Help me before I get another camera killed!

[mcace007]

Hello fellow SB'ers! I am making the leap from point and shoot underwater camera to an Olympus PEN setup and need all the help that I can get from you all.

I previously had an Olympus Tough camera with UW housing and strobe and all that and have had some success with it but I have had the camera develop moisture inside twice where I had to have Olympus repair it. The last time they just gave me a newer model due to the age of the one that I sent them.

I was using moisture munchers inside the housing after the first time I killed the camera and after one dive trip where I didn't kill the camera I thought all was well. The next dive trip several months later using the same process of moisture munchers in the housing the camera developed fog inside the lens (inside the camera) worked for a while, ght fog cleared up, I thought all was well and took the camera on a dive again, this time the camera died at 60'

So now I am terrified about spending the $$ on a complete new rig, a camera that is not already water proof no less, and killing it!

I have heard so much advise from dive buddies (non of whom own a UW camera but know someone that does ) Like keep the camera outside with the housing to let it acclimate to the humidity, keep it inside but in the sun to keep it in the AC but warm, just cram as many moisture munchers as possible inside, open it after each dive and blow some compressed air in the housing.

I've heard enough to make my head spin! I am leaving for Fiji in 55 days and staying at a resort that doesn't even have AC and I want to keep my new camera functioning and come home with some kick ass photos!

Please help me SB!

BTW I am going to get the Olympus PEN E-PL2 setup.

Thanks in advance!
Michael

 

[smellzlikefish]

You said nothing about o-ring maintenance. I love my cat and my girlfriend to death, but the few times I have gone underwater and had my camera fog could all be traced back to their hair. You must thoroughly clean both your o-ring and the grooves in the housing every time you take your camera out. Then you need to lightly grease the o-ring with silicone grease at least every other use. This helps maintain the pliability of the o-ring. Then after use, open the housing, remove the o-ring, and let it uncompress. Done properly, you shouldn't need any moisture munchers.

 

[Darnold9999]

Never take the camera and housing into AC - when you remove it from the AC the water in the cold air will condense everywhere on the lens and in the camera itself. Never blow compressed air into the housing - this just forces any water droplets into nooks and crannies. You can blow compressed air on the outside of the sealed housing to dry it before opening it, but I find a towel to be much safer. Dry it off and leave it for a few minutes before opening.

My routine is to finish the dive, rinse the camera, dry the camera with a towel, go change, come back open the camera remove battery and card, reseal the camera, download pics and recharge the battery. About 30 min before the next dive, open the housing, put the card and battery back in the camera, double check the seals, drop the camera in the rinse tank and check for bubbles.

I am planning to change this for my next trip by having a spare battery and card so that when I open the camera I can swap the card and battery for a fresh one and reseal the camera all in one step. Fewer chances for a mistake.

PS - I carry a spare o-ring so I don't worry about compressing the o-ring. Overnight I unseal the camera to let the o-ring decompress

 

[TSandM]

I'm stunned that a Tough died from humidity alone. I had the predecessor, the 720, and I outright flooded the housing several times, and the camera survived just fine. What I learned about those acrylic housings is that, with repeated immersions, they eventually develop micro-cracking around the button orifices. There is nothing you can do to prevent this, and nothing you can do to fix it.

I have a PEN now, in an acrylic housing, and although I'm careful with the o-rings, I'm resigned to the fact that it will eventually flood. Get insurance.

 

[smellzlikefish]

"I have a PEN now, in an acrylic housing, and although I'm careful with the o-rings, I'm resigned to the fact that it will eventually flood. Get insurance."

...Or a different housing.​

 

[alcina]

Wow, crazy. I have been using acrylic housings forever with zero problems.

Fogging is a humidity problem. You shouldn't have this too much on your trip as you won't be going from AC to humid outside air it sounds like. Moisture munchers can't hurt.

I don't take my oring out very often unless it really needs it. One advantage of the acrylic housings is you can see what's on your oring.

Up your inspections - it sounds very much like teensy bits of water have gotten in where they shouldn't have. You might not even notice a "leak" like this but it's just as damaging in the long term. Make sure you have a bright light to work with when inspecting your orings and be ruthless removing the tiniest specks. Remember to check your grooves before inserting orings and before closing the housing. I can't tell you how many divers I have seen spend 15 minutes inspecting the oring but not even glancing at the big wad of sand or hair on the groove of the housing!

Bring a collapsible esky/cooler bag for the boat and surface intervals, pop the kit in there and make sure it's not laying around in the sun. Not only will the cooler help not bake the camera but it offers a bit of padding protection and can be used as a portable rinse tank, too.

 

[blibecap]

User maintenance is the key to keeping the water out. You can find some information here. Underwater Housing Maintenance tips, Camera fogging,O-ring care, Dome port scratches|Underwater Photography Guide

What can you do to prevent a flood and destroying your camera is get a moisture detector. Another better solution is a vacuum leak detection system. The advantage of this type of system is it can tell you if you have a housing integrity problem before you get the housing wet.

 

[jcclink]

Permanent o-ring deformation/compression due to leaving it in place all the time is a non-issue. If you're really concerned about this, then you should remove ALL the o-rings, not just the main one. Housings are shipped from the manufacturer with o-rings in place, then they sit around at the dealer until sold for who knows how long. Its much more important to keep o-rings clean without playing with them all the time.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Never take the camera and housing into AC - when you remove it from the AC the water in the cold air will condense everywhere on the lens and in the camera itself. Never blow compressed air into the housing - this just forces any water droplets into nooks and crannies. You can blow compressed air on the outside of the sealed housing to dry it before opening it, but I find a towel to be much safer. Dry it off and leave it for a few minutes before opening.

This is not the case. You should always open the camera in a AC environment, since it it lower in temperature (thus contains less moisture in the air for the same humidity level) and lower in humidity. If your camera is ice cold from your AC environment and you take it out to the humid outdoors, only the exterior would form condensation, not the inside. Its like taking a SLR out to the humid env and the lenses condenstates. We wipe the water off and go off shooting. We don't worry about the mirror box, shutter, or even the other side of the exterior lens condensation.

One does have to maintain the o-ring though. I recently flooded my camera after changing the battery once. I was always careful with my o-ring, but this camera had a OEM housing that only had a single o-ring, and if one or two lint lands on the greased up o-ring, then it becomes a passage way for water to seep in.

 

[Darnold9999]

This is not the case. You should always open the camera in a AC environment, since it it lower in temperature (thus contains less moisture in the air for the same humidity level) and lower in humidity. If your camera is ice cold from your AC environment and you take it out to the humid outdoors, only the exterior would form condensation, not the inside. Its like taking a SLR out to the humid env and the lenses condenstates. We wipe the water off and go off shooting. We don't worry about the mirror box, shutter, or even the other side of the exterior lens condensation.

One does have to maintain the o-ring though. I recently flooded my camera after changing the battery once. I was always careful with my o-ring, but this camera had a OEM housing that only had a single o-ring, and if one or two lint lands on the greased up o-ring, then it becomes a passage way for water to seep in.

Completely disagree. Have even had the shutter mirror be completely covered by fog doing exactly this. Screwed up an entire dive's worth of pictures. What is the benefit you are getting by taking the camera apart in AC? Why do you think that only the exterior is getting condensation???? Just because you can't see it? The interior has exactly the same environment as the exterior of the camera. Same temperature, same humidity. Take it from cold dehumidified air to warm humid air and you will get condensation on all surfaces - inside and out. The inside will be less, as the volume of air it is exposed to is less, but it is still there. To be avoided.

The only caveat to this is where the outside environment is warm and humid and the water you will be diving in is cold. Then I would want to take the camera out of the housing in AC and put it back together in the same environment.

Best place is a room that is very similar in temperature to the water you are diving in. No condensation at all.