Richard E. Morris

As the video producer for the Census of Marine Life I have become aware that similar species exist, fairly often, from pole to pole and this is true for all kinds of critters. If you check out the press release from the ChESS project(www.coml.org chemosynthetic environments) on the subject you will find that the scientists have determined this phenomenon appears to be common and DNA typing is currently underway to determine just how close these like species really are. RM

this is a blue ribbon eel not a moray

This housing is, again, the best offering for the HVX 200 that is on the market. Fully manual means no electronic control failures and it is easy to build and ship though really heavy when traveling and costly to travel with. If you are shooting professionally then you also need the wide angle by fathom which is over $4,000.00 and you will also need a flat port for the attachable diopters that mount on the camera.

I did find that the housing has design issues in that it can't control a lot of the camera functions so you have to set up to shoot a specific format and frame rate as well as shutter speed. Gates also charges heavily for additional switches like the manual to auto switch and the P2 to tape switch which should be included but aren't. I also found that many of the removable parts do not stay tight and you have to modify the set up to fix these problems. The most irritating being the handles coming loose in which case you have to replace the nylon washers, very inconvenient. I also find the levers can slip and you have to have the right allen wrenches to re-set them so carry tools...

Just the best for the buck. The color temps and ability to add filters mean you can really control the final result when you shoot these lights. They are never overpowering and add a perfect amount of enhancement to the image when shooting in daylight. These lights are also dimmable with 3 positions so you can key and fill as well as tune up or down depending on the conditions you encounter. The batteries are also very stream lined and easy to deal with and you get about 80 minutes per charge running on or near full intensity. It is also great to be able to turn them off or dim them down while you are searching for subjects or setting up shots. Don't let the low wattage fool you, they are great

Of all the video cameras available under $10,000.00 this is the top of the heap. With variable frame rates and the ability to shoot it like a film camera the image quality is outstanding. This camera also shoots a number of formats like DVC Pro and DVC Pro 50 so it is acceptable by all the broadcast and cable outlets. The camera also shoots in native HD, the real deal, not HDV so you get all the information in every frame and pixelation is drastically reduced while large screen projection is seamless.

The down side is that all the controls are not accessible when shooting underwater which means you have to set up for a specific type of shoot before you dive and that is what you get. This is restrictive but not a severe as it may seem but it would be great to have shutter speed control and the ability to adjust frame rates while shooting at any time... I have often needed this on the fly and it just isn't going to happen so your shooting style has to be modified to account for this.

The camera is also a work horse and has never had a moments trouble in any environment from the extreme heat of South East Asia to the Arctic where the water temps are 28 - 29 degrees F. The P2 technology is expensive to purchase but well worth the time and trouble when every shot is nearly guaranteed and the cards seem to last forever...

Lastly, this camera produces an image that makes my old Sony SD rig seem out of focus in comparison and the rich film-like quality images are just tops for it's class... Great camera!

fabulous Manatis Shrimp

What an amazing take on one of the most photographed creatures of the deep. These images almost seem like a shoot for a fashion mag and as David has shot fashion underwater it makes perfect sense... Fabulous David... Rick M