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HYDRO STATE

 

HYDRO STATE UNDERWATER REEL

Favorite clips from all our underwater adventures.

 

SOUTH AFRICA SARDINE RUN

Explore the iconic South African coast from underwater and air.

 

SPINNER DOLPHINS OF HAWAII

Go underwater with the ocean's most charismatic creatures.

 

MAGDALENA BAY SARDINE RUN

Freedive into one of nature's most exciting hunting events on the planet.

 

LA JOLLA SEA LIONS

Discover these playful and curious sea characters of San Diego, CA.

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PROFESSIONAL UNDERWATER CAMERA OPERATORS

We specialize in underwater camera operating and cinematography, using the latest underwater cameras, housings, lighting, and techniques to get the most professional shots possible underwater. Whether you are looking to document marine wildlife or film narrative scenes in a swimming pool, we can bring all your underwater filming dreams to life.

PADI CERTIFIED DIVEMASTER

Taking cameras underwater requires not only a great deal of experience with the specialized camera equipment, the operator must have a deep knowledge of scuba diving as well. Motion State partner Sam Nuttmann is an experienced PADI certified dive master, who has dived all over the world in a wide variety of conditions and camera applications. He is passionate about filming the underwater world and is ready to get your film project into the magical deep blue.

Padi Divemaster Camera Operators

CANON R5C

The Canon EOS R5C is the latest in Canon’s full-frame cinema camera lineup, offering up to 8K RAW resolution at 60 fps or 4K at up to 120 fps. Its sensor offers dual base ISO technology (800/3200), allowing you to shoot at ISO 3200 without any noise.  The camera’s Dual Pixel autofocus system uses 1053 autofocus points across the entire frame, making focus tracking with fast moving animals accurate and easy. Its compact size and incredible features make this camera the new standard in underwater cinematography.

ATOMOS NINJA V+ MONITOR / RECORDER

The Atomos Ninja V is an exceptional monitor, featuring a bright 1000 nit 10-bit HDR 5.2″ screen that can display over 10 stops of dynamic range with compatible cameras. In addition to being an extremely capable monitor, the Ninja V is also a recorder. When used with compatible cameras over HDMI 2.0, the Ninja V can record 4K at 60p in 10-bit 4:2:2 ProRes or DNxHR formats to Atomos AtomX SSD mini solid state drives.  The Ninja V+ will allow for up to 4K 120p and 8K 30p ProRes RAW recording.  With a 1TB SSDmini drive, the Ninja V can record up to 150 minutes of 4K video.

FEATURES

  • 8K video with option for RAW or 10-bit 4:2:2 c-log 3
  • Up to 8K/60 fps or 4K/120fps slow motion video
  • Dual base ISO sensor, 800/3200
  • One button manual white balance
  • 100% coverage Dual Pixel II auto-focus system
  • Built-in fan for unlimited recording of all video formats

NAUTICAM R5C HOUSING

Nauticam underwater housings have become the industry standard for high end underwater camera operating. Their lightweight, durable builds, intuitive user interface, and robust lineup of lens port options make it an exceptionally fun system to use. Its modular design allow the user to easily add an external monitor and video lights, making building out a full cinema package for underwater use easy for all shooting situations. The R5C housing also offers space for an external battery bank, allowing for over 5 hours of constant camera run time, even at 8K RAW!

NAUTICAM NINJA V+ HOUSING

This housing allows the camera operator to use the Atomos Ninja V+ monitor / recorder with the Canon R5C camera, allowing for external recording to ProRes 422 HQ. It is exceptionally bright even in daylight, making it the perfect underwater companion to all camera systems.

LIGHT & MOTION SOLA PRO VIDEO 15,000

For underwater lighting, we use Light & Motion Sola Pro lights. They offer 15K lumens of continuous light for up to 45 minutes on a full charge and take about an hour to fully recharge. We use blue water filter domes on the lights, as well as a Keldan Spectrum (red light) filter on the lenses in order to achieve better manual white balance underwater, giving the footage a natural look with no color shifts or red “spotlights”. These lights can also be used on the surface as 8K lumen lights with a simple adapter and can also be combined with a variety of light modifiers for soft, even surface lighting, making these an incredibly versatile light system.

FEATURES

  • 15000 lumen flood output certified to the FL-1 Standard
  • Regulated output ensures light does not dim in use; custom firmware keeps lumens consistent
  • 115° flood beam (measured underwater) with dome port designed for wide-angle photo/video
  • Custom optics produce a clean beam void of distracting hot spots and provides gentle light fall-off at edges
  • OLED Dashboard Display for monitoring lumen output, runtime, charge percentage
  • Dimming with stepped or continuous control for precise lighting
  • Factory sealed body ensures flood-free performance and long-term reliability
  • Full recharge in 1 hr 45 min with exclusive FC (Fast Charge) technology
  • Travel-friendly design with minimal weight or bulk approved for carry-on and check-in luggage
  • Includes Ball mount, optional Loc-Line, and YS available

Motion State underwater camera specialist Sam Nuttmann is certified to dive up to 40 meters (130 feet) with decompression stops up to 10 minutes. He can freedive to 24 meters (80 feet) and has a static breath hold of just under 5 minutes. In addition, he is a certified divemaster and rescue diver with current first-aid / cpr certificates.

SCUBA DIVING CERTIFICATION

  • PADI Divemaster
  • PADI Tec 40
  • PADI Sidemount
  • PADI Rescue Diver

FREEDIVING CERTIFICATION

  • PADI Advanced Freediver
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