Paralenz Vaquita, a beautiful story to tell. A company with a clear and precise mission. Involving the diving community to address indifference and inspire people to talk about the sea. In an authentic and truthful way. To preserve our playground and join the next generation in reinventing diving as a truly meaningful act. Because every dive counts.
Good ideas always come from chaos, said Albert Einstein. This is the case with this revolutionary underwater video camera. We are in Denmark, not far from the capital, Copenhagen. To be precise in Rødovre.
A good story to tell
A small industrial design company
Here is a small industrial design company. A couple of members have fun practicing sport fishing and scuba diving. They dive in cold waters, but their passion is downright hot. They designed a video camera that can be applied on the end of the lines. The images they obtain allow them to study the behavior of prey and especially their attacks. The immortalized scenes are of great effect. Subsequently they designed another one to be used when they go underwater. Their videos go around the world and immediately launch crowdfunding, looking for collective funding to produce on a large scale.
How Paralenz was born
The project is very successful in Scandinavia. A small team of technicians, passionate about scuba diving, was formed. They developed and produced a video camera which was presented at DEMA. The results were so flattering that Paralenz was born through a pool of investors. The company quickly went from 4 to 25 employees who developed a new technology that led to the establishment of the Vaquita project.
The identity and the product
Paralenz was born with a very specific corporate identity. That of creating a particular product with a Green Mission. Vaquita, the name with which they baptized their video camera, is a small porpoise from the Mexican coast which unfortunately is now close to extinction.
The camera integrates depth and temperature sensors. It uses the same sensors as the oceanographic buoys. And it begins to collect videos, data and important information for biologists who study the behavior of the sea in relation to climate change.
It is a video camera that was created exclusively for underwater use. The optics and electronics of Paralenz Vaquita allow immediate self-correction of the color. The images they will return to us will need neither artificial lighting nor post-production.
Contribution to research and scientific collaborations
Paralenz started looking for collaborations with various universities and NGOs. Vaquita helps monitor reefs. Their database, the Ocean Base, is available to anyone who uses the Paralenz App.
The Paralenz App
The application, which can be used with both phones that use Android and IOS technology, is very useful and at the same time social. You can register by entering your e-mail address. You will have the opportunity to see videos and photos that users have shared and to create your own profile and share in turn. Obviously you can decide whether to share. However, remember that your shots can be useful for those who study the ocean. So let’s allow sharing, it can also be anonymus.
Ghost Net & Marine Debris Removal Initiative
Through depth and temperature sensors, scientists have immense sources of information that allow them to study and map ecosystems. In the Mediterranean Sea, for example, a collaboration with Ghost Net & Marine Debris Removal Initiative was born. Through the GPS, integrated into the Vaquita video camera, anyone who comes across a ghost network will only have to photograph it and share it on their App.
Monitoring of vermocane and pinna nobilis
Lately Paralenz has also begun to offer collaborations with specific projects such as the monitoring of vermocane or pinna nobilis. Two forms of life that fully represent the criticality of the Mediterranean ecosystem. The first takes advantage of the overheating of the water to climb north and increase its endemicity. The second is inexorably dying out.
Every dive counts
One of the Paralenz slogans is “Every dive counts”. Each of our dives, each of our shots, each of our videos can be useful to the future of our sea. This is an invitation for divers, associations, institutions, universities and research centers. An invitation to collaborate with Paralenz.
Dive can I find Paralenz Vaquita?
Vaquita is now distributed all over the world. Thanks to a careful promotional campaign, many divers today are aware of the product.
Let’s see some ways to try use it
The rent
Vaquita’s first distribution channel took place through rental from some affiliated diving centers. In case you have ever gone for a dive with a diving center that rents Paralenz, you may have noticed a large display with some cameras hanging on it. They come with a gun-shaped accessory. Usage is very simple, just pull the trigger to photograph or hold it down to film. To rent it, simply provide your e-mail address to the diving center. To have the files of our images, instead, simply reply to the e-mail that Paralenz will send you and pay the amount due for the rental.
The rental cameras are equipped with very basic functions that allow us, however, to have files that contain some interesting information. Such as the depth at which the photo was taken, rather than the water temperature. This information is inserted in the image as an overtag. The images will not need corrections in post production and will therefore be ready to be shown or shared on your profiles on social networks.
On the Paralenz App you will find the list of centers where you can rent Paralenz Vaquita.
Distribution and sale
Today, Paralenz Vaquita is distributed all over the world through multiple distribution channels. Resellers are the terminal of the distribution process. The dive shops where we can purchase the Paralenz Vaquita video camera are listed on the site.
Another distribution channel is obviously online. On the Paralenz website you can buy both the video camera and the accessories you want.
When you buy Paralenz Vaquita, you purchase a full optional product that allows you to have all the information offered by the video camera sensors. We will then know the depth, the water temperature, the date, the immersion time at the time of shooting and the degree of salinity. The video camera turns on automatically as soon as we exceed the depth we have set (from 0.5 to 6 meters).
The accessories
In addition to the accessory that accompanies Paralenz Vaquita in the rental version, there are others. One, for example, allows us to clip it to our mask. It punctually returns the images we see through our eyes throughout our immersion. In my opinion it is a very useful accessory for diving instructors who have the habit of filming exercise sessions in the water.
Another innovative accessory is a particular carbon stick that resembles the stick used to take selfies with the smartphone. Obviously, it can be used underwater for the same purpose. I learned that some spear fishermen secure it to their weight belt to catch the fishing action from behind.
You can secure it to a helmet or to the classic goodman handle.
Underwater
Paralenz Vaquita, like any video camera they produce, has been specially designed by divers for underwater shooting.
A special function, the patented DCC system, automatically corrects colors in depth. It interacts with the software to give truer colors in depth without requiring the use of filters. We will no longer have any bluish or greenish effect. Paralenz Vaquita, thanks to a special algorithm, processes the recorded images in real time, removing the predominant green and blue.
This function can be deactivated with a simple rotation of a switch in the rental room or using the button in the commercial version. If we decide to use lighthouses, when we reach a certain depth, we can then disable it.
The case is integrated and is waterproof up to 350 meters deep. The battery records up to 3 hours.
The display has lighting that adapts to the underwater environment. Although not very large, it allows good visibility of the space that you intend to photograph or film. The dive data will always appear on the screen.
Courses, tutorials and manuals
Getting beautiful underwater pictures is never easy. We often come across stunning footages or detailed, perfectly bright photographies.
Learning to shoot underwater and, subsequently, edit a video is not easy.
Paralenz has activated a YouTube channel and will soon activate a masterclass. Participants will have the opportunity to learn the art of underwater video shooting. We will learn how to hold the camera, choose subjects and do post-production.
I mean, we stay connected.
👌
Each of our dives can count. And since diving is fun for us, we can make a serious contribution by doing what we like. Filming with Paralenz Vaquita.
Those of you who have already tried it are more than welcome to write their impressions in the comments.
