Gates DEEP RED / DEEP EPIC

Manufacturer: Gates Underwater Products Type: Professional underwater cinema housing Camera: RED ONE (DEEP RED); RED EPIC (DEEP EPIC) Announced: October 2007 (DEEP RED); April 2011 (DEEP EPIC) First shipped: May 2009 (DEEP RED); Late summer 2011 (DEEP EPIC) Co-designed with: Howard Hall Depth rating: 450 feet (137 meters) Price: Under $20,000 (DEEP EPIC with monitor shell, Seal Check, REDMOTE, travel case)

Overview

The Gates DEEP RED was the first professional underwater housing for the RED ONE digital cinema camera, bringing 4K resolution motion imaging underwater for the first time. Announced in October 2007 and co-developed with IMAX filmmaker Howard Hall, it represented what Gates called “a watershed in underwater imaging, providing the means to capture 4K resolution (or 4 x HD resolution) motion imaging, suitable for digital cinema” (^[1]). The DEEP EPIC followed in 2011 as a 25% smaller successor for the RED EPIC camera, and together the two housings established Gates as the dominant force in underwater digital cinema.

Howard Hall described the RED camera as “a landmark in motion picture capture, as different from video as video is from film and better than both” and called the DEEP RED housing “probably the most versatile underwater system I have ever owned” (^[2], ^[3]). In a forum post, he reiterated: “It’s simply the best underwater housing I have ever owned” (^[4]).

Development History

Design Collaboration with Howard Hall

John Ellerbrock, owner of Gates Underwater Products, approached Howard Hall about collaborating on the DEEP RED design. Hall provided six specifications based on his decades of experience with professional underwater motion picture housings (^[5]):

1. Three-section modular design: Front port (dome and flat options) with lens-specific port extender; center section housing camera mount and controls with all cables attached (eliminating flexing connections when opening/closing); rear bell cover.
2. Fingertip-accessible controls: Run-switch, zoom, aperture, and focus all reachable without releasing either handle.
3. Full menu access: Same flexibility as a surface user for all camera menus.
4. Universal lens compatibility: Support for an extremely wide variety of lenses from digital still camera lenses to Ultra Primes.
5. 450-foot depth rating.
6. Minimum size and weight.

Prototype and Production Timeline

• 2007-10: Formal announcement at DEMA as a Gates/Howard Hall collaboration (^[6])
• 2008-10: Early prototype displayed at DEMA 2008. John Ellerbrock gave Wetpixel a tour of the housing in its prototype stage. Stephen Frink later recalled seeing it and calling it “a work of art in terms of machining and problem solving ingenuity” (^[7], ^[8])
• 2009-02: Near-final housing shown by Lee Peterson, who called it “truly the best of the best in underwater video housings” (^[9])
• 2009-05: First production unit (serial #1) delivered. Owner Mike L posted about unpacking it and testing at Catalina Island, reporting “Gates did an amazing job with the Deep Red” and noting it was immediately booked for a production of Survivor (^[10])
• 2009-05: Mark Thorpe (CamDiver) and John Friday published a comprehensive field appraisal comparing the Gates DEEP RED against AquaVideo and Element Technica housings for the RED ONE, tested during a shoot documenting jellyfish migration in Palau (^[11])
• 2009-07: Howard Hall’s detailed review published on Wetpixel following his first expedition with the housing in Southeast Alaska (^[12])

Key Innovations

Hall identified three features as “absolutely brilliant” and representing “major innovations in housing design” (^[13]):

Multi-Function Joystick

A waterproof control replicating the RED ONE’s rear multi-function joystick. It tilts, pushes, and turns while remaining watertight. Hall noted that “all the camera menus can be accessed as easily underwater as on the surface — even while wearing the heavy dry suit gloves required in Alaska.”

Universal Lens Gear Drive

A gear arrangement allowing the use of nearly any lens from Nikon digital still lenses to Arri Ultra Primes. Changing lenses takes minutes, and the same gear blocks work with a wide variety of lenses and lens mounts. Hall noted: “Every underwater cinematographer who has struggled to mate lenses with housing gears will be enormously impressed with this design.” The focus wheel sits forward of the left handle (operated by forefinger) and the aperture control just below (operated by middle finger), both accessible without releasing the camera grip. Zoom is motorized, operated by a wheel forward of the run switch on the right handle.

Magnetic Repulsion Buttons (Monitor Housing)

The external LCD monitor housing uses magnetic repulsion buttons requiring no through-hull penetration to access the monitor controls. This eliminated potential leak points while maintaining full button functionality.

Specifications

DEEP RED (for RED ONE)

• Construction: Machined aluminum with stainless steel hardware, anodized
• Depth rating: 300 feet initially announced; Hall’s specifications called for 450 feet (^[14], ^[15])
• Controls: 100% mechanical, no electronics
• Lens support: Nikon mount (any Nikon lens without modification), PL mount (Arri Ultra Primes, Angenieux, RED lenses), via Universal Lens Gear Drive
• Ports: 8-inch glass dome (anti-reflection coated both sides), acrylic dome, flat port; SP80 port system with various extenders
• Monitor: External LCD housing with magnetic repulsion buttons; viewable in all conditions except direct sunlight from behind
• Seal Check: Vacuum leak-testing system (standard)
• Trim system: One-pound slide-in weights on bottom, top, and longer port extensions
• Zoom: Motorized zoom control
• Warranty: 2-year renewable
• Optics partnership: Fathom Imaging

DEEP EPIC (for RED EPIC)

• Size: 25% smaller than DEEP RED (^[16])
• Depth rating: 450 feet
• REDMOTE integration: Fully integrated in top-mount position for complete camera control, readily seen and accessed by the cameraman
• Lens compatibility: All DEEP RED verified lenses including Angenieux, Arri, RED, and Nikon; any PL/Nikon glass qualifiable by Gates
• Ports: SP80 dome (glass and acrylic) and FP80 flat port; port extenders carried forward from DEEP RED
• Zoom: Mechanical or motorized option
• Monitor: 5.6-inch external monitor housing carried forward from DEEP RED
• Options: HD-SDI surface or 2nd monitor feed; comm/hydrophone audio inputs
• Accessories: Seal Check, LED lighting by SubAqua/Gates
• Price: Under $20,000 including housing, external monitor shell, Seal Check, REDMOTE support, and travel case; ports and extenders sold separately
• Delivery: Late summer 2011; $1,000 non-refundable deposit
• Warranty: 2-year

Howard Hall’s Field Review

Hall first used the DEEP RED extensively during a two-week expedition aboard the Nautilus Explorer in Southeast Alaska in July 2009. His review, published on Wetpixel, stands as one of the most detailed and authoritative housing reviews in the archive (^[17]).

Lenses Used

• Tokina 10-17mm behind an 8-inch glass dome port with anti-reflection coatings on both sides — used for most dives. Range from full-frame fisheye to about 100 degrees, focusing right up to the dome port. Ideal for poor visibility (seldom exceeding 20 feet in Alaska).
• Nikon 16-85mm behind a flat port — used for macro and fish-sized subjects with tripod.

Handling

Hall found the housing weighed 10-20% less than his Sony 900 system depending on lens selection. The trim weight system, which he initially opposed (preferring internal weights), won him over: “It was great being able to adjust the weights underwater. I found that with either lens the camera required no more than four one-pound weights.”

Menu Access

Hall frequently used underwater menu access in the field, changing shutter speeds and ISO settings — validating the design decision to include full menu control. He noted this capability was important despite initially questioning whether he would need it.

Workflow

Hall found the RED ONE workflow easier than his Sony 900 HDCAM system: “It takes less than a minute to depressurize the housing, pull off the rear bell and remove the drive.” Download of clips after each dive took approximately ten minutes, compared to pulling the entire Sony 900 out of the housing and connecting a bulky monitor for tape review.

Limitations

The only camera feature not available in this first iteration was playback. Hall noted he did not miss it since he had never had underwater playback before, though he expected to use it once it was added. John Ellerbrock planned to modify the housing for future versions to include playback.

Notable Productions

The DEEP RED and DEEP EPIC systems were used on major professional productions:

• Howard Hall’s Maldives expedition (2010): 18-day liveaboard trip on M/V Manthiri, producing “Maldives in RED” — a 4K compilation that at SDUFEX 2010 “started with a nondescript coral landscape that had people wondering. When a whale shark suddenly appeared underneath the camera they realized why” (^[18], ^[19]). Lenses used: Tokina 10-17mm, Nikon 10-24mm, Nikon 16-85mm with a single Light and Motion Sunray LED light (^[20])
• Coral reef filming, Indonesia (2010): Edi Frommenwiler, skipper of the liveaboard Pindito, produced footage described as “some of the best coral reef footage that I have seen at all” using a RED ONE in a DEEP RED housing (^[21])
• Television production Survivor: The first production DEEP RED housing was contracted for Survivor within three days of delivery (^[22])
• Howard Hall DEEP EPIC filming: Lembeh Strait creatures (2012), humpback whales in Tonga (5K), Cocos Island expeditions (^[23])
• Jon Shaw, Australia (2012): RED Scarlet X in DEEP EPIC housing — 4K footage at Fish Rock Cave, HMAS Adelaide wreck, and Fairy Bower in Sydney using Tokina 10-17mm (^[24])
• David Cheung (CheungyDiver) (2012): RED EPIC M in DEEP EPIC prototype with RED PL and Canon EF lenses; taken to Truk Lagoon for a shoot (^[25])

Community Reception

The housing appraisal by Mark Thorpe and John Friday (May 2009) compared the DEEP RED against two competing RED ONE housings by AquaVideo and Element Technica during a Palau shoot. Forum discussion praised the thoroughness of the comparison. Gates responded in the forum: “Many thanks to Mark and Johnny for this review, and particular gratitude from Gates for a proper field shakedown of DEEP RED. They highlighted important issues to address prior to deployment” (^[26]).

Mark Thorpe (CamDiver), who had reviewed the Gates FX7/V1 housing and participated in the Palau appraisal, noted regarding the DEEP RED’s price that the customer care package was “second to none” — describing how Gates called him internationally on his cell phone on a Monday morning to resolve a monitor problem during a Palau trip. He argued the housing was “not built for a camera that will want to be replaced by the owner in a year, two years, tops” (^[27]).

Legacy: The RED Housing Line

The DEEP RED and DEEP EPIC established a lineage of Gates RED cinema housings that evolved with each RED camera generation:

• DEEP RED (2009) — RED ONE, 4K
• DEEP EPIC (2011) — RED EPIC, 5K, 25% smaller, REDMOTE integrated
• DEEP SCARLET (2012) — RED SCARLET, 4K, under $15,000 (^[28])
• DEEP DRAGON (2013) — RED EPIC DRAGON, 6K, $18,280 (^[29])
• DEEP WEAPON upgrade (2015) — Upgrade path for DEEP EPIC/DRAGON owners; backward compatible with all EPIC models including Scarlet, EPIC, DRAGON, WEAPON, and RAVEN. Gates philosophy: “Obsolescence Obsolete” (^[30])
• Pro Action (2016) — Compact multi-camera housing for RED DSMC1, DSMC2, and ARRI ALEXA Mini
• Pro Explore (2017) — RED DSMC2, 8K capable

The upgrade path from DEEP EPIC to DEEP WEAPON was a deliberate customer protection strategy. Gates emphasized that owners would not be “forced to buy an entirely new housing and accessories” and that all existing DEEP EPIC/DRAGON accessories remained compatible (^[31]).

Significance

The DEEP RED housing marked the transition of professional underwater cinematography from standard-definition and HD video to 4K digital cinema. Before the DEEP RED, underwater filmmakers working at the highest level were limited to IMAX film (extraordinarily expensive, with only 3-7 minute loads) or HD video (Sony HDCAM). The RED ONE in a Gates housing provided:

• 4K resolution — 4 times HD, 24 times SD — for the first time underwater in a practical production system
• Cost efficiency — Digital media eliminated the enormous per-minute cost of IMAX film stock
• Unlimited run time — Hard drive recording vs. 3-minute IMAX film loads or tape-limited HD
• Practical workflow — Drive removal in under a minute vs. pulling entire cameras from housings for tape review

This enabled productions like BBC’s Blue Planet II (2017), where the RED Dragon in a Gates housing became “the go-to camera for the series” and was “used on the majority of the big natural history productions” according to camera operator Dan Beecham (^[32]).

References