Camera buoyancy question
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Victor Linnet
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Pretty much the same as Avigulf said, but if you want it to be slightly positive you can cover the PVC with some foam.
If you seal it completely it will be very positive. Personally I really dislike anything positively buoyant, esp. a camera. You can never set it down or turn it loose if you need both hands. You should have it tethered to you so you can go hands free when you need to and when you do release it, it floats up and tangles up with your hoses. If it were mine, I would make the PVC into open compartments and then seal one or more to make it just barely negative in salt water. Odds are it will be about right if you leave the entire thing open. Foam does not work well due to it compressing as depth increases. If you need to add back a little positive buoyancy, you can add some non compressible material into the PVC pipe or install a section of foam then seal the ends with glue, epoxy or a similar material. If you add back floatation, be sure to add it back in an even manner, otherwise one side of the camera will be more positive and want to twist the camera as you hold it making it very uncomfortable to control over a long dive.
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Being slightly negative will make for smoother panning since the drag thru the water makes you steadier. Being slightly positive has the effect of having to always pull down the camera slightly to maintain a level horizon - I've seen several videos shot where someone wasn't aware of this so their video had a series of small dips. I would think this effect would be magnified with a GoPro (I don't have one) since it's more used on wide-angle close-up work by default.
Got a picture of your pvc set up yet? I am also thinking of making my own and was hoping to see what you did.
Not pretty but it seems to be functional. The handles come off for storage and I shaped it like the SRP so it could easily be set down as a tripod. It will probably show up at the bottom of the video in that position but i'll check that soon. I would like to paint it but it will probably look worse once it gets scratched up and starts chiping.
Personally, I prefer my camera rig to be very slightly positive. Since depths off my island coast can hit 200 ft very quickly, the last thin I want is my camera to sink faster than I can get to it! However, I also don't want it lifting me up to the surface! Therefore I make it just slightly positive so it rises slowly enough that I can easily catch up without embolizing! Your mileage may differ depending on local conditions.
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