When to assemble camera/housing/strobe

[karant 0]

Just want to know how long you will let your camera system sit in the housing prior to a dive?

I have a new Nikon D200 and eager to take photos. Typically, we dive after work on a weekday, so I do not have time to assemble the system prior to the dive. Would it be too much if I put everything together the night before, and the camera sat at my home until after work the next day, and gathered my gear on the way to the dive site?

Any thoughts......

 

Thanks!

[sgietler 1]

ok, this is an easy one...

 

always be ready to dive.... keep the tanks full... tanks & gear in the car... what if you all of a sudden got a day off work? had to make an emergency morning dive? someone calls in with a midnight seven-gill sighting/ you always want to ready to dive. buy more tanks.

 

yep, setting it up the night before is no problem. it's perfectly fine in the housing. don't forget to recharge your desiccants. just don't let it sit in the sun.

 

congrats on your new camera!

 

so tell us more, what housing, lenses, strobes did you get? where are your closest dive spots?

 

and remember, if your gear is dry, you've probably waited too long to dive again

 

Scott

Edited July 31, 2007 by sgietler

[ATJ 1]

I almost always set up my camera gear the night before - in fact usually in the afternoon before I start drinking. I'm not sure why you are worried about leaving the camera in the housing.

 

When I'm on liveaboard trips, the gear gets set up and the camera goes into the housing the night before any diving takes place and stays in there until the end of the trip - only coming out briefly to change batteries, memory cards and lenses.

[karant 0]

congrats on your new camera!

 

so tell us more, what housing, lenses, strobes did you get? where are your closest dive spots?

 

and remember, if your gear is dry, you've probably waited too long to dive again

 

Scott

 

Aquatica housing with Aquaviewfinder for my aging eyes.

Nikon 60mm with flat port

Tokina 10 17 mm fisheye with 8" dome port

Ikelite DS-125 strobes with Ultralight buoyancy arms

 

I have recently upgraded from the Olympus C-5050 with Olympus housing and Sea & Sea strobes. There are quite a few more o-rings to lube and seals to check with this new system. In addition, I am still learning the proper sequence for assembling all the gear. Last time, it took approx 50 minutes to attach all parts and perform a leak test before the dive.

 

We are fortunate in the Pacific Northwest to have mutliple dive sites for shore diving just a 30 minute drive away. For weekday dives we usually go to Alki Secrest Park, Three Tree Point, or Redondo. For weekend dives, the more current sensitive sites are nice, Day Island Wall, Keystone Jetty, Edmonds Underwater Park, Octopus Hole, to name just a few. Then, there are several charters in the South Sound region, Hood Canal, and San Juan Islands. For a long weekend getaway, we venture into British Columbia for the fastatic sites off Vancouver Island.

Hence, I have mutliple tanks, including a set of doubles filled at all times for those last minute dive opportunities. Yes, it is cold water, currently 54 degrees, and I own a drysuit with a warm comfy undergarment for those long photo sessions underwater.

My new camera will be traveling to Grand Cayman is Sept, Oh and I get to dive, too. Looking forward to the blue water and using the wide angle lens.

[fpoole 0]

I've been shooting an older oly 4040 w/L&M Tetra for years and always pre-load.. before happy hour if on a trip or dive campout .. never any problems.

 

I mention this as I mentioned this to one of the UW Camera stores and they seemed shocked that I would let it sit overnight.. I was more surprised and if I hadn't been doing it for so long, might have panicked. I look at it along the lines of the O-rings that I can't get access too are in there for a year (or more if I forget the annual maintenance) and they seem fine, so figure 24 hours won't hurt them..

 

I also jump in off of boats with the camera held up in hand instead of having it handed down in the water... Bent arms and fins act as a shock absorber and probably gets shaken more on the road in the back of the truck getting to the dive site... than a controlled Giant Stride drop in the water (but small housing w/2 SB105s

PNW Diver... currents etc...

[Chris R 0]

Hi there,

I always set up my gear the day before a dive as its the only time I will get peace and quiet enough to do it! I know that the pressure is on the O ring for longer this way but I make sure to change and check them regularly.I would rather do it this way than rush setting up the housing the morning of a dive... Just my thoughts, for what its worth... but I have been happy doing this for a couple of years now

Cheers

Chris

[TimG 62]

Yeah I agree with the guys. I reckon it takes me about an hour to setup and test my system. So I invariably set up the day before and do a fresh water dunk test. I then leave my system in its travelling box with everything switched off. When I get to the site I just power everything up to check it one more time - and away I go.

Edited July 31, 2007 by TimG

[cdoyal 0]

Just want to know how long you will let your camera system sit in the housing prior to a dive?

I have a new Nikon D200 and eager to take photos. Typically, we dive after work on a weekday, so I do not have time to assemble the system prior to the dive. Would it be too much if I put everything together the night before, and the camera sat at my home until after work the next day, and gathered my gear on the way to the dive site?

Any thoughts......

 

Thanks!

 

That's a real good question especially with the Aquatica/D200 combo. The o-ring makes a couple of

tight turns and I was wondering if it would "take a set" and be permanately deformed after leaving

it set up overnight or longer.

[james 0]

O-ring permanent deformation is usually not a problem. It only gets to be a problem after weeks or even months of storage.

 

James

[cdoyal 0]

O-ring permanent deformation is usually not a problem. It only gets to be a problem after weeks or even months of storage.

 

James

 

Thanks for putting my anal retentive mind at ease.

[ATJ 1]

As I said, I leave my housing assembled with port in place for a week at a time on a liveaboard and have not had any problems with O-ring deformation as James suggests.

[tdpriest 115]

I agree. Nexus recommend NOT removing their o-rings (!) and they make some pretty tight turns around the housing's groove. I set up my housing 12-24 hours before diving, but only remove the main o-ring, clean and lubricate it (with Dow-Corning fluorosilicone grease) every three or four dives (roughly daily). My dome/port o-rings don't get cleaned until I change the port (my record: two weeks, in Bikini).

 

The biggest problem I have found is air conditioning and humidity: the lower moisture content of an air-conditioned room is good, but the temperature differential is bad. On a live-aboard I leave the camera to warm up in the dunk tank for a good hour or so before diving, and this acts as a leak check, though the low pressure obviously makes a leak more likely than in the sea.

 

Tim

 

B)

[desertdiver11 2]

Sea and Sea DX-70 housing: I want to make sure I'm not rushed in the am so I almost 100% of the time assemble my rig the night before. No problems. Highly recommend it, for peace of mind.