Canon 550D underwater photo and video with the DiCAPac SLR Case

Since underwater cases for DSLR cameras are way to expensive for my budget ($1000++) I was searching for an underwater bag for my 550D and came along the DiCAPac SLR Case. It's a $115 (90€) bag for your DSLR camera which is meant to be waterproof up to 5m. It's pretty big so you can even put in a 7D or 5D if you want to. You can find even cheaper cases on ebay, but to be honest - I don't trust them. The DiCAPac case has a large optical lens with a diameter of 85mm, so you can use it with a big variety of lenses. And the quality of this glas is really good. I couldn't notice any light loss at all.

To keep this article short, here are the facts. After some tests I took a few underwater photos and shot some videos with this thing and it works! The quality is amazing! This is a product I can recommend without any doubt.

Here's a short video to show the abilities of this bag


But before you hit the buy button and get this thing you should be aware of some things. Handling your camera with this bag is really hard! You can fit 2 550Ds in this bag easily. I think it will work better with bigger cameras. Making adjustments during a shot is almost impossible. So you have to make all your settings first (even zoom and focus) and then start the shoot. Another problem I had was that my 18-55mm kit lens was way to small, so I had to push the tube for the lens against it all the time to avoid filming the inner side of the tube. But with some practice or by taping the tube towards the bag (or using a longer lens) you should get some really nice shots, even if this bag can't replace any professional case for your DSLR.

I can't wait to test this bag on a rainy day...

My rating:
price: 5/5
quality: 5/5
handling 2/5

Cheers,
jonni

A lot of new equipment for my 550D to review

This is just a picture of some new equipment on my desk that I will review soon. It's
- a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens,
- a EW-60C lens hood replica from China,
- Canon Macro extension tubes that I will compare to a
- +10.0dia 58mm Macro Lens,
- a 0.45x 58mm wide angle lens for a fisheye effect,
- a M42 to EF adapter for attaching old lenses to the 550D,
- a lens cleaning pen, and
- a H&Y Fader ND for shooting video in bright sunlight with a wide open lens.

Can't wait to review these things.

Cheers,
jonni

jonnionhd.com - new domain

I'm planning to post more videos about my equipment and other DIY projects, so I decided to buy the domain jonnionhd.com. If you have any wishes for this site let me know. I hope you like it and that you will check by again.

Cheers,
jonni

The DSLR Cinematography Guide

If you're new to DSLR cinematography, check out this article. It's very helpful and teaches you all the basics for shooting videos with an DSLR as well as a lot of stuff you would have never thought of could be relevant.

If you like it consider a donation - you'll get rewarded with a printable pdf version. My rating: 5/5.

Cheers,
jonni

jonni's 35mm DOF adapter (for M42 and Canon EF lenses)

This is the DOF adapter I built for my Casio EX-F1 when I wanted to achieve a cinematic look in videos I shot with this cam. It is very cheap and one of the shortest adapters I've seen so far. It works with regular Canon EF lenses like the 50mm 1.8 and also with old M42 lenses that you can find for cheap on ebay (I got my 55mm 1.4 lens for 40 Euros).



The image is recorded upside down, but you can solve this problem very easily with a 180° rotation in post production. I also tried to attach this adapter to a Panasonic camcorder and it worked fine - I just needed some cheap stepping rings to make it fit.

Here are some videos to show the abilities of this adapter:







As you can see in the videos the adapter works very well. It is a very cheap solution to get some shallow depth of field in your homevideos that you shoot with your camcorder. The only problem is that you have some light loss and that you can see some grain in the videos (depending on the focusing screen or ground glass you use). To avoid this you have to let the ground glass (screen) vibrate or rotate. I don't like vibrating adapters because of the noise they make and I also think that the vibration has some bad influence to the sharpness (because the movement of the screen changes the flange focal distance). A rotating adapter would be a much better solution. But I have never built one because now I have this superb Canon 550D and I don't need this adapters any more ;)

Here are some tips for all of you that plan to build an adapter like this:
- try to make it as short as possible (light loss)
- don't use a cheap macro lens (distortion, chromatic aberration)
- don't use a cheap ground glass / focusing screen (hot spotting effect)
- use a high quality condenser lens (reduces the hot spotting effect)
- screw don't glue.

If you have trouble with the quality of your adapter read this:
- The distance between the lens and the ground glass (GG) is the most important thing and has to be absolutely correct. It is called "flange focal distance (ffd)". Check wikipedia for the right ffd of your lens.
- Next thing is the quality of your GG. You will loose less light if it is thinner. It also has to be very fine if you don't want to see a lot of grain. So if you have enough money and if you don't need a circular one go for a Canon screen.
- If the quality is still bad check the tips above again. Hope this helps.

If you're interested in the process of building my adapter, here's the original post in a german EX-F1 forum.

Got any questions? Write a commet.

Good luck with your project,
jonni

Post #1

What is the purpose of this blog?
...this will definitely be no news site! My intention is to show some tips for shooting good videos and photos with the Canon 550D on a budget. I don't know if this will work out, but I'll try my best and hope it helps someone out there a little bit.

Who is the author?
...jonni, a student from Germany, interested in art, photography, video, etc. I'm no professional, I just like carrying around my camera and shoot some stuff.

I bought my 1st digital camera in 2003. I don't know the model any more because I switched to a Pentax Optio S after 2 days ;). When my brother killed this camera my Casio addiction started. Exilim S500, S600, S770 and finally the EX-F1. The EX-F1 is a really nice camera with a lot of fascinating features like highspeed video - but you simply can't compare it's quality with DSLR material. When I saw some ultra sharp and clear 7D videos on vimeo, I decided to save some money and go for it. But then the 550D came out...... and here I am: brand new 550D and some money left for lenses and other accessories ;)

Maybe you know my EX-F1 videos on vimeo or my DIY DOF adapter tutorial. If you liked this subscribe to my posts - I plan to build a steadycam and a slider for DSLRs, too. The material is already bought ;)

If you're interested in "art" check out my other blog: jonnionart.blogspot.com

When will this blog start?
...as soon as the layout is ready ;)


I hope you'll check by again. If you have any wishes for this site let me know.

Cheers,
jonni