It's about time to leave the chilly environs of Minneapolis for the tropics. We just had our warmest September ever, but today's high is 52. I am headed to Bonaire for the first time the week of Oct.16. I've been hearing about it for years and can't wait! I've also been diving for years and am interested in renting an underwater video camera. I haven't found any info on the websites except for people who will do it for you. I do video for a living, so I would rather shoot and edit the footage for myself. Any ideas where I can rent and how much? Also, any tips on preferred sites for a first time visitor? My youngest daughter, age 10, just got certified and my oldest daughter, age 15 has just dove once in Cozumel. So I'm looking for some easier diving but also the best there is! Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Easy spots for new divers include Andrea I and II, Bari Reef (at Sandollar), Windsock, Bachelor's Beach and Tori's Reef. You might want to pick up the book Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy by Jesse Armacost as it is full of great descriptions of sites, including ease. You can get it once you get to Bonaire. Sorry that I cannot answer the video question for you.

And I thought 52 was warm for you folks from the Twin Cities -- when my daughter went to college there she said everyone wore their shorts til it hit 32 degrees because they knew what the winter was going to bring! And this from a Vermonter!

Hi James and welcome to the board.
You can rent a Sony Hi-8 at Fisheye Photo which is on the Sand Dollar Property. Look at the bottom of this page. Looks like prices are $35 1/2 day and $65 for 24 hrs.
http://www.infobonaire.com/fisheye/equiprent.htm
As first timers and with new,young divers I would suggest you wait until later in the trip to rent the camera, if at all. As a general rule UW photographers make poor buddies (myself included.) If you have never done UW photography, it adds a huge amount of task loading, a whole lot more than most divers realize. Enjoy the dives, get the lay of the reef and then take pictures. The fish will still there next time.

Susan-

Yeah, 52 is not bad and today it's 70. But I mentioned the temp just to make those in the tropics feel good. Thanks for the dive tips. I'm ready for the toughest decision I have to make every day is where to dive next.

Herman-

Thanks for the info on UW video. I have used a similar rig in Cozumel and was very pleased with the results, although I concur that I will undoubtedly will be a poor buddy on those dives. I'll take your advice and scout out the best sites first before renting. One more thing: are there any DV cams for rent? At my job we shoot and edit with DVC pro. Our machines are compatible with DV and it will provide a much sharper picture.

James,

I think your kids will love it there. I certified mine there a few years ago and they were 10 and 15 at the time. This is actually the only place that have ever dove - well, boy did do 1 dive in Roatan but decided he'd rather spend time hanging out with the dolphins instead of dive in the afternoon with his mom. Imagine that!

Most of the easier dives are in front of the hotel row hotels (Sand Dollar, Buddy Dive, Lion's Dive, Capt' Don's, Hamlet Oasis) That's not to say that many of the other sites are not easy as well it's just that these places have easier entry and exits. Mostly giant strides and ladders. A few of my other favorites - and they aren't too bad - Ol Blue, The Andreas and Oil Slick leap.

I think - with very few exceptions - where ever you go it will be great. Though I wouldn't suggest a night dive at town pier with them - too much confusion. BUT if you can get a permit and dive at Salt Pier (not necessarily at night) then I think they would enjoy that too. And I have found lots of wonderful critters there.

James,
I am unaware of any one else on the island that rents video equipment.

Habitat rented video gear to my son. They also have Videography as an PADI specialty course. Enrst and Wilco are happy to instruct. My son is a whopping 13, but has well over 100 dives logged and is looking at obtaining his junior master certification in the next few months. (only two more specialties to do this summer, his Rescue Diver is done.) Although he is young and I had my doubts about letting him take a video class,well in a nut shell:the old gal learned a few new things. My son was much happier with a creative task to perform underwater. He was more focused and very intent on capturing on film the awe of his "other world." While he was not able to edit on the island (he was more interested in diving, swimming and other stuff) he entertained his friends at home with viewings and he will be using his footage in upcoming science projects on marine life and on the physics of diving.

My vote is get kids started on their AOW certification after they have made a handful of dives. They are knowledge sponges, having tasks, tools and benchmarks helps to keep them forward moving and improving while they are "having fun." Have them take specialty classes with dive professionals on the island. I recommend Peak Performance Buoyancy as the first one they try, then go on from there. The instructors will help them learn and be watching out for our reefs too! As a parent, dive with them, help them find stuff, help them be better divers than you are (even if you are GREAT!). Most of all-- keep them from endangering the reef at all cost as they perfect their skills and techniques.
That's my "mom-ilie" for the week.

Toucan has a mini-DV sony and uw housing. I rented it twice. The first year I rented it just a couple a weeks after my my open water cert. Being a diver with only about 15 total dives by the time I rented the camera deinatly provided me with a challange. However I was very comfortable underwater and in good physical shape so I was an enjoyable challenge. The one thing I always kept in mind is that videography was a secondary task- my buddy and my safety and staying off the reef being priorities. I had lots of really bad footage but with some heavy duty editing I put together a rather decent video. I was very impressed with the setup.

The second year I rented the video cam again. My videography was much better - however the red filter was not available. HUGE difference. I difference that no matter how hard I try with pinnacle 8 editing software - I can't make look nearly as good as the previous year (at least stuff below 20 foot).

I have contacted toucan and the red filter is not available this year. Therefore I am looking at renting a Hi-8 vid cam this year from fisheye or capt don's.

Do you think there is really a huge difference between minidv and hi-8 when it comes to u/w video?

I really wanted to this year get a uw housing for my sony trv38. However I just can't justify spending teh $ to get the housing that I would really like to get.

I even thought about buying the housing and renting it out - however in Nebraska there isn't much diving going on. Not only is it about as cold as minnesota - the lakes are way too dirty.

Mini DV is a much superior signal. I can capture directly into my computer with little or no loss. Explain about the red filter. I am assuming that it absorbs blue, giving you truer colors underwater. Do you lose much in f-stops? I'm guessing that a red filter wouldn't cost much. I'd be willing to buy one. Any idea what size?

Thanks for the info!

Red filters are actualy rather expensive. I have seen them listed from between $60-200. They do seem to make a huge difference in video quality in the depth ranges of about 20-90 feet deep which is where most of the good stuff in bonaire is. I too had considered just buying a red filter to go with the toucan minidv rental cam - but for $60+ I can't justify that. I checked with toucan and they are not interested in buying anything more to go with their existing equipment.

Instead of buying a proper screw-on red filter, many U/W photographers just buy the cheap filter gel/film ($2-5USD), cut them to size and insert them inside the camera housing.

Russ, Aside from the overall better quality from DV you run into much less editing problems when capturing to your computer. Analog is such a pain, especially with Pinnacle.
RED FILTERS!! A must, and if you would like to see the difference let me know, I could post photos with and without, I have hours of footage from September and I'm sure I have plenty of stuff where I would change back and forth from filter to a closeup diopter. So many times I would also forget to put the filter back on. I'd be happy to grab some frames for you guys.

Here are 2 good examples
each pair is from the same subject

Here are 2 good examples
each pair is from the same subject

Actually those appear to be bad examples

That's better! Now tell me a red filter doesn't make a difference.

Gary, Ron, Russ- It all worked out great for me. We got back from a glorious week in Bonaire last Saturday. We stayed at Captain Don's and they had a Mini-DV for rent. It has the red filter available simply by moving a lever. I got some great stuff! Before I jumped off the boat on my first taping excursion at South Bay on Klein, a guy told me to use the red filter the whole time. The guy at Capt. Don's said to use it below 18 feet. The guy on the boat was convincing and experienced so I took his advice. Bad idea. In shallower water my video was very tan. The deeper I went the better the video was but I'd stay with the dive shop's recommendation. I captured it in Premier, did some minor color correction and it looks quite presentable. Only wish I owned one. Did manage to get several Scorpionfish at Front Porch, a spotted eagle ray, an octopus, a couple spotted eels and tons of great fish and coral.

Price was reasonable too. $25 for half day, $55 for a whole day.

James, sounds like you had a great trip. Definitely avoid the filter above 18 ft and also if using video lights as I do. I use a 100 watt vid light for closeup and shaded areas during the day, and if I forget to take the filter off for those under the reef shots you get a red like you wouldn't believe. No problem remembering for closeup because my filter is external and I have to remove it to put the diopter in place. You have Premier, already you have an advantage over me. Pinnacle is pretty good and user friendly (as long as you're not capturing from analog) but doesn't come close to Premier. Well, let's just say you get what you pay for.

James, my understanding is that the vid cam at Capt Don's is a Hi - 8 format and not mini-DV. Has that changed?

Captain Don's has two video cameras: a Hi-8 and a Mini-DV. I obviously, had the Mini. Considering I didn't use lights, the video looks damn good as long as I shot in 40 foot or less. Really good about 20 feet. The strong sunlight is amazing. Also shot early in the a.m. and got some beautiful "money shots" using the sun as a backlight. When the kids are out of college and I move to Bonaire, I'll invest in my own setup complete with lights. Hopefully we'll be done with tape by then!