Thursday, November 29, 2012

Sales

Shortly after returning from Mexico I sold my CamOne infinity & accessories at a fair price via Taucher.net. While satisfied with the underwater footage I got out of it in the darkness of the caves, the image quality of sunny above land takes wasn't quite good enough for me to want to keep it for any experimental action shoots.

A month later I let go of my Dive Rite reels and a Beaver lift-bag. Figuring I could use a finger spool as safety, rent a primary reel whenever needed and having no use for the salvage bag.

This month I also sold off my precious TillyTec LED 2000 VIDEO, TillyTec LED 1000 and three Scubapro regulator sets, based upon the improbability of a dedicated dive trip in my near future.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Monday, April 2, 2012

Sunday, April 1, 2012

CamOne focus adjustment -vs- DiveBox lens replacement

[1] CamOne focus adjustment
By rotating the CamOne's optics about a quarter turn counter-clockwise it's possible to shoot underwater with the original DiveBox.

all modes can be used, e.g. 127° 1080p, 170° 720p & 4:3 photo
best possible IQ, if you find out the optimal focus adjustment
no extra costs
either sharp above or below water, i.e. mixed footage is not possible without changing the camera's focus
changing the focus requires fiddling with two tiny screws, which is rather impractical on the go, meaning one has to decide beforehand what shots are wanted

[2] DiveBox lens replacement
Though not yet available for purchase at the time of writing, I assume aquapixs will eventually commercially produce flat lenses to replace the CamOne infinity DiveBox's domed lens, if demand is there. The two flat lenses I got were prototypes to be tried at my own risk. I chose to buy a second DiveBox for this DIY modification.

both above and below water filming is possible in Full HD
no need to change the CamOne's factory set focus
only useable for 127° 1080p video, due to heavy vignetting in 170° 720p and photo modes
putting a wide angle behind a flat lens causes corner softness
somewhat narrower FOV due to refraction
replacing the DiveBox's lens implies modifying it, which should not be done too often, as the metal screws holding the lens in place would eventually wear out the threads of the plastic housing, and of course this solution requires at least one check dive to verify waterproofness, but that should be standard procedure anyways
additional costs for the flat lens and optionally a second DiveBox

Saturday, March 31, 2012