11 replies to this topic

[jeff2231]

Hi guys,

I'm relatively new to the world of photography. Always been interested in it since I was a kid but after my first camera broke when I was in highschool I haven't had the money to splash out and spend on a decent camera.

I've finally bought myself a 40D which I love, and I'm getting ready to build a waterhousing for it (finally!!). I have a mates Dad who works with aluminium, and he said he has made a few housings for other surf photographers but I'm concerned about what he will be using for the lens to see through (the port?). I'm thinking he will be using some type of perspex? Does anybody know what the best material to use as I'd prefer to do it right the first time rather than have to replace it later due to problems with picture quality, water droplets ruining the shot etc..

The other question I had was in regards to lenses. Until I can save up more money I will be using my 17-85 kit lens, but eventually I would like to get a Tokina 10-17 for some funky fish-eye shots. I was guessing that I'd need a dome port for the fisheye? Is this correct?

I'm confident that I won't have any problems with the metal working side of things, he's been working as a welder for his whole life and has no worries in regards to making the body of the housing. I'm a little worried about the trigger but he assures me that will be fine. It's mainly the lens where I'm concerned even though he thinks we can do it without effecting the picture quality.

I know I'm doing it very cheap, but I'm a battler and can't afford to go out and spend thousands on gear. I've spent nearly everything I had on a house so I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for this little bit of pleasure

Thanks for any help guys, I'm sure that buying something from the bigger brands would be better but I'd have to save for another year to get that kind cash to play around with haha. At least this way I can hopefully start getting some photos, and with a bit of luck maybe I'll be able to sell a few to buy something even better down the track.. (yeah right!!)

[acroporas]

I would recommend buying the ports. While it would not be that hard to construct a flat port. I can not imagine building a dome port. How does he plan to bend the plastic into a perfect hemisphere, without inducing variations in wall thickness?

[lou f]

have a look at dan burtons creations.

http://underwaterima...allery/homemade

i looked at making a housing years ago but it ikelite were cheaper. if you want to shoot fish eye get a dome. pre made domes and controls from ikelite will be the cheapest way to go in a home made acrilic housing. also check out 2nd hand.

[jeff2231]

Thanks guys,

The thought didn't even cross my mind to just buy a dome port. I wouldn't like to try making a dome port from acrylic but I'm sure we could easily make something up so a pre-made dome can fit on it.

Thanks again, such a simple answer that I didn't think about

[Deep6]

Thanks guys,

The thought didn't even cross my mind to just buy a dome port. I wouldn't like to try making a dome port from acrylic but I'm sure we could easily make something up so a pre-made dome can fit on it.

Thanks again, such a simple answer that I didn't think about

Several of my friends have created home-made housings in acrylic or whatever ikelite uses. I have one for a coolpix that uses the dome from the Nikonos 15 mm lens. To use a flat port, I replace the front plate. So, each port has its own plate. The controls and strobe ports can be purchased from ikelite.

NOTE: always test water tightness of home-made housings without camera

[secretsea18]

I have one for a coolpix that uses the dome from the Nikonos 15 mm lens. .

Hmmm.. trying to picture this in my mind. My Nikonos 15mm lens does not have a "dome" on it. Did you take the Nikonos 15mm lens apart?

[pmooney]

Hmmm.. trying to picture this in my mind. My Nikonos 15mm lens does not have a "dome" on it. Did you take the Nikonos 15mm lens apart?

The Nikonus 15mm lens has a domed front element as shown .
The question that comes to my mind is why would you wreck such a good ( expensive ) piece glass on a home made project .

Edited by pmooney, 17 January 2009 - 08:00 AM.

[secretsea18]

The Nikonus 15mm lens has a domed front element as shown .
The question that comes to my mind is why would you wreck such a good ( expensive ) piece glass on a

I thought that that was an integral part of the lens/optics on that superb lens. I also would wonder why anyone would do that to the Nikonos 15mm lens when you can buy ports for MUCH less $$$.

[jcclink]

Make sure you pay close attention to placement of the dome port. The center of curvature should be located at the nodal point of the lens. The distance of the dome to the front of the housing may vary with lens used so an extension ring may be required. As mentioned, dive the new housing without camera. Work ALL the controls several times at depth. Don't trust just a static pressure test on the housing. Sounds like a great DIY project.

[Deep6]

I thought that that was an integral part of the lens/optics on that superb lens. I also would wonder why anyone would do that to the Nikonos 15mm lens when you can buy ports for MUCH less $$.

One would not. The components can be purchased separately.

[jeff2231]

Hey guys,

Thanks again for all your input. I never realised that there were so many people willing to help out there

I looked at dome ports and they're around $200, so hopefully the extra bit of cash will create better results.

And I was planning on filling the housing up with tissues before going swimming with the thing and throwing it around underwater to test it out, and if I saw any bubbles I was just gonna mark the spots and... weld them shut?

Hehe this is gonna be fun!

[Helge Suess]

Hi!

First of all, it should be easy to get a second hand housing since the 40D is a quite popular camera. This might save you some troubles.

Building your DIY housing will cost you plenty of time and some money. I know this since I finished my own housing project in October last year. I did it together with UK-GERMANY to be able to use all the standard parts they build into their housings (like buttons, wheels, zoom gear etc.). I also use their port system so I can attach a wide variety of already available ports.

I could write a book on building your own housing. I wouldn't do it for a camera where several commercial housings are alredy available. Especially when you haven't got lots of experience in UW-hosung desing and UW-photography. There are lots of traps. Try to design simple. As simple as possible. Bad positioned pushbuttons only affect the handling but a badly positioned port spoils image quality.

Regarding ports, I'd use Athena ports with a thread mount (like the ones they provide for Olympus Housings). The ports are of good quality and the thread mount is easy to manufacture.

So, if you want to do it the hard way I can't keep you. All the warnings didn't work on me either and my housing is abolutely great. Be prepared to learn a lot. If it wasn't cheaper, at least it was instructive :-)

Good luck!

Helge ;-)=)