The Z1 and water don't mix...or do they?
 

I plan to shoot a documentary of a kayak first descent on a river in the high Sierra of California. The location will be remote, rugged, and near lots of water. I can't really carry a Pelican case with me, so I need water proof protection and padding for my Z1 so I can safely put it in my backpack. Does anyone know of a good dry-bag product that might satisfy this requirement?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions...

Cheers!

Andrew Stone

I know Kata makes a good water protective HDV rain cover.
This could be used when filming near the water/in the rain.
http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pi...d=1&ProdLine=1
But you can't drop it into the water.

A good backpack that is waterproof is the Lowepro Dryzone 200.
http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Back...yZone_200.aspx
The Z1 should fit perfectly and they say it would even float on the water, but if it hits a rock..... ;)
I ordered it on ebay, but I haven't got it yet.

Good call!

You saved me hours of online research...Thanks! Looks like the perfect product for what I'm trying to do.

Cheers!

Andrew Stone

Just a thought.
 

It sounds like it will be an interesting shoot. On another theread they talked about lipstick cameras used with the HDV camera and gave this link:
http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk/bullet_camera_systems.htm

One of the cameras on that link is a low-cost underwater camera that can be linked to the HDV VCR and recdord underwater footage without jeopradizing the camera. -- only in SD, however. Still, it could add some interesting footage. The reason I'm passing this on is because I'm thinking of something similar where I need a shot of someone finding a breathing tube underwater and I'm thinking of using this rig. If you do try it, let us know the outcome.

Hello Jerry!

I've used this type of lipstick cam as a head-mount for a POV on a kayaker. I used a little Sony TRV30 as a recording deck (it was the only thing that would fit in the kayak in a Pelican case). My kayaker was descending a very steep creek and dropping off 18 foot water falls, with complete submergence in the pools below. Although the footage isn't 3-chip quality, it's pretty interesting and definitely gives that "you're in the driver's seat reality feel". We've beat the hell out of the thing and it works great. The only problem we had was under-powering the unit (7v instead of 12v)...the image began to degrade and the color temps were all over the place. I'll try to get a clip of it online for review.

Good luck on your project!

Andrew

<<<-- Originally posted by Johan Manders : I know Kata makes a good water protective HDV rain cover.
This could be used when filming near the water/in the rain.
http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pi...d=1&ProdLine=1
But you can't drop it into the water.

A good backpack that is waterproof is the Lowepro Dryzone 200.
http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Back...yZone_200.aspx
The Z1 should fit perfectly and they say it would even float on the water, but if it hits a rock..... ;)
I ordered it on ebay, but I haven't got it yet. -->>>


the dryzone bags really do float. i had my canon 1dmk2 and a bunch on lenses in mine on a boat. the boat flipped and the bag floated and everything inside was dry. however the cell phone in the outside pocket would have been useful to cal for help.

got the dryzone
 

I have the dryzone 200 in use with my FX1

It's an awesome back pack. Camera lying down on it's side, two lenses, mics, batteries, XLR adaptor and tapes all within the watertight compartment. Big enough for all this but small enough for carry on luggage.

Now I really can't wait to get 'm!