Crack in Camera UW housing

[sipadiver]

My Fuji f31D camera housing seems to have a small crack or nasty scratch on the lip. I dove in Sipadan and it seemed ok. Its test seems ok.

I thought of sealing it with silicon. Would that be a wise thing?

I'm in Singapore- is there a shop here which repairs them?

 

[seaducer]

A crack or scratch on the lip? you mean one of the mating surfaces? If so I would not bother with something pliable like silicon, as water pressure may find a way around the patch...

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Get a good magnifier, determine if it really is a crack. A nasty scratch will look bad but won't get worse. If it is is a crack, and it is around or on the seal area, it: a.) could/will get worse and b.) will always cause concern at the wrong times (like when you should be paying attention to diving or shooting!). Silicone will not really fix it if it is an actual crack that splits in towards a seal area.

If you like the camera and close inspection reveals a crack, look at getting a new housing. I say that because Fuji housings are relatively cheap ($117-$134 on Amazon in US, Singapore would be cheaper?) but the F-31fd camera isn't around anymore. What replaced it, I'm told, is not as good a camera. You would never dream of doing a patch repair on a critical life support item ("Oh let's just slap a little goop on this reg and go dive." !!) and the housing is pretty critical to your camera's life, yes? // ww

 

[sipadiver]

Not really. Its actually cheaper to get it from America. The F31 UW housing here in Singapore retails for about US$180 if you can find it.