Waterwulf
Contributor
I've been diving since about 1969 or so but other than a couple of attempts with a Kodak Instamatic in a plastic housing, have never done any underwater photography. I picked up an Ikelite case with some attachments and an Olympus camera for a can't-refuse-that price. It seems to work very well in and out of the case but I haven't used it on a dive yet. I have tested it underwater though! I tried it in my aquarium (175 gal) just to see what the photo's looked like. Cool! Then I submerged it in a plastic tank to get an idea of it's buoyancy. That thing is heavy!!
I have it rigged with a lanyard to keep it attached to me but was concerned about how much it will affect my buoyancy trim. So I started looking at methods to make it more neutral. It all boiled down to various types of foam floats attached to the camera at assorted locations. Hmmm. If they're set wrong, the camera will try to upend itself. To much and it floats away. To little and it'll sink. Regardless of how perfect it is, it'll change at different depths. That's all very tiring on the arms!
Then I got to thinking: As divers, we have a method to regulate our buoyancy. Our BCD's. (In the early days, we stole the inflatable life jackets from the Pilots locker rooms!) So why can't we have a BCD for our cameras? I designed a BCD for my camera that seems to work well in the plastic tank. I have not dove with it yet though. It's easily adjustable by putting air in or letting it out and seems to stay out of the way. Has anybody come up with anything like that? Did it work? Ideas? Thoughts? Comments? Thanks.
I have it rigged with a lanyard to keep it attached to me but was concerned about how much it will affect my buoyancy trim. So I started looking at methods to make it more neutral. It all boiled down to various types of foam floats attached to the camera at assorted locations. Hmmm. If they're set wrong, the camera will try to upend itself. To much and it floats away. To little and it'll sink. Regardless of how perfect it is, it'll change at different depths. That's all very tiring on the arms!
Then I got to thinking: As divers, we have a method to regulate our buoyancy. Our BCD's. (In the early days, we stole the inflatable life jackets from the Pilots locker rooms!) So why can't we have a BCD for our cameras? I designed a BCD for my camera that seems to work well in the plastic tank. I have not dove with it yet though. It's easily adjustable by putting air in or letting it out and seems to stay out of the way. Has anybody come up with anything like that? Did it work? Ideas? Thoughts? Comments? Thanks.