Thanks for all the answers sofar. Since there is nobody who rents a 1DC in Finland, I would appreciate any first hand or even rumoured experience of long continuous takes at 4K. My guess is that the higher data flow might increase internal processing and heat generation.
Hi, I do also dive, and I would be interested in knowing what 4k videos can bring you over normal HD video for exploration purpose...
The purpose is to map or video scan the wreck and then review the video with the team on surface. a) With 4K video you could swim slightly higher from the wreck and cover almost a 4x area during the same exploratory dive due to the additional resolution and possibility to zoom into the footage during play. Or, b) you could keep the same distance as with HD, but have more detailed footage for the same area. With improved quality, it is easier to notice anything of interest eventhough it might be hidden behind silt or flora. We use many hours reviewing the footage to make sure we are not missing anything. Since dive times and opportunities at the deeper wrecks is quite limited, we have to maximize the data we can collect from every dive.
c) 4K video is also good enough to substitute a digital photograph for our purposes... although the museum personnel still keep requesting b/w film(!) for their archives. In practise, we make hand drawn paper sketches from the footage. A better, moving picture will give a better idea of the shape and curvature of items found.
Discovering even a small item, like a coin, might help to estimate the age of the wreck and perhaps identify it.