Shoot like a PRO Underwater

Few things are more frustrating than a great dive with a pro-sumer camera. HDV is simply inadequate due to Inter-frame or I-Frame MPEG recording. And that’s only the beginning. Low-to-no color sampling [4:2:0 vs. 4:2:2], minuscule data rate (25Mbs vs. 100 Mbs), and use of mini-DV tape vs. tapeless workflow add to the nightmare, but most importantly HDV does not meet broadcast standards. HDV I-Frame compression compares groups of frames to determine the compression algorithm. [see below] That’s fine for a ‘talking head’ interview where very little changes frame-to-frame, but ask yourself the logical question. Is any frame of underwater video similar to the one prior? Much less the last 15-frames? Of course not, and so the results are substandard at best. DVCPRO is a professional broadcast format. Most importantly each frame is compressed separately. HDV is doomed to consumer cameras. As broadcast standards get more demanding HDV will be kicked to the curb, left at the dock.

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Want to shoot Pro High Definition? - Buy our rugged, balanced, high quality AquaVideo Marine Case for the Panasonic HVX-200 P2 camcorder. This is the first system to provide true production level, 24p 4:2:2 recording in a compact and affordable underwater package. Rated to depths of 50 meters/165 feet, it is easy to set up and easy to use. Did I mention quality??? See our HD PodCast or our store main page hd2o.tv or the clips below in this FLOG.

[caption id="attachment_907" align="alignright" width="288" caption="DVCPRO-HD ~ u/w housing for HVX-200 "][/caption]

Buy Our Rig: includes the housing and light kit; ships in a secure plastic bin. $3000.00 studio@hd2o.tv

Optics are designed to provide an extreme wide angle view – for dramatically clearer, more colorful underwater pictures. (The lens I use  - Century .75x bayonet specifically for the HVX200 - MSRP $1195) Glass dome port optical system (not acrylic) is optically neutral; corrects for distortions and aberrations and allows true lens-magnified macro and zoom-through without having to change lenses or optical setup. Stainless steel closure clamps, five front and five back, are quick and secure the 1″ acrylic end-plates with spring-loaded locking latches to prevent accidental opening. X-ring seals are highly reliable.

Controls to all major camera functions are on this rig to include; power, record trigger, zoom, focus, iris, mode, user 1, 2, 3, white balance, A/B presets, etc. About 48 lbs dry, this rig is small, self contained, rugged, and extremely agile in the soup. 10.75” diameter allows the camera?s LCD to be open and viewed through the clear backplate without glare. Velcro secures the battery pack for the SuperNova 250w 3400K HID light-kit. We use a 100GB FireStore FS-100 which also fits below the camera mounting plate, or use P2 cards.
Ships in a plastic bin; 16″x18″x24″.

HVX200 Camera, Century .75 lens mount, FireStore FS-100 are NOT included.  studio@hd2o.tv

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Intra- vs. Inter-frame compression facts :

[Wikipedia] Most compression systems used for acquisition in the digital cinematography world compress footage one frame at a time, as if a video stream is a series of still images. This is called intra-frame compression. Inter frame compression systems can further compress data by examining and eliminating redundancy between frames. This leads to higher compression ratios, but displaying a single frame will usually require the playback system to decompress a number of frames from before & after it. In normal playback this is not a problem, as each successive frame is played in order, so the preceding frames have already been decompressed. In editing, however, it is common to jump around to specific frames and to play footage backwards or at different speeds. Because of the need to decompress extra frames in these situations, inter-frame compression can cause performance problems for editing systems. Inter-frame compression is also disadvantageous because the loss of a single frame (say, due to a flaw writing data to a tape) will typically ruin all the frames until the next keyframe occurs. In the case of the HDV format, for instance, this may result in as many as 6 frames being lost with 720p recording, or 15 with 1080i recording [3]. An inter-frame compressed video stream consists of groups of pictures (GOPs), each of which has only one full frame, and a handful of other frames referring to this frame. If the full frame, called I-frame, is lost due to transmission or media error, none of the P-frames of B-frames (the referenced images) can be displayed. In this case, the whole GOP is lost.

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Anchovies, or Sardines, or Minnows Oh My!

Key Largo - Our trusted Captain Jeff Jarvis told of a magical place where the bate fish were so thick we could not see through them. We had to see that for ourselves in HD. If you look close you will see a Barracuda (their worst nightmare) hanging in the current; upper right corner.

Take a wild guess at how many fish are in this one minute clip, go ahead - guess; who could prove you wrong??? Enjoy

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Shipwrecks have captured the imagination of scuba divers with each person alone with their thoughts to wonder what may have happened, who was on board, how many died, and if other divers may have tempted the interior to find a watery grave since. Most wrecks are as safe as underwater safety can be, and most divers use extreme caution when entering a ship’s interior, totally aware of what could be. This wreck is mostly skeletal with very few interior spaces to explore, but that doesn’t diminish the experience.

The BENWOOD was sunk in 1942 after WWII. Some say she was hit by German U-boat torpedoes and could not limp back to port. Other say she was laid to rest and used for target practice. Either way the BENWOOD is a shallow dive in reasonable current in the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary as a wonderful artificial reef to explore… and wonder.

Choose the 640 or 960 HD clips. Our HD PodCast on iTunes offers an excellent viewing experience.

 

 Shipwreck BENWOOD: Play Now | Play in Popup

 

 Shipwreck BENWOOD - HD clip: Play Now | Play in Popup

Music by Garry Lee Rosenberg, appropriately titled; Sea Anemone.

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sub titled: Get your fat white ass outside of the cage with that hand full of chum for a real shark thrill!

Video Podcast - While researching the Hawaiian monk seal for a potential documentary with NOAA I stumbled on the ugly exploitation of sharks in the region. It is shocking to realize with all the research on sharks shark tours are becoming an even MORE popular visitor attraction. A recent scuba-moron to Oahu’s North Shore called it ‘exhilarating’. With an attitude, “I just wanted to do it once.” They headed for the hotel with a small polite group of Native Hawaiians on their heels. They were explaining to the fat backsides that Hawaiians consider the shark to be ancestral Gods. Feeding them for entertainment is disrespectful to their culture. Heck, it’s disrespectful to all things in the Ocean, in food chain and the ecological balance. Hawaiians and Hawley alike want the operators to stop.

To be clear: There is nothing wrong, in fact it is smart to use a shark cage. It is very wrong when a dive operator is feeding sharks for people in a cage.

[caption id="attachment_582" align="alignright" width="280" caption="No food today? Let's head to the beach for a bite."][/caption]

Surfers and environmentalists fear the tours will teach sharks to associate people with food. When the sharks don’t find tourists in the little ‘happy meal’ steel cage what do you think will happen next?  While the tourists watch the news from the Lazy Boy some surfer or diver will be missing a limb. The sad part is sharks don’t even like the taste of human, but when confused and taunted the shark will snap and strike at anything.

Sharks sit at the APEX of the World Food Chain. Sharks will gather in areas of tour feeding. The additional shark population will also create great competition for natural prey and cause stress or deplete other marine life in the process.  But that’s of little concern to the impatient tourist who wants a rush right now.  Want a rush? Go down without a cage, see how a shark reacts to a hand full of chum.  Oh, that isn’t as pleasurable? The disrespect may seem temporary by the ‘only once’ gang o’ fools but the damage lives on long after the thrill is gone.

Joe Pavsek, owner of North Shore Shark Adventures, said, “If you read the law, you’ll understand that I’m not breaking any laws.”  (Dhaaaa, why am I an idiot?)  Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Joe Pavsek then revealed this jewel, “We don’t have to feed the sharks. We do it for the customers.” That’s why Joe is an idiot. What would be wrong with the anticipation that you might be lucky and see a shark? Not stimulating enough for an over-stimulated couch potato. The same potatos think they are great athletes because of their dozens of hours with a video game.

More than 400 Hawaiian residents packed a town hall meeting and successfully launched the anti-shark tour movement. State lawmakers have vowed to draft legislation to shut down the tours. Listen to world renowned underwater photographer Stephen Frink has to say about the state of this magical animal.

 

 Legendary Photographer Stephen Frink on Sharks: Play Now | Play in Popup

For the record: Federal law clearly prohibits feeding sharks 200 miles off Hawaii to include the Pacific territories and Samoa. The only exceptions are made for fishermen who harvest them for food, and scientific research for the benefit of the shark.

Ever hear of unintended consequences? Joe is dead wrong and needs to be stopped before someone innocent is declared dead right.

It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature!

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Ask a Scientist: How sharks breathe varies by species :: Saving the Sharks :: Care2 Groups.

[caption id="attachment_416" align="alignleft" width="212" caption="Click image for video of this shark at rest"][/caption]

This is an excellent explanation of how fish and some sharks draw water with muscles to breathe.

Answer-link :   (by Dale Madison, professor of biology at Binghamton University):

Podcast number 5 is a profound discovery for every beach-goer.  This short clip holds the answer to a fundamental question about the very beach sand itself.  Anyone who enjoys lying on the beach, have you every wondered…

“Where does all that sand come from?”  Oh yes, I’m afraid the image is true.  Parrot fish have a beak like a bird but more like an octopus and they use it to much on coral, algae and things.  The Parrot fish has a special set of grinding teeth that pulverize the coral into, you guess it, beach sand.  Or at least reef sand.
So next time you’re at the beach remember you are lying on a gigantic pile of “Parrot-fish Poop”.  How cool is that?
This is just one of many spectacular scenes from our DVD The Keys.  Take advantage of our Holiday Package and take care of all those on your list with ’scuba hangover’.

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Video - HD2O-BlugreenSymphony Do not disturb the residents? I don’t think we could have bothered this blue parrot fish in a cleaning station. We take measures

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="330" caption="Colors and Textures- click for full large image"][/caption]

to be as non-intrusive as possible and to observe without touching anything but sand, which is exactly what this parrot fish returns to the sea at about the halfway point. An awesome toothed barracuda follows some divers who had no idea he was lurking about. They are predators, they look mean, they are very fast, but like the shark- barracudas think HUMANS taste like $#*^! (crap!)  Because if they liked us, as a flavor, they could take their pick of slow moving butts, which is another good reason to stay in shape; predators take the slow injured ones.  JUST KIDDING, eat up, and enjoy the clip.

PS. Somebody has a birthday approaching; I don’t know, but I DO know what you should get them… dah, our DVD.

Click iTunes logo for our HD PodCast!

If you see me, KILL ME!

Think I’m cute?  I HATE YOU!

Sounds like punk-rock but it’s this lionfish bad attitude. The venomous Indo-Pacific ‘Lionfish’ is regularly observed in habitats within the southeast region (Florida to North Carolina) and the Bahamas. These fish are not native to Atlantic waters and may have a negative impact on native fish populations.

All of their spines are venomous and can cause extreme pain! If stung, immerse wound in hot water and seek medical attention as soon as

HD2O’s Cameraflyer, Joe “ICE” Berg, shot video of this shining new Sea-Doo Seascooter VS Supercharged Water Scooter From Sea Doo. The group put it to the test at Snapper Ledge, a must-dive site off Key Largo. (see video in this post)

Overall performance was reported as excellent - even pulling two divers against the stiff current. We just happen to have the best price on Sea Scooters in our store, Ocean Beach.

Rated the No. 1 overall water scooter by Diving Science and

Life comes at you fast. There isn’t always time to research every detail, we all appreciate a little help. We at HD2O are happy to announce the opening of the “OCEAN BEACH SHOPS“. More and more friends are taking advantage of those last-minute vacation packages. Great bargains can be found, but it takes timing. Once the trip is booked, you may find yourself strapped for time and in need of a few

Just let me go naturally.

1941 Billy Holiday first recorded God Bless the Child. Re-recorded by Blood Sweat and Tears , the song might seem a bit morbid, covering everyones final act, dying, but the song is pretty high spirited, calling out the devil and laughing a bit at life. David Clayton Thomas near the end belts out the final prayer-like lyrics, “Just let me go naturally.” Yes there’s more to read, why I’ve got half a mind

What are you trying to say with that hat?

Are you needing a new ball cap but don’t want to support just one franchise? Sick of paying $$double$$ the price to advertise some rich designer’s clothing line or support some millionaire athlete? Here’s the answer; Scuba Ball Cap page # 12 in our store $10.85 Why can’t a designer hat cost that? It’s a hat! … for cryin out loud…

Here’s a cool hat with nicely embroidered dive flag on the front. Nice soft colors so you can wear this scuba diving hat anywhere. Enjoy yourself with this neat way of showing the world that you are, you know, or you wish you were, a scuba diver!! Great gift like this hat with extra long bill and neck guard. (same page)

When you think about it; it’s crazy to advertise a brand unless you get paid. How does a logo on our cloths make us cool? The only possible exception would be the HD2O t-shirt. Check out this beauty. It tells the world all that stuff about scuba, plus it says you get underwater video from one awesome company.

We have HD2O men sizes too.