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.
Showing posts with label CamOne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CamOne. Show all posts
Thursday, November 29, 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
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The diver behind the camera
Speleological video dive in Kalimba, challenging one's buoyancy skills, sinus equalization, body positioning and camera handling technique.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Nai Tucha
Nai Tucha is Maya for Monkey House. This cenote is several kilometers deep into the jungle and is the main entrance of sistema Tux Kupaxa.
Another fabulous underground system, full of splendid decorations. We went right at the T until a domed cenote with two small holes letting in some sunlight, roots reaching down from the ceiling into the water of life, lots of catfish and a few nesting bats. Great dive!
Another fabulous underground system, full of splendid decorations. We went right at the T until a domed cenote with two small holes letting in some sunlight, roots reaching down from the ceiling into the water of life, lots of catfish and a few nesting bats. Great dive!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Dark Side of the Moon
Getting there doesn't take quite as long as one might imagine. Even though you can't really rush it on the bump-it-up jungle track to Pet Cemetery, a well maintained cenote in the middle of nowhere.
Diving to the Dark Side of the Moon and back is over 100' of wonderful enjoyment from start to finish. Definitely one of the top dives around here, again perfectly led by Jeff, together with Gosia. Happy diver :o)
I only uploaded one special sequence, through a beautifully decorated passage, in Full HD, straight out of the camera (uncut, no editing).
For the first time I actually used up my CamOne's sugar-sized battery, shooting 50 clips. I never switch off the camera during a dive, but do have the LCD turn off automatically after 2 minutes, to save energy. Personally, I find the small LCD critical to compose & monitor shots.
Diving to the Dark Side of the Moon and back is over 100' of wonderful enjoyment from start to finish. Definitely one of the top dives around here, again perfectly led by Jeff, together with Gosia. Happy diver :o)
I only uploaded one special sequence, through a beautifully decorated passage, in Full HD, straight out of the camera (uncut, no editing).
For the first time I actually used up my CamOne's sugar-sized battery, shooting 50 clips. I never switch off the camera during a dive, but do have the LCD turn off automatically after 2 minutes, to save energy. Personally, I find the small LCD critical to compose & monitor shots.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
CamOne+aquapixs in Chan Hol
Great 90' cave dive in Chan Hol led by Jeff, who carried an extra video light for your visual pleasure. Chan Hol has some really cool tunnels, the perfect place for a staged lighting configuration.
Today I actually trusted my CamOne into my self modified DiveBox, i.e. the one with a flat lens prototype in stead of the original dome lens. This flat lens prototype was kindly sent to me for trial at my own risk by aquapixs, the German company that also makes the GoForFocus flat lens replacement for the popular GoPro. Whether they'll commercially produce flat lenses for the CamOne I don't know?
The two main advantages of this solution are that you don't need to change the CamOne's factory set focus and you can shoot both above and below water in Full HD. More about pros & cons in another post.
For the record: Importing & converting the 25 Full HD clips at only a 1/4 of their original resolution into iMovie 08 took 1h, for about 3.3 GB of raw material I collected this morning. Followed by about 90' of editing. Exporting the quickly cut together 2'48" selection of passages at 960x540 only required 6'. Uploading to & processing by YouTube demanded another 39' of patience for this 82.5 MB teaser.
[ 19.12.2018 ] new 1080p video uploaded to Youtube
Today I actually trusted my CamOne into my self modified DiveBox, i.e. the one with a flat lens prototype in stead of the original dome lens. This flat lens prototype was kindly sent to me for trial at my own risk by aquapixs, the German company that also makes the GoForFocus flat lens replacement for the popular GoPro. Whether they'll commercially produce flat lenses for the CamOne I don't know?
The two main advantages of this solution are that you don't need to change the CamOne's factory set focus and you can shoot both above and below water in Full HD. More about pros & cons in another post.
For the record: Importing & converting the 25 Full HD clips at only a 1/4 of their original resolution into iMovie 08 took 1h, for about 3.3 GB of raw material I collected this morning. Followed by about 90' of editing. Exporting the quickly cut together 2'48" selection of passages at 960x540 only required 6'. Uploading to & processing by YouTube demanded another 39' of patience for this 82.5 MB teaser.
[ 19.12.2018 ] new 1080p video uploaded to Youtube
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Cave crawling
After three long days of room rest, another cave dive at last. Not just in any cenote, this time we went to my favorite: Kalimba. Upon entering & exiting the dry cavern to check the entrance pool I got tapped upon the shoulder by two bats, which I took for a good omen.
With me again to record the action: my tiny CamOne infinity in its original DiveBox, its optics now turned about 95° counter-clockwise for a small lets-try-it change, but I don't think its better than 90°?
The CamOne infinity, snuggly fitted in its DiveBox, was mounted on a Sea&Sea tray together with two TillyTec LED 2000 VIDEO lights.
Richie led for 50' into darkness, going left at the T, before I gave the turn-around sign with still more than 2/3 left of my nitrox mix, and headed back towards daylight. This shallow cave section, part of Sistema Sac Actun, gets tight here and there, requiring some finger crawling and precise maneuvering to get one's body & tanks positioned as required to fit through the various restrictions. Cozy indeed. I like!
With me again to record the action: my tiny CamOne infinity in its original DiveBox, its optics now turned about 95° counter-clockwise for a small lets-try-it change, but I don't think its better than 90°?
The CamOne infinity, snuggly fitted in its DiveBox, was mounted on a Sea&Sea tray together with two TillyTec LED 2000 VIDEO lights.
Richie led for 50' into darkness, going left at the T, before I gave the turn-around sign with still more than 2/3 left of my nitrox mix, and headed back towards daylight. This shallow cave section, part of Sistema Sac Actun, gets tight here and there, requiring some finger crawling and precise maneuvering to get one's body & tanks positioned as required to fit through the various restrictions. Cozy indeed. I like!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
CamOne in Aktun Ha and Dos Ojos
Joined a cavern tour today to try out my CamOne below water, using the original DiveBox with domed lens, meaning I had to manually re-adjust the camera's focus by rotating its optical element, about 90° counter-clockwise, so as to get relatively sharp underwater footage.
Note that with this solution you can't have it both ways, it's either sharp above or below. Evaluating the Full HD clips I'd say I haven't quite hit the optimum setting yet, but it's hard to tell due to grain.
Note that with this solution you can't have it both ways, it's either sharp above or below. Evaluating the Full HD clips I'd say I haven't quite hit the optimum setting yet, but it's hard to tell due to grain.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
DIY lens replacement
Replacing my secondary DiveBox's standard dome lens with a flat lens prototype took 25', carefully following the german manufacturer's step-by-step instructions. Now I just need to test my modified box's waterproofness, before trying it out with a camera inside.
Using a DiveBox with flat lens should allow me to shoot in Full HD (i.e. with a FOV of 127°) both above and below water, without needing to manually re-focus my CamOne infinity for each medium, as would be required with the original dome lens.
Note that this flat lens solution causes heavy vignetting in all photo modes (3|5|8MP) and in 170° videos (480p & 720p), at least in air!
UPDATE: My modified DiveBox failed its first test, from the looks of it the prototype lens leaked :o( The original remained dry down to 18m.
UPDATE: Yesterday I replaced the first flat lens prototype with the second one I got in about 15'. And today I'm happy to write that this one passed its first 70' submersion down to 18m.
Using a DiveBox with flat lens should allow me to shoot in Full HD (i.e. with a FOV of 127°) both above and below water, without needing to manually re-focus my CamOne infinity for each medium, as would be required with the original dome lens.
Note that this flat lens solution causes heavy vignetting in all photo modes (3|5|8MP) and in 170° videos (480p & 720p), at least in air!
UPDATE: My modified DiveBox failed its first test, from the looks of it the prototype lens leaked :o( The original remained dry down to 18m.
UPDATE: Yesterday I replaced the first flat lens prototype with the second one I got in about 15'. And today I'm happy to write that this one passed its first 70' submersion down to 18m.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Last day delivery
Twelve days ago I unexpectedly received two flat lens prototypes for trial, upon which I immediately ordered a second DiveBox (30€) for my CamOne infinity directly from ACME, these not being readily available yet in online shops. Today, less than 24h before departure, DPD delivered the box at last, together with a spare battery (25€).
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Bathtub trials
Just as GoPro's standard housing, CamOne's DiveBox suffers from blurry vision when used underwater. Unlike GoPro's HD HERO, it's supposedly possible to manually adjust the CamOne infinity's focus to get sharp underwater images using the original domed housing.
As there's nothing like trying it out one-self, I filled up the bathtub, pre-checked my DiveBox's waterproofness, put in the CamOne and gave both their first plunge together. For the record: with standard housing & factory-set focus, underwater footage is uselessly blurry indeed (screenshot from 1080p clip below to see for yourself).
Corrective action being required, I put on my reading glasses, got out a precision screwdriver, slightly unscrewed the two 1.5mm screws keeping the CamOne's optical element fixed in place and turned the lens counter-clockwise about 60°. Placed the camera snugly into the housing again and went for another dip. To my surprise that little twist already improved image quality quite noticeably, as in usable-if-need-be. Getting good enough focus, at least at close range, required several more twist-plunge-check cycles and, it being an overcast day, some more artificial light to reduce overall graininess.
In the end, I rotated the lens nearly 90° counter-clockwise* from the factory setting, i.e. a quarter turn, in order to obtain a relatively clear underwater image. Note that sharp below means blurry above!
So, definitely possible, but alas rather impractical on the go as this re-focusing involves fiddling with two tiny screws and requires some Fingerspitzengefühl. Whether in the middle of Yucatan's mosquito infested jungle after a sweaty hike, on a rocking salt sprayed boat before rolling back over into the sea, or, you get the picture, pretty anywhere near outdoor action, is not quite the right place nor time to open a housing and start screwing around with a camera. YMMV.
Meaning you have to decide beforehand whether to go for air or water footage, as shooting sharp in both mediums is not possible without giving the lens a spin. While acceptable for a dedicated above- or underwater cam, not being able to obtain mixed footage, not to mention one-take transitions, is IMO a very restrictive limitation.
As there's nothing like trying it out one-self, I filled up the bathtub, pre-checked my DiveBox's waterproofness, put in the CamOne and gave both their first plunge together. For the record: with standard housing & factory-set focus, underwater footage is uselessly blurry indeed (screenshot from 1080p clip below to see for yourself).
Corrective action being required, I put on my reading glasses, got out a precision screwdriver, slightly unscrewed the two 1.5mm screws keeping the CamOne's optical element fixed in place and turned the lens counter-clockwise about 60°. Placed the camera snugly into the housing again and went for another dip. To my surprise that little twist already improved image quality quite noticeably, as in usable-if-need-be. Getting good enough focus, at least at close range, required several more twist-plunge-check cycles and, it being an overcast day, some more artificial light to reduce overall graininess.
In the end, I rotated the lens nearly 90° counter-clockwise* from the factory setting, i.e. a quarter turn, in order to obtain a relatively clear underwater image. Note that sharp below means blurry above!
So, definitely possible, but alas rather impractical on the go as this re-focusing involves fiddling with two tiny screws and requires some Fingerspitzengefühl. Whether in the middle of Yucatan's mosquito infested jungle after a sweaty hike, on a rocking salt sprayed boat before rolling back over into the sea, or, you get the picture, pretty anywhere near outdoor action, is not quite the right place nor time to open a housing and start screwing around with a camera. YMMV.
Meaning you have to decide beforehand whether to go for air or water footage, as shooting sharp in both mediums is not possible without giving the lens a spin. While acceptable for a dedicated above- or underwater cam, not being able to obtain mixed footage, not to mention one-take transitions, is IMO a very restrictive limitation.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Steinbock Konstellation
In plain english: underwater camera lighting support constellation (codename "ibex") to be tried out & adjusted as needed on location.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Flat lens prototypes
In my mailbox this morning: an envelope sent by a friendly company with two flat lens prototypes for my CamOne's DiveBox.
To be assembled, tested & used at my own risk. Returnable after review if not wanted. Feedback appreciated. [ to be continued ]
To be assembled, tested & used at my own risk. Returnable after review if not wanted. Feedback appreciated. [ to be continued ]
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Camera specs: CamOne infinity
☆ CamOne infinity action cam —firmware 1.05—
* apparently the CamOne's no longer made in aluminum, but in plastic?
☆ CamOne DiveBox underwater housing
| Sensor |
| • 1/2.5" 5MP CMOS |
| • photo: 4:3 ratio , 2592 x 1944 pixel , ~3MB/picture |
| • video: Full HD @ 30fps | HD @ 30|60fps |
| • ISO: auto |
| • WB: auto |
| Lens |
| • glass with fixed focus from 60cm to infinity |
| • aperture: F2.8 |
| • FOV: 127° @ 1080p | 170° @ 720p |
| • replaceable & refocusable |
| Storage |
| • 2× microSDHC memory cards up to 32GB |
| Formats |
| • photo: JPEG |
| • video: MOV or MP4 (H.264 compression) |
| Special Functions |
| • photo bursts of 3|5 shots |
| • time-lapse photos every 3|5|10|30|60 seconds |
| • time-lapse video @ 1fps or 6|2|1fpm |
| • video loop |
| Features |
| • 1.5" TFT LCD |
| • built-in microphone (Mono, 48kHz) |
| • built-in LED light |
| • easy connectivity via micro USB & mini HDMI |
| • rechargeable 3.7V 800mAh LiPo battery |
| • 1/4"20 tripod mount |
| Size & Weight |
| • aluminum alloy * |
| • W:49 x D:34 x H:42mm |
| • 89g (incl. battery & 2 microSDHC cards) |
☆ CamOne DiveBox underwater housing
| Features |
| • access to all the camera's functions & settings |
| • clear view of the camera's LCD |
| • action mount* & 1/4"20 tripod mount |
| • rated to -30m according-to-spec-sheet* ⚠ focus adjustment or lens replacement required for sharp underwater images |
| Size & Weight |
| • polycarbonate |
| • W:75 x D:42 x H:74mm |
| • 63g (w/o camera) | 152g (with camera) |
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
HeKaSys - OneCam
Just ordered a CamOne infinity (224€*) from HeKaSys, enjoying an instant 10% discount as facebook friend :o) which I invested in two Sandisk Mobile Ultra microSDHC memory cards (8GB, Class 6, UHS-1).
UPDATE: Got my tiny new action cam delivered in less than 24h!
UPDATE: Got my tiny new action cam delivered in less than 24h!
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