hvx200 vs pmw-ex1 for underwater use

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furryboy80

New member
I am wondering if anyone can help me with my dilema.

I am in the middle of choosing a camera and have decided on either the hvx200 or the pmw-ex1.

The only difference is that i intend to use the camera of choice almost soley underwater in a gates housing.

Does anyone have any experiance with either of these underwater.

What is attractive about the ex1 is the low light capabilities, but i am concerned about if any rolling shutter effects are likely underwater, i am assuming due to the dampening effect of water that any of these effects will be minimal.

I have searched for a similar post but sone seem to exist that are concerned with underwater use.
 
I was in the same boat and ended up choosing the HVX. I heard a story of a EX-1 overheating within an hour inside a SPL housing and that was all it took for me to decide. Not sure if it was an isolated incident but it makes sense with the way it's air cooled.
 
just came back from fiji and had good results with my hvx200. water was blooming so not epic footage but hvx200 worked great . my housing i had made might be for sale. will be using the hvx170 in a new housing in sept. pics of the housing are on www.jetaddiction.com
 
I'd also say to think about other housings as the Gates is really really overpriced. You can get a custom made housing for half the price.
 
90% of my shooting is on the surface bouncing in surf off a ski . i needed a flat glass port with a 1/8 in raised surface so i can squeegy the glass, as well as mount a ks8 gyro on the bottom. gates doesn,t work like that. my custom one is rear opening ,to swap p2 cards and way lighter as well. just enough room to fit on a polerizer .
 
Mine too Jet. I had mine built by Jim at waterhousings.com IT has so many more options than the Gates and I'm doing mostly splash type video stuff. I mean, just having a tripod plate on the bottom of the housing is cool enough or me to go with mine.. plus it's about 1/3 of the price and about 1/3 of the weight...
 
mine dove to 80ft with no problem . i like the waterhousings.com unit but not to be under 10ft or so. it is even lighter than mine. but the wing nuts on the front glass is harder to wipe. he makes great stuff.
 
I don't know about the heat thing and if that's a factor, but in my opinion as an EX1 owner I can't imagine you having rolling shutter issues underwater. I can't hardly force rolling shutter issues on land, actually I haven't been able to yet at all and I've been all handheld, and running with the cam in hand. But I did leave my EX1 on once (by accident) and it was inside my carry case zipped up and I retrieved it a couple hours later and it was pretty warm.

I will be getting a housing to protect my EX1 while on my kayak so this heat issue is something I'll have to investigate further too. But rolling shutter? Naw. The low light capabilities and stunning sharpness of the image will blow you away, IMHO. Of course you're choosing between two great cameras, I'm sure you'd love the HVX too.
 
Jet. I know what you mean... BUT jim now puts the bolts and stuff recessed. So easy to wipe now.. I use the california water blade and works so well... Really good stuff. Mine is a splash housing. good for 30 feet, BUT I want JIm to make me one for 100' and also one for the SD9 camera.


where are you out of?
 
if you don,t need it now i would wait for the hvx170 then the smaller size even less weight .the added bonus of even wider shot without adding a lens. the hvx200 is wider than hvx200 and the new hvx170 even wider . might take waterhousings a few months to make one for the hvx170. the heat is a major problem with the red in a housing and might be the same when the scarlet comes out. my sony fx1 got smokin hot inside the housing. not much heat from the hvx200. i am up in canada but shot in tahiti,fiji,hawaii,africa,brazil.
 
Swardo - spl housings are aluminium aren't they? i'm not sure how the camera would overheat unless it was used extensively out of water with the housing used as a splash guard. I plan on using the housing fully submerged where there is minimal chance of overheating due to waters faster than air heat dissipation. I want a housing that is good for at least 70m - and i want an aluminium housing due to its high thermal conductivity.

I have used a gates housing in the great barrier reef and was very impressed. i'd say much of their expence is due to the high depth rating compared with many other housings and the necessary structural reinforcement that is required for 137m (about 440ft) or 14.7 atmosphears.

A custom made housing is a good idea but i am in australia, and there is only 1 that i can think of that specialises in underwater housings. Wills housings i think they are called but his are plastic i think.

I currently have a sony sr1 in an amphibico housing and have taken that to 66.2m (217ft) without a problem, but i have outgrown it and am starting to find shots that i can't get with this setup and am also interested in going pro. One thing that is a must is manual white balance which this camera/housing doesn't have.

I would love to see some underwater shots that you guys have shot with either of these cameras, even in low res form.
 
Camera bags are a good alt.

Camera bags are a good alt.

Everyone. There is a camera 'bag' company out of Germany, EWA-MARINE, that has a fit for most cams out there. I bought the VP2 for my HVX200a and will be giving it a test this weekend. I will post the results here on Sunday or Monday. My main objective is shallow water free dives less than 1 atmosphere, (thats 33 ft to the novice), and used in off shore sailing and fishing off the coast of California. I expect to give a good report for this gear that cost me $550.
 
SISUMAN , thanks for the comment but my main problem is determining which camera i want, or more precisely which would be most suited to the task.

I have done a lot of research on underwater housings and i know whats out there, but i am new to the higher level cameras and am trying to get my head around them.

I regularly dive to deeper than 30m (98 ft) so the EWA-MARINE bag is not suitable - but it sounds ideal for some of the other guys looking for all weather protection and mild diving ability, i'd be interested to know how they perform.
 
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the crappy part of splash bags ,the glass is not attached to the lens moves around and you can see it. i bought a extra sunshade for my hvx200 and glued in a 1/8 in glass port tight to the lens added a waterproof bag . the best thing is that it twists and locks on the front of the camera .it weighs nothing. good for about 3ft under water. works great. the bag was $30 and the sunshade was $60. the metal flange that connects the bag to the sunshade was hard to make . but $550 for bag with a big glass hole seems a bit steep?
 
I would NEVER trust a 6k camera to a plastic bag. I saw a camera die in one due to the moisture in the bag.


It would also force you to be very gentle and you wouldn't be able to do more extreme kinds of shooting. My housing has flown off a wakeboard boat at 40MPH and NOTHing happened to it. I've dived off the top of a mast with the housing... I've had a 10 foot wave come crashing down on the housing and slam me and the housing into the sand.. Nothing happened. You get what you pay for.... and my housing wasn't too expensive. 2k and it has a lot more to offer than a plastic bag...

I'ts also been rented out a few times and paid for itself...
 
no title...

no title...

We all work from what we know. Was the bag you 'saw' an EWA-MARINE? What kind of camera was it? Will we ever know if it was from mis-handling or poor product quality. What do you mean by "die"?
I would never take a HVX200a on a surfboard with me or jump from the top of a mast with it. It's too heavy... so am I. Surfing and wakeboarding are great sports but not the only game in the water. What kind of camera did you use for your water gymnastics?
As I mentioned, I will be putting a full review about this camera bag after the weekend. It will be objective and fair. I suspect that it will do just fine with the shooting that I have planned. Water or dust, this should lift a restriction that most camera people cringe at the thought of but we'll see from an analysis. I just put no stock in rumors of what somebody saw once a long time ago.
If it does work out I can take the extra $1,500 and buy a 35mm adapter instead of a custom made housing for $2,000 if that is what it cost for a HVX200a.
Yeah, if I wanted to do the water monkey thing I would spend the extra $1,500 but it seems like a big waste for my purposes. I don't need a HUM-VEE to get a quart of milk from the 7-11... a civic will do just fine.

Justyn said:
I would NEVER trust a 6k camera to a plastic bag. I saw a camera die in one due to the moisture in the bag.


It would also force you to be very gentle and you wouldn't be able to do more extreme kinds of shooting. My housing has flown off a wakeboard boat at 40MPH and NOTHing happened to it. I've dived off the top of a mast with the housing... I've had a 10 foot wave come crashing down on the housing and slam me and the housing into the sand.. Nothing happened. You get what you pay for.... and my housing wasn't too expensive. 2k and it has a lot more to offer than a plastic bag...

I'ts also been rented out a few times and paid for itself...
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It was an EWA marine bag and it was a Digital Hi-8 camera. Personally I'd rather shoot use the fishtank method and do it from the surface. wouldn't cost you anything but an old tank.


i know that wakeboarding and surfing isn't all there is.. but when you are in the captial and epicenter for wake sports. showing up with a plastic bag just isn't going to cut it and one spill wouldn't work. Besides if you were just doing a one day event.. why don't you just rent a housing and have that piece of mind. You can pick them up for about a 1/3 of the bag.


You are right through about the bag working for dunking and safe stuff. I just have NEVER had a water shoot where something crazy didn't happen. All it takes is one snag on something and bingo boingo your plastic bag is ripped..



Besides my housing will accomodate my fisheye, wide angle... shoot even my telephoto if I want too.. and it has a tripod mount so I use it for hostile environments and for when I want to keep the dust out.. Regardless though .. it's a lot of fun...
 
My el problemo with the Ewa-Marine baggy things is they don't allow for mounting the camera... I need to mount it on a mini-pod setup on my kayak deck. Also I'm not sure about the optical quality of the lens thingy on the Ewa-Marine... not sure if it's up to the high-rez quality of the EX1.
 
i built my bag set up with kayak waterbag. way tougher than the camera. good luck ripping that. use a bag only for spray or last resort if on a boat. i was bouncing off a ski at 60ft jaws with mine ,not a problem. if ewa had bags with a light aluminum handles and a better fitting glass port they would sell 3 times more. i wouldn,t have had to make my own. also if your diving go with the lower light hvx200a ,not the hvx200.
 
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