I picked up a Recsea RX100MKIV aluminum housing for use with my RX100 MKV for use on a trip to Cabo (and beyond). I like the housing overall, but there is a major glitch. The control ring on the front of the housing (and one of the major differentiators from the competition) stops engaging the corresponding control on the camera when the housing heats up. Simply leaving the camera on in between photos seems to generate enough heat to cause the malfunction within a 1/2 hour or so - quicker if the flash is used.
At first I thought pressure was the culprit as the behavior initially showed up at depth, but subsequent testings has proven (the me at least) that temperature is the instigating factor. It does not appear to be a problem at the camera, as I have cooled the camera in A/C and placed it in the housing after the housing was left on a shaded porch for about 1/2 hour to raise its temperature - result: control ring failure. Conversely a somewhat camera (again left in the shade on the porch) put into an A/C cooled housing worked just fine. The temperature required for the housing to exhibit this behavior does not seem to be that great, as jumping into a heated pool results fairly quickly in the front control ring failing to actuate the control ring on the camera (after having been working just fine on the deck). In all cases, there camera worked just fine when pulled from the housing.
Unfortunately the dealer that I got the housing from has gone silent after asking me to make sure that the rubber pressure pads were in place. They seemed fine to me, although not being a housing expert, I sent photos to see if they could confirm. Three days later, with as many inquiries, and nothing more out of them.
While it is not quite an expensive paper weight as there are work arounds, the main reason I choose the housing was because of the control dial. I am hoping that someone else has run into this, and/or has suggestions on fixes or perhaps has a different/better diagnosis than mine.
Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.
At first I thought pressure was the culprit as the behavior initially showed up at depth, but subsequent testings has proven (the me at least) that temperature is the instigating factor. It does not appear to be a problem at the camera, as I have cooled the camera in A/C and placed it in the housing after the housing was left on a shaded porch for about 1/2 hour to raise its temperature - result: control ring failure. Conversely a somewhat camera (again left in the shade on the porch) put into an A/C cooled housing worked just fine. The temperature required for the housing to exhibit this behavior does not seem to be that great, as jumping into a heated pool results fairly quickly in the front control ring failing to actuate the control ring on the camera (after having been working just fine on the deck). In all cases, there camera worked just fine when pulled from the housing.
Unfortunately the dealer that I got the housing from has gone silent after asking me to make sure that the rubber pressure pads were in place. They seemed fine to me, although not being a housing expert, I sent photos to see if they could confirm. Three days later, with as many inquiries, and nothing more out of them.
While it is not quite an expensive paper weight as there are work arounds, the main reason I choose the housing was because of the control dial. I am hoping that someone else has run into this, and/or has suggestions on fixes or perhaps has a different/better diagnosis than mine.
Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.
