HELP: Underwater Photography

[Dao]

I read something interesting yesterday while I browsing around the Canon underwater housing reviews. People point out that the housing do not carry any kind of warranty. If water leak occurs, they will not do anything about as far as warranty concern.

Later on, someone (doing underwater photography since 1968) said this is a common practice. And most of the housing manufacturers do not have warranty on the products and if waters get in and damage the equipment, that is not their problem.

He also mentioned that he flooded many thousands of dollars worth of cameras and strobes.

If that is the case, I think if I want to do underwater photography (hobby), I would rather start with a point and shoot with a underwater housing such as the one offer from Canon (or like what Rob recommend). After all, if water gets in, it is only few hundred dollars.

 

[robertwsimpson]

Well, I've been diving for 4 or 5 years now, and I take my camera on almost every dive I do. It's a pretty cheap camera (under $700 for the camera, case, flash, wide angle lens, etc) and I've NEVER had a problem with it. Never had so much as a drop of water in the flash or the camera case.

Also, if you're worried about your equipment, DAN sells dive insurance. I've heard it's extremely cheap (in the order of less than $100/year) and they have a $250 or 10% deductible on claims. That's pretty cheap if you ask me. If you're worried, it's definitely worth checking into.

I'm not sure why this guy has had so much trouble with his equipment. Maybe he is talking about old underwater photo stuff from back in the day. That stuff used to flood all the time, but it was designed so that you could swim to the surface, dry it out, put it back together, and continue the dive... not really an option with digital cameras, but Technology for cases has improved to the point where I don't think it's an issue. I dive with lots of people toting cameras, none of whom have told me they've ever had a flooded piece of equipment.

Just my two cents worth.

 

[Garbz]

Later on, someone (doing underwater photography since 1968) said this is a common practice. And most of the housing manufacturers do not have warranty on the products and if waters get in and damage the equipment, that is not their problem.

This is a kind of given for this kind of product. There are so very many things that can go wrong containing pressure. A friend of mine had his cheapie Olympus shock and water proof camera totalled by a grain of sand that landed just in the wrong place on the rubber seal.

One of the trainers at my work is a psycho diver. He doesn't have much of a camera, but he has a fantastic case for it and he mentioned one day that he replaces the seals on the camera case every year regardless if he even uses the case. Other than that he apparently replaces them every 10-15 dives he takes it on.

There is simply too much operator error that can introduce problems. Poor assembly, poor maintenance, dropping the case underwater and having it exceed it's max depth allowance, fractures, general wear and tear, etc. You'd be nuts to offer any kind of warranty against damage to equipment under those conditions.

 

[Dao]

Garbz, that is what that guy was saying. A grain of sand, or a hair may cause the water leak. And he said all of them will eventually leak.

And some other people said water condensation may occur inside the casing as well. Especially when rapid change in pressure.

 

[robertwsimpson]

Later on, someone (doing underwater photography since 1968) said this is a common practice. And most of the housing manufacturers do not have warranty on the products and if waters get in and damage the equipment, that is not their problem.

This is a kind of given for this kind of product. There are so very many things that can go wrong containing pressure. A friend of mine had his cheapie Olympus shock and water proof camera totalled by a grain of sand that landed just in the wrong place on the rubber seal.

One of the trainers at my work is a psycho diver. He doesn't have much of a camera, but he has a fantastic case for it and he mentioned one day that he replaces the seals on the camera case every year regardless if he even uses the case. Other than that he apparently replaces them every 10-15 dives he takes it on.

There is simply too much operator error that can introduce problems. Poor assembly, poor maintenance, dropping the case underwater and having it exceed it's max depth allowance, fractures, general wear and tear, etc. You'd be nuts to offer any kind of warranty against damage to equipment under those conditions.

I'd agree, but I have a cheap case that I've never changed the seals on. I've taken it on close to 100 dives without a problem. I don't even put the desiccant in anymore. I've bumped it, dropped it, parts have fallen off of it, but the camera still works as well as it did on day 1.

Maybe my experience is rare, but I can say from first hand experience (as well as second hand and third hand) that case failures are not as common as all of these people (who, correct me if I'm wrong, aren't divers, let alone under water photographers) make them out to be.

And like I said, if you're worried, just get DAN insurance.

Underwater photography is a GREAT thing to experiment with. It's basically the same as above water photography, but once you get past the basics, it's very different. It is a lot of fun to learn, and you can create some fantastic images that most people will only dream about capturing.

 

[henkelphoto]

Dao, I think your friend is being overly dramatic. A hair will not cause a leak, neither will one grain of sand, unless that's one honking big grain! What will cause leaks in seals is when they dry out. When they get dry, they can develop cracks, or not flatten down to seal the channel well. If you have a good, soft, silicon seal, it won't leak unless you exceed the manufacturer's stated depth.

Like Robert, I have a camera I've used on more than 100 dives, in my case, a Nikonos V. While it needs to be regularly serviced (some of the seals are not user accessible), mostly it needs a light coating of silicon grease on the seals occasionally to keep them flexible.

The problem is that any leak underwater, especially with digital cameras, is a catastrophic problem. Of course the first thing to do if you realize you have a leak is to go up a little in depth, it could be that the leak will stop when you rise, thereby reducing the pressure on the seal.

I've always been told to immediately drop the camera in fresh water if you have a leak to wash out all the salt, but I'm not sure if that holds true on digital cameras.

Jerry

 

[Dao]

Thanks guys for the additional info. As I stated before, I do not own any of those equipments. Just got those information from reviews on underwater housing when I look at the one offered by Canon.

 

[robertwsimpson]

Maybe the canon one is junk. I'd get the ikelight housing anyway.


In fact, since my camera is pretty old, and because I actually enjoy researching stuff, I have been pricing stuff, and this is what I would get:
S90
Ikelight housing
AF35 strobe

for just over a thousand bucks, you'd have a pretty boss manual camera, case, and really nice strobe with all the hardware.