Adjustable camera float?

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Waterwulf

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Location
Arizona
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I just don't log dives
I've been diving since about 1969 or so but other than a couple of attempts with a Kodak Instamatic in a plastic housing, have never done any underwater photography. I picked up an Ikelite case with some attachments and an Olympus camera for a can't-refuse-that price. It seems to work very well in and out of the case but I haven't used it on a dive yet. I have tested it underwater though! I tried it in my aquarium (175 gal) just to see what the photo's looked like. Cool! Then I submerged it in a plastic tank to get an idea of it's buoyancy. That thing is heavy!!

I have it rigged with a lanyard to keep it attached to me but was concerned about how much it will affect my buoyancy trim. So I started looking at methods to make it more neutral. It all boiled down to various types of foam floats attached to the camera at assorted locations. Hmmm. If they're set wrong, the camera will try to upend itself. To much and it floats away. To little and it'll sink. Regardless of how perfect it is, it'll change at different depths. That's all very tiring on the arms!

Then I got to thinking: As divers, we have a method to regulate our buoyancy. Our BCD's. (In the early days, we stole the inflatable life jackets from the Pilots locker rooms!) So why can't we have a BCD for our cameras? I designed a BCD for my camera that seems to work well in the plastic tank. I have not dove with it yet though. It's easily adjustable by putting air in or letting it out and seems to stay out of the way. Has anybody come up with anything like that? Did it work? Ideas? Thoughts? Comments? Thanks.
 
Just like your BCD, you're going to have to adjust it with depth. Minor depth changes, especially deeper will have negligible adjustments, possibly not worth the effort. I'd say it depends on how variable the depth is, and how hard it is to use the system.
What happens if you have to ascend rapidly for some emergency? Does it then become a liability?
 
A camera BC has been around for many years, however I do not recall a commercial version .

My wife and I used a highly modified CO2 spear gun inflatable float as an emergency camera floatation device. In all the years of diving we only activated it once.

To day the trend is small ---the GoPro and some day even smaller.. I suspect your device is late in the game

By 1969 Mae west as well as BCs were available commercially - Why steal from the pilots lockers ?

Sam Miller, 111
Capt USAF Korea
 
The old Dacor scooters had a bc option - manual inflation thru a tube. They were really only good to float it at the surface though - too much fussing around as you changed depth.

Stix sells a range of camera floats - some wrap around the port. IDK their website but Baxkscatter sells them. Stix Underwater Buoyancy Strobe Arms & Floats

Ikelite cases are big clear boxes of air so they need the weight on the handles to compensate while diving. My buddy shoots one and has never mentioned a problem with buoyancy control.
 
I think I'd be more specific and call them non-compressible metal bottles. The description, at least in the USA, invokes cheap plastic water bottles that will readily crush with depth.

FWIW, I found some fishing floats at a commercial marine store, that press fit over my [ultralite] arms perfectly. They worked pretty well but ended up being somewhat bulky. I've been Using the [Stix} mentioned above. You can mix and match to suit the rig.
 
I built mine from a cut down 4 inch diameter surface marker. The inflator is easy to in- or deflate and the whole thing seems pretty durable. It uses a snap hook on either end to snap onto two lanyards hooked to the tops of the handles. They'll hold it in a flat U shape high enough over the camera to not interfere with anything but tight enough to not be flopping around. It's only ten inches long but it's got enough lift to float my rig. The neat thing is that it's being held in a totally upright position. Like I said: I've never down with it before but was curious if anything like this has been around before and how well it worked. If I decide while on a dive that it's more trouble than it's worth, the whole thing can be rolled up and stuffed in a pocket.
 
hugyfloat from hugyfot
adjustable floating arms for camera systems

go to any depth you want, push the buttom of the float arm, until your system is neutral in the water, and the system will stay neutral all the time during the dive, independant of depth
 
I made my own floaters from pvc drainpipe, 4 balls and some epoxy.

After the first test dive I added a bolt in the top side.
Now I can flood the floaters to get perfect buoyency.

Buoyency stay the same on all depths.

XQ3z1N.jpg
 

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