Freeflow

The camcorder...

So, once we decided to take the plunge (as it were) and join the world of underwater videographers, the first step was to identify the camera we wanted.

Some context: (i) we’d never owned a camcorder before; (ii) at our wedding – as recently as October 2004 – we’d specifically requested no video. (The reason being that time between snapshots can be remembered as you perceived it on the day, whereas there’s no denying the reality of video…)

So, around a year ago, we started looking for a suitable camera to buy. I knew very little at the time, but it soon became clear that three chips were, unsurprisingly, better than one. Also important to us was size. Clearly there was no meaningful upper limit on the amount we could theoretically spend on a video camera, but equally, it was clear that price beomes proportional to size once you headed much beyond the so-called “prosumer” segment.

We quickly identified Panasonic and Sony as the only manufacturers offering a compact 3CCD Mini-DV camera for which we could find currently available underwater housings.

It also became clear that the Panasonic cost a bit more (around £100-200) and had more limited availability of housings.

Hence, we arrived at the HC-1000. Here’s a review.

It’s mixed. I read it before we bought. But it seemed that the primary criticism was not around picture quality, but rather around the absence of manual controls. Now, if I’d been focussed on above-water video, I might have been concerned, but, given the emphasis on under-water videography, I realised that the number of controls I’d (i) be able to access and (ii) be able to coordinate using, was likely to be limited. In that respect, the limited selection of manual controls, coupled with decent housing availability, compact size and excellent picture quality seemed a good place to be.

So far so good. We’ve taken the camera on two dive trips and I’m quite happy to date. It’s clear that the camera is capable of better underwater video than its owner and that’s the right way around. I’ve more concerns around the housing, but more on that later…

In the meantime, some of the results of our efforts are posted in the video section.

Stephen · Tuesday, March 21, 2006, 15:13 · Permalink

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