Canon housings - Testing and flooding...

[InDaWata]

Hey 'gain everyone!

I am now the happy owner of a G10, I also purchased the DC28 (Canon's housing for the G10). Thanks to everyone who posted in my other thread and lead me in the right direction...

Excited as I am with the camera and housing, I am also a little apprehensive about using it.

I have a bit of a story to this post, and also a few questions.

Last year I owned an A640, and the Canon housing for that model. The first time I tested the housing, w/o camera fortunately, it flooded. The second, third, and fourth time- after checking, cleaning, and getting the resident UW photographer on the LOB I was on to help me prepare it, the housing flooded. It was ok shallow, but always flooded past 20m.

Took it to the Canon service center and told them the problem (with the specifics) and they tested it- but they didnt find any problems.

I tested it again w/o the camera, and the same damn thing happened.

I have a buddy who suggested that maybe because I was using the housing w/o camera at depth, the pressure on the seals was greater than it would have been with the camera, and that might have been the reason it flooded.

Eventually the camera met another fate and I never got to try it at depth with the camera inside. Dont really know if I would have had the guts to anyway...

SO....

This brings me to my problem, and the questions.

1) What do you think about the suggestion that the housing was leaking b/c the camera wasn't inside at depth, thus putting more pressure on the housing?

2) Is there anything special that people can recommend I do to test the housing? I looked high and low, probably read every guide on how to prepare the housing for diving, but it just didnt help me out the last time.

Thanks again!!

 

[don Francisco]

I always test my housings empty except for a peice of paper towel (as an indicator) on the first dive of every trip. While at depth, I use every button and control feature.

The change in air volume, with or without a camera is meaningless in the scheme of things.

If a housing leaks when empty, there's no way I'd trust a camera to it.

As far as diagnosing your leakage problem goes, do a pool dive with it and watch carefully for where air is escaping, or if you're lucky you might see where the water seeps in. My crap shoot guess, without any other info, is that you're either over or under greasing the O-ring, or there might be a hair or bit of dirt under it.

Remove the O-ring, clean it and the groove thoroughly, and lubing the ring with only the thinnest layer of grease replace it, making sure that it's evenly seated without any twists.

Good luck

 

[InDaWata]

Remove the O-ring, clean it and the groove thoroughly, and lubing the ring with only the thinnest layer of grease replace it, making sure that it's evenly seated without any twists.

On my old housing I cleaned everything thoroughly- even under a magnifying glass once. The O ring had enough lube, or so i was told by the photographer on our boat.

Im really not sure the problem was on my end. I mustve tried that housing about 8 or 9 dives, not counting pools and tanks. I even let the photog prep the housing on two occasions. Still- it never leaked until we got to about 20m or more- and I could never figure out where the water was coming from...

 

[don Francisco]

Sounds like it might be the housing after all, possibly one of the control button O-rings, or the wrong O-ring on the main door. You definitely can't use it until you locate and solve the problem.

To find where it's leaking try painting the inside with a water soluble indicator. Something that'll run and leave a track when water hits it, like mascara. Then add wadded paper towels to blot up the leaked water. Dive it to 20m plus and either watch, or look for the tracks afterwards.

BTW- you don't need to dive to test it if you have access to deep enough water. Measure off enough line, tie the weighted housing to it and send it on a solo dive.

 

[Nemrod]

The G10 housing from Canon is no different than any of their housings, the buttons glands are little weak, the housing is adequate but barely so. That is why I got a new Ikelite housing last summer for my 570IS which started me on a hunt for the Jaberwhocky to install my already purchased lenses to the 67MM port.

Of course, a good buddy of mine, with Oly 5050, inspected by a guy who is a pro, then flooded his Ike housing. Cameras that go into the water eventually flood or at least should be considered disposable. Since the typical dSLR rig represents enough money to feed a third world village I am just not comfortable exposing that much money to ruination.

If I were you I would get the Ikelite housing. My Ikelite housed 570IS with custom made in my back yard features available no where else on the planet, lol .

BTW, I still use my Canon housing and I have had zero issues with it other than a stuck button. I removed the gland, cleaned and lubed, stretched the spring out and reinstalled and it works fine. I have had it over 150 feet several times. I also now have three 570IS cameras, bought on closeout and paid I think twelve dollars for one of them. Very cost effective.

What goes up must come down and what goes underwater will eventually get wet, deal with it.

N

 

[RonFrank]

Flooding is something that unfortunately happens. However it should not in a new housing, and there are a number of things one can do to help prevent it.

I don't test my housing before EVERY dive, or I'd miss out on photography on 25% of my dives. However I would test a new housing before putting a camera inside.

I store my orings outside of the housing when not in use. I keep them lubed up between trips. I inspect the housing for foreign materials before inserting the oring. All it takes is ONE hair to create a flood.

Rinsing the housing after use for a 30 minutes or so is a must. Inspect the seals for salt buildup, and exercise every button after use to make sure there is no buildup of foreign material.

Replace the oriings as necessary.

Insure your gear so if it does flood, it will be replaced without too much cost. Unfortunately it is not generally a matter of IF a housing will flood, but when!

 

[don Francisco]

The bulb just went off.

Housing O-ring configurations come in 2 basic types. On one the door closes on the face of the O-ring, and in that design the increasing water pressure compresses the O-ring harder. On the other, the O-ring is more like a piston ring and the door closes by sliding past it.

Neither design is inherently better if executed well, but the "piston ring" design is extremely dependent on the correct fit and compression of the O-ring. If you stored your housing with the O-ring installed it might have taken a set, and no longer exert enough force for an effective seal at higher pressure differentials.

Always store the housing with the O-ring out so it won't develop a set. I keep mine coiled in a poly bag tucked into the empty housing.

You might try replacing the O-ring, or leaving it out for a for week or two so might rebound to it's original shape.

Just a theory, good luck.

 

[sarita75]

This is in an interesting thread. I have used a Canon housing for my A710 for approximately 2 years. I have replaced the main o-ring and have generally not had problems. Always store the o-ring off the camera in a sealed bag. A flood last spring in Florida sent the camera back to Canon and it was fixed/replaced. Over the New Year, my husband and I went on a liveaboard during which the housing began to flood. Amazingly the camera is still functioning. I decided last weekend to clean off the housing really well and take the housing out for a dive without the camera in it. 53' max depth for about 40 minutes, back on the beach and the housing is dry. Sweet, so I put the camera in. Go back out to dive and the housing leaks almost like a sieve at 30 feet. Ended the dive, swimming back to shore with the camera off and housing pointed lens area down to keep the water away from the camera.

At this point, we've bought a new housing (Ikelite) but I am curious if there is anything that can be done to fix the current housing - or if it is even worth it.

 

[InDaWata]

The old housing- for my dead A640, is no longer.

But when I did have it, the housing leaked when I first used it, right out of the box.
I took it to Canon to get serviced, and they said it was fine.
But then when I used it again after- it leaked again.

I dont know- and countless people I have shown the housing to, and explained the situation have been unable to explain the problem.

Anyway, on the new housing, for the G10- I took the O-ing off the main seal as soon as i bought it and stored it inside the housing.
I guess I should go ahead and test the housing empty the first time then?

Oh- RonFrank- what was this about getting your rig insured? How do you go about that?

I was always under the impression that Canon did not honour a warranty if the camera gets flooded with their housing?

 

[emoreira]

Many points were mentioned here.
Any housing should be rigid enough not to be deformated by depth preasure. If it does, it could leak.
Submerging the housing without the camera inside should be no difference. If it does, is because the housing that holds the camera presses the camera to avoid deformation (like if the camera holds the housing walls), something that should not happen.

I have a Canon WP-DC12 + A570IS. My deepest dive with it was 12 meters. Up to now nothing happened.
I store the o-ring in the camera, placed in the interior groove, not in the place where it should be placed to close the housing, so it's free to move and recover it's shape.

And a final statement, as mentioned in the housing warranty document, Canon covers under the warranty the housing only, not it's contents. It's logical that you carry a camera inside (what else?), but it's not covered by the warranty if it floodes owing to a housing problem.