I received my GoPro HD the other day. The Aquapac underwater baggie I had will not work because the GoPro housing doesn't fit well and the Power button on the face of the GoPro housing interferes with the flat port of the baggie.
So I proceeded to get parts together for a permanent underwater focus fix using acrylic bought from a local acrylic factory:
- 50mm x 50mm x 8mm black acrylic plate with a 38mm diameter hole drilled in the center
- 50mm x 50mm x 3mm clear acrylic plate for the flat port
- acrylic cement
- silicone sealant for aquariums
Total spent on parts was about $15.
Acrylic scratches rather easily, so I'll have to be careful with the GoPro. But I was in a rush and this was the best I could do.
The 38mm hole drilled into the black acrylic was not wide enough to prevent vignetting on the 720p60 mode that I may use from time to time, so I filed down the sides to flare out the corners. Now there is no vignetting. 1080p was no problem even with just the 38mm straight walled hole because of its narrower angle of view.
I've attached a couple of photos showing the housing as it is now. The parts are all cemented into place, but I will let it cure overnight and then apply the silicone sealant to all the seams to make sure it is waterproof.
We're going to Guam next week and will get to do a couple boat dives. I'll probably piggyback the GoPro camera on top of a Sony HC1 in an Ikelite housing so I can compare how the two video cameras fare against each other.
Hopefully I'll have some nice sample videos to post after the trip.
(and hopefully no floods!)
