Bouyancy preference for camera?

[Crawl79]

Hi all,
I have never taken a picture underwater and I'm thinking about getting started soon or atleast by next year.
I have a simple question. What is the bouyancy preference for the camera in water? Positive, neutral, or negative.
Just asking as I saw some cameras have a place to add ballast weight.

[Diver Dennis]

I have a Rebel in an Ike housing, with two DS-125 strobes and it is a little negative which I prefer. The front end does get as little floaty with the 8" dome but it is still negative overall.

[El Orans]

I like that mine (Canon A95) is slightly positive. I just slide the cord over my elbow and it doesn't bother me there.

[webhead]

I'm also one who prefers a little positive. Clip if to your shoulder d ring and it's out of the way, for me, until I need it.

[Iruka]

I prefer slightly negative...unless you're over a really deep abyss, a dropped camera is easier to find (it will normally stay where it is) than is a camera which floats to the surface, and then goes wherever the current & winds take it. I've chased down lots of customers' cameras over the years (one guy 4 dives = 4 cameras floating away...he just refused to use the rubber band) but if you are diligent about securely attaching the camera to something, I guess that wouldn't really be a concern. I had one diver years back with an UW video....buoyancy was as close to neutral as humanly possible...unfortunately, he lost it during a dive, even though he thought it was clipped securely. Since it wouldn't quickly float OR sink, it slowly drifted with the current underwater. 4 of us spent 2 dives....about 1:20 total....looking for that video, with no luck. Probably down in the muck on the bottom of Apra Harbor (Guam) to this day.

[Crawl79]

Thanks everyone, I thought I would like a camera slightly positive as well but now I'm starting to think negative wouldnt be so bad as long as I'm not diving in the Blue Hole or on a Rig Dive in the Gulf.

[*Floater*]

I have a Reefmaster DC310 which is positive without the wide-angle lens or additional weight, but negative with one of the two. I prefer it slightly negative because it stows better that way.

[CompuDude]

Slightly negative.

[Scububbs]

Slightly positive, so I know which way to look (up) if it gets away from me.

[alcina]

For me it depends on which camera.

For my smaller compacts I prefer slightly positive so when I am not using it I can slide it up my arm and it's out of harm's way and I don't think about it.

For my larger rigs I prefer slightly negative so I can set it down if I want to and it will stay.

[SterlingDiver]

I found that I prefer slightly negative. Seems easier to handle trying to get htat shot in the current.

Dave

[fdog]

About 2 lbs negative. That way I can "park" a housing in the sand, and they dangle nicely from the left hip.

All the best, James

[Warren_L]

I'm the same as James - about 2 pounds negative. I can set it down somewhere if I'm done shooting or clip it off beneath me and not have it interfere with me by floating up. I do not worry about dropping it over a wall, as I generally clip off if there is a deep bottom. I often dive off a zodiac, so I clip off the rig into the water before I enter, and one time the rocking of the boat loosened the knot on the clip and away my camera went (now I use a specially built tether line that will not come loose). 135 feet to the bottom. Had it been neutral, lord only knows where it could have floated to. But sure enough, it was lying in the sand almost directly beneath the boat.

[drbill]

Prefer slightly positive... especially when diving 5,000+ ft walls!

[Kat]

Next camera I get will be slightly negative. The 1st camera I ever purchased was positive. I find the floating a constant pain. Of course, it not being secured correctly & then disappearing was a bummer too.

[aic007]

I have a A620 with Ikelite and its slightly neg. I looped a press pass type lanyard through the handle strap and placed it around my neck so it was by my stomach while swimming. didn't even feel it and had enough length that it didn't cause a problem shooting, That wont work once I use my handle and strobe but for just the case it was fine.

[_Bella_]

Mine is 2 lb neg but I'm working on getting it to 1 lb neg because my arms and hands get sore when trying to hold it steady for super macro shooting.