How do you keep your u/w camera attached?

[Web Monkey]

Has any one ever had a retractible lanyard or coil lanyard break off? I just can not trust a piece of plastic to protect my $800 camera.

Absolutely. They break all the time.

I lost a brand new camera and an Ikelite housing on it's very first dive because I used one of those stupid coiled-cord things with all the plastic clips.

Now I use 1/4" nylon rope and 3 SS boltsnaps. Same arrangement as the coiled-cord thing, but now the hardware is strong enough to hoist me out of the water.

Terry

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Now I use 1/4" nylon rope and 3 SS boltsnaps. Same arrangement as the coiled-cord thing, but now the hardware is strong enough to hoist me out of the water.

Terry

Hi Terry,
Your set-up sounds like the way to go. Would you be willing to post a picture?

 

[spt29970]

I use a retractor with a stainless steel cable. It is pretty beefy, although I always have the camera in my hands, so it might as well not be there. I guess it just gives me some peace of mind knowing that it is clipped on so I could let go if I wanted to. It always gives me the willies to see someone with a dangling camera. Even if you don't lose it, it will almost certainly bang into something. YMMV.

 

[Web Monkey]

Hi Terry,
Your set-up sounds like the way to go. Would you be willing to post a picture?

It's hard to get to right now, so I'll draw you a bad ASCII picture.

"-" = 1/4" nylon rope

snap_1 ------------snap_2-snap_3

Snap 1 goes on my BC
Snap 3 goes on the camera
When the camera isn't in use, snap 2 clips to my BC, holding the camera there.

If you have a big housing like an Ikelite, you can skip snap 3 and just tie the rope right to the housing. Mine goes through the big slot on the bar on the bottom.

Terry

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing, Terry!

I loved your ASCII diagram, very inventive.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

I use neutral buoyancy arms from Reef Photo, and I can let go of my rig with both hands, and it would all most be neutral , it just is slightley neg.
I have a Oly E-330 DSLR with dual DS-125 strobes, and it's great to hold onto underwater, If I let it go, the 8" dome flips up, and it sinks very SLOWLY.

I use a backplate and wing from Halcyon, and attach my rig to my 2" crotch strap so its between my legs on my safety stop, when I'm vertical. During the dive, I unclip the coil, and have nothing but my hands holding onto my rig,.

At the end, I'll clip it off, shut everything down UW, and close the strobes close to the body, and clip it off to my 2" crotch strap. Works great