Gear and Product Reviews|
This gear is reviewed by the divers that use it. No manufacturers' claims or endorsements...just the honest truth from divers! "Do It Yourself" Video Camera Housing Want to enter into underwater video, but you're turned off by the high cost of housing? You might consider trying to make one yourself. Many divers have already done so, and they are as elaborate--or simple--as the person who fabricates them wants them to be. This model uses schedule 80 PVC and two plates of one-inch plexiglass, which is routered to make a "top-hat" design. Thick o-rings make the seal watertight, and three spring-hook latches keep the plates firmly in place. The handle is of bar aluminum, and no screws or other holes penetrate the housing body. |
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| Lights, camera, ACTION! Two waterproof, 9-element LED lights are attached on simply fabricated brackets to provide additonal illumination. |
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Optional camera on/off control. A simple solenoid wired to two 9-volt batteries "punches the button" to control video recording. The solenoid is actuated by a reed switch on the inside of the housing by sliding a magnet over the switch. The slide for the magnet can be seen on the left side of the housing. |
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Cheap Pix--Low Tech Approaches Work...sort of! by Bill Crowley Okay, so that big trip to Cozumel is all set and you're rarin' to go! You have everything you need and the long awaited time has arrived. The only thing you're sad about is that you couldn't afford that big, fancy photo setup you've been drooling over for years. It breaks your heart that you'll come home with not a single underwater image other than the ones you can carry in your head. But does it have to be that way? No! I was aboard a day charter, gearing up for the first dive of the day when the fellow across from me pulled out his huge, lavishly decked out photo setup, complete with extension arms and twin strobes. That reminded me, so I pulled out my camera. It was one of those plastic-housed disposable jobs--no flash, fixed focus, and rated (as it says on the box) for the stunning depth of seventeen feet. The fellow across from me laughed and said, "You're kidding. Mate, where we're going, that'll crush like an eggshell." Not at all. I'd had similar cameras down to seventy feet, and they'd continued to function without flooding. In fact, the pictures on this page are made with a cheap disposeable. But to be polite, here's what I told him. "Maybe, but the way I look at it, it's only nine bucks. If it floods, I've dropped a ten dollar bill. If it takes only one good photo, it's worth it." The thing is, those cameras actually do take good photos, even at depths of over eighty feet. I know, because I've done it. The trick is to overcome the cheap camera's limitations. For one thing, the underwater disposable cameras don't have flashes. This isn't a problem in places like the Carribean where there's usually ample light even down to a hundred feet. However, diving in freshwater lakes is a whole other matter. Face it, light is crucial. Of course, that means the cheap cameras will take pictures that are increasingly blue at depth. Sure, if you're out to capture the fantastic colors of the coral or psychadelicly hued fish, you're going to be dissappointed. But if all you want is to capture a few memories on film, then it's an alternative. You also have to remember the optics. The disposable cameras are fixed focus, and they don't focus at ranges less than three or four feet. However, they're equipped with a wide angle lens, so moving up reasonably close to say, take a picture of a fellow diver, usually gives good results. Advantages of the inexpensive cameras are their size and ruggedness. They fit into a moderately sized bc pocket, and they're cheap enough that you don't spend the entire dive carefully babying them like you would a five hundred dollar rig. Sometimes convenience is worth a lot. So the next time you just want some "tourist" shots, consider the cheap route. The results may just surprise you. |
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