newbie has a few questions

donnad · Sep 12, 2005

hi, i'm pretty new (20 dives), have a bonica sea explorer (inexpensive point & shoot 35mm), am going on a liveaboard out to the flower gardens in the gulf of mexico this coming weekend. questions- i know the boat will have a camera rinse bucket. do you rinse camera in the bucket, then remove it and keep with your other gear in between dives (will be doing four dives, plus night dive on saturday, 3 dives on sunday)? or do you let camera stay in bucket during surface interval til ready for next dive?? when you need to change film, you've got to let camera sit out til totally dry before opening up to change film i know. also, do you wipe the 0-ring of the housing each time you open it up or how often and with what kind of cloth....will a piece of a clean old t-shirt be good, cause they seem to be lint-free, or what is best? any other stuff i need to know? thanks so much!!!!

Bill Fisher · Sep 12, 2005

everyone I know usually just leaves it in the bucket until the next dive...

scubaguy655 · Sep 13, 2005

I usually leave the camera in the rinse. Not only does this keep salt deposits from drying on the camera/housing, but it also cushions the camera during the boat ride. Otherwise, you have to hold the camera during the ride to keep from bouncing it around.

When I used to shoot film, I would always keep a lint free towel to dry the housing off before opening. I would not clean the o-ring although I would inspect it very closely to make sure no trash (hair, lint, etc.) was on it before closing the housing.

Spoon · Sep 13, 2005

i usually wash my camera with bottled water when in the boat for our surface intervals but i plan on brining a small cooler with water, that way i can put my camera in the water and keep it safe from the sun.

donnad · Sep 13, 2005

thanks for the tips guys!

dbh · Sep 14, 2005

Probably 90% of all floods happen in the rinse tank. Partly this is due to no pressure against the o-rings....thus any jarring can cause water to get in. I leave mine in until I get my gear off then remove it.

YMMV,
Dave

donnad · Sep 20, 2005

wow! thanks for that info!

dbh:
Probably 90% of all floods happen in the rinse tank. Partly this is due to no pressure against the o-rings....thus any jarring can cause water to get in. I leave mine in until I get my gear off then remove it.

YMMV,
Dave

fdog · Sep 20, 2005

My housings are in the rinse tank only if my hand is attached. After rinsing, it's on the camera table if there is one.

Dave is absolutely right, rinse tanks are where most of the floods and damage occur.

All the best, James

Dee · Sep 20, 2005

Other damage besides floods happen in the rinse tank. Lens can be scratched, syc cords pulled loose, etc. from the different camera rigs rubbing and bumping against each other. Also the vibrations from the boat motor can loosen screws.

I place mine in the rinse tank until I get my gear off, then I keep it wrapped in a damp towel to prevent it overheating. If you have to open the housing on the boat to change batteries or memory card/film, make sure you dry not only the housing of very well but also yourself! Just a drop or two of water that drips from your face or hair can do damage in the housing.

Don't wipe the orings with anything if you're just changinging batteries/film. All it takes is a piece of lint or a single strand of hair to cause a flood. And old t-shirts aren't guaranteed to be lint free. Unless you've been in water that has sand or grit particles suspended in it, such as beach dives or very shallow boat dives, there shouldn't be any reason to think the o-ring needs cleaning.

Don't know about you but if I run out of battery life or need more memory, I leave the camera on the boat. It's better to miss the photo ops on a dive than to take a chance on a flood!

Just my 2¢

donnad · Sep 27, 2005

thanks for the tips dee!

Dee:
Other damage besides floods happen in the rinse tank. Lens can be scratched, syc cords pulled loose, etc. from the different camera rigs rubbing and bumping against each other. Also the vibrations from the boat motor can loosen screws.

I place mine in the rinse tank until I get my gear off, then I keep it wrapped in a damp towel to prevent it overheating. If you have to open the housing on the boat to change batteries or memory card/film, make sure you dry not only the housing of very well but also yourself! Just a drop or two of water that drips from your face or hair can do damage in the housing.

Don't wipe the orings with anything if you're just changinging batteries/film. All it takes is a piece of lint or a single strand of hair to cause a flood. And old t-shirts aren't guaranteed to be lint free. Unless you've been in water that has sand or grit particles suspended in it, such as beach dives or very shallow boat dives, there shouldn't be any reason to think the o-ring needs cleaning.

Don't know about you but if I run out of battery life or need more memory, I leave the camera on the boat. It's better to miss the photo ops on a dive than to take a chance on a flood!

Just my 2¢

newbie has a few questions

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