Testing housing depth limits

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GreaseM0nkey86

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I was wondering if anyone has tested the camera housing depth limits.
For example:
The canon OE housings (well the WP-DC34 at least) is rated for 130' (40m)

Has anyone taken their housing near or to the limits and found that a leak developed or any other problems (besides sticking buttons, i assume that should be expected?)?

reason I ask is that some wrecks are down at 100'+ and was concerned about the pressures on the housing.
 
I was wondering if anyone has tested the camera housing depth limits.
For example:
The canon OE housings (well the WP-DC34 at least) is rated for 130' (40m)

Has anyone taken their housing near or to the limits and found that a leak developed or any other problems (besides sticking buttons, i assume that should be expected?)?

reason I ask is that some wrecks are down at 100'+ and was concerned about the pressures on the housing.
Hi,
I've had my Fuji F31fd housing down to about 42-45m (approx 137-147ft) and it still worked perfectly.
I've never had any issues with it actually....
Hope this helps!

:)
 
I wouldn't worry about the Canon OEM UW housings leaking at a depth in the 100 fsw range. I've taken mine down to a small airplane wreck that's at 135 fsw. The camera worked just fine. I have a buddy who does some technical diving and he's taken his Canon housing down to about 150 fsw with no issues.

In my experience, the one issue with the Canon housings is that the buttons may start to stick at greater depth. A couple years ago, I missed out on taking a pic of large, inquisitive mola mola because my camera housing buttons got "sticky" at 125 fsw. To a large extent, the sticky button issue can be mitigated by periodically removing the button shafts and re-lubing the button o-rings. Here's a link to a webpage that describes step-by-step how to do this straightforward DIY maintenance. Since I started doing this maintenance, the housing has continued to perform very well.

An additional tip is that after you do this maintenance on your housing buttons, do a test dive during which you substitute a paper towel or tissue for your camera inside the housing. Then, when you get to depth, operate the buttons as if you were using the housing to take pictures. Essentially, it's a real-life pressure test. If a button leaks, you'll be able to see it and fix it before you risk damaging your expensive camera.

BTW, since you're a relatively new diver, I'd recommend that you get some formal deep dive training or find a more experienced dive mentor who can introduce you to diving in the 100 - 130 fsw range. It would be wise to learn about gas planning/management, nitrogen narcosis, and carbon dioxide retention before doing dives in that range. Also, make sure that you have excellent buoyancy control before messing around with an UW camera. You'll get better photos, have much more fun, and dive more safely when all of your other dive skills are up to snuff.

Have fun out there...
 
Good advice BT

I only do Mickey Mouse photography so I usually leave my camera (Canon IXUS with OEM housing, 40m rating) behind below 30m... but one thing I would suggest if you're going to/beyond the recommended limits of your housing and want to get that 'must have' photo, is turn the camera on, the powersaving features off, and set it to the mode/flash etc that you want to use, at the start of the dive

The less buttons you have to press at depth the more chance you have of getting that photo

I've done a few dives with friends who have been unable to turn on or adjust their cameras at max depth, much to my disappointment!
 
I've had my Sea&Sea DX-1G housing to 110 feet and it still works. I think that all the reputable housing manufacturers are careful to ensure that their housing meet the depth levels advertised. That said, nothing is perfect and I am sure that an occasional housing can leak because of a manufacturing defect.

Regards,

Bill
 
Canon OEM housings, particularly the bigger ones, have the buttons pushed in as you go deeper. The more you use the camera, the worse it gets.

My G10 housing will no longer worker below about 115 ft. It does not leak though, and the camera will work again as you come up.

But I've taken around 6,000 pictures with that housing.

Fuji housing seem to do better, by the way. Never been deep enough to have a button issue with a Fuji.
 
Thank you all for your input! Answered my question perfectly!

BTW, since you're a relatively new diver, I'd recommend that you get some formal deep dive training or find a more experienced dive mentor who can introduce you to diving in the 100 - 130 fsw range. It would be wise to learn about gas planning/management, nitrogen narcosis, and carbon dioxide retention before doing dives in that range. Also, make sure that you have excellent buoyancy control before messing around with an UW camera. You'll get better photos, have much more fun, and dive more safely when all of your other dive skills are up to snuff.

Have fun out there...

Thanks for the tip, I'm just looking into 100ft+ dives, not a necessity yet, but something I would want to do while vacationing in Hawaii
 

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