DIY camcorder housing?

[naimis]

I recently became aware of the Panasonic HDC-SDT750K camcorder, which records 3D video in HD (side by side, so while it has 1080 lines, the horizontal resolution is cut in half).

There doesn't seem to be much available for Panasonic gear in terms of underwater housings, so I figured if I wanted to go down this road I'd have to build my own housing. Equinox makes housings for the 700 series camcorders from Panasonic, upon which the 750 is based, but the extra length of the 3D lens probably makes it impossible to use those housings.

There is at least one issue with the 750 that make it problematic for underwater videography the settings are mostly in the touch-screen. Basic controls like record and zoom are available through physical switches and don't even require the screen to be open, but the power switch is hidden under the touch screen and white balance settings are apparently only available on the touch screen.

The touch screen I played around with on a 700 series (2D) camera didn't require that I touch it with my fingers (I was able to use a plastic blister pack), but the touch screen definitely presents a bit of an engineering problem.

I've tried searching and haven't yet found a thread on a DIY camcorder housing, but I'm pretty sure there's one around, I just need to narrow my search later. In the mean-time, any comments/suggestions as to how to proceed? (with making a custom housing)

 

[diversteve]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/do-yourself-diy/101940-diy-video-housing-success.html

There's also 95 other threads that may be of some help. Do an advanced search using the keywords video housing and specify the DIY forum only.

Ikelite sells their control rods and glands separately so it might be possible to use one to touch the screen. But I've read they're hard to bend. http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/parts_index.html

Ocean Images does something similar - http://www.oceanimagesinc.com/products/housings/hc_series/hc3_series_housings.htm

People who DIY housings carry the remote to dive sites to start the camera pre-dive. Maybe that would solve the hidden power button problem.

 

[naimis]

Thanks for the links. I'd meant to do the advanced search at some point but posted first instead. Bad form, I know.

The parts from Ikelite are pretty tempting. It looks like one could make a custom housing using their parts without a lot of difficulty. I also noticed that ocean images specifically mentioned being able to access the full white balance controls in their panasonic housing . (too bad the 3D lens wouldn't fit in it).

 

[cjfox]

I have a panasonic tm700, I use an old aquatica housing originally made for a sony tr series. The contols are electro magnetic, so I took out the original circuit board out and replaced it with a learning remote I got off e-bay. I have it programed for record, zoom, manual white balance. I can control anything available with the remote.
The one pet peeve is the proprietary av cable, which I use to connect to the monitor. It is large and a spare is unavailable, the LCD must be open at just the right angle, otherwise the white balance control switches to the button on the side of the lens.
That being said I love the camera.

 

[Camerone]

FYI - it is often cheaper to buy and old Ikelite housing off of fleaBay and reuse the glands and controls than to purchase new from Ikelite. That way you also get a lens dome (which may or may not work for your application), as well as latches and a tray. It'll save you money in the end if you're patient.

 

[naimis]

I have a panasonic tm700, I use an old aquatica housing originally made for a sony tr series. The contols are electro magnetic, so I took out the original circuit board out and replaced it with a learning remote I got off e-bay. I have it programed for record, zoom, manual white balance. I can control anything available with the remote.

Interesting... I finally found the user manual and it looks like the wired control for the camera is via the HDMI port. To make matters more annoying, both the power switch and the HDMI port are underneath the view screen.

How do you get the white balance through IR? I'm digging through google but haven't turned anything up yet. Can you navigate through it via the menu and arrows on the remote?

 

[cjfox]

Just press the manual selector button(not available with remote) and the manual menu comes up and you press WB and scoll to manual on the touch screen. This can also be done through the remote with the up down/left right buttons. It's very easy with the camera in front of you.

 

[naimis]

Just press the manual selector button(not available with remote) and the manual menu comes up and you press WB and scoll to manual on the touch screen. This can also be done through the remote with the up down/left right buttons. It's very easy with the camera in front of you.

You're talking about the camera function button on the side of the camera between the lens and view screen, right? I seem to remember that's what I did to switch between iA and manual modes in the store.

I can't find any pictures of the remote control itself, so I guess I'll have to make another visit to the store to get a better look.

I've been thinking about how to implement control and have come up with a few ideas:
1) put the original remote inside the housing with external buttons to push the remote's buttons. Not sure how to get the remote in a convenient location and have the IR pointing at the camera, however.
2) hack a learning remote, driven by electrical switches external to the housing. I happen to have an old learning remote from a receiver that was stolen out of my house a few years back...
3) build an entirely new control circuit from scratch. This is probably more work than it's worth.

 

[naimis]

I picked up a Samsung 3D LED TV yesterday, and was able to watch two of the three sample features: Galapagos and Into the Deep (filmed in the kelp forests off the California coast). The best part was the swarm of eels in the Galapagos feature.

In my short experience with 3D sets, I found that I thought the quality of the Samsung set beat the comparable Sony set, FWIW. Both sets weren't always 100% in sync, and the apparent shadows of the two images can be mighty distracting, but this seemed to happen a lot more often on the Sony set.

Additionally, there were occasions in the footage where there were objects in the foreground that were out of focus, in favor of more distant objects. (Longer focal length? My knowledge of proper photo/video terms is iffy ). Anyway, having stuff in the foreground that's out of focus is really distracting in 3D.

The camera itself is on order, so hopefully sometime next week I can start looking in more detail as to what will be required to make this particular camcorder viable underwater.