Simon Spear

Forum username: simonspear Posts: 1,366 Active years: 2005–2015 Primary forums: Video Gear and Technique, Shooting Technique/Workflow/Editing Specialization: Professional underwater videography, Sony camera systems, post-production workflow

Community Role

simonspear was one of Wetpixel’s most important video-focused contributors, with 612 posts in Video Gear and Technique and 450 posts in Shooting Technique/Workflow — together accounting for 78% of their total output. This made them, alongside Drew Wong and jonny shaw, one of the pillars of Wetpixel’s underwater video community.

Active from 2005 through 2015, simonspear’s peak years were 2007 (219 posts) and 2010 (215 posts), tracking the transition from dedicated video cameras to DSLR video and then to the professional large-sensor camcorder era. Their expertise spanned the full Sony professional video lineup: the HDR-FX7/HVR-V1, the PMW-EX1 (XDCAM EX), the FS100, the FS700, and the Red Scarlet-X.

Their most active thread — the Sony FS100 white balance at depth discussion (47 posts) — was a deep technical investigation into color science underwater, the kind of specialized knowledge that made Wetpixel invaluable to working professionals. The Red Scarlet-X thread (26 posts, shared with jonny shaw) tracked the community’s excitement about cinema-grade cameras going underwater. simonspear also contributed significantly to the Final Cut Studio 2 discussion (10 posts) and the BMPCC (Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera) underwater test thread (9 posts).

Notable Contributions

Activity Profile

References