Somewhat weird question about WACP WWL

[Draq 112]

The recent flurry of WWL and WACP discussions has caused me to wonder about something that may be a bit weird to most.  The hard caps for those products are great fro traveling and on a boat, but not really convenient to take in the water.  I am pretty sure that was never intended.  I sometimes find myself getting back on boats in choppy conditions, hanging on a crowded tagline and/or handing up my camera to a rushed and sometimes not very careful boat guy.  So I typically take the stretchy neoprene dome cover with me on a dive and put it on before handing camera up.  I don't see many people doing that, but it makes me feel better about having less risk of a scratched port.

So is anyone aware of something that would fulfill this purpose on a WWL or WACP-1?  Not really asking about the WACP-2 because I think that would need a spare tire-sized cover. 

[Draq 112]

Actually, to partially answer my own question, I now recall that I have a lenscoat lens hoodie that fits on the WWL-1, but I am unsure if there is one that would fir the WACP, or if there is anything better out there.

[ChrisRoss 150]

1 hour ago, Draq said:

Actually, to partially answer my own question, I now recall that I have a lenscoat lens hoodie that fits on the WWL-1, but I am unsure if there is one that would fir the WACP, or if there is anything better out there.

a dome port cover from a regular dome of about the same diameter would work, you would probably loop bungy cord through the loops on the dome cover so it can hook onto the housing somewhere or use a velcro loop to wrap around the housing.  It will depend on the size of the housing and if it has anywhere convenient to hook on the bungy cord.

[tursiops 81]

I have a WWL-1 with the hard cap. I drilled a couple of holes in the side of the cap so I could put a short paracord loop on it, with the two ends knotted on the inside, and the loop on the outside. Once in the water, i remove the cap and clip it off to a waist d-ring with a double-ender. I never know it is there. I clip it back on before exiting.

[Isaac Szabo 90]

Nauticam makes a neoprene cover for the WWL-1.

[Barmaglot 228]

54 minutes ago, Isaac Szabo said:

Nauticam makes a neoprene cover for the WWL-1.

They do, but you have to dismount the lens to put it on, and then there's no way to attach the lens to anything other than sticking it in a pocket (and it's better be a large pocket).

[Isaac Szabo 90]

14 hours ago, Barmaglot said:

They do, but you have to dismount the lens to put it on, and then there's no way to attach the lens to anything other than sticking it in a pocket (and it's better be a large pocket).

No, it just stretches over the front. No need to dismount the lens. And it's small and has 2 loops, so it's easy to find a place to store it while in the water. However, I'm guessing it doesn't work with the buoyancy collar on, so that will be an issue for those who use that (I don't). Here are some photos of mine:

[ChrisRoss 150]

I find these covers wash off relatively easily particularly if there is not much sapce to get to loops behind the dome.  My suggestion of bungy loops should be capable of holding it in place, even with the buoyancy collar.

[Isaac Szabo 90]

15 minutes ago, ChrisRoss said:

I find these covers wash off relatively easily particularly if there is not much sapce to get to loops behind the dome.  My suggestion of bungy loops should be capable of holding it in place, even with the buoyancy collar.

Well in this case it is held on very securely, and I can't image it coming off on its own. There are thumb screws for the hood behind the dome that the loops catch on. But yes, it shouldn't be difficult to DIY something that works with the buoyancy collar using bungee cord. 

[Pomacentridae 21]

 

On 9/26/2021 at 7:57 AM, ChrisRoss said:

a dome port cover from a regular dome of about the same diameter would work, you would probably loop bungy cord through the loops on the dome cover so it can hook onto the housing somewhere or use a velcro loop to wrap around the housing.  It will depend on the size of the housing and if it has anywhere convenient to hook on the bungy cord.

Hi Chris, do you have a photo of this setup by any chance? I am looking for ideas on how to attach my neoprene cover to my housing. I don't really have pockets on my BCD so no where to keep the cover.

[ChrisRoss 150]

For my 170mm dome I often place the cover over my wrist, using both loops of the cover.  For the small 100mm dome I have a clip on my BCD I can use to clip it off, it works quite OK.

I don't have photos of what I described for holding a port cover on - you would basically have a bungee loop around each port cover loop and use that to attach to a convenient point on your housing.

[Barmaglot 228]

19 hours ago, Pomacentridae said:

I am looking for ideas on how to attach my neoprene cover to my housing. I don't really have pockets on my BCD so no where to keep the cover.

You can glue thigh pockets to your wetsuit, or wear tech shorts over it. 

[Pomacentridae 21]

For my 170mm dome I often place the cover over my wrist, using both loops of the cover.  For the small 100mm dome I have a clip on my BCD I can use to clip it off, it works quite OK.
I don't have photos of what I described for holding a port cover on - you would basically have a bungee loop around each port cover loop and use that to attach to a convenient point on your housing.

Thanks Chris, no worries. Did my own solution.

I sewed on a bungee cord to the top velcro clasp.



This means I can undo and loosen the top clasp and pull the cover under and out of the way while keeping it still attached to the lens.

Top Clasp undone


Cover pulled under and out of the way.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[phxazcraig 103]

At the Digital Shootout that I just attended, most of the divers were leaving the dome covers on the boat.   We had lots of big rigs on the boat, and each was carefully handled, so that wasn't a big concern.   Usually whoever handed you the camera also asked if you wanted the cover on.  If not, it was removed and tossed back into one of the (2) rinse buckets onboard.

I started leaving my neoprene 230mm dome sleeve onboard.  I've lost one in current in Hawaii before I could take it off to stash it.  Someone at the Shootout lost one when it somehow worked its way out of his BCD pocket.  (I just slide mine up my arm in the water).

A lot depends on what happens on the boat.  In my case we had professionals pick up the camera, dunk it in the rinse tank, then place it  on the deck in a line of other cameras.   On boats where beginners toss a gopro into a rinse tank at your unprotected dome ...

[shanesmith.photos 13]

On 6/24/2022 at 9:12 AM, Barmaglot said:

You can glue thigh pockets to your wetsuit, or wear tech shorts over it. 

I can second the use of tech shorts! I find them incredibly useful for carrying a range of underwater photography bits and pieces (e.g. wet macro diopters, strobe diffusers, fluoro excitation filters, etc.). I use the WWL-1B and put the hard cover in one of the pockets of my tech shorts in the water. That way there's no risk to the front element. (However, if I know the boat well and know they'll be sensible with my camera, I'll sometimes leave the hard cover on board and free up the pocket for other bits and pieces).