expatdiver

***WARNING*** I am not certain of the effects of acetone on housing materials.

 

The way to find a vacuum leak is to draw a vacuum on the vessel, then while monitoring the vacuum level spritz acetone around the seals and fittings. The acetone will work like the soapy water mixture does on pressure vessels as a leak spotter. It will get drawn in through any leak and rapidly evaporate under the vacuum, thus causing a quick jump up on the vacuum gauge. Alcohol may be able to be used in place of acetone, but I am not sure if it would evaporate fast enough to make a noticable movement in the vacuum gauge.

I am in the proscess of putting together a new system, and the fist thing on my list is 2 bodies. I spare body not only gives you a direct replcement should your primary fail, it also give you additional spares (i.e. battery, memory cards, etc.). Plus you have any identical body for topside shooting during your trip; so you already know buttons and settings. I used to have to debate wheter to take the time to remove my camera from the housing when, say a pod of orcas started bow riding while we were out looking for whalesharks, to shoot topside or leave it in to be ready to jump. Now I don't have that debate anymore. I just grab whichever camera is necesary.

 

Also, depending on your housing, you can always switch to optical sync (if the electronics fail) or ambiant light photography (if optical sync is not an option).

I've been patiently waiting for this announcement for about a year now. I've had my ol' D70s limping along for waayyy too long. I was even about to jump to D800 late last year, when they had those rebates on. Now the only question I have is back to the FX vs. DX debate, but that is for another thread.

I'm in the same boat and am regularly checking for the D7000 replacement. If I'm lucky it will be out with housings before my trip in October.

I get a TravelGuard Gold policy for every trip I take, but I have a lot of scheduling issue that could come into play, and need to cancel for business reason that the policy offers. I've never had to file a claim, but several times I have to alter trips and make adjustments to the policies, and that has always gone smoothly.