DIY Underwater Video Housing

[WreckDiver1692]

Introduction

I was reallllly close to spending about 10k on a Nikon Z6 (better video than Z7) with an external monitor (Atomos Ninja V) and Nauticam housing for both and Kraken Sports lights with a remote plus all the other arms and such needed. I changed my mind because I wanted some additional features in the camera before settling on such an expensive rig (4k60 recording, 4:2:2 10-bit internal and without cropping, better AF performance with N-LOG recording, etc.), and also because although I try to dive one day a month locally, it's not enough to justify spending that much on a new setup given other savings goals I have (house isn't going to buy itself, sadly).

Concordantly, I decided to buy a GoPro instead and make my own rig. A GoPro with ample lighting should take video of sufficient quality at a fraction of the price. To be clear, the goal is a video camera rig, not one for photos per se, because I believe photos miss out on the important aspects of motion that only video can really capture well -- just my personal preference though.

However, I have never used a video camera rig before, so I am going at this by first reading up on everyone's views on what they want in a rig. I've been watching youtube videos and reading articles on why rigs are designed the way they are to gain better insight as to what I would like to feature in my own rig. To that end, I have come up with some design goals:

Design goals

• System should be stable as it is pushed through the water because stable footage is critical to great video
  • Should probably be more or less symmetrical
    
    
  • Perhaps vertical/horizontal stabilizers could be used?
• System should be neutrally buoyant because I heard from many sources that it's tiring fighting your camera rig when it is too buoyant or negative. Because buoyancy characteristics change at depth, it's important the system is adjustable.
  • Having an internal lift bag would make it so it can be adjustable
• System should feature a large high resolution monitor so I can easily frame my shots
  • It would be nice if the monitor is adjustable so that I could view it at a range of angles depending on where the rig is positioned
    • A tiltable monitor could constructed with a simple hinge
      • However, this would alter the center of balance, so I would ideally want some means to counterbalance the tilting of the monitor
• System should actually cost me less in money/time than I would have spent simply buying the 10k setup and/or provide far greater value to the community (if other people are inspired to build this rig, share their cool videos, and spread a love of the ocean, that's a win in my book)
  
  
• Bonus: It would be nice if the system provided some utility beyond just being a camera housing
  • If the lift capacity is high, it could double as a lift bag
    
    
  • It could have pockets and D-rings to carry things
    • Spare lights, emergency beacons, water, food

Current Ideas

GoPro Hero 7
I decided to go with a GoPro Hero 7 (not the new Hero 8 that will be released in a few days) because the Hero 7 still has a built-in Micro HDMI out port. With the Hero 8, you'll need a "Media Mod" attachment, and who knows if/when someone will make a waterproof housing for that. Also, since the changes from 7 to 8 were more minor than anything, it seemed easier to go with the 7 and just modify one of the many waterproof housings you can get for it.

Unsealed, flooded unit
Additionally, with the GoPro itself sealed in its housing, I need only then make sure the monitor and it's accompanying battery pack is sealed from the water, as opposed to having to seal the entire rig. This is important because things can start to get really complex if you have to seal a big unit while still requiring access inside that unit -- you need a whole manner of o-rings and clean seals. I really want this device to be as simple as possible to build and accessible to almost anyone without getting too fancy. Plus, I'm wary of feature creep in the early iterations -- instead of taking years to build something with thousands of features and complexities, I'd rather build something simple that works and go from there.

Start simple (simple is relative -- this is simple for me)
My current plan is to start with a relatively simple shape, such as a cube. I was going to have a local plastics supplier cut me squares of 3/8" acrylic to form a cube. On the inside there will be a dome affixed to the top and inside the dome a lift bladder. I'll probably run a tube with a hydration bladder bite valve (thanks @James79 for the hydration bladder valve idea) at the end so it can be filled, and a pressure release / dump valve at the top of the bladder extending through dome and the top of the cube.

The front of the cube would have a mount for a GoPro with an extended housing which has a micro HDMI cable sealed into it and ultimately running to the monitor.


The rear of the cube would feature a 10" 2K monitor.

The plan is to get two clear acrylic sheets and sandwich the monitor between them, with the mini hdmi cable plugged in and the power cable as well and seal everything with silicone caulking. I'm not really worried about heating because it'll be submerged in water but we'll see. Also the silicone allows me to make changes if absolutely necessary (you can peel it away once dried) but otherwise provides a more or less permanent seal so that I don't need to worry about water getting in. These two sandwiched sheets of acrylic with the monitor in between would be the rear of the cube, attached to with a hinge used for a GoPro (the advantage being the hinges are waterproof and can have an infinite range of fixed positions, though I'll probably have to custom splice my own from some existing ones because I can't find any 90° ones).

The problem with a hinged setup (to allow the screen to be viewed at a range of angles) however is that it offsets the center of gravity of the device, so I was thinking of having some adjustable weights along a rail on the bottom of the device, near the front (because the very bottom center will have a tripod mount). I still have to think some more on this though.


The other advantage of having a hinged design is that it would allow the user access to the inside of the device. I was thinking of having a tray at the bottom with just a stretchy net where objects could be placed if needed. Also, some pouches on the side and D-rings for attachments (though I personally wouldn't use them all that much because they'd offset the center of balance but they'd still be nice to have). Again, the goal is for the cube itself to be flooded so I don't have to worry about compression issues, with ample holes in key spots to allow water to flow in/out (so it doesn't weigh a ton when you try to take it out of the water)

The two wires coming out through the sealant of the sandwiched monitor screen (mini HDMI and 5v2a DC) would connect to the GoPro housing described above (it would be the same sealed wired) and a small housing for the 18650 battery pack. The wires themselves are coated in plastic so are fine getting wet, and everything else is already sealed. The battery housing needs to be sealed and reopened to change the batteries however, and I was going to do this simply by getting some plastic cups with fixed rubber inserts:

I am hoping this will be sufficient for a reliable seal but I'll have to test it. As for the cup's resilience under pressure I was planning on filling the cubs with epoxy/resin so that all but the battery compartment itself is solid.

As for balance and stability of the entire system, I'm going to add some weight to the bottom of the cube in the form of wheel weights, probably sealed in under a layer of resin to prevent corrosion. I'll attach handles with ball joints to the base of the cube in the center with appropriate-sized bolts and glue.


Things I'm still thinking through

• Is having a flat cube face as the front going to cause issues with stability? Should it be a dome instead (even one that actually doesn't do anything because the camera will be outside of it
• Are other shapes better? I considered a sort of polygonal diamond shape but I need the device to remain relatively small as the camera will still need to be operated by hand
• How to counter-balance the fact that the screen can be positioned at many angles
• The monitor needs to be able to be accessed to press the 'on' button; I was going to cut off a little corner of the acrylic "sandwich" on one side where the on button is and then have that be a sealed thin plastic corner so the button is accessible. Maybe there are better solutions?

Anyways, that is more or less what I have right now. If you have some suggestions or ideas please let me know. If anyone else is also interested in working on this as well, by all means let's collaborate. I just want to make a relatively inexpensive housing so more people can take great underwater video.

Cheers,
Nathan

 

[runsongas]

Hugyfot - Vision Hero

add some float arms

 

[WreckDiver1692]

Yes although I currently plan to use some buoyancy arms I left that out because it really is user preference and here I'm focusing on the housing itself. But for example I may actually find that float arms create an imbalance in the system and prefer the flotation to be solely with the central lift bag. I'll have to do some testing.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Unless you are using materials that compress at depth then I don't see why it should become noticeably more negative Given the choice I prefer slightly negative over positive but not too negative Given the choice I would prefer electronic color correction rather than filters I am only using a cheap GoPro clone but I have found that a wide tray helps a lot with stabilation Using filters I often had reflected backlight and glare so I painted the inside of my housing black and replaced the clear port with a red filter and this eliminated several problems but I now have a separate camera when I shoot shallow with a pink filter or use video lights

 

[WreckDiver1692]

Thanks, that's helpful. I was thinking that the buoyancy of a device I brought down to even just the recreational depth limit would change enough that I would want to adjust it. If you are correct in that it does not vary significantly (for uncompressible materials), then the question is whether I want it to be usable with different light setups without having to completely readjust buoyancy (some lights are much heavier than others), or if I want to have the housing also double as a lift bag if needed. Otherwise I can probably fill the top of the cube with uncompressible flotation to where it's just right for my particular light setup.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Thanks, that's helpful. I was thinking that the buoyancy of a device I brought down to even just the recreational depth limit would change enough that I would need to adjust it. If you are suggesting that it does not vary significantly, then the question is whether I want to have the housing also double as a lift bag if needed. Otherwise I can probably fill the top of the cube with uncompressable flotation and just work to make sure it's perfectly balanced.

If there is a bottom below that is not too far then if dropped you have a chance of recovering your camera If it floats it may ascend at a rate that will have your computer beeping at you plus you might miss a safety stop or even a deco stop I have mine strapped to my wrist and can attach to a D-ring if necessary mine is slightly negative but I agree that neutral would have advantages

 

[diversteve]

I like mine slightly negative also.
Buy one of these and Use it,
Coil-Lanyard

If yu have a Hard Case housing and monitor housing the buoyancy does not change at all. The soft bags will.

Your choice for battery housings seem like they might go Pop! at depth. Why do you need to change the batteries? Most camera's shooting video last for housrs and the monitor probably for days so incorporate both Inside your hardened housings for each.

Might want to give more thought to a bulkhead connector for the HDMI cable as a regular cable will leak at the connector, they're Not waterproof

Try to Minimie the failure points not add to them.

 

[diversteve]

The two wires coming out through the sealant

This will leak as it gets deformed at depth. Also the wires may be coated but the connectors will leak as well - they're likely not sealed.

Believe me, water leaks in places you never imagined. One of my old housings had an o-ringed port seal. The first time I tested it in the pool, water leaked around the threads and down into the housing. Another o-ring there solved the problem.

 

[James79]

On your monitor housing idea, just cutting a corner and replacing it with rubber for a button won't work. The air inside the monitor will compress effectively sucking in your rubber "button", holding down the power button. I found this out with cheap waterproof (not divingl) flashliights that use a pushbutton power switch. They stayed water tight, but at about 10 feet water pressure held the button pressed. If you look at a gopro housing, where the button actually passes through is a very small cross section and uses a fairly stiff spring to overcome water pressure.

 

[WreckDiver1692]

This will leak as it gets deformed at depth. Also the wires may be coated but the connectors will leak as well - they're likely not sealed.

Believe me, water leaks in places you never imagined. One of my old housings had an o-ringed port seal. The first time I tested it in the pool, water leaked around the threads and down into the housing. Another o-ring there solved the problem.

Yes to avoid the leaking connectors/adapters issue entire I was just going to have everything sealed and only the wire in the water. For example there's going to be a Micro HDMI to HDMI adapter but that will be contained inside the Extended GoPro housing, and then an HDMI to Mini HDMI adapter but that will be sealed within the acrylic sandwich.

If silicone compresses too much at depth, maybe I'll seal instead with epoxy resin -- that shouldn't compress significantly at depth. Thanks for the heads up.