The infamous LCD touch screen, under water

[rcaqua]

Dear all,

Most sorry to start the discussion once again on this topic, but I would really like to know whether anyone has used the LCD touch screen on the GoPro 3 underwater, at say 100 feet.

I ask because I bought one of these and returned it when I opened the box and read a small paper inserted inside that read somethign like "do not use at more than 30 feet under water" or such like.

I know that the LCD screen gobbles up battery life and that you cannot use the touch function under water, but I still think my footage under water last year (Diving off Komodo Islands, Indonesia on Vimeo) would have been better had I had a screen of some sort.

Most grateful for any first hand experience that you may wish to share!

Best,

Rene

 

[Aquabot]

I think the 30 ft limit is only for the touchscreen back door. Unlike the other waterproof door it has a small thin piece of plastic that might rupture at depth.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[hellhole]

Buy a cheap 1st version of the lcd. Those still works on a gp3.

 

[rcaqua]

Dear Aquabot,

Thanks for your quick reply. This would indeed mean that you CANNOT use the LCD at depth.....?

Rene

 

[ajduplessis]

Firstly the LCD pack have 3 door covers (touch, vented and hard). The vented obviously will not work with water applications. The hard cover can be used to depths of 450ft even thou they are officially rated to around 200ft. Yes, we have dived them to 450 without issues. The touch cover is only rated to 10ft!!! It's made of a soft and very thin silicone cover that will not handle great pressure. To be honest I really don't know why they bothered with the touch cover, it has no value and only adds to the overall cost.

 

[PsyWulf]

I assume the touch cover is meant for surf usage rather than dive since it'll fail at depth

 

[fbk]

I assume the touch cover is meant for surf usage rather than dive since it'll fail at depth

Exactly, or for snorkeling. The hard plastic back is for diving and will work at any depth you are likely to find yourself at. You lose the "touchscreen" feature obviously with the hard back but all functions are still 100% accessible through the menus. Just like the old non-touch screen for the H2 which also work on H3 as stated.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Can the LCD be turned on or off UW while using the hard plastic back or is there a way to make it conserve power by auto switching off? I want to use one for framing shots but am concerned about battery life.

 

[Aquabot]

Dear Aquabot,

Thanks for your quick reply. This would indeed mean that you CANNOT use the LCD at depth.....?

Rene

Your welcome Rene, and silicone is the word I was looking for on the touchscreen door as somebody mentioned. Also others are correct, you CAN use the LCD at depth just use the hard clear backdoor and you shouldn't have any issues. As with the original backdoor just make sure the seal is clean with no hair, fibers or dirt on it.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

---------- Post added September 17th, 2013 at 08:05 AM ----------

Can the LCD be turned on or off UW while using the hard plastic back or is there a way to make it conserve power by auto switching off? I want to use one for framing shots but am concerned about battery life.

Yup. The back door as a button on the side that reaches in to the power button on the LCD screen. And it does suck the battery life down if left on lol.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Yup. The back door as a button on the side that reaches in to the power button on the LCD screen. And it does suck the battery life down if left on lol.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

Thanks

So my other question I forgot to ask is does the LCD while off drain any extra battery life, some have suggested it still does a bit? My use for the LCD would be only a few brief times during a dive when I want to get close-ups using the Narrow FOV setting.
I have spare batteries but you obviously can't change them underwater. I tend to leave the camera recording through out the entire dive and get at least 60 min from a single battery. I'm wondering if I'm going to need to be selective with recording if I have a LCD attached.