USVI-On-Line

For those of you who have used an underwater housing for your camera - is it easy to deal with before/during/after using it or is it more like a hassle that you eventually sort of get used to?
I just got one for my Canon SD850IS and realized it is bulkier than I imagined. I've read the instruction with my still jet-lagged brain (came back from Japan a few days ago) and I think I will be able to manage it, or so I hope.
How bad would the humidity of St. John affect the housing and cause fogging? Is the aftercare every time you use it in the water easy and simple?
Any personal tips for using a housing would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

What make and model of housing did you get? Mrs. Random received an SD870 IS from Santa and will be taking pix of fish.

I use a PT-015 housing for my Olympus C5050Z.

You get used to performing the necessary ritual maintennance after use.

I make sure that it gets a good fresh water rinse as soon as possible after coming out of saltwater, and I carefully check the O-ring after each use, and again before putting the camera back in the housing.

It is a little bit of a hassle, but once you get used to it it's no big deal, and certainly well worth it, IMO.

Hi, I use silicon gel packs to help with humidity and fogging problems. If you use these, make sure it does not interfere with your seal of the camera case.

Sandy

Chet wrote:What make and model of housing did you get? Mrs. Random received an SD870 IS from Santa and will be taking pix of fish.

Hi Chet,
I got a "Canon WP-DC15 Waterproof Case".

To me, the fussing involved is worth the results. Let someone else mix up the first batch of drinks when you get back from the day snorkeling while you take a few minutes to wash the case.

Probably too much info below for most, but here are replies from a previous thread on this topic, including question about leaving camera in the case:

From Bob & Anita
For the camera you are using for underwater pictures we highly recommend using rechargeable batteries and changing the batteries ever night, or every two nights. We’ve had the batteries run out on us while shooting underwater one time and you don’t really want to be changing batteries on the beach. So now we just change them every night so we know we won’t run out while shooting underwater. We bring 3 sets of rechargeable batteries; one set in the camera, one for charging and one on standby. Every time we open the case we redo the seal with the grease.

It is good if you can put in the silica packs into the case if you can find room and they don’t interfere with any of the camera operations. If not, then at least put the packs in at night to dry out the inside of the case. You really want to make sure the inside of the case is completely dry, the slightest drop will fog up your view screen area since that gets warm make it fog in that location only.

From me:
Maybe I am missing something, but I don’t see how you could fit the silicone packs in with my Canon casing even if I wanted to without really jamming them in. Logical precautions will avoid most fog ups – camera and housing should always be keep at similar temps and not taken direct from A/C villa or A/C car direct to hot beach and loaded up and right into the water.

Always be very careful to avoid any sand in the O ring wherever you place camera into case. Likewise when you come out and choose to remove from case, close up empty case and put it in a soft bag.

I never keep the camera in the case when shooting on land – it inhibits creativity too much, I cant use the polarizer and other filters, and cant use the swivel out LCD on mine. But that’s me –I’m pretty picky about my photography. You may do just fine with it in the case.

Rinse the case and let air day every night. I lightly lubricated the O ring every other day, easing it off using a credit card. Only use a silicone lubricant like those sold for pool filter O rings at a pool supply store – don’t know if the big box (H Depot, Lowes) stores would have these small tubes of goop.

Some tips on using the Canon casing...one of the few wild cards to consider with underwater photography is the white balance setting. When you are snorkeling or close to the surface, the normal white balance setting for daylight normally yields the best results to capture the light as it appears to the human eye.

However if you are diving down to capture some images, you may find that the standard auto white balance setting on a digital camera tries to "correct" the blue-toned light to the point where it washes out the ocean color. In this case, you may want to try setting the white balance to a manual or the “underwater” setting if your camera has it. In other words, for snorkeling, 90% of the time your auto settings should work fine, unless you do a lot of deeper dive downs like Bob and Anitas crew have done.

I have an older model and found that I got best result in "P" (Program) mode and manually setting ISO to 200 and white balance to cloudy skies. Found that when I used the flash it tended to illuminate any particles in the water and can create "floaties" in the frame so I shut that down.

Naturally you'll get your best results midday under sunny conditions and getting close to stuff or zooming in a bit. Don’t forget to try vertical shots – can be nice when you have the surface of the water in the top of the frame.

If stuff stills looks blue-ish and colors arent popping when you review later in LCD or on computer, dont worry, your photo software helps tremendously to tone down the blue and make some of the colors pop, often even with just the "auto balance" or "quick fix" type of one click fixes. One possible exception: recall someone saying somewhere that they used the “underwater” setting on their camera, and this exposure setting complicated getting good auto correct results with software. Maybe someone with experience with that will chime in to confirm any possible exposure adjustment conflicts there.

More important of course is the quality of the original image. Use good technique (try not to shoot downward too much and get close to subject) under good lighting conditions (think midday) and minimal tweaking will be needed.

You will amazed by your Canon digital underwater pictures.

RickG sez: keep the camera in the housing the whole trip. That's what I do with my Canon S410. You can get more than 400 pictures on one battery charge with a Canon 850is. I just did 10 days in the Czech Republic without a recharge on my 850is.

Cheers, RickG

DCphoto wrote:Hi, I use silicon gel packs to help with humidity and fogging problems. If you use these, make sure it does not interfere with your seal of the camera case.

Sandy

I agree! I didn't use gel pacs back in 2006 and had all kinds of problems with fogging.Then in 2007 I used them and had no problems at all.Parafins..

I have a canon camera with underwater housing. I waited until getting off the beach and away from the sand before taking the camera out of the housing. Back at the villa, I rinse the housing well with fresh water and then leave it on the counter overnight open, facing down (but not flat) so that it can dry overnight.

I've never used the silica packs in the camera (I don't think there is room). The only time I had fogging issues was when I would put the camera into the housing right from an air-conditioned car or house. If you wait a few minutes in the heat before putting the camera in, it won't fog up.

If you have a newer canon there is an underwater setting on the camera. I just used that setting and then cleaned up the pictures with photoshop when I got home.

I had no problems with the canon SD600 housing and I did not do the maintenance like they said to do.
I did take the camea out of the housing every night, but I did not lubricate the o-ring at all during the whole trip. I just made sure ther wasn't andy sand, hair on the seal before I put the camera back in the next morning.

You have to use the hot tub lube. The regular lube rinses off in the pool.

Cheers, RickG

CariBert wrote:Good one Rick.......is that like the 3 oz tube of KY for the carry on only folks?

-Bert

d00d, read the message, straight KY is n0 g00d. Besides, its sticky. You have to use the good stuff, like Wet Platinum or Pjur.

Cheers, RickG

Pickle...listen to jmq...he has offered excellent advise...and have you ever seen his work??? He is particular...and it shows...his pix are incredible! I have the SD850is with the respective housing that I will be trying out in 41 days!!! Last March I used my SD450 with the housing and took these pictures http://www.pbase.com/jen_p/stj_underwater_2007 .

I cannot imagine that what little effort is required would prevent you from thoroughly enjoying your new toy!!! Can't wait to see your results!!!

Jen