Mark (camdiver)

Forum username: camdiver
Real name: Mark (from forum post signatures)
Location: Indonesia (based in Palau during peak activity, later Philippines/Lembeh)
Role: Professional underwater videographer, filmmaker
Posts: 1,057 across 432 threads (137 threads started)
Active years: 2004–2013 (peak 2006–2007)
Primary forums: Video Gear and Technique (373), Shooting Technique/Workflow/Editing (274), General Chat (130)
Mentioned in: 3 Wetpixel articles
Comments: 8 article comments
Specialization: Professional underwater filmmaking, RED cinema cameras, macro video technique, achromatic diopters

Community Role

camdiver (Mark) was one of Wetpixel’s most dedicated underwater video professionals, distinguished from hobbyist videographers by his involvement in commercial film productions using cinema-grade equipment. Based in Southeast Asia — initially in Palau, later working across the Philippines and Lembeh — he brought real-world production experience to forum discussions, signing his posts “Cheers, Mark.”

With 373 posts in Video Gear and Technique and 274 in Shooting Technique/Workflow/Editing, camdiver was the most technique-focused of Wetpixel’s video contributors. His high thread-starting ratio (137 of 1,057 posts, ~13%) indicates someone who initiated discussions and shared original findings rather than primarily responding. He was mentioned in 3 Wetpixel articles, suggesting his work had editorial recognition beyond the forums.

His peak activity (2006–2007, 692 posts) coincided with the HD video transition, but his most significant contribution came in 2009 when he field-tested RED One cinema camera housings in Palau — a landmark moment in underwater cinematography.

Notable Contributions

RED One housing field tests

camdiver’s most significant contribution was the “RED One housing field tests” thread (60 replies), posted from Palau in March 2009 where he was on a commercial shoot for an LA-based production company. He had access to four RED One cameras and three prototype housings from Gates, AquaVideo, and AquaVideo/Element Technica, and planned to publish a comparative PDF report. The thread drew immediate attention from Drew Wong (who offered to host the PDF on Wetpixel’s server), Alex Mustard, and deanb, who called him “Marky boy.” This was one of the earliest professional field evaluations of cinema camera housings for underwater use, marking the transition from HDV camcorders to large-sensor cinema cameras in underwater filmmaking (^[1]).

Macro video technique pioneer

camdiver was a vocal advocate for achromatic diopters in underwater video, developing techniques for stacking diopters on the Gates Z1 housing to achieve extreme macro magnification:

• “Stacking the Achromatics” (36 replies) — documented his tests stacking a +3.5 and +2 achromatic diopter on the Gates Z1 flat port, achieving macro results “with hardly any real image degradation.” He described the physical challenge of fitting stacked diopters with minimal clearance to the port glass, and shared images of a blenny “the size of one of those erasers you get stuck into the end of some pencils” shot at f10, 0dB gain, with Squid 250 lights (^[2])
• “Shooting Macro and Extreme Macro” (41 replies) — his own thread on macro video technique, where he stated “I’ll never go back to” single-element diopters after experiencing achromatics (^[3])

RED and cinema camera advocacy

camdiver was an early champion of the RED camera system for underwater use:

• “Forget XD CAM” (40 replies) — posted in January 2008 urging the community to wait for NAB 2008 and announcing he was “picking up my RED One next month,” making him one of the first underwater shooters to adopt the platform (^[4])
• Active participant in RED One discussion threads throughout 2008–2009

Professional filmmaking community engagement

• “Selling films… Submissions Requests… undercutting…” (18 posts) — addressed the economics and ethics of the underwater filmmaking business, a topic relevant to working professionals
• Antibes Festival 2007 (12 posts) — participated in discussions about the premier underwater film festival
• “Disturbing Video” (36 replies) — community discussion about concerning underwater footage (^[5])

Conservation engagement

camdiver contributed 40 posts to Conservation and the Environment, including tiger shark protection discussions, reflecting the conservation consciousness common among professional underwater filmmakers working in biodiversity hotspots.

Activity Profile

• Activity score: 1,499 (person_matrix.json)
• Thread-starting ratio: 13% (137 of 1,057 posts), high for a prolific contributor
• Professional markers: Commercial shoot access, RED One early adopter, multiple housing field testing, mentioned in 3 articles

References