Taking the housing as carry-on

[errbrr 73]

Some time ago I mentioned that I was using a basic backpack as carryon with a fully constructed camera & housing inside. Someone asked for photos and I never got around to taking them. Yesterday I was helping Dad work out how he is going to pack for an upcoming trip and took some photos. Behold - camera in housing, housing in back pack, within the carry-on size, and room to wedge three t-shirts (for padding) and a couple of strobes around it. I then take a shoulder bag/"purse" with laptop and back up drive, plus maybe a second lens.

 

 

 

 

The only real drawbacks here are back pain after carrying it across the airport and the risk that someone at the airline will want to weigh your bag, and subsequently try and force you to check it. Having a ratty looking backpack has saved me from being selected for random weigh ins. The advantage is that you land at your destination with a camera in housing and all you have to do is plug the strobes in and jump in the water.

[Aussiebyron 57]

I throw my housing and domes in a padded cooler bag which you can buy a Big W or K Mart for $25. Wrap them in a few layers of bubble wrap and have them weight in under the 7kg carry-on limit. Good thing about it is that you can use as a camera bag for carrying to and from the dive sites or on a dive boat.

 

Regards Mark

[kc_moses 142]

There are a couple things to consider:

Base on the way you carry your housing with camera already installed inside it, do not pressurize the housing. For those who do not have a vacuum valve, never ever open the housing, and close it in MID AIR, otherwise you won't be able to open it once landed.

 

The other thing I read about is because the camera is already in the housing, there is a risk that the knob/dial inside the housing may get push loose during transport. if you run and the set up is bouncing around, this may happen and there could be a risk of cause some leak to happen.Think of it as have a full stomach of food in your stomach and try to ride roller coaster, your intestine will complain

[errbrr 73]

Having a vacuum port on the new housing is pretty handy. On my previous housing I used to remove the port o-ring to ensure it didn't vacuum itself shut during the flight.

 

The Aquatica buttons on the old housing were very sturdy over 8 years of travel and cave diving. I have already bent and replaced a Nauticam button in the first six months, which I think happened in a pelican case. Hopefully it was a freak occurrence as changing over Nauticam buttons is a pain in the behind due to the complexity inside the housing.

 

I am looking at getting a neoprene camera wrap to cover the body of the housing in the same way the dome port cover protects the front. I think this will be a good option for small boat diving as well as for travel.

[svo142010 1]

That's good advice for the vacuum valves. I probably should not open it and close it during transport if I am traveling somewhere with high altitude as well.

[r4e 24]

One of my customers did not remove the O-ring before flying and he then wondered why the back window had popped out during flight. Luckily it had. Because there is the risk that the normal pressurized air would just leak out into the underpressurized cabin. On landing, you would then end up with a slight vacuum inside the housing. Without a vacuum valve, you might try to release the vacuum by opening one of the spare bulkheads, if any.

[errbrr 73]

I've also managed to get an old pelican case (made before they introduced pressure valves) stuck shut after a flight. Prying that open without breaking it was stressful, but a good indication of product quality that it holds a seal so well after 30 years on a single o-ring!