Waterproofing

[Beauty Through a Lens]

Has anyone ever tried to create or do something to make their camera waterproof? (e.g. put in in a bag) I know this may sound silly, but going out and dropping loads of cash on a waterproof camera isn't ideal. I just need a way to prevent my camera and the 18-55mm lens from getting wet. I'll be be in water no deeper then a foot or two feet at most.

Ideas???

[IzzieK]

Ziplock bag. Are you dipping it in water? You do not have to buy a waterproof camera. There are waterproof housing for what you already have, depends on the brand of your camera..or not.

[TobyMac]

I have used the ziplock bag method when shooting in the rain. Have not tried it to shoot under water though.

[Manfred M]

Dipping your camera into a foot or two of water without a proper waterproof housing is a disaster waiting to happen. Unlike rain, you are introducing hydrostatic pressure into the equation and even a grain of sand will result in a leak. Proper waterproof housings are worth a lot more than most cameras and take a lot of prep and maintenance (and can go a lot deeper too). The cheap ones are garbage.

I know what I am doing and would not do what you are thing about, not without the proper equipment. You need an optically clear opening for your lens and Some way of operating the controls. If you are planning to shoot in flowing water, the force of the flowing water will increase the hydrostatic pressure on the housing versus a static shooting situation like a swimming pool.

[Polar01]

A very, very , and I repeat a very bad idea. Adrian as a fellow Canadian think of it like this, you thought that sticking your wet tongue to at flag pole in February was a good idea, then found out it was not such a good idea. Same here.

Cheers: Allan

[Shadowman]

There are "water proof" casings that you can buy, I placed in quotes because the material used for the clear protective covers are polycarbonate and only limits the amount of moisture that can reach your camera. Time limits are important as most casings only allow 30 minutes diving time, condensation builds up and your vision or the sensors become negligible.

http://www.ikelite.com/

[rpcrowe]

There are "waterproof" cameras designed for shooting in and under the water. I use a Fuji XP60

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FUJI-FINEPIX...item2ee29f07c9

In venues in which my camera will get thoroughly soaked or when I want an underwater shot (which admittedly is seldom). I got my XP60 used and for its use, does a decent job. I carry it fishing because I like to have a camera to record my successes. On the way back from catching this roosterfish we hit some heavy seas and I got thoroughly soaked. Just a weatherproof camera/lens might have been ruined...



There are also weather proof cameras which will allow you, given a weatherproof lens mounted, to shoot in the rain or other humid conditions.

There are underwater housings for many cameras but, some are quite expensive and I would expect interest only divers. This one is for the Sony A6000 and is reasonably priced. Will it work? Who knows but, some folks may be willing to risk an expensive camera in a cheap housing...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neewer-130ft...item58c12762fe

There are also waterproof bags available, mostly for smaller cameras and smart phones

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DSLR-SLR-Cam...item58bb2dbce6

Now for protecting your cameras from the rain, I use a Kata rain cape.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kata-E-704-P...item3aab310b10

I shot for ten days in Alaska using a Kata cape. It rained every day but the Kata kept my camera/lens dry.



There are Chinese copies sold on eBay also..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rain-Protect...item339165d963

I would hesitate to trust several thousand dollars worth of camera/lens to an eBay cover like this. However, if I were shooting with a weatherproof camera and lens, I think that the additional protection that this inexpensive cape might give would be fine in a rain...

[Black Pearl]

Try these: http://www.ewa-marine.com/index.php?id=49&L=0

Cheaper than a dedicated housing and flexible enough that if you change you camera it could well still fit. I used to sell them and had great feed back from a good few users.

[Polar01]

John stumped by your statement: "Time limits are important as most casings only allow 30 minutes diving time", as the camera does not breathe, how can it use up the air as no air is exhausted from casing. If the seals are proper as the depth increases so does pressure this actually helps seal the unit tighter as depth is increased. If you have a bad seal then you will get a leak.
The only one who has a time limit on air usage is the diver, at a depth of 100ft (30.48m) max time 30 minutes and that is really pushing it, usually figure 25 minutes to be safe but 20 is better.

Cheers: Allan

[Jimr1961]

Richard, your guide looks like Capt. Bob LeMay out of FLA. Is that him?

[Shadowman]

John stumped by your statement: "Time limits are important as most casings only allow 30 minutes diving time", as the camera does not breathe, how can it use up the air as no air is exhausted from casing. If the seals are proper as the depth increases so does pressure this actually helps seal the unit tighter as depth is increased. If you have a bad seal then you will get a leak.
The only one who has a time limit on air usage is the diver, at a depth of 100ft (30.48m) max time 30 minutes and that is really pushing it, usually figure 25 minutes to be safe but 20 is better.

Cheers: Allan

Allan,

I meant the casing is only useable for 30 minutes submerged time before condensation builds up. I have a friend who used one while snorkeling and he confirmed that condensation build up limited his total time being able to photograph under water. Whether he kept the camera under water the total 30 minutes or in increments; I can't remember.

[Polar01]

John I can see where that is coming from, as the person was snorkeling they were moving through different temperature inclines, may have cased camera early and case heated up then into cooler water, it may have been humid and the water temperature was very cool to the air temperature. Never had that problem as I did not snorkel, usually put housed camera in a bucket of water for a few minutes before going over the side, even hooked it to line hanging off of boat, housing had two snaps, one short to line another longer to snap to me, snapped to me before snapping off of line. As I stated now I see why.

Cheers: Allan

[rpcrowe]

Nope, this was one of my fishing partners... Steve from Austin, Texas...

[Manfred M]

There are "water proof" casings that you can buy, I placed in quotes because the material used for the clear protective covers are polycarbonate and only limits the amount of moisture that can reach your camera. Time limits are important as most casings only allow 30 minutes diving time, condensation builds up and your vision or the sensors become negligible.

http://www.ikelite.com/

While I don't have an underwater housing for any of my still or video cameras, I've done enough diving with people that had cameras along, so in extremely cold water. They would prep their cameras in a dry environment so that there was little moisture sealed into the underwater camera housing.

I can certainly remember doing dives that lasted over an hour and never saw any condensation issues. Condensation is only an issue when the temperature in the housing drops below the dew point and that is temperature rather than time dependent. That being said, most of my diving has been in freshwater lakes and rivers, which were usually no colder than the mid-40s F. Some of my ocean dives were in the high 30s, but I never did these with an underwater photographer.

[Shadowman]

While I don't have an underwater housing for any of my still or video cameras, I've done enough diving with people that had cameras along, so in extremely cold water. They would prep their cameras in a dry environment so that there was little moisture sealed into the underwater camera housing.

I can certainly remember doing dives that lasted over an hour and never saw any condensation issues. Condensation is only an issue when the temperature in the housing drops below the dew point and that is temperature rather than time dependent. That being said, most of my diving has been in freshwater lakes and rivers, which were usually no colder than the mid-40s F. Some of my ocean dives were in the high 30s, but I never did these with an underwater photographer.

Manfred,

Many considerations to factor into the time span, one of which is the moisture vapor transmission rate of the housing.

[Manfred M]

Manfred,

Many considerations to factor into the time span, one of which is the moisture vapor transmission rate of the housing.

It's waterproof so the moisture transmission should be ZERO.

There are really only three parameters at play; the moisture content (relative humidity at the ambient temperature) when the camera was placed in the sealed housing, the water temperature at depth (this will tend to decrease with depth and there are often one or even two thermoclines so there can be marked drop in temperatures) and the rate of cooling (plastic housings are insulators, but this can be influenced by flow around the housing while in the water).

If the moisture content in the trapped air never gets below the dew point for the minimum temperature the camera and housing are exposed to, there won't be any condensation. Don't forget the air pressure in the housing will be the ambient pressure when the underwater housing was sealed.

[Beauty Through a Lens]

Ziplock bag. Are you dipping it in water? You do not have to buy a waterproof camera. There are waterproof housing for what you already have, depends on the brand of your camera..or not.

I have a Nikon D5100 and I'll be using a 18-55mm lens I'm just dipping it in the water. It's not even a foot deep. I don't want go out and buy something over 10 bucks/

[IzzieK]

I have a Nikon D5100 and I'll be using a 18-55mm lens I'm just dipping it in the water. It's not even a foot deep. I don't want go out and buy something over 10 bucks/

Adrian, if your camera is mine, I WILL NOT dip it in water even for a short time even if it says in your manual that it is waterproof to a certain degree of depth. That is why I asked if you are dipping it in water. I have no solution for you. Sorry...I am not preferred to ruin my camera to water or salty water unless it was bought for that specific purpose.