Revolving video mounting system. Patent applied for.
Light and Motion housings page. Website http://www.uwimaging.com/
The physical size of video housings and light setups results in limitations to underwater videography. You are somewhat limited to your dive entry point, without considerable effort. The addition of the Submerge Revolving Video Mount and Scooter/DPV will not only ease the burden of swimming and open up new territory for you to shoot your video, it will also introduce dramatic movement to your video. The addition of a powerful, proven Diver Propulsion Vehicle to your video equipment may be something that you regret not having tried sooner. And be guaranteed that you can depend on your Submerge scooter for years to come, you won't have to keep up with new technology as Submerge makes new battery technology available as an upgrade as it becomes available (Such as our NiMH battery upgrade) Features: *Revolves 360 degrees in seconds without screws *Quick release mechanism: housing can easily be removed from scooter *Low profile: housing sits only 1" / 25mm from hull *Can be used to attach any device or tool to the scooter Demonstration video click here! This video mount will fit any 10 3/4" OD scooter hull, which includes Submerge UV Scooters, Gavin scooter and clones of either. SAMPLE VIDEO TAKEN WITH REVOLVING VIDEO MOUNT 17 MEGS Once the system is attached to the scooter with a cam strap or hose clamps, the camera can be removed from the scooter by simply loosening 2 thumb screws and pulling on the 2 stainless steel spring plungers (attached to the rope in the picture). The base of the system remains on the scooter. No tools are required. Price $625 Includes stainless steel cam buckle or 2x hose clamps, plus 1/4-20 screws as required.
LASTEST NEWS 2006: YES! you can mount the L&M housing for the FX1 high def camera to our revolving video mount! This requires two (2) of the L&M TRIPOD MOUNTS for this housing (and you must have the L&M battery pods). Also required are 2x 1.25" bolts supplied with the Submerge mount if you specify you are using this housing. Light and motion housings: 2 methods of mounting to Submerge Revolving Video Mount: 1) WITH Light and Motion lights and battery pods: Use 2 x L&M part # 802-0152-A (you may already have 1 of these to secure the battery pods). See pictures below. 2) WITHOUT Light and Motion lights/pods. You will be required to purchase a Light and Motion weight tray and send it to Submerge for free custom adaption to our Mount. Picture here
Background Info
When taking underwater video, several camera angles can be easily taken which would be far more difficult on land. For example, you can hover easily 30 feet off the bottom taking an "aerial" view, giving the sensation of flying over the object.
However, there are many cases where taking underwater video is far more challenging than on land. Visibility can be very limited, so to take a video image of a shipwreck for example, it is impossible to do it in 1 continuous shot as the wreck could be 600 feet long and the visibility only 20 feet. In this case, it would be necessary to move the camera along all 600 feet of the wreck, not just take a shot from one position as would be possible on land.
Taking footage of a water filled cave passage, which can be well over 1 mile long, presents the challenge of both transporting the camera through the water and also taking footage when moving through the passage.
In both instances, due to the slow speed of the human swimmer and the drag created by video equipment, often a battery powered electric underwater scooter is used to transport the diver and the camera to the location.
Many divers have attached the video camera directly to the scooter. This enables the diver to transport the camera to the site, whilst also allowing footage to be taken while moving forward towards or along the object, or through the passage. It can also be helpful when taking stationary shots as the mass of the scooter stabilises the camera. (the heavier the scooter, the more stability)
When operating the scooter with the video camera attached, it is most common to have the camera fixed in the look ahead position. This limits the footage to that angle, whilst scootering. Many camera operators would like to be able to take video with the camera pointed at different angles during a dive, not just one angle
Sometimes divers themselves are the subject of the footage. If the divers are scootering, side by side, having the camera pointed directly ahead limits the shot to the rear of the filmed diver only; whereas the best shots would be looking back towards another scooter diver, or taking a shot from the side, all whilst moving forward.
Features of Submerge scooter video system:
1) At the point the mount is secured to the scooter, the use of a modified V-block design which is 7 inches wide provides a stable base to attach the rest of the mounting system. The video mount must be securely attached to the scooter so that there is no movement when the scooter is moving through the water. Most underwater scooters/DPV's have cylindrical hulls so attaching a camera is not as simple as if it were to a flat surface.
2) Stability, at the point the mounting system rotates. As the camera will be able to rotate 360 degrees, there is a difficulty to ensure there is no slack or play between the two mating rotating parts. This is made more difficult being underwater, as tight tolerances on unsealed rotating parts often get clogged with sand which is in the water, stirred up by wave action, divers or scooters.
3) Low profile. The camera should be mounted as close as possible to the scooter to minimise drag. This is complicated as the device which allows rotation must be between the camera and the scooter hull.
4) Ease of attachment. It should be a very simple task to attach and detach the camera to the scooter, without tools, as it is often necessary of desirable to do this at the waters surface. For example, for boat diving in rough seas it is much better to lower the scooter and the camera into the water separately and then attach in the water, to minimise risk of equipment damage. Also, it is sometimes desirable to take the camera off the scooter whilst in the middle of a shoot, to take a shot which would be difficult if the camera was attached to the scooter.
5) Securing the camera at an angle. There is a lot of drag in the water. Some camera housings are quite large, and there will be a lot of force acting against rotating parts. This makes it difficult to design a mounting system which is strong enough to hold the camera at an angle without slipping, whilst also using a minimum of parts and which is very easy and fast to adjust.
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