Taking Cameras on Boats

[Gilldiver]

Don't take a hard case on the boat, it just takes up too much room. Use a soft bag, like some of the soft coolers that are around.

Also, never, never try to set up the camera on the boat. Do it the night before, and before you have the "after dinner drinks". Trying to set up a camera on a small boat is an invitation to a flood. You should be able to set it up so that you never have to open the case anywhere but in your room or in the resort camera area. If the resort has a camera expert, talk with them about the care and feeding of your camera. If they have a camera course, it may be wise to take it. There are a lot of easy tricks to learn, but someone needs to show you them.

With the new digital cameras you also have to worry about condinsation in the housing. Take you time the night before, get it dry and check all the o-rings, lookfor hair dirt, etc.

Then have fun.

One last thing, if you turn into a camera diver, make sure you get the dive experiance to feel OK solo. Camra divers make lousy buddy's.

 

[Allison Finch]

You didn't say whether you will be on a liveaboard or a day trip, or how big the boat is. It makes a difference on what you take.

Liveaboard-I travel internationally and I use a hard case. Most liveaboards have a camera table to keep your gear on. I take all the dividers out of the hardcase and store them in my cabin. I can then put my set up camera inside the empty box on the table. This will keep it out of any direct sunlight that might get on the housing and protect the stuff from prying eyes/hands.

Large daily dive boat-Set up the camera ahead of time and I use the empty hardcase.

Small daily dive boat-due to space restrictions, I place my set up rig in as safe a place as I can and wrap it in a large towel.

My main concern is whether they have a camera dunk tank to rinse in. I hate getting mask goo all over my rig if they have only one dunk tank. I've been known to take my own bucket of fresh water.

 

[SubMariner]

Ok,

We have established basic carry on regulations for airplanes in other posts but how do you take your camera gear to the dive boat. Do you take the whole case, put it in a duffle bag, do boat operators have limits on what can be brought aboard? Any info would be great. Going away soon and trying to decide if I want to buy a hard case for my camera gear or a soft case which would be easier to carry around and I can always put it into another bag.

Thanks,
AIC007

It really depends on the liveaboard operator. However, we typically take one duffel bag for clothes, a pair of soft-sided roll-aboards for dive gear, and a Pelican-style carryon for the camera gear. (This doesn't count my knapsack or Pearce's laptop bag.)

Frankly the camera case NEVER gets checked; there's just too much value in it.

We also have TSA approved locks on the dive bags and the camera case.

Hope that helps,

 

[aic007]

It's a day trip with a dive op yet to be detrmined, Cancun/Cozumel. I figured that a pelican case would be too much to take on a day trip type operation. Will definately setup the camera before I leave for diving, got desicants, spare NiMH batteries w/charger and gonna pick up some extra o-rings. Prob gonna get a pelican just for the flight and storage purposes and then put the camera in a backpack when I go to dive.

Was thinking of taking a few bottles of water to rinse the camera off instead of using the dunk tank, heard too many stories of cases leaking in those but not while diving, plus all the banging around of other peoples cameras.

All great tips, much appreciated.


Gill, thanks for the vote of confidence

 

[Jim Baldwin]

I agree with the other posters. Try leaving the camer onboard and get really comfortable with your diving and buoyancy. Once you have that down then grab the camera and go.

I would add one other thing. Make sure you can secure the camera to your BCD. I use a piece of 1'' wide webbing purchased from Wal-Mart in the camping section. I sew the strap to bottom of carry handle. Make the strap just long enough that it will hang at arm's length. This get you a big brass or stainless bolt snap from the hardware store and sew it on. Then clip this off to a metal D-ring on your BCD. Not a plastic one.
This a low tech solution that I don't think needs any improvement.

When you gear up you can either clip your camera off and backroll or do a backwards giant stride in. You will knock a hole in the water with your tank and body and your camera won't get any impact. Sometimes it's hard to hand a camera to a diver when the boat is drifting and you have a few waves.

With the camera secured if you have to make any type of gear adjustments, respond to an emergency or simply rest your hands you can let go and the camera will not find a home on a ledge 1,000 feet down off a wall in Cozumel.

When you're doing your safety stop you can just let your camea hang and it will also free up your hands if you need to hang on an anchor rope if you're in a current. I have used this setup for years with no problems.

I was divng in Cozumel about two years ago when a so called experienced diver showed me his brand new camera. This was his first dive with the camera and looked like his first dive in a long time.

Almost at the end of the dive, the current picked up and he slammed into a coral head. He didn't realize that he also turned loose of his camera as he was trying to recover. Almost a thousand dollars gone. His trip was runied.

Ok,

We have established basic carry on regulations for airplanes in other posts but how do you take your camera gear to the dive boat. Do you take the whole case, put it in a duffle bag, do boat operators have limits on what can be brought aboard? Any info would be great. Going away soon and trying to decide if I want to buy a hard case for my camera gear or a soft case which would be easier to carry around and I can always put it into another bag.

Thanks,
AIC007

 

[aic007]

"Almost at the end of the dive, the current picked up and he slammed into a coral head. He didn't realize that he also turned loose of his camera as he was trying to recover. Almost a thousand dollars gone. His trip was runied."

Now that sucks, great advice about securing the camera to the BCD, but if using rental gear what would you suggest?

 

[Jim Baldwin]

"Almost at the end of the dive, the current picked up and he slammed into a coral head. He didn't realize that he also turned loose of his camera as he was trying to recover. Almost a thousand dollars gone. His trip was runied."

Now that sucks, great advice about securing the camera to the BCD, but if using rental gear what would you suggest?

On most of the BCD's I have seen, Scuba Pro, Seaquest, Aqua Lung, Mares, BP/W's, there is at least one metal D-ring. It might not be in the perfect place but it's still something to clip off on. Just a little more security. I have just never been a big fan of a wrist lanyard but it's better than nothing at all.

 

[Cacia]

They make camera leashes that look like a coiled strobe cord and they have one end that clips off to your D-ring. I like mine because it clips back on itself (shortens) for surface swims to free up your hands and then if you unclip it, it is long enough to secure everything while you shoot.

I have mine attached under the camera/base before the side handles were screwed on. Wrist lanyards on a big set-up, a hazard. You need your hands.

I've been known to take my own bucket of fresh water.

Yea, me too. It is usually not a problem and I am willing to share with little cameras. I think the idea about the soft collapsable coolers is a good one because it can double as your own rinse bucket. You should check Target, or maybe Walmart for those. I have one that rolls even. I don't use it to be honest, because the boat I use is big enough that I have a rubbermaid round tub with handles I take. This is where the camera/housing rides in the car as well.

I check my camera stuff except maybe for the body and lenses, in the Pelican box, inside a duffle.
Remember that often you can "gate check" at the plane and reconnect with a bag where people pick up their strollers as soon as you exit the plane. I think that is sometimes a nice compromise. Also, I have had it work as a way around the extra item charge. What I say at security when they say "you have three" is "yes, it is camera stuff and they told me to gate check". The security person then will say usually say "oh, okay", cause they think that "somebody" did. (I am sure somebody suggested it once, sometime!) Airport security requirements these days is a crap shoot, so have your bases covered. I put the pelican in a duffle for camoflouge, a good tip I picked up here on SB.

Of course, don't forget to exploit your traveling companions..... I get a big thrill when I execute a plan.

 

[aic007]

Thanks for all the info,

was checking my email this morning and saw this bag in scuba.com and ordered it. Figured for $12 it isn't too much and if I can get it on comfortably it might be good to put the camera in it.

http://www.scuba.com/shop/display.asp?id=018175

Will see once I get all my stuff together this week for my trip, as long as my cert goes well it should be a good trip regardless of whether I get to shoot or not but would like to take some pics at least one or two days while im there.

Thanks again.

 

[Geko]

take you diving gear "by hand", leave the bag in the shop ... and then take a hard case for your camera because I have expirienced myself that many "boat staff" will not really take that much care on where tanks fall over what ...

As sooenst as you can set up your gear, have the mask, fins, snorkle together and keep a closed eye to your camera ...

only take aboard what you really need, and if you douth do ask if they have any aboard ... ? ... like mascara cleaner and things like that. you will notice the diference and other divers will apreciate more space ... I have dove with divers that bring a bag as big as the boat and they refused to leaved in the shop, it make the trip incomfortable for all of us and "karma" his camera got floted ....

At the end of the day do ask independed shops the size of the boat, and how many people do go aboard, because another reason shop owners don not like big bags and more if they are the hard style, is because they damage the boat ...

I`m one of them person that like to carry my stuff in big safe bags, but when it comes to take it to the boat is another thing ...