Top-down porthole review

[jahmic]

I was sitting here wondering what I'd do today...told my dog I was bored out of my mind...then heard the prophetic knock at the door.

http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/Top-Down-Porthole-XL

Saw these a while back and decided to pull the trigger and order one. I'll have pics up sometime mid-week...and will probably add in my 2 cents. Haven't been able to take any pics yet since the lights aren't on...but I did get it wet and messed around with focusing utilizing the barrel...pretty straightforward and easier than trying to hold a viewer in one hand and take pics with the other. I can see where keeping the camera's lens completely parallel to the lens at the end of the barrel may be a bit challenging, so that may take some patience to get right. They did update the product and are only selling the longer length...so placing the barrel at an angle and dipping it in the water didn't cause any issues with flooding, which was my main concern.

Teaser shot:

More to follow

 

[Haulin Oates]

Following!

 

[ReeferMatt]

I'm so excited to see the pics!!

 

[Cherub]

More to follow

Well??

 

[jahmic]

Lol...I've barely been home this week to take pics. I'll see if I can at least grab a couple when I get home today; have a meeting this evening though so we'll see how that goes.

 

[MartinsReef]

I've been thinking of getting one of these.

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[MartinsReef]

Dude your killing me..............Updates!!!

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[jahmic]

Haha.

I would've had pics up today...brought my camera into work but forgot my USB cable. Derp.

Everything is packed up for tomorrow though, so I should have pics in the afternoon. Sorry Martin! ...and everyone else waiting to see results.

I just grabbed a few shots over the weekend...some better than others...one in particular blew my mind. stay tuned.

 

[jahmic]

Ok, here we go.

First off...a little side-note. All of these photos were just taken as "one-shots". I adjusted the exposure as best I could, got the camera in focus (more or less, lol), then grabbed the image. Using a tripod wasn't happening. Although I'm sure I can figure out a way to rig one up, I just wanted to get a feel for this porthole attachment and see if there were any issues/adjustments that I needed to make in order to get it to work.

All that to say: yes, some of the images are a little out of focus and have too shallow depth of field. I had a hard time shooting hand-held with this attachment and keeping the camera steady. That is probably my only complaint. Even with the pumps off...the combined effort of leaning into the tank, making sure I don't dip the camera/lens too far into the water, and fighting the buoyancy of the attachment as I submerged it complicated things slightly. My other limitation is that the hood on my tank opens from a hinge at the rear. I think for future images I am going to figure out a way to hang my hood from the ceiling temporarily so that I'm not trying to tuck my head under there and taking shots at odd angles. Other than the limitation of my own system, my only real complaint about the product is that the buoyancy does make it difficult to hold the entire camera steady under water. Really the only way to remedy this would be to somehow use a tripod, or rig something above the tank. I did have some success leaning the attachment against the lip of the tank to hold it the camera still...but that definitely only worked for a few images depending upon the placement of the coral in the tank. I think with some more practice, and taking my time to properly setup for "a shoot", I should be able to get some really nice images.

Anyway...here's why you're all here. Eye candy:

 

[cdrewferd]

Very nice Khalis. That undata is doing great. I like the pic of the macro myself.

 

[2sweet]

Wow is all I can say!

 

[Haulin Oates]

That's crazy!! What's the name of the coral in pic 3?

 

[jahmic]

That's crazy!! What's the name of the coral in pic 3?

Montipora undata

 

[280g-reefman]

Very nice. I love sps close ups.

 

[MartinsReef]

Nice pics! So was it worth the price you think? I would think so with that quality!

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[jahmic]

Nice pics! So was it worth the price you think? I would think so with that quality!

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I think it was worth it...but I guess that really depends on how much use you intend on getting out of it. I will say that I wasn't sure that I'd still be able to get a sharp image shooting through that acrylic on the end of the viewer, but getting things lined up properly wasn't too difficult. Considering the fact that I didn't seem to lose any sharpness and I'm able to get shots that would've been impossible otherwise...definitely worth the investment. I was never even able to get a good pic of that undata due to its location in my tank...mostly due to the bowfront. The porthole was a game-changer.

 

[Cake_Boss]

The undata pic is great. I also really dig the flame pic.

 

[jahmic]

The flame macro pic is my new desktop background at work, lol.

Thanks everyone for the compliments Glad everyone is enjoying the pics...photography has never really kept me involved unless I've been able to share the images with people. Your feedback is definitely appreciated!

 

[MartinsReef]

Re: Top-down porthole review

You still using this and do you still like? Been thinking of getting one!

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[jahmic]

Re: Top-down porthole review

It's been a few weeks since I've used it...

But still using it and still loving it. I think it could use improvement with how it attaches to the lens...I have ideas on how to modify it, but haven't made any attempts yet. I just don't like the fact that the screws create pressure points on the barrel, but haven't had any issues with it so I'm still happy