by
Randy Beecham
October 2001
After purchasing a professionally made videotape of our recent dive trip to Grand Cayman, I was determined to enter the world of underwater video imaging for myself. I already had an Olympus c-3040 with an Olympus PT-007 housing for underwater still photos, but I’ve never been satisfied with the MPEG feature on it: poor resolution, choppy movement, limited capture time, etc. So, after much research, I decided to purchase the Sony DCR-PC110 Mini DV camera and the 10Bar PC-110 housing. I won’t attempt to review the camera itself, except in a very cursory way when needed. There are already numerous online reviews of this fine camera. But I will try to give you an objective review and opinion of the 10Bar PC110 housing. I will assume that you already have an introductory knowledge of this housing. If not, you may log onto the 10Bar Website and/or download the manual to familiarize yourself with the basic features of this housing. I have reproduced a photo diagram of the housing from the 10Bar website.
I first learned of the
existence of the 10Bar housing from reading a press release on Wetpixel.
I had looked at several of the competing housings for the PC-110.
The features and prices vary widely, so I prioritized my needs and bought
the 10Bar. My considerations were
price, size, flexibility and expansion, ease of use, ability to shoot underwater
still photos with onboard flash, reliability, service, etc.
The best blend of features seemed to be the 10Bar, so I emailed them and
ordered a housing from Hong Kong over the internet. (At this time, I know of no US distributors who are selling
this housing.) International
ordering was simple enough. I just
purchased a cashier’s check, sent it by Fed-Ex, and in a week or so, I had my
housing. (They do not offer online
ordering at the time of this writing).
Their website lists the items that are included:
a soft-shell case, a video light accessory arm, an underwater red filter
with tether, several Allen wrenches, an extra O-ring and silicone grease, 2 pry
lever tools, a “Universal tool”, a carrying strap, a manual, and a small
watertight case to carry the wrenches and spare O-ring.
After fiddling with the housing on land, I finally got the chance to try
out my new toy on a recent trip to the Florida Keys.
During the first week of
October 2001, we drove to Key Largo and prepared to take the camera on its
maiden voyage. Unfortunately, due
to rough seas, we were only able to schedule one 2-tank dive.
But this was enough to take the 10Bar and the PC110 through at least some
of its paces.
I was first impressed by
the quality of the housing itself. The
parts all seemed to be well-tooled and they fit together nicely (which is not
always a given.) The
air-seal is ingenious and I was surprised by its simplicity and reliability.
It opens easily enough with the included pry tool (just be sure to
loosen the Pressure Release valve first !!!)
I’m not sure why 10Bar chose to use this method of sealing the housing,
instead of the more traditional clasp method.
Perhaps it saves money on hardware costs.
I’m a little concerned about the life of the polycarbonate lip that you
must pry against to open the housing. It
may chip in time, although it seemed sturdy enough.
Perhaps some metal reinforcement would be in order.
A few words about the
Universal tool. It is made of a
hard plastic resin material and contains 2 different sizes of plastic Allen
wrench tips. It also contains a
“socket” for loosening the Pressure Release valve if you should accidentally
close it too tightly. One of the 2
plastic wrench tips fits the removable handle for the housing.
This tip quickly stripped out after I attached the handle the first time.
Unfortunately, neither of the 2 metal Allen wrenches that are
included will fit the handle, so I can’t remove it for storage until I go
purchase the correct sized Allen wrench. The
tool is conveniently attached to the tether cord of the housing, as is the pry
tool. They also provide a spare pry tool.
The tolerances of the housing are tight, so it takes a little patience to fit the camera in the housing just right. The main problem seems to be the hand strap, which needs to be folded so that the camera can fit exactly. I couldn’t seem to remove the hand strap completely, which would have made things easier…a Sony problem, not a 10Bar problem. Anyway, when you close the housing, you hear a rush of air being expressed. Then you simply tighten the Pressure Release valve gently…the seal is made on the inside, not by the tightness of the valve. But don’t forget to turn the LCD monitor backwards and open it flat against the camera, like I did, or you’ll have to open the case back up and then re-seal it. An interesting point needs to be made here. 10Bar uses a mirror to view the LCD monitor, which allows you to view your subject on a larger screen without having to keep your face against the back of the camera housing. By using a mirror to reflect the LCD image, you would think that your images would be reversed. Not so. Sony has included circuitry that reverses the image when you turn the LCD backwards. Try it for yourself with your PC110. Turn on the camera to the “Camera” setting. Open the LCD all the way, flip it over so that it is facing away from you, and then fold it back against the camera, as though you were closing it. Now look at the images on the screen. They are reversed! So, when you view them through the 10Bar’s mirror, they return to their normal perspective. Cool !!! The monitor worked flawlessly and I was able to keep the camera at arms length while filming. This helped keep my peripheral vision intact as I scanned for my next film subject. (It also helped my 49 year old far-sightedness by allowing me to actually focus on the LCD!)
Video Function
The videos we produced were
awesome. The PC110’s low light
capabilities made the usage of a video light unnecessary.
Granted, I was in the Keys at 35 feet deep. For deep dives, or wreck penetration, a video light may prove
to be helpful. The red filter,
which is included, should be kept on for normal videos without artificial
illumination. This filter helped
me achieve a nice color balance on my videos and ambient light stills.
(Just remember to remove it before taking a flash photo; more on that
below.) The macro feature is
first-rate and keeps the subject in focus essentially all the way to the lens.
The zoom control was a little cumbersome and required 2-handed operation
to steady the camera. The 10Bar housing will not
accommodate the extended life batteries, therefore limiting your video time.
My 2 dives were about 1 hour each. I
ended up with approximately 30 minutes of actual video and had no battery
problems. Remember, the LCD is on at all times, which will decrease
your battery life.
The housing has a convenient set screw (see red knob on photo above) for the ON/OFF switch, which allows you to lock your camera in the Off, Camera, or Memory (still photo) position. This is very handy. For instance, it keeps you from accidentally powering the camera ON and running down your battery before submerging. It also keeps you from accidentally powering OFF the camera just when that 6-foot nurse shark swims by. The only problem is that the knob is smooth and slippery when wet. Be sure not to tighten it too tight, or it may be very difficult to un-tighten it when you need to. I would suggest that 10Bar make this set screw larger and/or texture the surface so that the diver can grasp it better.
For those of you who
like the sound of bubbles, the onboard microphone picked up my breathing sounds
nicely.
Still Photo Function (Memory Mode)
One of the major advantages
of this housing is that you can use the internal flash of the camera for your
still photos. The clear
polycarbonate housing transmits light very nicely, providing adequate
illumination for most applications. The
resolution on this camera is only about 1.3 megapixel, so this is not
the camera to use to shoot critical digital still photos. It is, however, more than adequate for amateur and snapshot
photography. (I have an Olympus
c-3040 and Olympus housing for my serious still photos). I have posted examples of the PC110, as well as the c-3040
for comparison. The PC110’s still
photos were very respectable when compared with the 3.34 megapixel Olympus.
I purchased a 128mB Memory
Stick for underwater use and shot about 110 still photos at the highest
resolution, with room to spare. As
stated above, the battery function was sufficient for 2 1-hour dives, 30 minutes
of video, and 110 still photos.
The internal flash worked well except in extreme close-ups. Since the flash is on top of the camera, the bottom half of close-up photos were under-exposed. I posted a few examples of this problem on the sample photo page. In addition, I experienced a user-error with the red filter. Be sure to remove the red filter prior to using the internal flash. If not, your photos will have a distinct red coloration, which is only partially correctable by PhotoShop (see posted examples). When used for ambient light photos and videos, the red filter provided satisfactory results. A tether is included, so that the filter will dangle from the housing when not in use. A neoprene protective pouch would be a nice addition. Hopefully 10Bar will read this review and supply one in the future. A protective lens cover would also be helpful to protect the lens bezel when storing and transporting the housing.
Conclusion
I was very pleased with the function of the 10Bar PC110 Housing. In addition to its affordable price, the low light capabilities of the camera, and the ability to use the internal flash, make it essentially unnecessary to purchase a secondary light source for most applications. The quality of the still photos is satisfactory for most purposes: posting on your website and printing & sharing with friends. I wouldn’t recommend enlarging the prints to 11x14, or trying to get them published in Rodale’s. But for an affordable, multi-purpose, all-in-one, compact digital video/photo system, the PC110 and the 10Bar Housing are hard to beat. If 10Bar makes the improvements listed above and below, and gets a few distributors in the US, they stand to be a formidable player in the underwater video market. If they REALLY want to blow away the competition, they will consider adding electronic controls through the LANC input.
Summary
Pros
n
Affordable price
n
Compact size
n
Air lock (no clasps to rust or break)
n Polycarbonate housing won’t rust, and transmits internal flash
n
Most essential camera functions operational in housing
n
Well written manual
n
Reliable mechanical controls
n
Generous accessories for the price
Cons
n
On/Off set screw knob needs to be textured for better grasp
n
Zoom function operation clumsy and requires 2-handed use
n
Air pressure seal (requires tool to open and pry points may
wear down or chip)
n
Will not accommodate extended life battery
n
Universal tool stripped; need Allen wrench backup for handle
screw
n
Needs lens cap and protective pouch for red filter
n Mechanical controls – electronic controls would allow smoother operation, especially the Zoom function.
n No U.S. distributors