GoPro Dive Housing Thread... Any Leaks?

[freewillie]

Not trying to be argumentative but why? If I don't store the camera in the housing with the door closed how am I supposed to store the camera?

GoPro Silver4
first dive
65 ft.
Backscatter red filter with macro lens option

 

[Divernoob]

I store mine in the housing with the gasket removed. If you keep the housing closed with the gasket in place, it will eventually become compressed and no longer create a water tight seal.

 

[fdarden]

Maybe I have been extremely lucky but I have a hero 1 and a 3 and a 4 that have always been stored with the door shut, and they still goes on tech dives without issue. There is no special care involved with a GoPro other than a quick rinse after every dive. I own 3 GoPro's and do a lot (weekly) of deeper diving, and have yet to flood a camera. On the contrary I store my camera in its housing with the door shut to protect the camera and it's lens. I often wonder if some of the care "tips" that I have seen are related to some of the flood issues that I read about. I wonder this because over the years I have used, abused, and tortured my cameras, and they seem to just keep working. The only advice I can give is to inspect your housing seal before the dive and be sure it does not have any hair or debris or damage on it before sealing. I also try not to unseal the camera once in the humid outdoor air when I am going to dive unless I have to. It is my opinion that greasing the seal, or in any way futzing with it, is a bad idea. Leaving the seal open and exposed seems to be path to dirtying/damaging the surface of the seal. I also toss out the new stock housing and use the hero 3 "dive housing" I feel the newer housing is flimsy and unsuitable for my needs. The dive housing is much more robust, and for the price of the Hero4 Black, it's cheap insurance.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[sipadiver]

I took my gopro3 black down to 40M - with the standard ordinary housing - small white tiny seal - and it worked. Didn't fog. I used it to capture this swim with 40 - 60 hammerhead sharks.
https://vimeo.com/93083811

GoPro liked it so much they sent me the proper dive housing.

 

[pinshootr]

Max depth 138'
150 plus dives fresh and salt, 36 degree water to 85
snap on filters
no leaks

 

[infieldg]

Hero4+ Dive Housing, disaster ;

- 15 dives
- 62m (203ft) in 28C water
- Snap-on polapro filters
- Leaked at 14m a few minutes into a dive in 15C water after handling 62m, hero4 black edition destroyed, saved the LCD bacpac.

The gasket looked immaculate, the housing was basically brand new, but I never removed the gasket and cleaned it, I just ran my finger around it before closing it.

Having read http://cbcdn1.gp-static.com/uploads/product_manual/file/381/DiveHousing_UG_ENG_REVB_WEB.pdf I'll now follow their guidelines to the letter - based on my experience I think using paper or even lint free cloth is dicing with death, clearly microscopic amounts of crud are all that it takes to destroy your camera

"It’s very important to keep the housing’s rubber seal clean. A single hair or grain of sand can cause the housing to leak and damage your camera. To clean the seal, remove it from the housing, rinse it in fresh water and shake dry (drying with a cloth may cause lint to compromise the seal). After using the housing in salt water, always remember to rinse it with fresh water to prevent corrosion".

 

[infieldg]

God I hate this new format, now I'm double posting

 

[fdarden]

I always recommend taking the newer housing that the cameras ship with, throwing it in the trash regardless of the depth you dive, and purchasing the dive housing. Which housing were you using?

• Each of the HERO4 cameras come with the Standard Housing that is capable of withstanding depths of up to 131 feet (40 meters).
• If you are using the Dive Housing, it is waterproof to 197' (60 meters)

If you are using a BacPac, here are the depth ratings:

• If you are using the Dive Housing BacPac Backdoor, the depth rating is 197' (60 meters).
• If you are using the Standard Housing with the Standard BacPac Backdoor, the depth rating is 131' (40 meters).
• If you are using the Standard Housing with the Touch BacPac Backdoor, the depth rating is 10' (3 meters).

 

[BFRedrocks]

1-Four dives
2-72 feet
3-No. Backscatter 3.1 Flip Filter mounted on the outside of the dive housing.
4-No. Only dove with it in cold local lake, so no need for moisture inserts. When I head to Roatan, however, I will have those with me.

 

[3D diver]

Just had two 3D housings leaks in a row. I caught the leaks quickly so the cameras were wetted twice but survived. They work, but seem a little flaky---still checking them out & bought replacements.

I spotted bubbles coming out of the case the second time & that pointed me to the cause. I have several cameras on my tray and use fishing line as a safety lanyard in case the mounts fail. I had re-positioned a camera and the end of its line was now positioned so it was caught in my GoPro case, compromising the seal.

I have pressure tested the cases and they are OK.

I now make sure I am wearing my glasses when I set up my cameras. D'oh!

I have trimmed the fishing line, and re-positioned the offending camera.