ozmarlin 0 Posted July 1, 2008 To start it was a very very bad day with a big swell and the vis was <1 meter and why we jumped in I will never know? I guess we love diving and the chance to meet humpbacks. As background our planned 50 meter wreck dive was cancelled and we were all so keen we agreed to do a shallow bay dive. It was our clubs deep diving weekend away at terrigal NSW. The other guys had twins and it looked over equipped. Has anyone flooded a D300 yet ? I am getting my salt encrusted DEAD DEAD DEAD D300 and 1224 back from Nikon. I may to sell them on ebay so watchout for any salty bargains! Maybe I got to 50cm deep and in 50 seconds or was it 30cm deep and only 30 seconds. It was under 1 minute according to the captain. As soon as I submerged the housing, I waited for the bubbles to clear. Only they did not this time. I have a recurring nightmare of a stream of small bubbles coming from across the top joint formed where the back plate meets the main body of the housing. At this point time slowed down real slow. I immediately cursed numerous profanities underwater. Maybe I took 0.00001 seconds to turn the dome face down and then spent < 1 second to raise the housing dome down ( FULL FULL FULL ) out of the water. More background. The housing just had a full service and front aperture wheel replaced. One test dive no camera no leak. Presumed all ok, but ? The captain a diver and photographer pulled apart camera housing with me. LATCHES LOCKED. NO HAIRS OR ANY CRAP ON MAIN ORING. Later back at dive shop, got statement for insurance from captain. Gazed at housing and camera and most importantly got drunk that night. The housing has been shipped back to the subal dealer and so far no fault found, which is a big worry!!! I have some ideas and am interested if anyones seen that STREAM of bubbles ACROSS THE TOP of the entire backplate crack before on a subal or any housing ??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidScubadiver 0 Posted July 1, 2008 My condolences and I am sorry for your loss and presumably an aborted picture taking vacation. So, you had your Subal housing handed to you while you were in the water, you submerged it, and you saw bubbles coming out of the top of the backplate? What bubbles do you normally see that you were waiting to clear? I would think no bubbles should come out of the housing at all, just from the handles. When you say you were waiting for the bubbles to clear as you usually do, I have a vision in mind where you backrolled into the water with your camera, and waited for the bubbles to clear... Who are you insured with, and keep us posted on the claim handling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Christian K 0 Posted July 1, 2008 My condolences But as the D700 is out now, it might drive down the price a little on a new D300:s. And there will probably be people selling their D300:s now just to get the newest, so you can pick up a hardly used second hand. I bet Subal will get the UW housing in shape again. cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nakedwithoutcamera 0 Posted July 1, 2008 I'm so sorry for your loss. BTDT on my very first dive, with the camera, on my trip to Australia. In my case, it was human error. I took the housing first without the camera and everything was fine. Put the camera in, tested it in the rinse tank before my dive, had it handed to me after splashing, catastrophic flood. Camera is toast even though we rinse in fresh water and let it dry out in the engine room for a few days. For the heck of it, I brought the housing down without the camera again, and everything was fine. A friend of mine recently flooded her D70 and replaced it with a D300 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loftus 42 Posted July 1, 2008 With such a catastrophic / rapid flood that's unrepeatable, it's hard to think of anything except a pinched o-ring which snapped back into the slot when you opened the housing, though it's hard to work out how that could happen either. Sorry to hear about that. I have never seen the stream of bubbles you speak of across the top of the backplate, I will certainly look for them in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BottomTime 4 Posted July 1, 2008 Ouch!!!!! #$&^!!! I feel your pain but thankfully have never experienced it first hand (touching wood now). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bvanant 195 Posted July 1, 2008 To start it was a very very bad day with a big swell and the vis was <1 meter and why we jumped in I will never know? I guess we love diving and the chance to meet humpbacks. As background our planned 50 meter wreck dive was cancelled and we were all so keen we agreed to do a shallow bay dive. It was our clubs deep diving weekend away at terrigal NSW. The other guys had twins and it looked over equipped. Has anyone flooded a D300 yet ? I am getting my salt encrusted DEAD DEAD DEAD D300 and 1224 back from Nikon. I may to sell them on ebay so watchout for any salty bargains! Maybe I got to 50cm deep and in 50 seconds or was it 30cm deep and only 30 seconds. It was under 1 minute according to the captain. As soon as I submerged the housing, I waited for the bubbles to clear. Only they did not this time. I have a recurring nightmare of a stream of small bubbles coming from across the top joint formed where the back plate meets the main body of the housing. At this point time slowed down real slow. I immediately cursed numerous profanities underwater. Maybe I took 0.00001 seconds to turn the dome face down and then spent < 1 second to raise the housing dome down ( FULL FULL FULL ) out of the water. More background. The housing just had a full service and front aperture wheel replaced. One test dive no camera no leak. Presumed all ok, but ? The captain a diver and photographer pulled apart camera housing with me. LATCHES LOCKED. NO HAIRS OR ANY CRAP ON MAIN ORING. Later back at dive shop, got statement for insurance from captain. Gazed at housing and camera and most importantly got drunk that night. The housing has been shipped back to the subal dealer and so far no fault found, which is a big worry!!! I have some ideas and am interested if anyones seen that STREAM of bubbles ACROSS THE TOP of the entire backplate crack before on a subal or any housing ??? Sorry for you loss. One of my friends flooded her Subal Canon setup because she left the little rubber eyepiece guide on the camera before putting it together. Same thing happened, back top leaked Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
secretsea18 0 Posted July 2, 2008 May they (camera and lens) rest in peace. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ornate_wrasse 0 Posted July 2, 2008 I have some ideas and am interested if anyones seen that STREAM of bubbles ACROSS THE TOP of the entire backplate crack before on a subal or any housing ??? That is really the pits! It sounds like you did everything right, other than perhaps choosing to dive in such lousy conditions, and had absolutely no reason whatsoever to think that the housing would flood so soon after submerging it. And, yes, you did a test dive without the camera in it to make sure all was OK after the service. I own a Subal and have not seen that stream of bubbles across the top of the backplate that you are talking about. Assuming you get another D300 and Subal ships the same housing back to you, I'll bet you'll test dive it several times without the camera inside before daring to do a dive with your expensive camera inside the housing. I hope you insurance coverage is good and that you don't have to incur too much expense on your own nickel (or whatever is equivalent to the nickel in Oz!). Most importantly, I hope you eventually can figure out the reason for the flood so that it won't happen again. All the best, Ellen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stewsmith 14 Posted July 2, 2008 (edited) i flooded my 350D in a sea and sea housing and could find no foriegn objects anywhere, the only thing that could have caused it, is that i did leave the view finder diopter on the camera. RIP. luckily for me i noticed it pretty quickly and by turning the camera to face down avoided losing the camera and lens. both the camera and lens live to fight another battle. Edited July 2, 2008 by stewsmith Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ozmarlin 0 Posted July 3, 2008 Hi everyone and thanks for the condolences. I have found the best therapy is to look at a few of my favourite shots and get on with working out which replacement D300/D700 and d3. I am also camping and diving on Lady Musgrave Island 1-18August, 2 weeks of great diving with no mains power and no generators on this tropical island means I am setting a solar power for charging cameras, strobes and laptop. The subal dealer seaoptics has sofar done thorough of testing of housing without camera and tray, now the dead d300 and 1224 and base plate are being shipped back from Nikon Australia to do a final round of testing. Just to be clear my d200subal had minor modification to accomodate the d300. These mods are very minor and I don't believe the cause. At the time of the flooding the seas were rough, lots of swell and wash. Normally I would see a few bubbles when taking the housing in the first 10 seconds or so I think. Its worth mentioning this flood MAY have been prevented by soak testing first. WHICH I DID NOT DO. On livaboards I have done this regularly, in small boats not practical. The insurer GIO, seaoptics and nikon have been very supportive and I will post an update if further testing determines a cause. I HOPE THE ONLY BUBBLES YOU SEE are from champagne NOT OUT OF YOUR HOUSING! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diver dave1 23 Posted July 7, 2008 It would be nice to have non-repairable camera's were returned to the owner. With as much time and care as many people send on the camera, it would seem reasonable to have a decent wake and burial. Perhaps doing it New Orleans style with music and adult beverages. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vetdiver 8 Posted July 7, 2008 Sorry for you loss. One of my friends flooded her Subal Canon setup because she left the little rubber eyepiece guide on the camera before putting it together. Same thing happened, back top leaked I had a minor bathtub flood a while back (checking everything in the tub before I took it out on a charter) with a new camera body I bought so I'd have a backup - forgot to take the rubber eyepiece off the camera, and GLUG GLUG GLUG - bubbles from the top of the housing.... Fortunately, I saw it immediately and got everything out and dried off, nothing damaged. This time. ozmarlin, I am truly sorry for your loss... it is, after all, the circle of life....here's hoping your cam and lens are living in a water-free world of perfectly exposed and composed shots.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deep6 7 Posted July 7, 2008 I had a minor bathtub flood a while back (checking everything in the tub before I took it out on a charter) with a new camera body I bought so I'd have a backup - forgot to take the rubber eyepiece off the camera, and GLUG GLUG GLUG - bubbles from the top of the housing.... Fortunately, I saw it immediately and got everything out and dried off, nothing damaged. This time. ozmarlin, I am truly sorry for your loss... it is, after all, the circle of life....here's hoping your cam and lens are living in a water-free world of perfectly exposed and composed shots.... Whoa, I have the same instruction, i.e. remove the eye piece from the D80 before inserting into the Nexus housing. I have been ignoring that caveat because I hate to keep up with little bits and pieces. I guess I have been lucky so far. There is a very close fit between the camera and the housing back plate. Toshi's boxes seem to be very rugged. vow: I will not be lazy setting up rig! /vow: RIP Nikon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eskasi 1 Posted July 7, 2008 With so many people here mentioning that forgetting the rubber eyepiece caused a flood, I am off to write myself a note and stick it to the inside of my housing right now! I must say that I have come close to forgetting before and wondering why my back would not close properly..... I don't dive as often as I would like and would probably forget if I don't do this! Hmmm...while I am at it, I should also remind myself to take off the lens cap! I actually forgot twice in my hurry to change out the lens from WA to Macro! Funny thing was I was actually quite relieved when I found out why everything was so "dark" through the viewfinder..... a lens cap left on is anytime better than a flood! I am such a noob! lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkgodiving 1 Posted July 8, 2008 I share your pain . . . so sorry to hear this. I had a leak (not flooded) on my MDX-D300 housing on a recent trip. It surprized me as i have been quite meticulous with my o-ring maintenance. The cause was due to depressed o-ring on the left side of the housing. It must have happened when I was closing the cover. Lesson learnt = wiser the next time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ozmarlin 0 Posted July 8, 2008 Thanks for the kind thoughts and suggestions. I suspect the cause of my flood maybe the 1-2 mm piece of perspex covering the lcd. I have had feedback on this post from my dealer that similar floods have happened in the past, we are trying to recreate the flood just to be sure. Just before the dive the oring and grove are cleaned per normal. The cover locked down normal. The oring gap looked even and normal. But looking back and thinking hard maybe it was 0.01 mm wider. One clue, the rear speed control was not working properly, it was spinning but contacting the camera wheel. I thought I'll check it out later. Now that was a mistake looking back. Maybe this is human error, but I was not even aware the cover was on the d300. My housing was getting fixed for 6 weeks, so the d300 was used above ground and the cover put on at some point. For such a great housing, maybe they could engineer it so its IDIOT proof. I have posted this so anybody with plastic covers can throw them in the bin they can be deadly to d300's in subal d200 housings. Maybe the d300 subal housing has warnings on it. My d200 didn't. The warning could be "REMOVE LCD PLASTIC COVER OR A VERY NASTY FLOOD MAY RESULT" As the lcd covers serve a valuable purpose, possibly housing manufactures could allow for use without flooding. Just a few thoughts for design suggestion for SUBAL and all the others manufactures. No point anyone else learning this particular lesson the hard way. Maybe this post or a similar FLOODING post could be pinned to remind us all how eager sea water is to get inside and kill our cameras. My new improved predive checklist is below 1) test shot camera check battery and card and remove plastic covers if attached 2) orings locked housing and double check gap 3) test shot with strobes and check all controls are working properly and DON'T TAKE CAMERA Down 4) PRAYER 5) SOAK TEST 6) PRAYER If you are not religious replace prayer with positive thoughts. On a more jovial note, some of my camera buddies and I will take my DEAD D300 and 1224 for a wreck dive when I get it back for some fun shots of the d300 with 1224 in the water no housing. This will kind of be the wake. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davehicks 123 Posted July 8, 2008 If you are not religious replace prayer with positive thoughts. An insurance policy is also a good substitute for prayer! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shchae 3 Posted July 8, 2008 (edited) All, I was sorry to hear Ozmarlin flooded his d300 & lens in his Subal housing. His Subal housing was using mod kit I produced & he did not say my kit was cause of problem nor I cannot think of any part I produced can cause the leak. However, it flooded & I would like to suggest all of mod kit users to double check that all mod parts are in place & make sure not to fall or jam in back cover or controls & all controls are moving free when you close the back cover. Sam Edited July 8, 2008 by shchae Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ozmarlin 0 Posted July 8, 2008 Hi Sam, Thanks for emailing all the people using your subal d200 mod kit. Your mod kit is great as it allowed me to take my d300 down in my d200 subal housing. This combination of gear can have unfortunate results. Its pretty obsure combination and I am the lucky one to find its a big problem. At present I suspect my leak was caused by the plastic lcd cover. Just to be safe anyone using the subal 200 with a d300 should find the plastic lcd cover and lock it away or throw it away. The housing, the camera and lense plastic cover and base are with my dealer to be tested to confirm cause of flood if possible. I am very keen to give my tried and tested old housing a clean bill of health. So I hope this piece of plastic clearly floods the housing again. Without being able to look at these parts, its now occurred to me how much of the d300 lcd is now sitting directly behind the area where the d200 has its rear backplate buttons, down the left hand side as you look at the back. I suspect its these buttons that made contact with the lcd cover. They must have caused a very minor but crucial increase in the distance between the backplate and the body of the housing. Sufficient to let in heaps of salt water. I suspect the lcd cover for d200 in d200 subal housings its probably ok. It would be great if anyone could check this out, I see no mention of lcd cover in my subal documentation. I suspect the lcd cover for d300 in d300 subal housings its probably ok. It would be great if anyone could confirm the plastic cover is ok in the d300 subal housing. The link below is detailed and makes no mention of lcd cover. http://suzywalker.wordpress.com/2008/05/23...30/#comment-123 Its just my combination subal 200 housing and d300 that floods with the lcd plastic cover. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tobbe 0 Posted July 8, 2008 OH, What a nightmare! I know how it feels. I flooded my previous Nikon and the WA lens. When i saw bubbles at 25 meters i hooked my SMB bouy to it and sent it up directly to the surface, but it hapens too fast, it was like an aquarium... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fforbes 7 Posted July 8, 2008 Please accept my condolences for your recent loss... I have a Subal D20 too, tried and trusted, and I feel your pain. I think you have pinpointed the problem, the lcd cover probably prevented a tight seal. Since I've already lost mine off my D200, no worries there; however I still have the eyepiece to forget to remove. Frightening. I did not know that the D20 Subal could be modified to fit the D300. Is Subal doing this or are others making the modifications? Any in the U.S.? Fletcher Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
