securing dome port to something?

[Nautica2706]

I just got myself a fisheye lens, the uwl 04.

Am wondering if anyone using that lens have it secured to something when attached to the housing or just making sure it is screwed in tight is good enough?

 

[ozziworld]

I have my Inon UFL-164AD (bayonet mount) on a leash. I am not sure if it would work well on a screw mount though. My biggest concern was dropping the lens while putting it on or off and watching it sink into the abyss. The bayonet mounts also may be easier to knock loose. Seems a screw mount is more forgiving in that regard.

In anycase this is how I attached it to a leash:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tips-techniques/356095-tethered-inon-ufl165ad.html

and to the rest of my set up.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tips-techniques/388721-magnifyer-flexarm-2.html

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Have you tried having a small floatationdevice connected to the lens? This way, when it is unmounted, it woun't dangle down and bump around some rocks or corals...a very likely scenario when getting close up and low.

 

[NautilusCairns]

I have the same system as Ozziworld with my Inon 165AD and Recsea S95 (because I copied his !!) however I can't see it working with a screw mount. When its not on the housing it is on a lens caddy. Not sure what Lwang means

 

[Nautica2706]

Just got back from a trip, turned out i dont have to worry bout the uwl04 unscrewing itself. I didnt however change lens during the dive tho.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Yeah, you shouldn't have to worry about the lens unscrewing. After a dive or two, the salt buildup will actually make the lens hard to unscrew.


I meant have a little floatation device secured to the lens so when you do take it off, it would have a slightly positive buoyancy, thus not having to screw it into a caddy. Of course, the lens should be tethered to the housing. You could put a screw mount cable tie (the one with the hole at the end) around the lens and have a fishing swivel with a wire leader clipped onto that cable tie. The other end would be fasten to your camera housing.

 

[NautilusCairns]

Yeah, you shouldn't have to worry about the lens unscrewing. After a dive or two, the salt buildup will actually make the lens hard to unscrew.


I meant have a little floatation device secured to the lens so when you do take it off, it would have a slightly positive buoyancy, thus not having to screw it into a caddy. Of course, the lens should be tethered to the housing. You could put a screw mount cable tie (the one with the hole at the end) around the lens and have a fishing swivel with a wire leader clipped onto that cable tie. The other end would be fasten to your camera housing.

Locally the longest screw mount cable tie I could find was 200mm which unfortunately wasn't long enough to go around a UFL165. Had to end up drilling the end of a 300mm standard cable tie to copy the Ozzieworld setup

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

If I can't find the screw mount cable tie, I might just drill a little hole in the end of a cable tie, although due to the relatively thin grove on my lens, I can't put one of those super fat cable tie, thus my hole might have to be miniscule.

 

[Nautica2706]

I just found out about this article....got me worried. And still, I havent found a way to secure my UWL04 to the tray.

"
[h=2]Major Problem with Fisheye Lens[/h] I was diving the elbow in belize last weekend. Had the fisheye fix UWL-04 lens on my ikelite housing, taking many nice shots on the dive. While at the safety stop I put the lens cover on the dome, then clipped the camera and strobes on my BCD for the final acent to the boat. We were floating out in the blue at the time. I swam up to the boat, handed up my camera, removed my BCD and climbed the ladder to get out of the water. Back at the dock I retreived my camera and to my surprise, no WA lens. I use the step down threaded ring and was shocked to find the lens gone. It must have come unscrewed at the end of the safety stop and while I was bobbing on the survace, as there was about 3' seas at the time. I am concerned that the port on the ikelite case is stripped and that the dome lens never did lock tight when installed for the dive."

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Maybe the best thing is to screw on tightly a 52mm to 52mm adapter that has a wider flange then the lens barrel, then put a zip tie around it.

I got one of those fishing swivel with a wire leader and attached it to my lens and housing. That thin wire seems thin enough, along with the weight of the lens, if it somehow loops around one of those coiled clip or fiber optic cable when it is dangling down, could cut right thru them.

Plus, I don't know if I was narc'd or not, but I in a dive, I was unscrewing my WA lens and I my camera housing's port unscrewing with the WA lens. I quickly tightened it back. Later on, on the surface, I couldn't unscrew the housing port with all my might. But it is always a good thing to lube the threads, and tether the lens.