Gates Underwater Products
Type: Video/cinema housing manufacturer Founded: 1969 (San Diego, California, USA) Key products: Cinema camera housings (RED, ARRI, Sony), Nikonos Extension Tube kit
Overview
Gates Underwater Products was founded by Elwyn Gates in 1969 in his garage in San Diego. The Nikonos Extension Tube kit was their first hit product, with over 100,000 units sold before being phased out in 2003. The company was sold to John and Karen Ellerbrock in 2002.
Gates became the industry standard for professional cinema and video underwater housings, producing housings for RED (DSMC/DSMC2), ARRI Alexa, Sony cinema cameras, and other professional video platforms. The “Deep Weapon” housing for RED cameras (~$15,000) became the go-to system for productions like BBC’s Blue Planet II (2017), which used RED Epic Dragon as its primary camera.
Product timeline
- 1969: Founded by Elwyn Gates in San Diego, CA
- 1969–2003: Nikonos Extension Tube kit (100,000+ sold)
- 2002: Sold to John and Karen Ellerbrock; Sony F707 housing announced; video housings shown at DEMA 2002; hosted Howard Hall and Brian Skerry book signing at DEMA ([1], [2], [3])
- 2003: Sony F717 and Sony PC330 video housings ([4], [5])
- 2004: Canon GL2/XM2/XV2 housing announced; Sony PC350 video housing shipped ([6], [7])
- 2004: Sony HD camera housing developed in partnership with Howard Hall; 35+ years in business noted at DEMA 2004 ([8], [9])
- 2004: Sponsored Del Mar County Fair UW photo contest and Wetpixel contest ([10], [11])
- 2005: Sony FZ1/Z1 housing for Sony HDR-FX1; Sony HC1 housing; video housing specialist with Fathom Imaging SWA lenses ([12], [13])
- 2000s–2010s: Housings for RED, ARRI Alexa, Sony cinema cameras
- 2017: RED Epic Dragon in Gates housing used as primary camera for BBC Blue Planet II
References
- Gates Underwater Products — About
- [14] — editorial
- [15] — editorial
- [16] — editorial
- [17] — editorial
Sources
- Wetpixel article, Jul 10, 2002: Gates Underwater Products Announces New F707 Housing ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 22, 2002: Dema 2002 Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 8, 2002: Gates Howard Hall And Brian Skerry At Dema ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 2, 2003: Gates Announces Sony F717 Housing ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 7, 2003: Dema 2003 Show Coverage1 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 29, 2004: Gates Announces New Canon Gl2 Xm2 Xv2 Housing ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 4, 2004: Gates Ships Sony Pc350 Video Housing ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 15, 2004: Dema Show 2004 Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 20, 2004: Humpbacks In Tonga Wstan Waterman ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 22, 2004: Del Mar County Fair Underwater Photo Contest ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 21, 2004: Wetpixel Marchapril Contest Winners ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 9, 2005: Sony Hdr Fx1 And Hvr Z1j Hdv Underwater Housing Lineup ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 20, 2005: Dema 2005 Sony Hdv Camera Report ↩
- Gates F707 housing (article) ↩
- DEMA 2002 report (article) ↩
- Gates GL2 housing (article) ↩
- DEMA 2005 Sony HDV report (article) ↩