corrosive sea conditions?

[uglyredshoes]

Hi all,

i am very new to all aspects of u/w photography and the gear required etc.

i plan to upgrade my 'dry' camera, and yeah might as well get an u/w housing and use it while diving too.

my main concern would be... if the housing doesnt flood and apart from any major accidents, how long can the camera last with all the moisture, sea breeze etc. Gonna feel the hurt if i find out my new camera is actually getting eaten away every second it is on the sea.

i think this really is a dumb qn, but do let me know if my concern is valid.

thanks!

 

[cerich]

My rule of thumb

Lights, Cameras, computers. All rely on electricity which is incompatible with water. All cost lots of money. All will fail. When you buy them understand that.

Enjoy them and do everything you can to make them last but don't be upset when they fail

Best,

Chris

 

[herman]

While I agree with Chris, there is more to it than that. You can do a lot to avoid the problems you are worried about. Never, Never take your camera to the beach or on the boat out of it's housing. Salt spray is killer on electronics. If you want topside pictures, do it in the housing. Protect the housing from the sun, it's a really good greenhouse and your camera will overheat very quickly. Prepare the camera in your room and do not remove it or open the housing away from the room unless absolutely necessary. This goes a lot way in preventing flooding as the slightest piece of sand or hair will cause a O-ring failure. When you return to your room, soak your camera in warm water for at least 15 minutes, more is good. Dry it carefully. I blow around the O-ring area to remove any water that is still there and open the housing so that any water remaining in the seal area will drop away from the camera. While I am on it, when you are installing the camera in the room, take the time to CLOSELY inspect the O-ring and it's sealing surface. I use a magnifying glass to look for anything that should not be there. I have found hairs that I may have missed otherwise. If you do these simple things, your camera will last as long as it would as a dry land based camera, assuming it does not flood.

 

[cerich]

While I agree with Chris, there is more to it than that. You can do a lot to avoid the problems you are worried about. Never, Never take your camera to the beach or on the boat out of it's housing. Salt spray is killer on electronics. If you want topside pictures, do it in the housing. Protect the housing from the sun, it's a really good greenhouse and your camera will overheat very quickly. Prepare the camera in your room and do not remove it or open the housing away from the room unless absolutely necessary. This goes a lot way in preventing flooding as the slightest piece of sand or hair will cause a O-ring failure. When you return to your room, soak your camera in warm water for at least 15 minutes, more is good. Dry it carefully. I blow around the O-ring area to remove any water that is still there and open the housing so that any water remaining in the seal area will drop away from the camera. While I am on it, when you are installing the camera in the room, take the time to CLOSELY inspect the O-ring and it's sealing surface. I use a magnifying glass to look for anything that should not be there. I have found hairs that I may have missed otherwise. If you do these simple things, your camera will last as long as it would as a dry land based camera, assuming it does not flood.

Good advice, I just hate to baby dive gear so it doesn't get babied. I'm also good at fixing gear as well....

 

[uglyredshoes]

So about taking topside photos with the camera still in the case, is the picture quality affected much? I suppose besides drying the lens, theres nothing else that would be different?

 

[cerich]

So about taking topside photos with the camera still in the case, is the picture quality affected much? I suppose besides drying the lens, theres nothing else that would be different?

Slight degradation of quality but variable due to differing quality of ports used in housings.

 

[djanni]

If you don't use the camera outside it's housing while in a salt water mist, keep a fresh silica pack inside the housing, minimize temperture changes that cause condensation, dry the housing before opening it and you are discplined with o-ring maintenance and etc., your camera should be just fine and will not degrade from corrision in the ports and etc.

Read the housing manual and follow the recommandations. Everything will be fine.

 

[Cacia]

good advice, so I want to ask an opinion. Here in Hawaii, we have seperate big rinse buckets on the boat for cameras. Usually my monster is in there and maybe a couple baby ones. (I use the neoprene port cover if anybody is in the bucket with me). The seas are pretty big here and the ride can be rough and bouncy. I always felt that this was the best place for my camera, as it does not get the jar of the impact and is cusioned by the water, stays cool, etc. Recently, a knowledgable photog said "you do WHAT?" and said that this would cause my camera to flood, she has seen it many times. While I respect her opinion, this does not seem logical to me. thoughts?

 

[Tortuga Roja]

Catherine, you do what??!!??:11: :11:

I agree with your friend. Letting it slosh around while the boat is moving is asking for trouble. And if that doesn't do it, some fool's gonna throw his weight belt in there. If they don't have a shady out-of-the-tank place to keep it, I put a wet teeshirt on it and put it on my lap or at my feet.

 

[cerich]

Catherine, you do what??!!??:11: :11:

I agree with your friend. Letting it slosh around while the boat is moving is asking for trouble. And if that doesn't do it, some fool's gonna throw his weight belt in there. If they don't have a shady out-of-the-tank place to keep it, I put a wet teeshirt on it and put it on my lap or at my feet.

Because the water pressure is low it would only take a "jostle" to break a seal and have a flood. So it would never share a bath with a bunch of other stuff.However I will bring my own cooler and fill with water and place my camera gear alone in it for the reasons Catherine mentioned.

Best,

Chris