Thani

Forum username: thani
Posts: 305
Active years: 2008–2022
Primary forums: Video Gear and Technique
Specialization: Custom underwater housings, underwater videography, DIY housing construction

Community Role

Thani is a Wetpixel community member notable for his involvement in custom underwater housing construction projects, particularly for cinema and professional video cameras. Active from 2008 to 2022, he documented multiple housing builds on the forum, collaborating with a colleague named Sultan who machined the housings. Thani served as the technical documentarian and tester for these projects, which pushed the boundaries of what cameras could be taken underwater.

Notable Contributions

BlackMagic Cinema Camera Housing

Thani’s most prominent thread (48 replies) documented a custom aluminum housing built by Sultan for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera (BMCC) with EF mount. The housing was machined from aluminum cast with space for an external battery, follow focus mechanism, and manual controls for power, record, iris, and focus. It used a Fathom 110 wide-angle port to compensate for the BMCC’s 2.4x crop factor and was tested to 165 feet. Thani shared sample images from the Canon EF 16-35mm wide angle and 100mm macro lenses (^[1]).

Sony NEX-FS700 Housing Project

Thani documented the modification of a Sealux housing originally built for the Sony HDTV X7, which Sultan had previously adapted for the NEX-FS100 and then further modified for the NEX-FS700. The major modification accommodated the longer Sony E-mount lens. Thani initially claimed this was the first Sony NEX-FS700 taken underwater, though this was disputed by other community members who noted it had already been done. The FS700 offered high video quality, super slow motion, and strong low-light capability. Test footage was shot in Fujairah, UAE and edited in Edius 6 (^[2]).

Color Correction and Camera Discussions

Thani participated in discussions about color checker references for underwater video (^[3]), Panasonic GH-series camera developments (^[4]), and 4K shipwreck videography (^[5]).

Activity Profile

• Peak years: 2012–2015
• Primary focus: Custom housing engineering and underwater videography
• 24 threads started, predominantly in Video Gear and Technique
• Based in or near the UAE (footage shot in Fujairah)

Timeline

• 2012-09: Documents Sony NEX-FS700 housing project (^[6])
• 2013-06: Documents custom Blackmagic Cinema Camera housing build (^[7])