Compact TV cameras with high sensitivity and high resolution have become indispensable tools in the study of deep-sea organisms and sea-bed mineral deposits. The deep ocean is in permanent darkness, far beyond the reach of the sun's rays. Only the Super-HARP Hi-Vision camera is able to capture clear images in such demanding conditions. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, a Japanese research vessel off the island of Sumatra investigated the triggering mechanism using a Super-HARP camera fitted to an unmanned submersible to capture video in the inky ocean depths. At a depth of more than 2,000 m, it spotted a huge fissure in the sea floor -- up to 40 m wide in some places -- caused by the violent shaking of the earthquake. This Hi-Vision footage confirmed the physical evidence of the powerful tsunami's cause.