder.

I'm not always filming with the 120 Degree wide angle and also have Century Optics .8x Wide Angle lenses and Achromatic diopters for the small stuff along with a specially made underwater tripod for the macro applications, again a Gates product. All told this reflects an investment of around $20k for all the underwater housing and related accessories. I'm also in line for new 200w HMI's (diver portable) which are $6k a pop so one at a time. I plan to sell everything, except the lighting and 120 wide if I can get it to work with RED. If you want to check out Gates website for more info on their designs please go to: www.gateshousings.com

Cheers,
Mark.
P.S I am in no way affiliated to Gates, I stand to gain nothing by advocating their products. I am just a satisfied customer.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/55_1168157496.jpg

[Brook Willard]

What are the two tubes on top? They remind me of the Panatape...

[CVB]

I'm guessing its for ballast?

[Mark Thorpe]

Correct,
They are ballast to counteract the weight of the big glass on the front. I also have trim weight I can distribute inside the housing to fine tune the in water attitude of the unit.

Cheers,
Mark.

[Mark Thorpe]

Here's the housing wet. I prefer a slight tail end bias as I tend to shoot wildlife from a slightly lower angle underwater, always looks more impressive that way when possible.

Cheers,
Mark

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/55_1168161190.jpg

[Brook Willard]

That is so cool...

[David Nardini]

This is Mike from AquaVideo. ... the housing front plate could have a nikonos mount machined into it to allow use of the Nikonos 15mm underwater lens directly. The Aquatica Aqualens could be used to allow use of other regular Nikkor lenses.

Hi Mike, love the idea of using the 15mm Nikonos optic ... best glass in the business for u/w work (may not be wide enough to reach 90 degree FOV).
Hopefully the RED sensor is quite close to the front bulkhead (less the RED lens mount, be it PL, Nikkor, etc) ... fingers crossed :D

Any plans on having 2 front bulkheads for your housing ? To allow either your planned Nikonos lens usage and traditional domes / Ivanoffs for shallow water / splash zone, split level work ?

I'm certainly interested to know what plans you have - pencil me in as a very interested party :)

Keep us posted ...

[Mark Thorpe]

Hi David,
Are you still looking to run the tests with the SWP44 and other potential lenses for use with RED? I'm at an obvious disadvantage when it comes to wanting to get any similar tests done due to my location. Please keep me posted as to your findings as and when.

Cheers,
Mark.

[David Nardini]

... the SWP44 ...

Hi Mark ... yes, still planning on testing out the SWP44 with a Canon 1DMk2 / Nikkor 17-35 (I don't have a D2X) -> near enough to know if a potential solution.

Time has not been on my side for a while now :mad: , apologies ...

Cheers ...

[Mark Thorpe]

Hey David,
No worries, I been busy with some stuff here too and work is my priority at the moment (otherwise no RED). Look forward to anything you come up with.

Best fishes,
Mark.

[Mark Thorpe]

Applied,
Here's the unit using a Century Optics wide lens direct on the cam with a standard dome port. The size, and weight, of the Fathoms 120 (pictured next to the housing) obviously requires additional lift hence the ballast tubes.

Cheers,
Mark.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/55_1168212083.jpg