IslandFrog:
Hi, I have an old Sony CCD-TR917 camcorder, and would like to use it to do some underwater video. I have not had any luck finding out if an underwater housing was ever available for this model, and if so, what to look for. Can anyone out there send me some info?
Thanks!
Howard's got it. Your camcorder is the same as a CCD-TR940. It has a LANC jack. So you've got two different housing options, electronic or mechanical.
Any non-camera specific electronic housing will work. As long as the port matches up to your lens or it has a clear full front port. And your camera fits inside the housing.
An Ocean Images Dolphin Pro or an Undersea Video Housings T9 should work. They would be the higher priced options in an electronic controls housing.
It's possible it would fit into a Top Dawg or a Light & Motion Stingray Sport as well. I'm not sure as they're a little smaller being designed around the MiniDV cameras.
In mechanical housings, i.e. levers are used to control all the camera functions instead of electronic pushbuttons via the Lanc circuitry there are a couple of options:
The Ikelite housings for 8MM/Hi8 cameras have been discontinued for a while. Yours will fit Ikelite model# 6035.97 - only. They're built for a specific camera model, so you have to find one built for your camcorder so the controls line up. You might find one on eBay. But I kind of doubt it. And a lot of the older Ikelite housings didn't have model #'s on them - don't know why exactly.
Another option for a mechanical housing would be the Equinox Pro-Pak 6. They still list the TR-940 on their compatibility list.
A simpler option would be a mechanical tube housing from Aquatix, Atmo-Seal or Yellow Jacket. These give up some control functions for price.
The least expensive option I've seen lately is the Nemo 100 sold on eBay. It's just a tube with handles but sells for $129. You can use your camera's remote to start/stop the camera on the boat before you hit the water.
Links to all these mfrs. websites are in a thread at the top of this forum.
hth,