As usual at this time of year, Oceans Below is preparing for the season ahead by upgrading our stock of video equipment. We've acquired the newest models of HD video cameras and underwater housings for our students to learn underwater videography.

In keeping with the latest technology, we are eliminating all internal moving components for capturing our HD underwater footage. Behind us are the days of DV tapes with dirty head issues; tape deck breakdowns caused by too many moving parts; and limited capture time. For 2011, we'll be moving to solid state cameras across the board.

Last year we upgraded the cameras which were used on our underwater videography internships and daily video production to hard disc drive (HDD) technology. We chose the Sony XR range, including the XR 500, and XR 520, with both PAL and NTSC models.

We housed all these great cameras in the Aquatica HD Wave housings. Aquatica invited us to test the housings when they came onto the market, and they so impressed us that Oceans Below quickly became a distributor for Aquatica underwater video equipment!  This camera and housing combination continues to serve us well on a daily basis.

For the coming year the Sony CX 550 will be joining our ranks. This fantastic camera, a few steps up from the XR 520, is part of a line which includes an HDD model- the XR 550. However, the CX 550 incorporates fully solid state technology. This means that there are no moving parts and virtually nothing can go wrong. They also handle environmental factors such as heat, damp and cold much better.

In addition, we have also added a Sony EX1R broadcast quality camera with Gates housing. Also a solid state camera, this amazing professional model will be used for production filming, stock underwater footage, and our new Advanced Underwater Documentary Filmmaker course.

The arrival of all of this new equipment means that we must make room by selling last season's models. We are able to offer the Sony XR 500 and 520 with Aquatica HD Wave housings either new or second-hand. The used ones have been training cameras that have, in most cases, only worked with us for a few months. All are meticulously maintained in-house, and are in perfect working order. Oceans Below upgrades the training cameras every 6-12 months so that we can offer only the latest technology to our students as they learn underwater video.

We also still have a couple of Sony PC350 cameras in Gates housings which we would be happy to offer to anyone interested. Though a few years old, these are great rigs for someone starting out, or perhaps, a new video company looking for a cheap and effective way to get their business off the ground. The cameras are all in great working order and have had new tape decks fitted in recent months. As we no longer use this model, they will be going cheap!

Come in or contact us if you're interested in knowing more about any of our equipment.