UNDERWATER HD VIDEO CAMERA HOUSINGS

The Underwater Digital HDTV package is the newest addition to our ever-growing HDTV capability. This package, which includes the Amphibicam housing (created by the leader in underwater housing design, Amphibico) is ideally suited for all your underwater HDTV needs including 1080/24P. PACKAGE FEATURES Includes the SONY HDW-F900 HD camera High definition/zero distortion underwater optics Underwater Camera Operator Underwater Camera Technician Ideal for HDTV video production above, near, and below the water. OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES Underwater Communication Sytem UNDERWATER LIGHTS SPECIFICATIONS OPERATION PRESSURE 150 PSI OR 10.05 BAR (330 FEET OR 100 METERS) DIMENSIONS MARINE HOUSING WITH CARRY HANDLE, GRIPS AND LENS - 32" L x 13.5" H x 12.75" W MARINE EVF VIEWFINDER WITH SUN HOOD - 13" L x 3.25" H x 7" L WEIGHT DRY 50 LBS. MARINE HOUSING 20 LBS. HDF900 WITH LENS AND BP-L90A BATTERY 2 LBS. LEAD BALLAST STRIPS LOCATED ON 2 UNDERSIDES: 8 LBS. MARINE EVF-3" (REPACKAGED HDVF-20A) 82 LBS. TOTAL DISPLACEMENT OD SEA WATER NEUTRAL BUOYANCY IN FRESH WATER WITH O LBS OF LEAD BALLAST IN SEA WATER WITH 2 LBS OF LEAD BALLAST CONSTRUCTION MARINE GRADE ALUMINIUM ALLOY CASTINGS HARD ANODIZED AND TITANIUM POWDER COATED FOR MAXIMUM CORROSION RESISTANCE. HARDWARE IS MARINE GRADE BRASS AND STAINLESS STEEL SEALS ALL DYNAMIC AND STATIC SEALS HAVE DUAL O-RINGS HD ADAPTER FOR CANON LENS AMPHIBICO'S NEW HD ADAPTER, 'HDA', ALLOWS HIGH RESOLUTION UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY WITH CANON'S NEW LINE OF HD LENSES. AMPHIBICO'S 'HDA' DELIVERS DISTORTION-FREE WIDE ANGLE IMAGES WHILE MAINTAINING FULL ZOOM CAPABILITY FOR HIGH RESOLUTION 'CLOSE-UPS'. THE FORMATION OF HIGH QUALITY IMAGES IN BOTH AIR AND WATER PROVIDES THE CONVENIENCE OF DUAL AIR AND UNDERWATER OPERATION. ANGULAR MAGNIFICATION IS NEARLY CONSTANT IN BOTH AIR AND WATER ALLOWING FOR 'SPLIT IMAGES' WITH MINIMUM SHEAR ALONG THE AIR-WATER BOUNDARY. COMPATIBILITY 2/3 INCH HD FORMAT, (9.59 x 5.39 MM) HDTV LENSES - (5.5 £ f1 £ 100 MM; MIN f/# 3 2.0) OPTICAL FEATURES ADVANCED OPTICAL FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY, SPECIAL HIGH INDEX GLASSES, PROPRIETARY PLASTIC MATERIALS AND POWERFUL MULTI-CONFIGURATION COMPUTER OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN USED TO PRODUCE THE NEW HDA LENS. THE LENS PRODUCES SHARP, DISTORTION FREE IMAGES WITH VIVID COLORS. SHARP, VIVID, COLOR IMAGES FREE OF DISTORTION ARE FORMED AT ALL ZOOM SETTINGS AND FOR ALL OBJECT DISTANCES. THE HDA DOME PROVIDES CONSISTANT OPTICAL PERFORMANCE BECAUSE THE PROPRIETARY PLASTIC DOME MATERIAL HAS WATER ABSORPTION £ 0.001%. OTHER PLASTICS SUCH AS ACRYLIC EXHIBIT WATER ABSORPTION OF £ 0.3%. DISTORTION FREE A DEEP CONCAVE DOME OPERATING IN CONJUNCTION WITH INTERNAL HIGH INDEX OPTICS FORMS A FLAT IMAGE AT THE CCD IMAGE SENSOR. DISTORTION IS CORRECTED FOR BOTH NEAR AND DISTANT OBJECTS FRAMED AT ANY ZOOM SETTINGS. COLOR CORRECTED AN ACHROMATIC DOUBLET FABRICATED FROM SPECIAL HIGH INDEX GLASSES PROVIDES EXCELLENT COLOR CORRECTION OVER THE ENTIRE FIELD OF VIEW AT ALL MAGNIFICATION USE IN AIR OR WATER NEARLY CONSTANT ANGULAR MAGNIFICATION IN AIR AND WATER IS ACHIEVED BY USING A HIGHLY CURVED, NON-CONCENTRIC PLASTIC DOME. VARIATION OF ANGULAR MAGNIFICATION IN AIR VERSUS WATER RANGES FROM 5% FOR NEAR OBJECTS AT 5.5 MM fl TO 9% FOR DISTANT OBJECT AT 100 MM fl. 'SPLIT IMAGES' WITH AS LITTLE AS 5% SHEAR AT THE AIR-WATER INTERFACE AS POSSIBLE. FULL ZOOM CAPABILITY A 'FOCUS CORRECTOR GROUP' COMPENSATES FOR THE WATER-DOME INTERFACE WHICH NATURALLY ACTS AS A NEGATIVE LENS TO LIMIT FOCUSING. OBJECTS AS CLOSE AS 110 MM FROM THE DOME VERTEX (230 MM FROM DOME VERTEX IN WATER) CAN BE BROUGHT INTO CLEAR FOCUS AT FULL ZOOM, 100 MM fl. HIGH RESOLUTION HIGH POLYCHROMATIC MTF COMPATIBLE WITH HDTV REQUIREMENTS IS MAINTAINED OVER THE ENTIRE FIELD BY SUPPRESSING THE ASTIGMATISM USUALLY FOUND IN LESS SOPHISTICATED WIDE ANGLE LENSES. DURABLE OPTICAL COATINGS ALL OPTICAL SURFACES ARE HIGH EFFICIENCY BOARD BAND ANTI-REFLECTION (HEBBAR) COATED. THE EXTERNAL PLASTIC DOME SURFACE HAS A PROPRIETARY, SEAWATER RESISTANT, HEBBAR HARD COATING WHICH REDUCES SCRATCHES AND ALLOWS AGGRESSIVE CLEANING TO REMOVE SEAWATER RESIDUES.   © 2008 Watervisions Underwater Camera Systems All Rights Reserved

Driving a Ferrari
By Pauline Heaton csc


At the wrap party for Pasadena, the first dramatic series to be shot in HD in British Columbia, focus puller Alan “Grizz” Salzl and I were reflecting on an episode called “The Body.” The episode included a series of complicated shots coming in and out of the water in which only an underwater housing that could perform like a steadicam would work through such transitions.

The first thing Grizz said was, “What was it like driving a Ferrari?” I laughed and took a second to think that, yes, the HD underwater housing built by Amphibico had indeed reached that stature. It was light years ahead of anything I had ever used, and driving it was a pleasure.

The Amphibicam is the brainchild of Val Ranetkins, who designed the system to meet the criteria of HD, allowing the operator unlimited access to the functions offered by the camera right at your fingertips, as if you were hands-on with the camera itself. That, along with the vast range of filters that can be selected in the camera, means the operator only has to select the setting that fits that light environment, and the camera records white balance and a true rendition of colours.

It is a marvel never achieved with such ease before, but what moves it into the ranks of Ferrari are the optics.

DOP Roy H. Wagner asc wanted us to start on a woman standing in water just above her waist. We were to start shooting her underwater, moving up to half in and half out of the water. With the optics constructed on the front of the Amphibicam housing there was no distorted shift between the above-water image and the underwater image.

Even the focus shift was minimal. Therefore, the beginning frame was pleasing to the eye. Roy then wanted us to come around her like a steadicam as she delivered her lines, until we were over her shoulder looking at an actor on the side of the pool. She beckons him to come in the water and, although he is fully clothed, he takes her up on the offer and plunges in. We then had to submerge instantly and move in on him.

With Grizz’s expertise, this all went smoothly. It sounds easy — and it was, with a unit that did not require a giant shift in focus to correct the movement from in and out of the water. This allowed for a professional shot without any distortion.

If Roy had wanted, he could have operated most of the functions of the camera from dry land. He could have adjusted colour and t-stop as he watched the HD monitors during setup, but he chose to talk to me through my headset while he had lights adjusted, getting me to change t-stops in 1/3 increments. Even though I was underwater and he was in an above-surface room, we were fine-tuning adjustments together.

The Sony HDW-F900 HD camcorder was rented from Panavision Canada, with support from Panavision technicians Steve Demeter and Mark Bouchard. Stuart Hurst, Panavision Canada’s national marketing manager for HD systems, was also on hand poolside.

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