Just getting a new setup, have a flooding question.

[Cheekymonkey]

I have a D90, and I am purchasing a Ikelite housing for it.

This is my first venture into underwater DSLRs... following some reading I continually found advice that most floods happen in rinse buckets.

Could someone explain this to me please. Why are the floods more common in the rinse bucket than on the actual dive.

 

[marcaumarc]

I think there are a couple reasons:

1. the camera might be bumping around with other stuff and particularly the 2-lock system (which ikelite just updated to 4-locks) with their dome assembly could be knocked loose.

2. The water pressure actually keeps the domes very secure on the ikelite housings because it actually presses the dome against the housing making it basically impossible to move once you get down a few feet, but at the surface there is no pressure pushing them together.

 

[davelew]

There are three main reasons of which I'm aware: higher shocks, lower pressures, and higher temperatures.

First, cameras tend to bump into things (like other cameras) more frequently in rinse buckets. It's easy to bump something in just the wrong way, or undo a latch, or something like that while rattling around in a rinse bucket.

The second problem is that many camera housings rely on water pressure to hold them shut. The dome port latches on Ikelite housings fall into this category, I believe. When in a rinse bucket, there isn't enough water pressure to hold things tight, and when parts rattle around they are more likely to break.

The third issue is that rinse buckets can get really warm when left in the tropical sun. This can cause the air inside the housing to expend, exacerbating the lower pressure problem (or even causing the housing to vent). High temperatures can also cause parts to stop fitting together so well, as plastics tend to expand more than metals when they heat up.

I've always believed that they were called "rinse buckets" and not "storage buckets" for a reason. There are best used for rinsing the saltwater off your camera, so that you can then store the camera wrapped in a towel.

 

[AussieByron]

I call the rinse buckets, "Buckets of Death".

I just give my camera a quick rinse/wash and store in a cool shaded spot to dry. I never leave my camera in the Bucket of death unattended.

If I wanted to give the housing a wash, like after a few dives, I take the camera out and soak it in warm soapy water. I press all the buttons on the housing to make sure there isnt any salt build up in them.

Regards Mark

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Mmm so if jostling around in the rinse bucket (low pressure) is enough to cause floods... are floods common during entries like giant stride?

 

[Maddog59]

I call the rinse buckets, "Buckets of Death".

I just give my camera a quick rinse/wash and store in a cool shaded spot to dry. I never leave my camera in the Bucket of death unattended.

If I wanted to give the housing a wash, like after a few dives, I take the camera out and soak it in warm soapy water. I press all the buttons on the housing to make sure there isnt any salt build up in them.

Regards Mark

Totally agree with you Mark, I make it a habit of not even letting go of my housing whilst it is in the "death zone" and take it and put it in it's travel bin between dive and to and from the dive sites. I never let others rinse it for me and never leave it in the sun.

Cheekymonkey, I make it a habit of getting some one to hand me the housing after I have entered the water and I never giant stride with it at all.

:mooner:

 

[WetLens]

Agree with Maddog59 - have someone hand the camera setup to you. Never giant stride, back flip, front gainer or other method with camera in hand.

Also agree with other responses on rinse buckets - low pressure against port, higher temperatures, and constant jostling are a recipe for water in the housing.

 

[WetLens]

Not to mention, scratches on your lens - especially a dome port - as others' cameras float around...

 

[divengolf]

Agree with Maddog59 - have someone hand the camera setup to you. Never giant stride, back flip, front gainer or other method with camera in hand.

Also agree. But if they will not hand you your rig after giant stride, etc., you can fully inflate your BC and do a stride from a reasonably low platform while holding your rig above your head. One hand on your mask & reg. and one holding the camera, etc. The rig should stay above the surface and you can lower it once you're stable in the water. Try it without your rig first. Works only in reasonably calm waters.

Then find a new diveop who will handle your camera rig properly.

And never let anyone but you put your rig in a rinse tank/bucket. And then as suggested above, just rinse it and set it aside to dry. Instruct the DM or platform people to set your rig aside in an out of the way spot when you hand it up. Then rinse it yourself once you're back on board. Rinse tanks are death for cameras/housings.

 

[Nemrod]

People rinse their masks with defog in them, especially on cattle boats. The soap is a wetting agent which compromises the seals and damages lens coatings.

N